Contemporary Forms of Slovenian Love Charms
Saša Babič
Love was always one of the most desired emotions in history as it meant acceptance and tenderness. Therefore. people, mostly women (stereotypically (for Slovenian areas)), tried to gain love through magic, amulets and rituals, especially when marriages were mostly arranged by economic and social status. Therefore, it is surprising that there are almost no written sources for traditional love charms in Slovenian archives, though there are some descriptions of love magic rituals. In contrast, nowadays, we can find many internet sites with so-called love spells in the Slovenian language accompanied by some content explanations and also alleged historical descriptions. In this article Slovenian love spells which appear nowadays as a magic recipe for love on internet will be overviewed, their structure and content will be analysed, compared to traditional forms, and explanations within the cultural context will be given.
Keywords: charms, love, folklore, internet, e-lore, rituals, Slovenia
1. Overview of Preserved Love Charms in Slovenian Ethnical Territory
Love is defined as "the strong emotion of affection towards the other person [...]" (Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika 2, 1975: 621); or "to like another adult very much and be romantically and sexually attracted to them, or to have strong feelings of liking a friend or person in your family" (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/love) so it seems logical that people throughout history tried to gain love, especially young adults who had their whole life in front of them.
Marriages in Slovenian cultural area were most often made by economic parameters: to maintain generation and the family status. The main decision on matchmaking was made by parents; age, beauty and love were unimportant elements of new relationships. Life was much nicer and also easier if married couple gained also love and respect to each other. Love in marriage provided better life and insurance, especially for women: they were not just provided but also accepted in society. If husband felt some love towards his wife, than there were even more chances that she was not physically or mentally abused.
Love was and still is something that people also connected with force majeure, something that we don't have absolute control of, they've believed, that magic could help: with addressing this force majeure with words or ritual they could gain it and influence on their own fate. Because of this perception we would expect a rich archive on this topic, but unfortunately because of various reasons only particular practices and rituals are maintained, but none of them preserved charm words.
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Charming and magic tradition is long and strong in Slovenia, although it was highly prohibited through the history; therefore, the practice was a secret even though it was quite common in past centuries. People practiced all kinds of charms on everyday basis - to protect their health or harvest, as a protection from evil forces, to cure themselves, to gain love etc; for harder diseases charms and ritual had to be performed by the healers.
Charms were prohibited by church and persecuted in churches by preachers trying to convince listeners not to use charms - they referred to Epistle to Galatians, where any kind of magic and its practice are considered as a part of flesh (not as a part of spirit) and is even labeled as a big sin (Gal 5,19-21). Some persecutions of charms were in 19th century published also in newspaper articles.1
Charms and charming rituals were in 18th and 19th century labeled as babje cence (womanish bunk). In 18th and 19th century they were included into "everyday magic", which was performed by ordinary people (Babic 2013: 88-89). Never-the-less, folklore collectors found them interesting enough to write them down, when they got chance. Considering love charms we can find some practices, which were supposed to be performed by young, unmarried women, but there are no love charms with words preserved in the Archive of the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology at the Scientific Research Centre of Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (from now on: Archive ISN ZRC SAZU) or in the Archive of Slovenian Ethnographic Museum in Ljubljana. We could claim two reasons for lack of preservation of love incantations in Slovenian folklore archives:
1.	In Slovenian cultural area love-charming was considered as worthless, with no influence on the future and therefore wasn't accepted as real magic practice. It was more or less practice of "naive" young women, therefore these words and rituals weren't interesting enough for collectors.
2.	Until recently, most folklore collectors were men: therefore they had no real access to such material: young women did not communicate much with collectors, and they were often ashamed of believing in magic.
Even though this kind of charms were categorised as "every-day-magic" which was performed by ordinary people.
The sources about the existence of more complexed love-magic rituals, which contain ritual act, objects and words, are rare. The only information of such ritual is preserved in the Archive ISN ZRC SAZU:
I...I with 50 needles pierced heart of castrated ram and the same 50-times pierced heart of toad - these are means for love magic" (Archive ISN ZRC SAZU: Customs 128/532, from Slovenske novice 37/154 (July 9, 1904, p. 5).
