How to protect yourself from evil spirits
On the coming Tuesday, March 2, the Orthodox Church remembers two saints at once – the great martyr Theodore and the righteous woman Mariamne. In the national calendar, this day was called “Tirana and Kikimora”. What can and cannot be done at this time?
The name of Saint Theodore Tiron in Russia was simplified to the familiar “Fedor”, and his nickname was transformed by the popular mind into “Tyrant”. In this regard, even legends appeared that assured that Saint Theodore was at first cruel and rude to those around him, but then changed his mind and began to defend people.
On March 2, they prayed to this saint that the stolen things would be found and the missing people would return home. Old-timers said that on the day of the saint’s memory, prayer to him has special power.
By the way, what was stolen that day was also searched for with the help of special rituals. To find out the thief’s name, it was necessary to take a sieve and stick scissors into it. Then it was required to insert the index fingers into their rings. After that, holding the structure in balance, the names of the suspects in theft should be pronounced. On what name the sieve suddenly turned – he stole it.
What else needs to be done on this day, according to popular belief:
– sprinkle the house with holy water;
– light a lamp and read prayers;
– at dawn, read the conspiracy against evil spirits (it had to be repeated two weeks later).
The last demand was due to the fact that on March 2, the Russian people honored the memory of another saint – the righteous Mariamne. This specious eldress turned into a kikimora in the minds of the Russian people. Scientists have not been able to find out the reason for such a metamorphosis, but our ancestors always portrayed Saint Mariamne as an old woman of small stature, considered her the wife of a brownie or a goblin.
At the same time, it was to this saint that our ancestors turned with a request to protect him from the tricks of the kikimora. For this, on the second day of spring, a conspiracy from evil spirits was read.
What to do was strictly forbidden:
– swearing and scolding (they said that this attracts evil spirits);
– overeat;
– open the doors to the house wide;
– to dissemble.
On March 2, the period of winter wedding weeks ended in Russia. The time after it was considered ideal for fortune telling. In early spring, the girls again tried to find out if they were destined to get married this year. To do this, they went out into the street. If a woman was walking towards, it means that the fortuneteller will meet her betrothed in the near future.
By the way, looking at the sky at the beginning of March was extremely undesirable. It was believed that if you saw a shooting star that evening, you would become seriously ill or even die.
Name days on March 2 are celebrated:
Anna, Marianna, Maria, Mikhail, Nikolay, Pavel, Porfiry, Roman, Fedor.