Veles and Rulership

One thing I discovered upon my research on Veles is that in the Primary Chronicle, Volos (which is assumed to be another name for Veles by some) is considered to be a god related to cattle and peasants while Perun is associated with the ruling classes. Which oddly enough does not particularly fit my personal experience of Veles himself. I do see some aspects of his cattle associations, but mostly in the context of cattle being things of value – a kind of movable property – which aligns very well with his wealth associations. It is also his association with wealth that makes me associate him more with the ruling classes than with peasants. He is also a magician, used to using trickery (not unlike many politicians) and is clever and uncanny. Which makes me wonder if Volos and Veles are really the same god or if Veles is viewed differently in different contexts.

But regardless, what is relevant to my personal practice is that Veles is very much associated in my mind with rulership and sovereignty. It’s a thing I’ve been working on mentally, that and Koschei’s connection to the same thing, albeit in a different sort of way. I know of a lot of people who talk about sacred kingship and queenship and perhaps my path is taking me down a route similar to that, but I am not certain of what. I’m not entirely certain if it’s the same thing as what others are talking about when they are talking about their various sacred rulership roles, but from what I understand it starts with taking responsibility for oneself and for one’s own actions. It starts with personal sovereignty and personal boundaries.

Perhaps that is only as far as Veles wants to take me. It’s a good lesson for anyone to learn.  Maybe he will take me farther than that. One thing I’ve learned with my work with him is that I can’t really predict where this path will take me. Divination is not exactly something I’ve been doing a lot of as a result and am actually being discouraged from relying on too much. Much of the reason for this is because I have a tendency to try and grip on things too hard and not let them go and so I have a tendency to try and divine things over and over again to reassure my anxious brain just because I don’t exactly get what I want.

So I will let the cards lay where they fall and deal with what is given me and expect nothing other than that I am capable of handling what comes and that other people are worth trust. And perhaps, that is another lesson of sacred rulership for while one should look forward, you also have to expect that you cannot foresee everything and sometimes, just sometimes, you can’t plan every detail ahead of time. Besides, a good prince knows to trust his people and if he can’t trust them, well, why does he consider them his?