According to the data on Slovenian traditional practices of love magic rituals and beliefs, we can make the following categorisation of Slovenian love magic tradition: divinations, intercessions, love spells.
1 For instance in Ljubljanski glas 2 (1883), Ljubljanski glas 3 (1884).
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Most of the love magic rituals was supposed to be performed by girls and directed towards boys.
Divinations
Divinations were used for foretelling the future husband. There are different rituals for divination of love preserved in the Archive ISN ZRC SAZU, for instance girlish divination of picking petals from daisies and for each one alternately saying "he loves me - he loves me not - he loves me - he loves me not..." with the thought of sympathy. Preserved are also sources about pilgrimage to St. Anton churches with asking "Bilo kakov, samo da je nekakov" [It doesn't matter what kind, just that there is one] (Makarovič 1985: 255). Some sources also mention that young people have knocked with their head on the beech tree, believing that they will marry for sure in the same year (Kuret 2, 1989: 519). Mentioned is also, that if a girl on the day before St. Andrew's day (November 30) ate three grains of wheat, than she would see her future husband in her dreams (Archive ISN ZRC SAZU: Customs 32/1167: Navratil 1896: 21). Girls also made a ritual with a mirror and water with the goal to see their future husband in the mirror:
Da smo tele znat, katirega fanta bomo mele, in smo napraule no mičkeno ogledalo, ma bomo riekli špeglo, znaste, ja in smo čakale, znaste, smo mogle součt, toku po vrhi, ja, sej znaste, kakšne smo bli, koku je blo. In smo mogle tieč anih uosen buotou okoli tisto špegle, prez da bi prelit uode, ne, je biu en škaf uode zduole pod tisto špeglo in puol smo komej čakale, da kakšna slika bo bla, nu smo vseh ostale, ke ni blo nič, ne, ... (Merku 1976: 70).
[To get to know who will be their future husband they've put down a small mirror, then they had to run eight times around that mirror not spilling any water, because under that mirror was a bar of water and then they've waited whose reflection will show in the water]
They made divinations also with sowing plants, like beans: girls have sowed bean seed on the corner of field. When bead grew a bit, it showed the direction in which girl is supposed to get married. Empty space - where bean didn't sprout showed the way to girls (Vraževerje na Slovenskem 1963-64: 26). Or if girls put onion under pillow on St. Thomas (December 21), she was supposed to dream about her future husband (Ovsec 2001: 144).
Intercessions
Intercessions were usually performed either by women who were of the age when they should get married but didn't have a fiancé yet and they tried to get one, or by married couple for happy marriage. Rituals for getting fiancé were performed either when the moon was full or on marriage-helpers' or intercessors-saints' days: St. Anton Padovanski (June 13), St. Anton Puščavski (January 17) and St. Neža (January 21); birth of love was symbolically connected with the name-days of spring Saints: St. Vincencij (January 22), St. Valentine (February 14) and St. Gregor (March 12) (Ljubezen je v zraku 2000: 23).
For intercessions were often used plants with symbolic value of love:
- Marjoram (majaron) as the symbol of love was put by men in the button-hole of their shirt or behind the hat. On the right occasion man gave the marjoram to chosen woman and she put it under pillow as »marjoram ties harts together«. (Archive ISN ZRC SAZU: Customs 31/418).
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-	Celandine (krvavi mlečnik): if married couple gives it under the pillow, than they will live in peace and harmony, with no argues (Archive ISN ZRC SAZU: Customs 31/419).
-	If an apple is in water all night and then a person washes his/her chest with this water, he/she will be happy in love (Archive ISN ZRC SAZU: Customs 32/1168).
Love Spells
Most popular Slovenian love magic ritual was a ritual with a handkerchief which had some variations: When girl takes new handkerchief, she cleans her sweat with it and then she cleans with the same handkerchief the chosen boy's sweat on the dance floor. If she does it correctly, the boy will fall in love with her (Vraževerje na Slovenskem 1963-64: 26).
Another variation of this ritual is that a girl takes a piece of white bread, she rubs it on her chest and then gives it to eat to the chosen boy; if he eats that piece of bread, he falls in love with that girl (Fieldwork:Podzemelj, 15. 8. 2015).
