Rod and rozhanitsy

 Rod was the god of the sky, thunder-storm and fertility. He was spoken to be riding a cloud, throwing the rain on Earth and because of this children were born. Rod is the sovereign of the Earth and the whole creation, he is the pagan god - the creator.

In Slavic languages the root "rod" means kinship and birth, water (rodnik), profit (urozhay), such concepts as people and the homeland, what is more - the red color (rdyany) and the lightning, especially spherical, named "rhodium". This variety of single-root words, undoubtedly, proves the greatness of this pagan god.

Rozhanitsy — the anonymous goddesses of fertility, abundance, well-being were the companions of Rod. Their image goes back to the ancient Olenikhy, however Rozhanitsy are the life keepers.

According to the most ancient conceptions of Rozhanitsy they were thought to be the two heavenly goddesses, the bearers of rain, but the belief in them as the defenders of young mothers and small children kept for the longest time.