Heavenly patron of the airborne forces. Intricate patterns of LJ sketches

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The one dollar bill has a large number of symbols that are interpreted by many as Masonic. And there are people who scrupulously look for hidden meaning in its individual elements. The version that these signs were made to combat counterfeiters is not a priority for them.

Letter

This sign is hard not to notice, and it’s not secret here at all. The letter identifies the specific Federal Reserve bank where the bill was printed.

Among the letters are: “G” - Chicago, “F” - Atlanta, “B” - New York, “A” - Boston, “C” - Philadelphia, “D” - Cleveland, “E” - Richmond, “N” " - St. Louis, "I" - Minneapolis, "J" - Kansas City, "K" - Dallas, "L" - San Francisco.

Unknown creature

There is more than one guess about this tiny icon to the left of the one in the upper right corner. Some believe that it is an owl, others see a skull and crossbones in it, and still others claim that they actually see a spider, explaining this by the presence of a “web” behind the number “1”. There is also a version that this is an ordinary blot that no one noticed in those years.

Latin inscriptions

It is said that during the Great Depression, the authorities decided to call upon the occult sciences to help the nation emerge from a protracted economic crisis, which explains the Latin inscriptions: Annuit coeptis- “Start time”, Novus ordo seclorum- “A new order for centuries”, E pluribus unum- “Out of many, one.”

Number 13

This number has a special role on the small green piece of paper. Namely: an eagle with a shield clutches 13 arrows and an olive branch with 13 leaves and fruits; 13 horizontal and 13 vertical stripes are drawn on the shield, and 13 stars are depicted above the eagle’s head; the pyramid has 13 brick levels, 13 vertices in total in two parts of the pyramid (8 in the large lower part and 5 in the floating upper part) and 13 tufts of grass next to it, and especially attentive people noticed that the Latin inscriptions Annuit coeptis And E pluribus unum consist of 13 letters.
There is an assumption that this figure symbolizes the 13 former colonies from which the United States was formed.

Eye

In God We Trust

There are many legends about how this inscription appeared. One of them is this.

During the Gold Rush, many people traveled to the Wild West to make their fortune in the gold mines. In those days, there were a lot of different securities floating around the country. When someone in the saloon tried to pay for a glass of whiskey and steak with bills and other crap, he was refused. The man asked in bewilderment:
-You don't believe in debt?
He was invariably answered:
- We trust God, the rest pay in cash!
This phrase then sounded like this: In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash.

Roman numerals

At the base of the pyramid there is a code "MDCCLXXVI". This is the Roman numbering: M - 1,000, D - 500, CC - 200, L - 50, XX - 20, VI - 6. The total is 1776 - the year in which America became an independent state.

Many of us, without a doubt, have held the US dollar in our hands at least once in our lives; we often use them to calculate our income, expenses and store savings. However, few people paid attention to what was depicted on the treasured banknotes and thought about the meaning of these images. Meanwhile, if you look at the back of a one-dollar bill, you can find a very curious thing: there is a pyramid drawn there with an eye in a triangle “hovering” above it. The pyramid is located on the left and is placed in a circle, and its top is truncated. At the base of the pyramid are written the symbols MDCCLXXVI. At the top of the composition is the inscription “Annuit Coeptis”, and at the bottom of the ribbon you will read “Novus Ordo Seclorum”.

Questions arise: what kind of pyramid is this, what does the eye on the dollar mean, what is the meaning of the words and symbols, and what does the image of the pyramid do on the national currency of the United States of America, which is unlikely to have anything to do with Ancient Egypt? But there is no single interpretation of the drawings and inscriptions depicted on the reverse of the dollar, and two main versions can be distinguished: official and occult, which differ quite seriously from each other. In addition, the attention of researchers is attracted not only by the mysterious pyramid with an eye on the dollar, but also by a number of other images and inscriptions.

The official version of the transcript of the images on the dollar

The image of a pyramid with a “floating” eye, enclosed in a circle, is part of the Great Seal of the United States, as is clearly written on the banknote: “The Great Seal of The United States.” What does “Great Seal of the United States” mean in English? On the right side of the bill is a bald eagle with thirteen arrows and an olive branch in its paws. This bird represents the national symbol of the United States and is also part of the Great Seal.

The modern design of the $1 bill was adopted during the Great Depression in 1935 under President Roosevelt.