The only black magic spell for unrequested love was that abandoned girls/women prayed Lord's Prayer backwards for one year with a thought about the boy/man who loves or married another woman; after one year that boy/man was supposed to die (Archive ISN ZRC SAZU: Customs 5/819).
Slovenian tradition has many variations of rituals for love magic and given examples are just some to give illustration about these traditions. As already emphasized, the Archive gives data only on rituals without charm-words. Never-the-less we are trying to compare popular love charms to Slovenian tradition.
2. Modern Love Charms
Today media is full of love texts in songs, movies; writers and poets have sung the praises to love ( Dante, Shakespeare, Prešeren). It seems that love used to be the feeling of affection and respect towards the other and the feeling which created good relationship to go through life. In the second half of 20th century Hollywood movie industry made omnipresent and dominant myth on love: "intoxicating dreams and often unfulfilled longing by the crowd of yearning addicts" (Ljubezen je v zraku 2000: 3). In modern societies love is supposed to be structurally essential, or at least it is believed to be: love towards one-self, love as a basis for marriage, love for children and friends, love towards work etc.
Concept of romantic love is nowadays prevalent in western world. In this manner of romantic love and under the influence of commercialised movie-industry new love-spells were published in books and on internet. The burst out of love magic in Slovenian cultural area has in 21th century started with the movie Practical magic (1998), which thematises black and white love magic. Later followed some other movies and television series on magic, including love magic. Under the influence of Hollywood productions also magic as ritual was romanticised and transformed into spiritual praxis, often linked with common new-age-perceptions, often called Šamanizem za vsak dan [Shamanism for everyday] (www.sensa.si 28. 3. 2016). Popular internet sites also contain new definitions of magic as "to spread the good, to defend oneself from evil" (magazin Okultist: http://revija-okultist. com/arhiv-revij/, 24. 3. 2016). The basis of magic nowadays is supposed "to be power. Everything that exists comes from power. Magic is the form of directing it into definite act and purpose" (Ažman 2013-14: https://issuu.com/faceforce/docs/savinaatai_01/60).
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Although charms weren't written down in the history, because people belived that in doing so they wouldn't loose their power, nowadays authors of charms claim that by writing it down the charm increases its power. They refer to so called Book of Shadows2 which was supposed to be written by witches in the middle ages because they belived that words gained on power every time they were written down (Jersek 2000: 7-9).
Most love charms in Slovenian cultural area are accessible in different books of spells, either translated, as in 2007 translation of Nicola de Pulford's book The Book of Spells: Over 40 Secret Recipes to Get Your Own Way in Love, Work, and Play, or from Slovenian authors, for instance Marjetka Jersek's book Knjiga urokov (Book of Spells, 2000), or on internet, where are usually published charms, with no author cited or they are transcripted from books. Internet sites containing love charms are mostly promoting spiritual world, numerology, different occasionally changed elements from mythologies, there are different spiritual advices and also other spells to ease everyday life - all as an opposite to materialistic world; materialistic world is presented as the worst evil for our soul.
Form of modern love charm is most often in a form of short poem with rhyme or written by following rhythm pattern which has its sacral use and is a verbal element of wider ritual. This form of ritualized words confirm the anchored concept of powerful declared words: every declared word has influence on further happenings. Love rituals most often use objects, i. e. transfers: object carries symbolic meaning and provides intercession to gain result (Dapit 2001: 143). Most often the object is red candle: red as a color of love and candle as a source of fire, which represents a 'fire of love'. Plants as Venus transfer are also supposed to intense the power of magic. Love charms are supposed to perform on Fridays as it is Venus day.
