Lada
Goddess of Light and Love
Lada, the Lightbearer, is a Prime deity of the Creators' Pantheon, wife of Svarog and before the Rupture was responsible for the cycle of rebirth in Mryar, though that ability has been lost in the War of Burning Skies.
She is a goddess of light, love, faith and healing, as well as taking a direct role as a guardian of families and children. Among her worshippers are many healers, artists, young people and families wishing for happy and loving marriage.
In Sarmaria and many villages of other countries it is Lada who people pray to bless the newlyweds, gift them with patience, eternal love and compassion.
Contents
Lada was one of the Gods who took direct role in creation of Mriyar in the Creation myth. She spread compassion and kindness in chaotic beings, calming down the storm in their souls.
She is a goddess of light, love, faith and healing, as well as taking a direct role as a guardian of families and children. Among her worshippers are many healers, artists, young people and families wishing for happy and loving marriage.
In Sarmaria and many villages of other countries it is Lada who people pray to bless the newlyweds, gift them with patience, eternal love and compassion.
Contents
Appearance
Tarot Card "The Lovers" by Felixora
Most of the Lightbringer's portrayals depict her as a young, beautiful woman, with a large wreath of flowers and plants on top of her head. Her blonde, shiny hair most of often is braided with different flowers and ribbons, her light-coloured dress is embroidered with different ethnic patterns in red, yellow and white colours, and it spreads to the ground, transforming into the earth. A mantle made out of white feathers covers her shoulders. Different gold and white jewellery adorns her neck, wrists and flower wreath.
History
Lada was one of the Gods who took direct role in creation of Mriyar in the Creation myth. She spread compassion and kindness in chaotic beings, calming down the storm in their souls.
Rebirth of the Black Sun
...War of Burning Skies
...The loss of rebirth powers
...Creation of genasi
...The Rupture
...Worship
The church of the Lighbringer suffered severe losses in the War of Burning Skies. Many worshippers died in the war, either protecting the temples, or assisting on the battlefield against the devils. A lot of temples and manuscripts were irrevocably lost, not to mention that a large chunk of the Lightbringer rituals and traditions have been passed down only by word of mouth.
by Felixora
Still, with the acceptance of the Lightbringer's church as one of the main religions in the Sarmarian Republic and extensive research in Svitagora, Lada and her followers have a bright future ahead of them.
The main temple of the Lightbringer is located in Ruten, in the Whitestone district, where stands her magnificent statue. It's decorated with jewels and her clothes are embroidered with gold threads. The head is always decorated with a fresh rose wreath.
Sometimes Lada's sculptures are depicted with an apple or a bunch of grapes - a symbol of love and temptation. Since the Lightbearer is the patroness of couples, she is often depicted with a wedding ring in her hand. She is called during wedding ceremonies, glorified and brought gifts to make the marriage happy. Her sacred animal is considered the stork.
People bring her "white donations": white bread, pies and dumplings with cheese, cheese, sour cream, white rooster, honey and other sweets.
Priests and priestesses of Lada are called vestals. They always make a vow of celibacy and serve the Goddess for over two thirds of their lives, abiding by these vows. Every sanctuary of the Lightbearer has a hospital near or in it, where priests treated the inhabitants of the city and travellers in need.
After the events of the War of Burning Skies, the church of the Lightbringer took upon helping all tieflings, in need or not. It is a wide-spread believe among clerics of the Lightbringer, that tieflings, or "devil spawns" as many common folk call them, are the result of Lada's actions in the War, and consequentially that they are her "children". Even though the direct correlation between the first tieflings and Lada's involvement in creation of their supposed predecessors wasn't scientifically proven, the Lightbringer's church still widely supports and protects tiefling communities, especially in Sarmaria, and welcomes any tiefling in their clergy.
Holiday
Babi Kashi is considered to be the day blessed by both Lada and Mokosh - keepers of mothers and women, respectively. On this day, it is customary to honour midwives and women in labour. People bring them gifts and treats, kvass, pancakes, pies and fruits. Mothers come with their small children to grandmothers of the villages or the neighbourhoods so that they blessed them.
Another holiday dedicated to Lada is on 22 Tsviten - day of Krasna Gora or the day of Great Lada.
It was believed that on this day the Goddess Lada goes up the mountain to arrange everything around. That is, to bring order to the fields, forests and groves, to instil love in the souls of people. This is primarily a women's and girls' holiday. In honour of the Lightbearer they sing songs and lead round dances, joyfully clapping their hands. Matchmaking, engagements and spring weddings often take place on this day.
On this day, girls perform such rite. They put on wreaths, choose from among themselves the most beautiful girl, who will represent the Goddess, weave a wreath of the best flowers, put her on a throne made of turf, twigs and grass, put pies with cheese and sour cream in front of her, and lead round dances around her, singing spring songs, glorifing the Goddess of spring and maiden love.
Commandments of the Lightbearer
- In the darkest of times, lead others with steel patience and hope.
- Spread love, kindness and compassion wherever you go.
- Even the darkest void can have a spark of light. Remember that.
Links
- Lada is based on deity Lada (Lado) from Slavic mythology, Wiki page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lada_(mythology)
General Information
| Classification | Greater deity |
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| Gender | Feminine |
| Pronouns | She/her/hers |
Worship
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Spouses
Svarog
(Husband)
Siblings
Children
by Felixora
Alignment chart
Comments