Veles (god)

Uncommon card · No. 100326

Veles, also known as Volos, is a chthonic god of the underworld in Slavic mythology, described in contemporary sources as a cattle god (skotij bogъ), but according to various hypotheses, he had a much broader sphere of influence. His function as protector of cattle may be connected to both wealth and rule of the underworld, which was imagined as a pasture where human souls grazed. Through comparative methods, he can be interpreted as a deity of magic, knowledge, divination, and poetry. As the guardian of the boundary between the world of the living and the dead, he was also a god of the wilderness, hunting and animals. He was also a guarantor of oaths, punishing their violation by "turning them yellow", most likely a metaphor for a form of jaundice. His mythological nature and powers are similar, though not entirely identical, to those of Varuna, Velnias, Odin (marginally), Hermes, Afsati and Hades. Reconstructionists speculate that he may directly continue aspects of the Proto-Indo-European...

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