Slavic Pantheon

Lada, the White Lady of Spring

The White Lady of Spring

The Spring Greeting

Lada, bright mother of the thawing world, you who open the earth with a single warm breath, come into this house. Smooth the quarrel from my speech, the frost from my heart, the bitterness from my table. Where you walk the wheat stands straight and lovers keep their word. Let my life be a field you would gladly cross.

Spoken standing, with a window opened however briefly, and a flower or green branch laid on the altar cloth.

Ideas for Offering

  • Set the first flowers of the year in plain water and leave them until they fade
  • Braid a red thread or ribbon and tie it to a living branch outdoors
  • Bake a small round loaf and share it with someone you have quarrelled with
  • Sing rather than speak the prayer; Lada is honoured in vesnyanki, spring songs

Accepted Offerings

  • Wheat, rye bread, and round baked cakes
  • Fresh spring blossoms — apple, cherry, lilac
  • Honey, milk, and sweet kvass
  • Red embroidery thread, ribbons, and woven wreaths
  • Painted eggs and wooden combs

Offering Taboos

  • No wilted or bought-in-haste flowers; the bloom must be fresh or gathered by your hand
  • Do not petition her in anger, and never curse another at her shrine
  • Avoid iron blades left bare upon the altar cloth
  • Her rites belong to the light half of the year; keep deep winter quiet