The name of this Slavic goddess can be traced to the old Indo-European root “mare” which is found in various expressions for “nightmare” or “death”. She is a dreadful figure of terror that is only invoked to be appeased and propitiated, especially in springtime processions that have been a feature in Slavic folklore from ancient times. During these processions, an effigy of Lady Death dressed in a white robe is paraded, adorned, and buried by either throwing it into water or burning in fire.
Morana is listed as Diana or Ceres in medieval chronicles, which would make her also an agricultural deity, with connections to the moon, the realm of the night, and werewolf cults. Her more benign face might have linked her to themes of fertility and healing, just as many other similar deities who rule over both death and bringing new souls into this realm. Some accounts tie her to the Twelve Nights of Darkness following the winter equinox, a period of time that was traditionally full of mischief and masquerade.
Morana appears as a pale maiden dressed in white with a penetrating gaze. As the Queen of Nightmares, she is in charge of terrorizing souls and dashing out punishment, and learning through hardship. She is compassion-free and rules over natural death and cycles of lack. In Slavic lands, winter was essentially a time of great test, where only those well-prepared and favored would survive. She can make you perfect your skills through the application of Darwinian laws: Only the strongest and those who adapt well to the conditions will survive.
