Water and Fire

Water and fire, the two opposing forces governing nature, were worshiped during Midsummer Night. On that night the two opposites joined together: fire with water, light with dark, man with woman and the thunder in the sky with the land.

The most important rituals were connected on the one hand with the setting of fire (the ritual of spark striking, burning bonfires, burning candles), on the other hand with immersion in water (the ever-present symbol of bath and the scene the river bank).

On Misummer Night sobótki were burned in forest clearings. It is thought that the name (first recorded in 13th century) may have originated from the name of the holy mount of Ślęża called sobótka due to the ritual light burning on it. References to ritual dances by women around the fire also come from the 13th century. During Midsummer Night various herbs were put into the fire, e.g. mugwort, Saint-John’s wort, elder, burdock, pimpinella, leaves and twigs of hazel. The smoke of burned herbs was to protect oneself from witches, bad spells and all evil.

This night also imbued water with special qualities. According to folk beliefs, it was only on St John’s Day (24th June) that you could take a bath safely, especially if the water was “thundered,” i.e. if there were thunderstorms and midsummer rains before. Immersion in water made the human body stronger, healthier and beautiful. The bath ensured mutual love, successful marriage and happy motherhood. Therefore one of the meanings of the name Kupalnocka might have originated from the words kupało and kupała, which meant bath in the language of the eastern Slavs.

According to some legends the union of fire with water, repeated in Midsummer customs, was associated with a rite whereby a priest presented the joining of opposites: fire burning in water. This was done by tricky manipulations of torches burning over the water.


Barbara Błońska (monthly 'Karnet')