Curiously, to this day, Polish officers salute using two fingers. Now, this custom supposedly derives from the much later Napoleonic era but making a connection might be tempting…

Why two fingers?

Here let’s indulge in some speculation. The Polish (and Suavic more generally) word for the Sun is słońce. This is a bit unusual because the -ce (or -cie or sometimes -cy) suffix indicates the presence of either something that isn’t really present in today’s Suavic languages – the dual noun form – or, sometimes, of the plural noun. Thus, we have, to give a few examples:

• miesiące
• skrzypce
• lejce
• łapcie

The singular would have the -iec suffix. Thus, skrzypiec, lejec, łapiec and so forth.

Could słońce itself be a plural?

Brückner does not even consider that, instead pushing the theory that this is a diminutive:

Vasmer is not that far off from Brückner:

And yet what examples does Brückner give to justify his view?

He brings up serce meaning “heart” (from an earlier sierce) and miejsce meaning”place.” And yet are these other examples diminutives? Anyone supportive of Brückner’s view here must wince at the example of serce – at least anyone aware of the heart’s four chambers, that is the two atria and two ventricles.

As to miejsce, the earlier mieśćce or miestce, that is supposedly a diminutive of miasto which in Polish means “town” but in other Suavic languages may just mean a “place” – a concept that in Polish is expressed in miejsce. If this is correct and if we disregard serce – as per the above obsevation – then this, it seems to me, would be about the only example I am aware of a singular diminutive with the -ce suffix.

It is also curious that:

• słońce is obviously related to Sun

while

• serce could be mistaken (?) for being a cognate of sur (south, also the Kern of our solar system),

while

• miejsce, the (meeting? compare with Lithuanian mietas) place, appears cognate with miesiąc meaning “Moon”

Putting that aside, what would this singular of słońce be?

Here the answer must be słoniec which itself would have to be a diminutive of, what, słoń?

Well, this is not to suggest that Suavs thought of the Sun as being pulled by elephants (rather the elephant is more likely to have been named after the large beasts pulling the Sun).

But the Suavs may have believed that the Sun was pulled by  multiple creatures – horses? dragons?

But were these creatures – that we project deep into the PIE times – really called individually a słoń? Or was a słoniec simply a derivative of another Name that sounded like the Sun? In other words, was the Sun driven around by the słońce, that is “servants of the Sun” (an interesting exercise too in light of the above would be an examination of the etymology of this term – PIE *seruo- “guardian” – of what? of the Sun – Sur – maybe?).

But then what was the Sun? In Suavic languages this term is the purportedly neuter singular słońce. Neither he nor she. But as shown above, the term may have originated in a plural concept for those creatures which pull the Sun across the sky. So what was the Name of the Sun itself? Could it have been Sune or Suna – a Name that was preserved only in obscure Norse tales?

In fact, the Suavic word sunąć meaning, roughly, “to glide along at a fast but steady pace” may itself be derived from “Sun”. (Curiously, in Greek stories Ladas is the name of two very fast runners – why are runners called Ladas?)

If this is the case then we would have to show that the Sun – or rather the Deity of the Sun – was a female in Suavic beliefs. That is not like Helios a God but a Goddess. Is this possible?

Here we have very scant, though not immaterial, evidence for this claim.

The first and only constant in our quest to assign gender to the heavenly bodies is that the Moon is (almost) always male, that is księżyc or miesiąc. Thus, implicitly, you’d think that the Sun should be female.

An immediate objection is that – at least in Polish – księżyc means “little primce” such that the “big” prince must surely be the Sun. This, however, has been shown many years ago to be no more than scientific folklore by Kazimierz Moszyński who pointed out that Polish peasants only referred to the waxing crescent of the new Moon as księżyc, that is the “young” moon (młody księżyc). Thus, ksiądz, meaning “ruler” refers to the full Moon and not to the Sun.

Having dispensed with the above objection, we still have to show positive proof of the Sun being associated with the female. This does happen in Polish belief but it is rare. Apparently, there is evidence that newlyweds in parts of Poland have traditionally called upon the Sun and the Moon to bless their marriage. That, however, is, again, circumstantial evidence.

Well, again, there seemingly is some evidence for this belief but only in Eastern Poland. Specifically, you have to go to the PhD dissertation written by Wanda Drabik – “The Customs of Podlachia” (Obrzędy Podlasia) to come upon a claim that in wedding songs found in that part of Poland, folk refer to the Sun as the bride and to the Moon as the bridegroom.

Traces of this appear further West as reported in, for example, the Silesian Józef Lompa’s Bajki i podania (being the compendium of his work Sitten und Gebräuche des schlesisch-slavischen Volkes).