Most often cited Slovenian love spells nowadays are taken from Jersek's Book of Spells (2000). The author declared herself as creator, writer and artist. Her love spells and also other spells are "fairy spells, which are a form of my fairy poetry and I have created them by my own". There are some copies of her texts published without her permission and cited as Romany tradition,3 which she strictly denies. Never-the-less she must believe in the power of her words and poems as she claims that these charms can help us in our everyday functioning and wishes. Jersek claims that love charms gain more power if one lights the incense with the flavour of rose or jasmine in performing ritual. Writing the spell down or rewriting spells anneals their power, that is also "why witches were supposed to write magic formulas down into so called Book of shadows, which became thicker and thicker through generations of performing magic" (Jersek 2000: 11). She suggests singing her charms to melodies which are made up by the charmer. Love charms "are most effective if we perform them on Friday as it is dedicated to the planet of love, ie. Venus" (Jersek 2000: 11). Also other sources give similar instructions and hints and emphasize the mystical and romanticized perception of magic, mostly love magic. They link it with certaine colors (red as color of love, green as color of nature etc.), materials (silk), special esoteric terminology and linkage to sprites or spirits and so called "world-soul" [svetovna dusaj. Even amulets for love or other phenomenon are thought to be in the possesion of sprites.
People who perform magic are supposed to be spiritually on higher level and with deeper insight into "other world", most often they refere to the world of the sprits.
2	It is often cited, that witches were supposed to write in so called Book of Shadows, which was going from one generation to another: there should be written different spells, witch's experiences etc.
3	http://www.pomurec.com/vsebina711189/Romsko_vedezevanje_in_ljubezenski_uroki
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3. Categorisation of Modern Love Charms
Also nowadays love charms and rituals can be categorized in three groups: divinations, intercessions and love-spells.
Divinations
Divinations seem still very attractive in the field of love; questions about love are also among most often questions on the foreknowledge broadcasts. Therefore it doesn't surprise, that there are many instructions how to find out who will be one's future love.
Na dan polne lune izgovorite naslednji urok: „Sončni kralj in polna luna, združena ljubezen njuna, iz dolin in iz bregov k meni pride človek nov." (Jeršek 2000: 10)
[On the day of full moon say: "Sun king and full moon, gathered their love is, from valleys and shores to me new man comes."]
Če se želite izogniti dvomom v ljubezenski zvezi: «V kraljevskem času ni napak." (Jeršek 2000: 11)
[If one doubts in love relationship, one should say: "In kings time there are no flaws."]
The only modern love charm that has references to Slovenian tradition was so called Eva's spell, published in on-line magazin about healthy life:
Evin urok: pomaga, da v sanjah odkrijete svojo pravo ljubezen: jabolko in šipek naj bi že od nekdaj bila povezana s čustvom ljubezni; dve polovici jabolka naj bi predstavljali ljubimca. Z zakopanim jabolkom najdemo svojo resnično ljubezen, pečke pa priložnost, da ljubezen vzkljije. Obred naredimo ponoči: ko ustvarite primerno vzdušje, vzamete v roke jabolko in nož. Medtem ko režete jabolko na polovico, izrecite čarni izrek: "Jabolko ljubezni, razkrij svoje mi srce, naj ljubezem k meni pride, razodeni mi ime." (Ažman 2013/2014: 60)
[Eva's Charm should help to discover true love in one's dreams: apple and dog rose were supposed to be linked with love from ancient times; two halves of apple presents two lovers. Buried apple should bring the true love, and the seed gives the opportunity that new love will grow. The ritual should be performed by night, when the atmosphere is appropriate. One takes in hand an apple and a knife. While cutting the apple on two halves, say magic words: "Apple of love, reveal me your heart, let the love come to me, reveal me the name."]
Intercessions
Intercessions have the same function as they used to have: to maintain good relationship or marriage. There were not many to be found; it seems that for intercessions are more important amulets - bought or made with plants in pouch.
Za trajno vzpodbudo in vstop trdne, srečne ljubezenske zveze v nas večni vsakdan:
„Tukaj in zdaj zveza se spleta, v ljubezen ujeta večnost obeta."
(Ta urok uporabljajte po mlaju do polne lune, vendar nikakor od polne lune do mlaja.) (Jeršek 2000: 12)
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[For eternal encouragement and strong love in our everyday: Here and now love is binding, in love the eternity caught is promised. (This spell should be used after young moon till the full moon, but never from full moon till the young moon).]
Love Spells
It seems that nowadays love spells to make someone in love became more popular as they used to be in Slovenian cultural area. We can find many of them, lots of them are general: to get love in one's life, not with particular person in mind. One of sites even claims that love spells for charming love directly are the most often ones (http://www. premium-vedezevanje.com/uroki).
