Perun, the god of thunder and lightning and the one ranked the highest in the Pantheon, is fashioned with a beard made of bronze and armed with a shield and an ax which he uses to slay sinners and evil spirits. He hurls his ax at his enemies and summons bolts of lightning before it returns to his hand. Perun exterminates demons that scourge across the skies with fiery arrows from his war chariot — what later became known as thunder and lightning to the world.
Veles, a sworn enemy of Perun and previously also the god of war, now oversees the land, water, forest, and the underworld. Veles takes a half-human and half-snake form, with horns of bulls on his head, a thick coat of fur, and a long beard. He herds cattle in the Land of Death while controlling wealth, rewards, music, and the night. He is an expert in magic and trickery.
Pursuing Veles across the Earth, the enraged Perun cares not for the things that Veles shapeshifts to hide behind and strikes them down with indifference, even the humans. The mischievous Veles climbs from the damp underground to steal Perun's cattle, wife, and children.
On the last night of February, Perun's
Jarilo didn't like to spend his life underground. He is the god of youth and life with the powers of reproduction and plant growth. At the end of winter, Jarilo would return to Earth and use the full extent of his powers as the god of springtime and war to drive the cold and darkness away. This process was difficult but necessary to bring about spring to the world.
Jarilo was first noticed and welcomed by the goddess of nature and death, Morana, who is Perun's daughter and Jarilo's sister. The two quickly fell in love and celebrated their wedding in the summer. The sacred unification of Jarilo and Morana symbolized a promise of fertility and lush vegetation. It also meant a temporary peace between Perun and Veles, and the late summer harvest would be successful and bountiful.
However, Jarilo was not a faithful husband. In retaliation to his disloyalty, Morana killed Jarilo and used his corpse to build a new home. Without her husband, Morana gradually became a depressed old witch. The frightening and dangerous goddess of death would bring about a cold bitter winter. Morana would die at the year's end, being reborn as Vesna. At the same time, Jarilo would also be reborn and the myth would start all over again.
The endless cycle of life and death continued for a long time. The unfaithful Jarilo getting killed after the autumn harvest and the lonely Morana dying at the end of the year. The two gods were reborn and fell in love again, ensuring the bountiful harvest every year. It wasn't until one year when Morana killed Jarilo as usual, but the house she built was weak and collapsed. With no shelter in the frigid winter, Morana's anger could not be contained any longer, and she no longer accepted her fate of reconciling with Jarilo every year. As the goddess of nature and death, she placed a cruel curse on herself — the next time she died she would no longer be reborn as Vesna, the goddess of youth and springtime.
The curse worked. This time, while Morana did became a dangerous witch in her solitude, she didn't die at the end of the year. The cold and darkness raged on, far greater than ever before. It even continued to span across the following year. When Jarilo was reborn into this desolate place, Morana finally died, never to be reborn. Faced with the ruthless winter, Jarilo realized that he had made a mistake. Spring would not come this year, and Jarilo could not face the cold nights alone.
In his desperation, Jarilo decided to look for his father, Perun, chief of the gods, to seek repentance and forgiveness. Having heard the story of the two, Perun sympathized with Morana, but could not accept her curse. Without spring, the world would slowly die in the cold winter nights. The wise Perun pointed out Jarilo's sin of arrogance, and prophesied — should Jarilo once again be able to offer his eternal love and loyalty to Morana, only then will her anger be quelled.
The proud Jarilo fell into a deep depression, and the cold storm continued to rage on even till the autumn harvest. At the end of the story, the remorseful Jarilo offers to sacrifice his reincarnation, swearing everlasting and deep loyalty to his deceased lover. Perun's prophecy came true. Jarilo's remorse and longing turned into a warm and forgiving spring that covered the land and protected the people, enabling them to live happily and peacefully on in the snow-torn world.