Curiously, the work of another Silesian Nicolaus Magni de Iawor – the ever popular party hit Tractatus de supersticionibus – contains the story of an old woman who called the Sun the Holy Lady, spoke to Her, performed blessings in Her name and, the old lady claimed, healed many a sickness in the Sun’s name over the course of forty years. Here is that text as given by Krzysztof Bracha:

Sic aliquam vetulam novi, que credidit solem esse quasi deam vocans eam sanctam dominam et alloquendo solem benedixit per eum sub certis verbis cum observancia quadam supersticiosam, que dixit: se plus quam 40 annis se credidisse hoc et multas infirmitates curasse

What was the source of this anecdote? A Suavic Bohemian or Silesian tale or a German story? Bracha notes that the same story appears in the Kommentar zur Dekalog written by the German preacher Gottschalk Hollen.

Another potential Suavic female connection for the Sun is with the Goddess Lada. If the reference to Lada as Minerva is accurate and we know that Minerva was just the Roman Athena then we can connect Lada with Athena. Athena was not a solar goddess per se but she does have some solar connections. Most importantly, we are told that on the day that she was born Helios stopped the Sun chariot.

Of course, as previously noted, Lado was the Sun Eye of Piorun according to a Ruthenian saying and, though, the provenance here is unclear, apparently, in Lithuania, peasants sang Lado, Lado saule, duok jam sameziu per gałwe, that is, “Lado, Lado Sun, hit him [the wolf] on the head with a ladle*” (as this comes from Narbutt, we may be suspicious whether the song is genuine).

* note that, curiously, “ladle” comes from hlædel, itself from hladan “to load, to draw up water” (see also lade)

Turning to the Moon, what can be said unequivocally is that the Moon was (almost) always associated  with a Man. Of course the Moon was also associated with the Name Jasień, Who, in turn, seems to have been the youthful Sky Rider.

Incidentally, are miesiące also the creatures that pull the Moon or is the fact that the Moon is always a miesiąc while the Sun is always “a” słońce mean that the Moon has one horse but the Sun has multiple horses?

And remember our discussion about the strange “2” symbol (see here or on some of these spears)? The symbol that can, when duplicated, form a heart or horseshoes or the Ω Omega sign? Did you know that the horseshoe “luck” symbol may go back to the worship of the Moon (perhaps by the Chaldeans)?

Check these decorations out that were found in Piast Silesia and have been labeled “Scandinavian” (while similar motifs do appear in Scandinavia, they are hardly unique to that area).

Were these – so similar to some of these other designs – horses or other creatures? And were they pulling the Moon or, in fact, the Sun?

Let’s now look at Kazimierz Moszyński’s treatise on Suavic solar and lunar practices.

Moszyński mentions some Suavic tales that speak of multiple Suns. For example, he recalls the tales of the Smolensk Suavs and the Bulgarians who claimed that there had once been two (the former) or even three (the latter) Suns but a snake or a dragon had apparently either “drank” or stolen the other Suns.

Whether that dragon can be associated with the “Ladon” of the Argonauts* or Níðhöggr (Nya?) is another matter. Obviously, cold-blooded lizards like roasting themselves in the Sun so the myth may have its roots in that behavior as well as the daily disappearance and reappearance of the Sun. Alternativly, the many Suns may come from the sun dogs phenomenon.

* note that, interestingly, Diodorus Siculus suggested the name of Jason and the Argonauts’ ship, the Argo, was derived from an ancient Greek word for “swift” (IV.41.3: “The vessel was called Argo after Argus, as some writers of myths record, who was the master-builder of the ship and went along on the voyage in order to repair the parts of the vessel as they were strained from time to time, but, as some say, after its exceeding great swiftness, since the ancients called what is swift Argos.”) . This too is the meaning in Polish of jary – meaning “rushing” or “swift” as in “a rushing river” and jarki – meaning “fast moving”. For more on this rather intriguing subject see here. Were the Argonauts then “sailing” the Sky on the Moon as their vessel? It is also interesting that the Latin word for “silver” is argentum (hence the periodic table symbol Ar) and the Greek was ἄργυρός (which also referred to “money” regarding which see the various monetary customs below that involved the Moon). Of course, you also have ἀργός meaning “white” or “bright” or, in Sanskrit, árjuna, with all these meanings.

Moszyński also relates that peasants would, particularly on Saint John’s Eve come out to the borders of the village and stare at the Sun. The Sun would then be described as “dancing”, “playing, “laughing” or even “bathing”. This custom was generally limited to Central Europe but apparently also present in Bretagne (Veneti?) and some other unspecified parts of France. When associated with Easter the same custom appears too in Russia, Germany and the southern Caucasus. Other phenomena that were related by the peasantry, according to Moszyński also included a Sun that jumped up and down, rotated, broke into separate parts or recombined itself into a single body. Moszyński then brings up the work of D.O. Svyatskiy (perhaps Astronomiya Drevney Rusi) who methodically exclaims some of these optical phenomena as green flash and green ray illusions.

