In the Julian calendar-observing Orthodox Slavic world, May 31 this year is Trinity Sunday or Pentecost (Duhovi in Serbian, literally “Spirits”), making the Sunday prior the start of Rusal’nalia Week.

During this liminal time of year, where Nature and the Otherworld interpenetrate one another, the class of female water spirits known as rusalki are believed to be able to leave their watery abodes of rivers and lakes and sojourn on land. Their whims are their own, but as I explain in the third chapter of my book Slava! Slavic Paganism and Dual-Faith Folk Ways (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2026), the hope is that these water spirits will fructify vegetation, from wild plants and herbs to farmers’ fields.

In Serbian folk belief, rusalki are regarded as transformed souls of women and girls who died by drowning; they are thought to be manifestations of the Unclean Force (Nečistaja Sila in Serbian). They’re intrinsically hostile to mortals—women in particular—and this week is a physically and spiritually hazardous one. Staying away from bodies of water, limiting time in the outdoors—even gardening—are encouraged this week.

If one must venture out into wild spaces, carrying a bit of fresh or dried Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) is highly recommended. It’s the one herb rusalki can’t tolerate.

On Pentecost or Holy Trinity Sunday, as the rusalki return to their watery abodes, land-based folk magic that is actually performed in church takes center stage. Coinciding with the early summer phenomenon of grass-mowing rituals in many West and South Slavic countries, field broom (Cytisus scopiarus) is hand-mown and strewn across the floors of Orthodox churches. During the Trinity Sunday Divine Liturgy, which has to be presided over by a regional bishop, a triple invocation to the Holy Trinity is performed, everyone kneeling.

While in that position,the folk magic consists of literally weaving your magical intention into little wreaths comprised of the grass blades. These venice (plural) are kept or given as gifts of Apotropaic or Healing Magic to folks who could benefit from them.

The photos below are ones I’ve taken at New Gračanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Third Lake, Illinois, on Trinity Sunday, 2022.

This year, I’ll be at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois. The Divine Liturgy begins at 9 am. I invite anyone in the area who is interested in this folk magic practice to email me at annatheserbianwitch@circleofrodu.com and join me for an unforgettable experience of authentic Slavic folk magic weaving!

Slava! / Glory!