Rune Oracle

Slavic goddess

Zhiva

Goddess of the Polabians and of life

lifehealthfertilitythe Polabian land

Also called Živa, Siwa, Żywie, Ziwie.

Their story

Helmold of Bosau lists Siwa as the goddess of the Polabians, alongside Prove of Oldenburg and Radigast of the Obotrites, but says nothing more about her. Three centuries later the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz named Żywie among the old Polish gods as a deity of life. Modern writers usually join the two into one goddess of life, whose name would come from the Slavic root for living.

Best times to give to them

  • spring
  • Semik
  • harvest

What they like being given

  • bread
  • fresh flowers
  • milk
  • grain

How to honour them

  1. Tend a plant or garden in her name.
  2. Give thanks for health with a simple loaf and flowers.

How they can help you

  • health and recovery
  • vitality
  • growth

Symbols

  • green growth
  • grain
  • apples

Joining Helmold's Siwa with Długosz's Żywie is a modern reading; each source gives only a name.

Sources

  • Helmold, Chronica Slavorum, Book I, chapter 52
  • Jan Długosz, Annales seu cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae

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