Moszyński also discusses the various customs associated with the Moon. Of particular note is the fact that Suavs apparently associated the new Moon with wealth (Nya as Pluto?) or, more particularly, with accretion to wealth – perhaps a result of the expectation that the Moon will over time get fatter and so, the peasants would also welcome the same as in this Polish “spell”:

Witaj, Księżycu, niebieski dziedzicu! Tobie złota korona. Mnie zdrowie i fortuna!
(“Welcome, oh Moon, the heavenly ruler*! For you the golden crown. For me health and fortune!”)

* note that although dziedzic can mean “heir”, in the context of a village it meant the local feudal lord.

Curiously, a similar association is mentioned by Nicolaus Magni de Iawor (as per Bracha):

Insuper hic hodie inveniuntur homines tam laici quam clerici, tam litterati quam illiterati, quos et plus dolendum est quidam magistri, cum primo novilunium viderint flectis genibus adorant et deposito capucium vel pileo capite inclinato honorant, alloquendo et suscipiendo, ymmo plures ieiuniant illo die, scilicet novilunio.

Bracha also reports similar beliefs reported by Caesarius of Arles (of Chalon) or in parts of Germany citing Nikolas von Dinkelbühl who noted that at the new Moon, people would lift open their money satchels towards the Moon to show the Moon the coins or would  shake the satchel and utter a prayer for successful month. The same author further cited an actual German prayer to the Moon (from De decem praeceptis or De preceptis decalogi):

Ad idem reduci potest stultissimus iste error, quod quidam quando primo vident novam lunam ipsam venerantur immo adorant dicentes hec aut similia verba: „Bis got wilkum newer mon holder her, mach mir myns geltes mer“; et aperta bursa ei monstrant pecuniam aut eam in bursa vibrant, credentes per huiusmodi deprecacionem et reverencie exhibicioem ab ea obtinere prosperitatem per istum mensem et augmentum diviciarum.

Bracha cites a number of other examples from German lands (see also in Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens) found in Thomas von Haselbach (reporting the similar Bis got bilchom ein newer man holder her, mach mir meins gutz mer), Thomas Peuntner and Johann Militsch von Kremsier. For more on this see also the older Der Magister Nikolaus Magni De Jawor by Franz Adolph. Bracha also finds (citing an article by Maria Kowalczyk given here in English, though she seems to cite the wrong page) further examples from Poland such as this instance from Stanisuav of Skarbimierz  (Stanisław ze Skarbimierza or, in Latin, Stanislaus de Scarbimiria) from Sermo 47 where there is an order to bend the knee during the New Moon and recite Psalm 67.1, (here given as “Lord, shine your face upon us”); then the sermon orders an oath be performed (presumably facing the Moon), to remain in the Catholic faith and then, at the very end, to utter a prayer:

In novilunio cum primo perspexeris lunam flexis genibus dic hunc versum. Illumina domine, vultum tuum super nos et fac hoc, quam diu vixeris. Et tunc vade domum ad cameram tuam devoveno, quod nunquam peririum voluntarie volueris facere et quod in fide katholica semper volueris perseverare et dic aliquias 0oraciones

Or, from other Suavic lands (via Moszyński’s book), you have this Croatian iteration (which incidentally also relates a fight between the Moon and a snake or dragon):

Pomladi ti mene, kak si sam sebe. Kad tebe zmija ujela, onda mene glava zabolela! Kad tebe zmija ujela, onda mene groznica uhvatila!

Incidentally, the Moon, as Moszyński notes, was also a Deity but among the peasants (at least in Christian times) only of demons such as water demons. And here we have the curious connection to water – woda – and, perhaps, Wodan. The Moon-Water connection is not that difficult to make – it is delivered by the tides. From there you can also imagine thunderstorms full of rain as the Wild Hunt. In the Balkans Moszyński finds evidence of the Moon “drinking” water much as the snakes “drank” the Sun in the Russian fables.

The Moon is, however,  susceptible to being eaten itself – by wolves. This association should also be obvious if you consider the changing Moon as a Moon from which some animal takes a bite out of (other Suavs associated the Moon, for the same reason, with the sickle – naturally – but also with “horns” – of course).

Both the Sun and the Moon cold be stolen (by witches) and, among Southern Suavs, the Sun could also be eaten by a werewolf or a type of dragon called Hala. This, of course, brings associations with Hela.

Further, let’s mention that Krzysztof Bracha also notes other references in Polish sermons to Sun as well as Moon veneration. Here are the actual copies of pages he cites from: