Mėnuo
Mėnuo (Latvian Mēness, Old Prussian Menulis) is the Baltic moon, a male deity and the moon itself, whose waxing and waning the dainos explain through the celestial wedding: he marries Saulė, is unfaithful with the morning star (Aušrinė or Auseklis), and Perkūnas cuts him with a sword, which is why the moon wanes.
Baltic religion has no native planetary, zodiac, tarot or sabbat system: the Moon primary, the Cancer/Pisces/Aquarius affinities, the tarot cards and Yule are modern Western and Neopagan overlays. The tradition's own account is primary - the moon as a young husband cut for his infidelity in the dainos - and its own calendar is the lunar month and the solstices, not the Wiccan wheel.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Moon
Offerings
- Offerings
- SilverMilkHoney
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Mėnulis (Lithuanian)Mēness (Latvian)Menulis (Prussian)
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- The MoonThe Young ManGroom of the Sun
- Symbols
- CrescentSilver coinHareMirror
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneQuiet night addressAddressMėnuoMoonYoung ManRelationshipThe cycle you can see and countWarningThe waning moon is his wound and his shameResonanceNight workers and keepers of time
- Modern Practice
Mėnuo is kept by counting: the new moon named, the full moon marked, silver and milk left out, and no oath sworn on a waning moon. The practice is timekeeping with attention - the calendar read off the sky rather than off a page.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- MoonNightCyclesTimeThe night sky
- Mythology Summary
Mėnuo (Latvian Mēness, Old Prussian Menulis) is the Baltic moon, a male deity and the moon itself, whose waxing and waning the dainos explain through the celestial wedding: he marries Saulė, is unfaithful with the morning star (Aušrinė or Auseklis), and Perkūnas cuts him with a sword, which is why the moon wanes. He is one of the Dievo sūneliai, a son of Dievas, and a measurer of time and seasons rather than a ruler of the dead. The evidence is the daina corpus, not a cult archive, and the story exists in several regional variants.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsSilverWhiteBlueBlackScentsJasmineSandalwood whiteMyrrhMetalsSilverElectrumAnimalsHareOwlWolf
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