What do they dream about on the night of Ivan Kupala
The night from 6 to 7 July is truly magical, poetic, full of wonders and mysteries. This is the night before one of the brightest Slavic holidays - Ivan Kupala. The Slavs did not go to bed that night. After sunset, wreaths were let into the reservoirs, they swam naked, and then they gathered around the fire-baker, where a fun holiday began.
Popular beliefs say that on this magical night, trees move from place to place, herbs acquire miraculous healing powers. And on this night, a fern blooms, and whoever finds its flower will be able to open all earthly treasures and learn to understand the language of animals, birds, fish and plants. But even if you do not find this magical flower, you will still be able to open the veil of your future.
So, here are 7 magical divination and rituals on the night of Ivan Kupala.
At will: in the evening before sunset, the girls weave wreaths of flowers. And during sunset, they lower the wreath into the water, making a wish. If the wreath floats, the wish will come true. If he drowned or washed ashore again - no. For love: the girl lowers her wreath into the water and guesses the name of her betrothed. If the wreath immediately sinks, then her love is unhappy and the wedding will not take place: the beloved will either deceive or change. If the wreath unweaves in water, then there will be no wedding this year. The same is true if the wreath is washed back to the same shore. And if the wreath has sailed away, then it's time to prepare for the wedding. If a guy and a girl lower their wreaths into the water together and they swim side by side, then this year the couple will get married and will go through life hand in hand.
You can guess both in an open reservoir and in a container of water. At sunset, leaning towards the water, you need to whisper your desire and throw a small pebble. If the number of circles on the water is even, the wish will come true, if it is odd, it will not.
Fortune telling on plants is the most common on the Kupala night. This was no exception. In the afternoon on the eve of Ivan Kupala, girls collect various field herbs and plants. In the evening, having gathered their bouquets together, the girls sit in a circle. One of the fortune-tellers turns her back on everyone, and the other chooses a flower and asks who will get it. The girl sitting with her back should name the name of one of those present. By what kind of flower they caught, they judge the attitude of the conceived guy towards themselves:
With the help of Kupala fortune-telling, you can find out who in your family this year will be the healthiest and who will be the most painful. To do this, you need to collect a "bouquet" of bear ears (bearberry). In this case, the number of blades of grass should correspond to the number of family members. Moreover, each blade of grass must be given the name of a loved one. Then you need to observe which blade of grass will wither before the others. That person will get sick often. Whose blade of grass stays fresh the longest will be the healthiest.
With the help of this fortune-telling, you can determine which girl will have a betrothed. To do this, you need to dress in white, go barefoot with candles into a garden or a clearing and pull the first plant that comes across with the root from the ground with your left hand.
After sunset on the night of Ivan Kupala, a large fire is lit, over which you must jump. If the flame does not touch you, this is a good sign: the girls will soon get married, and for the guys, he portends good luck in business and love. If a couple jumps over the fire and the lovers do not untie their hands, then it is their destiny to be together and their marriage will be happy. After everyone has jumped over the fire, you can proceed to the next fortune-telling. The girls together throw a Kupala wreath into the fire. If a guy catches a wreath on the fly, then he will become the girl’s betrothed. Among the wreaths that fell into the fire, they notice: whose first burns out, she will be the first to marry.
If you realize that staying up all night is not for you, don't be discouraged. For sleepyheads, there is another fortune-telling. It is necessary to put under the pillow a bouquet of Kupala herbs, collected the day before the holiday. And he will show you the fate of yours and your betrothed. Moreover, the more diverse the flowers in the bouquet, the more truthful the dream will be. In Rus', bouquets were considered the most magical, which consisted of 12, 24 or 40 species of plants.