Veles

Veles rose from the underworld as spring began. He came from the dark realm below and returned to the living earth. Moisture followed his emergence and reached the land after the dormant season. Fertility returned with it. The fields received what they needed for growth, and nature began its renewal. His movement carried the season from the world below into the world of the living.

Veles belonged to the earth and to the underworld. He stood below the sky and opposed the power of Perun, the thunder god above. In the wider struggle, Perun pursued the dark and earthly force through trees, stones, and waters. He struck, burned, or split his opponent, and heavenly water appeared after his victory. The serpent or Volos then hid in earthly waters. This conflict connected the powers below with rain, moisture, and the fertility of the land.

Veles’s return restored the conditions for growth. Moisture reached the fields, fertility came back to the earth, and the living world responded with spring renewal. The event formed part of the seasonal movement between Veles and Perun. After nature had been restored, the conflict began again as the opposing powers returned to their struggle. The cycle continued through Veles’s emergence, the return of moisture and fertility, and the renewed contest between the force below and the thunder god above.

Veles broke away from the underworld as Perun pursued him and sent thunderbolts after him. Veles did not keep one shape during the flight. He changed himself into an animal and hid in a place where Perun might not see him. Perun followed the trail and struck the hiding place with a thunderbolt. The blow answered Veles's first transformation, but it did not end the escape.

Veles changed again. He took the form of a plant and concealed himself among plants. Perun continued the pursuit and directed lightning against the place where Veles hid. Veles then abandoned that form as well. At another point in the flight, he became a stone. He used the stone's fixed shape and concealment to avoid Perun's sight. Perun remained after him and attacked the place where he had hidden.

Veles also assumed human form. This gave him another appearance in which to escape notice, but Perun continued to search for him. The pursuit moved from one hiding place to the next. Veles changed his shape whenever Perun approached, while Perun answered every change with another thunderbolt or a strike of lightning.

The flight continued as an exchange between concealment and pursuit. Veles took the forms of an animal, a plant, a stone, and a human, but the exact animal, plant, and human appearances remained unspecified. Perun struck each place where Veles hid, yet none of the attacks ended the flight. Veles kept fleeing, and Perun kept striking the places where he concealed himself.