Latvian Mythology - Celestial Deities

Celestial Deities

There are various reconstructions of Latvian mythical space, but most researchers agree on the meaning of certain features related to the sky. The sky itself is identified as Debeskalns (which means "Sky Mountain"). The sky is also referred to as Mountain of Pebbles, Silver Mountain or Ice Mountain, with the adjectives probably referring to stars or snow. It has also been suggested that Dievs (God) is also a symbol of the sky because the etymology of his name seems to be related to sky. Dievs is considered to be the supreme deity. Other related deities include the goddess of the sun, Saule, who ensured the fertility of the earth and was the guardian of the unlucky, especially for orphans and young shepherds. Her path leads her across the mountain of sky to the sea, which is sometimes interpreted as a symbolic representation of the sky or cosmic ocean. The sea and other bodies of water, including rivers, especially Daugava, seem to mark the boundary between worlds of the living and the dead. In Latvian, the word for "the world" is derived from the word for "the sun" and these worlds are referred to as "this sun" and "that sun". Therefore it seems that Saule is also closely related to the concept of death. She apparently carries the souls of the dead across the sea to the world of the dead. Her daily movement can thus be related to the cycle of human life with her being reborn every day.

On the path of the sun, in or by the water, often on an island or rock in middle of the seas, is the Austras koks (tree of dawn) thought to represent world tree or axis mundi, it is usually described as a tree, but can also be variety of other plants or even objects. Nobody has ever seen the tree, although folklore purports that many have searched all their lives. Still it has been suggested that its natural counterpart might be the polar star or the milky way. It has also bee proposed it might be symbol of a year. The tree is related to celestical wedding mythos in which sun or her daughter is courted by Dieva dēli (sons of god), Auseklis (Venus) or Pērkons (Thunder).

Also, as in Latvian the word for daughter (meita) also stands for maiden, it is uncertain who exactly is getting married. However this does not affect how mythical events transpire. The male deities spy on the solar deity at the world tree, prepare a bath for her, tease her and so on. Eventually she is abducted and wed (it has been suggested Saule’s husband is moon god Mēness). This angers Pērkons, who strikes the world tree, so weeping Saule has to pick up its bits for three years and then resemble them, finishing with the very tip on the fourth year.