Discovering the Spirit of Romuva-The Sun

In the stillness, just before dawn, the Goddess Breksta glides among the fog, when grand dreams of the future echoes still stir in sleeping minds. Breksta hands on the reigns to Goddess Saule, the Sun, as her golden rays pierce the darkness. 

Saule lets down her shining amber braids and makes the world warm with her growing glow as she spins her web of light. Like an enduring mother, Saule rises refreshed, as a large radiant disc, from the distant horizon tirelessly and reliably every day.  Saule makes the sky dance with colors of red and gold. Birds everywhere herald her return with such beautiful songs. 

Riding on Her chariot drawn by the twin horses, Saule climbs higher in the sky and grows smaller but her heat and light has grown to full strength. The whole of creation copes with dear Saule differently, some bask in her life giving sustenance when the harvest of crops are abundant. Some suffer her devastating destruction of their crops fail because of drought and searing heat. Some animals prefer to hide away from the Saule the Sun Goddess and sleep while she journeys across the sky. Some animals revel in the sunshine and day. Regardless of what else goes on in the world, dear Saule makes her journey across the sky every day. 

If you are lucky, you may even see her most beautiful daughter Star who accompanies her mother and travels the same path across the sky. Some may know her as the morning Star, Ausrine, and some may know her as the evening star, Vakarine, some may simply know her as Venus. always preceding and preparing for her mother’s risings and settings. On special occasions can be seen together on what astronomers call the Venus Transit.  

Finally after the long day, Saule sinks to the horizon, leaving the world with another breathtaking grand vista of light and colors. Saule is large and engorged again, satisfied with her day of spinning, she sinks below the horizon and the world is once again the domain of the nocturnal Deities and when the Witches and Devils are free to roam.

This story explains the symbolism seen in the ornamentation of the distaff used in Lithuanian spinning wheels. (The spinning wheel is also a symbol of the Sun.) The large disc represents the rising and setting Sun and the smaller disc represents the Sun when she is seen high in the sky. Lithuanians of old believed in the different life energy of the two different Suns. For example, certain rituals, songs and chants would be performed at the rising and setting of the Sun. This was the special time of day that had more accessible power. Other songs and dances were often performed in the day during harvesting and rejoicing the Gods and Goddesses, ensuring prosperity in the fields.

This short story represents a combination of various Lithuanian folktales that reveal the ancient Lithuanian world view/feeling and, I feel, fairly accurately condenses folklore into a mythology that was relevant to my Ancestors and relevant to myself as an Australian Lithuanian Romuvis, living in the 21^st century. My personal rituals are performed at sunrise and sunset because it is the time of day when the world is calm and peaceful. These times are magical and important for increased energy in my most important workings. Respect for the Sun has always been a part of Australian culture, being raised with the “Slip, Slop, Slap” campaign to prevent skin cancer which led to the medical understanding that vitamin E from the Sun was important to overall health. There are many Australian Aboriginal tribes who also relate to the Sun as a Goddess like the Lithuanians and I certainly feel the association just “feels right” for me, but as I always say, “It doesn’t matter what gender, imagery or name a person may associate with a deity, the personal connection is what is important.” So in all, I feel that understanding the mythology of my Lithuanian ancestors concerning the Sun has helped me to connect to the life of the Sun and reminding me that life is contained in everything, animate and inanimate.

Other myths from folktales about the Sun say that:

*According to Lithuanian folklore,Saule was forged by Kalvelis, the Blacksmith God who threw her into the sky. Kalvelis is honoured each year at the beginning of Spring when the Suns life giving energies return to the earth.

*According to Lithuanian folklore, the Sun Goddess, Saule was married to Menulis, the Moon God. Together they parented all the Star daughters and our Mother Earth. Earth was very dear to Saule and the most beautiful of their daughters was Venus. According to folklore, The Moon God had an affair with Venus and when Saule found out She scratched his face viciously to reveal the craters that we see today. Dievas, the Sky God sent Perkunas, the Thunderer to smite the moon with his sword and break him into little pieces which he endures every month with waxing and waning.