Devana, also known as Dziewanna, is the virgin Slavic goddess of the wild, nature, forests, the hunt and springtime. She is usually compared to the Roman goddess Diana as a result along with her Greek counterpart Artemis.
Description[]
Like the winter goddess Morana and spring god Jarilo, Devana is the daughter of both Perun, the god of thunder, and Mokosh, the Great Mother and protector of women. From birth, she was an independent spirit, riding horses (her symbol is a mare as well), becoming a skilled huntress, and taming wolves and foxes, who never left her side. All of this made it difficult for Perun to control her.
Devana's love of her freedom turned into an obsession, and her unrestrained femininity was unacceptable to the powerful male gods. Perun believed his daughter to be childish and arrogant. Her constant hunts and wearing her hair down as a refusal to be married to any man angered him. Then she rebelled.
Overview[]
Regardless of who each tribe saw as the chief deity, Perun or Swarog, Devana believed she should rule the three realms of the gods, the living, and the dead: Prawia (Prav), Jawia (Yav), and Nawia (Nav). When the gods got wind of the plan, Perun decided he’d had enough. He found her in the woods and roared so loud that her wolf allies were forced to flee, leaving the two of them to fight alone. Riding her mare and wielding either arrows or a spear, she charged her father, but he was too strong.
Like most gods, Devana was a shape-shifter, and in hopes of defeating her father, she turned into a lioness. But Perun matched her. Again, she transformed, this time into a bird. But Perun became an eagle and caught her in his talons. In a last effort, she shifted to a fish and slipped from his grasp. Perun watched her fall and called upon Mokosz to catch her in a fishing net. His wife answered, and Devana's rebellion was over.
As punishment for her actions, Perun forced his daughter to marry his rival, Veles, god of the underworld, cattle, and water. Devana never wished to marry and resisted, but in the end, Weles turned himself into a basil flower and soothed her soul. The stories say that while they are not in love, the two remain a powerful pair.