Zorya Vechernyaya

Lore & Background

In Russian tradition, Zorya Vechernyaya stands on one side of the golden throne of the Sun. Her specific duty is to close the gate of the heavenly palace when the Sun sets out in the morning and returns to his abode for the night. A myth from a later period describes three sisters: she of the Evening, she of Midnight, and she of Morning. Their collective task is to guard a dog tied by an iron chain to the constellation of the Little Bear; when this chain breaks, it will be the end of the world. In incantations, she appears as "Mother zarya" of morning, evening, and midnight, invoked to make sicknesses and sorrows fade away quietly.

In Their Own Story

The source describes a miniature in Chludov's Novgorod Psalter from the late 13th century depicting two women. One is signed as "morning zorya" holding a red sun in her right hand, while the other, signed as "evening zorya," wears green and holds a torch resting on her shoulder. A light green stripe emerges from her box, ending in the morning Zorya's hand, interpreted as the Morning Zorya releasing the Sun and the Evening Zorya awaiting it at sunset. In Belarusian folklore, she appears as Zara-zaranitsa, a beautiful virgin walking in the sky who drops her keys; the moon sees them but says nothing, while the sun lifts them up. This is about dew disappearing under the influence of the sun.

Reader's Guide

Practitioners appeal to Zorya Vechernyaya as the supreme power in Eastern Slavic zagovory (incantations). She is invoked as "Zarya-Zarnitsa" or "Zara-Zaranitsa Krasnaya Devitsa" (Dawn the Red Maiden), appearing interchangeably with Maria, Mother of God. In Russian tradition, she helps in childbirth and treats babies using appellations like "вечерняя заря Соломонея." Incantations call upon three sisters—morning, midday, and evening—to dispel tоску (sadness), печаль (grief), крик (shouting), and безсонницу (sleeplessness). She is also prayed to for good harvests: "Ho, thou morning zarya, and thou evening zarya! fall upon my rye, that it may grow up tall as a forest." In Poland, three sister Zoras function as Rozhanitsy, with the Evening Zora called Wieczornica.

Did You Know?

• Zorya is etymologically unrelated to the Proto-Indo-European goddess *H₂éwsōs, yet shares most of her characteristics.
• In a later myth, three Zoryas guard a dog chained to the Little Bear; if the chain breaks, the world ends.
• The 13th-century Chludov's Novgorod Psalter depicts "evening zorya" in green holding a torch, awaiting the Sun at sunset.
• In Belarusian riddles, Zaranitsa drops her keys which the moon ignores but the sun lifts; this describes dew disappearing under sunlight.
• Zorya Vechernyaya is sometimes identified with Danica, the Morning Star.