It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to dive into the topic of the Yav, the Prav, and the Nav in Slavic mythology, but honestly, it’s such a complex subject that I wasn’t sure I could really do it justice. Since in the next novel of the Chronicles of Storm, Declan is going to face the forces of Chaos again, I thought it’s time to finally talk about it.
As always, a quick disclaimer first. I’m not a specialist in Slavic mythology or the spiritual philosophies of ancient world creation. My goal here is simply to give you a quick overview so you can get a better grasp of these fascinating concepts. So, let’s explore this together!
How it all started...
According to Slavic mythology, Rod, the god Creator of All Things, brought order to the world by separating the dark particles of Chaos from the light ones. This idea is important because it suggests that Order isn’t about eliminating Darkness but about creating a balance where Light and Darkness can coexist. The ancient Slavs understood that for anything to grow and evolve, you need both. Progress happens in the place where Light and Darkness meet.
Darkness is not evil. Only Chaos is…
In Slavic culture, Darkness wasn’t seen as evil, only Chaos was seen as such. Chaos comes when Light and Darkness stop balancing each other. So, it’s Chaos that represents the worst kind of evil, not the Darkness itself. The Slavs believed that Darkness was actually essential for the world to develop and for life to keep moving forward toward the Light. It is this understanding that led them to divide the world into three distinct realms—the Yav, the Nav, and the Prav—which are equally important.
The World Tree.
According to the Slavic lore, the Yav, the Nav, and the Prav are connected by the World Tree. This tree grows right in the center of the world, and its massive root system wraps around the Alatyr stone, which is the heart of it all. Each part of the World Tree represents one of the realms. Just like the roots of the tree, the world of the Nav lies beneath the Alatyr stone, deep underground. The trunk represents the Yav, the world we live in. And the branches reach up into the world of the Prav.
The Gods of the Slavic Pantheon
One of the things I love about Slavic mythos is that the gods aren’t locked in some perpetual battle against each other. The light gods of the Prav and the dark gods of the Nav aren’t at war. Instead, they work together to keep the natural balance.
What’s interesting is that most Slavic gods can’t move freely between these worlds. The dark gods of the Nav don’t show up in the Prav, and the light gods of the Prav can’t enter the Nav. Only one god—Veles, the god of the Three Realms—can travel freely through all three Slavic worlds.
The Yav
The Yav is the world we see and experience every day. It’s the physical reality where we live in, surrounded by people, animals, and nature. But it’s also home to spirits of nature, lesser gods and elemental gods like Mother Earth, Stribog, the god of Winds, Agidel, the goddess of Water, and Semargl, the god of Fire. Hors, the god of the Solar Disk, and his sister Divia, the goddess of the Moon, also spend a lot of time here.
The Nav
The Nav is the most mysterious and, honestly, the most intimidating of the three worlds. It’s the home of the dark gods whose job is to destroy everything that no longer belongs in the Yav. After death, souls journey to the Nav to be purified before they’re reborn. But not all souls make it through this process. Some become evil spirits—Navijs. While people often associate the Nav with evil, it’s important to remember that the Nav plays an essential role in the Slavic universe, maintaining the natural balance.
The Prav
Finally, we have the Prav. The Prav is the realm of the light Slavic gods. According to Slavic myths, the Prav is made up of nine heavens. Svarog (the god of Fire of Justice and the Father of All Gods) lives in the seventh heaven. He’s the one who judges disputes among the gods. The gods of the Prav help people grow, learn new skills, and live with integrity.
According to Slavic beliefs, the Prav is the world of divine law and order. It’s the moral compass that guides everything else and the force that keeps Light and Darkness in balance, ensuring that the world doesn’t fall back into Chaos.
The understanding of the balance created between these three realms is crucial if you really want to dive deep into Slavic myths. It’s not just about Light versus Darkness or Good versus Evil. It’s about how all these elements work together to preserve natural balance. And that, to me, is a pretty amazing way to look at the universe.
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I hope you enjoyed diving into the magic and mystery of the three Slavic Realms and the World Tree that connects them.
If the stories about the World Tree resonate with you as they do with me, why not carry a piece of that inspiration with you? I’ve created a design that captures the essence of the World Tree as it is represented in the Tales of the Salamanderverse.
It's available on T-shirts, phone cases, mugs, stickers, and more over in my Teepublic Store.
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