Urok za privabljanje večne ljubezni v naše življenje: „V ljubezen ujeta večnost se spleta." (Jeršek 2000: 10)
[To gain love into our life: "In love caught the eternity winds."]
Da bi med nočnim sprehodom srečali svojo simpatijo:"Kokodakanje v temi prikliče speve petelinov." (Jeršek 2000: 11)
[If one is wandering in night streets and wants to meet the sympathy: "Cackle in the darkness evokes the song of roosters."]
Ste osamljeni in bi se radi zaljubili:"Za moje stanje je rešitev v enosti združitev." Ali: "Naj kri mi preplavi spet srčne prekate in v ljubezen povrne misel me nate." (Jeršek 2000: 12)
[If one is lonely and wants to fall in love: "For my state is the salvation in oneness unity" Or: "Let my blood fload the heart ventricles again and in love goes my thought back to you.]
Za partnerjevo zvestobo: "V brezčasje se spletaš, mi zvestobo obetaš." (Jeršek 2000: 12)
[For the partner's fidelity: „Into timelessness you are weaving, loyalty you are promising."]
Imate skrivno simpatijo in si želite se več druženja z njo (njim): Na Venerin dan, v petek, izgovorite: „Od neba do srca razpredava čas, od neba do srca prepletava glas." (Jeršek 2000: 13)
[If you have hidden agreeable feelings towards someone and you want to mingle with him/her more: On Venus day, i. e. Friday, say: From sky to heart we are spinning time, from sky to heart we are spinning voice.]
Hlepite po sanjskem zmenku ali srečanju z moškim ali žensko svojih sanj?
Uresničujte svoje najlepše sanje s tem urokom: „Sladke sanje gredo hitro v klasje. Vsaka srčna bajka naj takoj dobi kotalke!" Ali: „Zdaj je pravi čas, da grejo sanje v klas." (Jeršek 2000: 13)
[To get dream date with a person of your dreams: Sweet dreams bring fruit quickly (go fast to the ears). Every fairy tale of love should immediately get roller-skates! Or: Now is the right time for dreams to bear fruit (go into ears).]
Bi radi odprli oči svojemu prijatelju, da bo spoznal vajino globoko povezanost?
V zvezdnati samoti jasne noči izgovorite urok: "Jaz sem tvoja dobra vila, ki s tabo večnost bom delila." (Jeršek 2000: 13)
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[To open eyes to your friend for him/her to realize your deep connection: "I am your good fairy, I will share eternity with you."]
Ljubezenski urok s svečo:
Na rdečo svečo z ostrim predmetom zapišite svojo ljubezensko prošnjo
nato pa svečo prižgite in počakajte, da se vosek z zapisano željo stopi
Med gorenjem nato izrecite spodaj napisani urok
(X nadomestite z imenom osebe, ki je v vaših mislih)
Dragi X, začuti moj dotik.
Dovoli, da plamen zaneti stik.
Naj bo svobodna izbira tvoja,
da je vredna te ljubezen moja.
Poišči me, pridi k meni.
Poljubi me, me razveseli.
Ostani za vedno, ne jemlji slovo.
To je moja volja, tako naj bo. (http://www.premium-vedezevanje.com/uroki) [Love spell with candle:
With sharp object write your love wish on the red candle
Than light the candle and wait that wax melts the wish. While burning the candle say these words:
Dear X, feel my touch Let the flame start the contact. Let it be your free will, That my love is worth of you. Find me, come to me, Kiss me, make me happy. Stay forever, don't say goodbye. This is my will and let it happen.]
Urok Goreča strast:
Na papir zapišite ime vašega ljubimca
papir nato zažgite. (http://www.premium-vedezevanje.com/uroki)
[Spell 'Burning Passion':
Write the name of your lover on the paper
And then burn the paper.]
