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SvarogIn Slavic mythology, Svarog (Polish: Swarg, Cyrillic Сварог) is the Slavic god and spirit of fire; meaning bright and clear. So sacred was the fire that it was forbidden to shout or swear at it while it was being lit. Folklore portrays him as a fire serpent, a winged dragon that breathes fire. Older myths describe him as a smith god, identified with the generative and sexual powers of fire. In those myths, Svarog fights Zmey, a giant serpent or a multi-headed dragon. Zmey kills people indiscriminantly. Svarog catches Zmey with blacksmith's tongs and uses him to pull the plough, thus separating the land of the living (Jav) from the land of the dead (Nav), bringing order (Prav). Zmey takes over the dead. In some myths, the ploughed ditch becomes the Smorodina River, and Zmey becomes the guardian of the bridge (Kalinov Bridge). In neo-paganist religions, Svarog is often the supreme god-creator and the central part of the (holy) trinity Triglav. He completed the creation of the world by giving it Prav. Svarog is associated in Christianity with Saint Damian, Saint Cosmas, and Saint Michael the Archangel. His animals are a golden horned ox, boar, horse, and a falcon named Varagna, as well as a shape-shifter into the wind. Svarog legends can be traced back to 8th-6th century BC when Slavic tribes developed agriculture. The etymology of the word Svarog is likely to be Sanscrit svarga (sky) or Slavic svar (bright and clear).
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