4. Love Magic and Plants
Magic is linked to plants even nowadays, although Slovenian tradition doesn't seem to have much influence on contemporary love magic. The explanation is that every plant is carrier of some special power of some natural element. Having it around (sewn flower in clothes) of consuming it, can change the proportion of power in him or her and consequently gaining what one wishes. Charms with plants are included in all three love-charm categories: divinations, intercessions and love magic. Plants which influence on love is called Venus plant (http://www.slovenskenovice.si/lifestyle/astro/venerine-rastline-za-vec-ljubezni, 28. 3. 2016):
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-	Aster supposed to influence strengthening the love (men have to put it behind ear); to meet true love (seven dried and grinded flowers should be in little magic pouch from grass-green silk by the heart); single people can get partner if they put seven flowers under bed seven evenings in a row - this can also reveal their lifelong-love in their dreams; if aster is on the garden then family will be in harmony.
-	Peach: little branch of peach tree with sprouting leaves is well in magic rituals; dried flowers in a green silk magic pouch guaranties love at home; the one who is in love should have a little peach branch on by the bed seven days and nights in a row, while watching the branch, a person should think of his/her beloved one: if flowers wane fast, then his/her love is in partnership with someone else, but if flowers are nice even after eight days, then it is a promising love - after seven days the person should bury the branch into ground.
-	Caper: one should keep dry flowers of caper in a green magic pouch under pillow for seven days in a row. Then this person should make dinner for the chosen one, so that he/she puts exactly seven capers in the dish. After dinner the love should burst out.
-	Cardamom: is carrier of water power that is why it should wake love and passion: person should have a green silk pouch of cardamom seeds around neck; the same pouch can be put under pillow, for seven days, on the eighth day the person has to bury it in the ground. It is supposed to be wise to give to the chosen one also the dish garnished with cardamom - it is supposed to be natural aphrodisiac.
Some other internet sites recommend pea, cherry, ginger, apple, beans, chestnut, jasmyn, lemon balm, mint etc. (http://www.visia.si/carrastline.htm). None of popular pages mention rosemary as a much known love-plant.
5. Conclusion
Love was and is one of most desired emotions through the history. It ensured easier every day and safety to some point. As emotion it was and still is conceptualized as force majeure to which we have little influence, at least in the rams of rationality. Therefore it comes appropriate to use magic to address such force majeure. Although we put such magic as charms in the history, we have to point out, that belief in magic sustained; referring to Borisov (1980) we can conclude that even though the progress of humankind was enormous, the mind remained on the level of magic understanding of the world, which corresponds to the first level of medical progress, when illness was understood as consequence of magic. Therefore we have many authorial spell books and even more Internet sites with descriptions of different rituals. Going through archival material in Slovenian cultural area shows that new love charms, which are authorial, don't base on the tradition. Only a few references could be linked to new descriptions of rituals, like for exp. deviations with apple. Even more obvious is the change in choosing the plants with symbolic meaning for love magic: most of them aren't from Slovenian tradition; actually none of the traditional plants is mentioned.
Basing on the chosen texts, we can conclude, that tradition has very little influence on the contemporary Slovenian love magic, which is accessible in books and on internet. Not only that the texts are lost, even rituals seem to be forgotten. Magic in general, especially charms are romanticized under influence of western media. The biggest influence seems
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to have Hollywood movie-industry and American perception and form of these charms, stereotyped objects, like red candle, some foreign plants or fruits and different incenses.
Texts of Slovenian modern love charms are authorial, more or less rhymed but definitely with rhythm pattern. Used metaphors are either generalized symbols of love in western world as fire, red color, or the metaphors are product of author and we cannot find any connection with tradition.
Addressee of modern love charms are supposed to be adults, to be more specific - one cannot get rid of the feeling that all spell books and internet sites are addressing women, also with references to witches from middle ages, their books, Sabbaths and powers. Most definitely the addressee has to be susceptible for spiritual, new age and esoteric topics as most of charms are published in magazines and sites with such themes. We cannot find any love charms or any other on forums or blogs - all love charms were published in articles or special internet sites. Those love spell that are not authorial from Slovenian author, seem to be all translated from foreign magazines; also articles on Venus plants are translated and not even adjusted to cultural area where they are published.
Modern love charms and charming has not much in common with Slovenian folklore tradition, therefore we can research it only in comparison or dialogue with it or as common cultural phenomenon and relict of old beliefs and rituals from some space, not necessarily the one, where the material is published.
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Vel'mezova, Ekaterina V. 2004: Češskie zagovory. Issledovania i teksty. Moskva: Indarik. Tolstoj, Nikita I. 1995: Jazyk in narodnaja kul'tura. Očerkipo slavjanskoj mifologii i etnoling-
vistike. Moskva: Indarik. Toporkov, Andrej 2009: Russian Love Charms in a Comparative Light. Charms, Charmers and Charming. International Research on Verbal Magic. Hampshire: Palgrave Mac-millan, 121-144.
Vraževerje na Slovenskem. Od mlajše kamene dobe do amuletov 20. stoletja. Ljubljana 1963-1964.
Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika, II. knjiga: I-Na. Ljubljana: DZS. 1975.
Internet References
http://www.orakelimweb.de/zauber.htm
http://www.slovenskenovice.si/lifestyle/astro/venerine-rastline-za-vec-ljubezni, 28. 3. 2016 https://issuu.com/faceforce/docs/savinaatai_01/60, 25. 3. 2016 http://revija-okultist.com/arhiv-revij/, 24. 3. 2016 http://www.sensa.si 28. 3. 2016
http://www.marija.si/gradivo/kkc/iii-razlicnost-grehov/, 25. 3. 2016 http://www.grid.si/marjetka_jersek/, 20. 3. 2016
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Contemporary Forms of Slovenian Love Charms
Sodobne oblike slovenskih ljubezenskih čaranj
Saša Babič
Ljubezen je bila vedno ena od najbolj zaželenih čustev, saj je prinašala sprejemanje in nežnosti. Zato so jo ljudje poskušali pridobiti tudi s čarnimi amuleti in obredi; stereotipno je na območju Slovenije veljalo, da to počno predvsem ženske. V preteklosti, ko so bile poroke večinoma dogovorjene glede na gospodarski in socialni položaj, pa so bile te prakse še toliko bolj aktualne. Z njimi so poskušali doseči ljubezen ali vzdržen partnerski odnos v zakonu. Zato je presenetljivo, da v slovenskih arhivih (arhiv Inštituta za slovensko narodopisje ZRC SAZU in arhiv Slovenskega etnografskega muzeja v Ljubljani) skoraj ni pisnih virov o tradicionalnih ljubezenskih urokih, najti je mogoče le nekaj opisov ljubezenskih čarovnih obredov. Po drugi strani pa so danes dostopne številne spletne strani s t. i. ljubezenskimi uroki tudi v slovenskem jeziku. Pojasnitve in navodila pa se pogosto sklicujejo na dolgo tradicijo (ljubezenskega) čaranja v preteklosti.
V prispevku je podan pregled besedil in opisov obredov sodobnih ljubezenskih čaranj, ki se pojavljajo na spletu in so objavljeni v knjižnih objavah slovenskih avtorjev. Ob tem pa je bila nakazana primerjava s starejšim gradivom, s čimer so bile nakazane vzporednice s slovensko tradicijo. Izkazalo se je, da se (znani ali anonimni) avtorji ljubezenskih urokov bolj malo opirajo na slovensko tradicijo. Večina urokov v knjigah in na spletnih straneh se sklicuje na stereotipne prakse čarovnic iz srednjega veka. Največ ljubezenskih (pa tudi drugih) urokov je objavljenih v revijah in na spletnih mestih z ezoteričnimi vsebinami in nagovarjajo naslovnika, ki je dovzeten za spiritualizem, t. i. new age in ezoterične teme. Zdi se, da so ljubezenski uroki večinoma avtorsko delo ali pa prevodi iz tujih revij; tudi prispevki o t. i. venerinih rastlinah so v celoti prevedeni in se niti ne poskušajo prilagoditi našemu izročilu, npr. magične lastnosti pripisujejo eksotičnim rastlinam, ki jih na Slovenskem niso poznali.
Sodobni slovenski ljubezenski uroki nimajo veliko skupnega s slovenskim folklornim izročilom, zato jih lahko raziskujemo le v dialogu z njim ali pa kot skupni kulturni fenomen in relikt starih verovanj in obredov, ki pa niso vezani na naš kulturni prostor.
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