Franklin Roosevelt and Henry Wallace himself initiated changes to the design of the banknote. Some researchers attribute the design of this banknote to Sergei Makronovsky (Russian emigrant Nicholas Roerich, who, according to popular belief, was hiding under a pseudonym and was a famous mystic, artist and theosophist). Others believe that Roerich did not participate in the work on the bill, and the design was developed by Edward M. Weeks, an official from the Ministry of Finance. It is worth pointing out that the Great Seal of the United States itself appeared long before the existence of all these people, namely in 1782. That is, they only decided to put long-existing images of state symbols on the one-dollar bill, and did not invent them themselves.

The truncated pyramid on the dollar consists of thirteen levels, which represent the 13 states from which the United States was originally formed. The mysterious inscription MDCCLXXVI is in Roman numerals and spells out the year 1776. Many will immediately have a reasonable question about what this year means for the United States to be honored with placement on the banknote. The answer is quite trivial: this year the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America was adopted.

Occult interpretation of the symbolism of the dollar bill

The second version of decoding the images on the reverse of the one-dollar bill is much more interesting and mysterious for ordinary people. It is based on the assumption that Masonic symbolism and the “magic” of the number 13 are used here. So, the symbol of the priests of Ancient Egypt - a truncated pyramid, according to some supporters of the occult theory, reflects the so-called crowd-elite model of society, and the eye at the top personifies the deity Masons. His eye, which sees and knows everything, rises above the world, being the “invisible ruler.” Below the eye is society - a collection of bricks that together make up a stable pyramid.

The pyramid in question consists of a magical number of tiers - thirteen, and each of the bricks represents a separate state or people with their currency. The geometric figure symbolizes a kind of incompleteness of humanity without an imperious “top”. "Annuit Coeptis", as translated by occult scholars, means "blessed by the Almighty", and its meaning is interpreted as the right of the "chosen" class to rule the world in accordance with the will of the Almighty. Who exactly is the Almighty is not specified. Some even believe that Lucifer is implied. Three properties are often attributed to the “Eye” symbol: miracle, power and mystery.

1. The secret is that we see the eye, but we do not see the personality.
2. Power is the all-seeing and all-knowing eye.
3. The miracle is due to the fact that the eye is not part of the pyramid and hangs in the air above it.

It is believed that Freemasons profess a scheme for governing the world, which is a specific pyramid of knowledge. Its different levels receive a different system of knowledge and different degrees of truth revelation. Supporters of the occult theory interpret the arrows in the left paw of the eagle in the image on the right side of the bill as a symbol of knowledge and strength. They are called upon to pacify or even kill enemies in case of disobedience. Moreover, each of the arrows is presented to researchers as a threat to each of the thirteen levels of “enslaved humanity.”

Researchers also found an interesting composition in the inscriptions crowning the upper and lower parts of the pyramid. So, if we take the word Ordo located below (contains 4 letters) as a starting point and move further in a clockwise direction, we can find that each subsequent word is exactly one letter longer than the previous one: Novus - 5, Annuit - 6, Coeptis - 7 and Seclorum - 8, forming a kind of circle. Moreover, if you combine the letters M, A, S, O and N (you need to take one from each word), you will get a six-pointed Star of David, but, according to supporters of the occult theory, “it’s easy to figure out a pentagram from the text” on your own. since the dollar represents a classic example of an encrypted occult symbol. Namely, the number of words forms a pentagram, the number of letters creates a circle in which the pentacle is inscribed, and the output is an image of a hidden magical symbol.

However, to complete the picture, the pentagram lacks the well-known “number of the beast.” But researchers also find it on the dollar. Thus, the top of an imaginary pentagon is a kind of pointer to the middle row, the number of stones in which is six, and the same number of stones in the adjacent rows. So, in three consecutive tiers of the pyramid (from the sixth to the eighth) the same number of stones is placed, equal to six, from which it is concluded that the creators of the image encrypted the number 666 in the center of the pyramid. Researchers do not forget to mention the fact that the width of a 1 dollar bill is 66.6 mm.

Occult meaning: coincidence or fact

There is a peculiar confrontation between two powerful theories describing the meaning of the images on the reverse of the $1 bill. The most controversial question is what the eye in the triangle above the pyramid means. Interpretations are very diverse.

Some theorists of symbolism refer to Masonic designations as the “all-seeing eye” located in a triangle above the pyramid, but this eye appeared much earlier than the Masonic lodge was formed. Thus, scientists discovered different versions of the symbol in the heritage of the ancient Egyptians. It is possible that the Freemasons could have adopted ancient Egyptian symbolism.

The phrase Annuit Coeptis is also controversial and can be translated as "the time of the beginning" (in which case it should be attributed to the Roman numerals at the base of the pyramid, which indicate the year of the creation of the new independent state - USA, 1776), or "he promoted our beginnings" ( then it most likely refers to the floating eye). It should not be ruled out that the authors could have meant both meanings at once. In this case, doubts arise about the sacred meaning of this inscription. Novus Ordo Seclorum is translated in most sources as "new world order". This phrase can be interpreted both in an occult sense and in the context that with the formation of the United States, England’s world domination and its colonial system were significantly undermined.

Official interpretation of the image

It is worth noting that the official version of the interpretation of the images and inscriptions on the back of the one-dollar bill is based primarily on historical facts, and the occult theory, although presented quite harmoniously, even within itself does not have single absolutely identical interpretations; numerical matches with Masonic symbolism and numerology have been found in mostly in encrypted form (although this is logical if we assume that the occult theory is true).

Supporters of the occult meaning of the symbols on the dollar proceed from the initial premise that the design of the one-dollar bill was supposedly developed by the freemason Nicholas Roerich, but his role in this process is not an indisputable fact. We also note that people often like to attribute sacred meaning to many phenomena and events in their lives.

Every version and every opinion has the right to exist (especially if they have a basis in the form of evidence), and a person decides for himself which one to accept. In this case, both the official version and the occult one may be correct; their mutual intertwining and simultaneous truth are even possible.

In April 1864, the US Congress passed a law allowing the mint to place the phrase "In God We Trust" on coins, later adopted as the official motto of the United States. We will tell you some interesting facts about the American dollar...

In God We Trust

Until the mid-20th century, only the unofficial US motto was used on dollar coins and bills - E pluribus unum (Latin: “Out of many, one”), the 13 letters of which correspond to the 13 states that formed the Union. This slogan was adopted in 1782, when the Great Seal of the United States was approved. The national emblem was first minted on a five dollar gold coin in 1795.

The motto In God We Trust began to be placed on American coins largely due to the growth of religious sentiment during the American Civil War. Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase received many letters asking for God to be marked on coins. The first such appeal dates back to November 13, 1861 and was written by an evangelical priest named Watkinson from a small town in Philadelphia.

On the eve of the President's annual report to the US Congress, where he was supposed to touch on financial issues, the pastor wrote: “I propose that instead of the goddess of liberty, we place next to the 13 stars a ring with the inscription Perpetual Union (Latin for “eternal union”), on the inside rings the all-seeing eye, surrounded by a halo, under it is an American flag with the number of stars equal to the number of united states, and on the sides the words: God, Liberty, Law.” From Watkinson's point of view, no citizen could resist such a coin, which would save America from humiliation and paganism.

A week after this, Chase sent instructions to the director of the Philadelphia Mint, James Pollock, to develop a national motto, as short and concise as possible, which would reflect “the faith of our people in the Lord.”

In December 1863, the director of the mint presented designs for the one-, two-, and three-cent coins. He proposed Our Country, Our God or God, Our Trust as a motto. Chase approved of these versions, but made some changes to them, rearranging parts of the first (Our God And Our Country), and turning the second into In God We Trust.

It turned out that in January 1837, Congress passed a law defining the slogans and elements that were required to be placed on coins, and the decision to change them could not be made without the federal legislature. Congress authorized the mint to use In God We Trust when striking coins on April 22, 1864. The following March, legislation was passed allowing the mint to place the motto on gold and silver coins with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.

The motto disappeared from nickels in 1883 and did not reappear until the Jefferson Nickel was issued in 1938. Since then, this inscription has been applied to all US coins.

In 1956, Congress declared "In God we trust" to be the official motto of the United States. The following year, the first paper money with this inscription appeared in circulation. By 1966, all dollar bills began to praise the Lord.

In God We Trust is also the state motto of Florida. Its Spanish version - En Dios Confiamos - was minted on coins of the Republic of Nicaragua until 2012, until it was replaced by the “Cordoba Centenary” in honor of the century of circulation of the national currency.

Color

The first dollar bills were gray-green. A unified financial system in the United States appeared only in 1861, when Congress ordered the Treasury to issue banknotes in denominations of $5, $10 and $20.

A huge number of banknotes required a lot of ink, and since green was already used for the production of money paper, and it was quite cheap, they began to use it. In addition, the green paint was quite resistant to external influences. The need to produce colored banknotes was also driven by the advent of photography and the ease of reproduction of currency printed only in black ink.

When dollars began to make their way into the southern states after the Civil War, they were given the name greenbacks, and then the word was shortened to “bucks.”

Dollars became monotonous green in 1929, but in the last ten years they have been printed again with the addition of other colors. A year ago, the US Federal Reserve announced the introduction of a new $100 bill, which, among various anti-counterfeit features such as watermarks and special threads, also has new colors.

The "100" number in the lower right corner of the front and back of the note is copper-colored, and the bell on Benjamin Franklin's inkwell changes color from copper to green.

Conspiracy theory

In 1935, during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, images of the front and back of the Great Seal of the United States appeared on the dollar bill, and since then, adherents of conspiracy theories have found many Masonic signs in its appearance. Roosevelt himself was a representative of the Grand Lodge of Georgia to the Grand Lodge of New York, and reached the 32nd degree of the Scottish Rite.

The decision to create the Great Seal came after the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. This issue was dealt with for six years; several successive commissions were involved in the development of the emblem. There were no Masons among the authors of the final version, but they worked with the first sketch, in the creation of which Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, who belonged to the Freemasons, were involved.

The obverse of the note features the first President of the United States, George Washington, who was also a Freemason.

One dollar bill

On the reverse side of the banknote, to the right of the denomination, the obverse of the Great Seal is depicted. It features a bald eagle, the national symbol of the United States. He has arrows in his right paw and an olive branch in his left, while the number of arrows, leaves and olives is 13, which corresponds to the number of the first states of the Union, but conspiracy theorists already see this as a Masonic number, since by 1782, when the emblem was approved, the states there were already 14. Above the eagle there is a halo with stars, the number of which, again, is 13, while they form intersecting equilateral triangles that make up the Star of David.

The reverse side of the Great Seal, which appears on the banknote to the left of the denomination, causes much more hysteria. At its center is a truncated pyramid with an eye in a triangle at the top. Some believe that it belongs to the Great Architect of the Universe or even the satanic deity Baphomet, although the “All-Seeing Eye” has been a very common symbol of iconography since the 17th century, and the rationale for such an image is contained in the Bible.

Masons adopted this symbol as a reminder of the all-pervading gaze of divine providence only in 1797, that is, 15 years after the adoption of the national emblem.

The pyramid is crowned with the inscription Annuit Coeptis, which has no subject or tense and therefore can be translated in different ways, from “our undertakings are blessed” to “he (God) has blessed our undertakings.”

The Latin phrase under the pyramid is Novus Ordo Seclorum, meaning “new order of the ages,” but adherents of Masonic theory interpret it as “new world order.” Actually, the pyramid in their understanding symbolizes this new order, although in the official version the growing rows (there are also 13 of them) of the pyramid under construction illustrate the formation of the United States, which began with the advent of the new American era.

This era begins with the date indicated at the base of the pyramid in Roman numerals - MDCCLXXVI, that is, 1776, when America became independent. But even in this, conspiracy theorists see signs of a global conspiracy, laying out the numbers that make it up this way and that. For example, if you divide nine Latin letters into triplets (that is, M - 1000 D - 500 C - 100; C - 100 L - 50 X - 10; and X - 10 V - 5 I - 1), and place them at the vertices of the triangles so that the first letter in each triple is at the top (that is, 1000, 100 and 10), then the numbers at the base of the triangles will give the satanic number 666 (500+100, 50+10 and 5+1).

Despite the fact that sketches of both sides of the seal were approved in 1782 and 1841, the blank for its reverse was never made. Since the 1880s, this image has not appeared anywhere until, according to legend, Roosevelt came across it in some brochure and decided to put it on the banknote.

Masonic signs are found not only in the impressions of the Great Seal, but also in other design elements of the one-dollar bill. For several decades now, a certain Joseph Marquis has been trying to open people’s eyes to secret signs, who claims that he belonged to the Illuminati until he knew God. He discovered a hidden “Illuminati owl” in the upper right corner of the front side of the bill, and a winged demon with a skull face in the lower left corner of the back side.

Amero

In 1999, Canadian economist Herbert Grabel of Fraser University published the article "Arguments for the Amero: The Economics and Politics of North American Monetary Union." In it, Grabel proposed the concept of a single currency for the United States, Canada and Mexico, which would replace the American and Canadian dollars, as well as the Mexican peso.

Amero banknotes

In 2005, in Texas, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, US President George W. Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox created the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership, which greatly concerned the world community and revived the debate about the Amero currency. The creation of the Partnership was supposed to be the first step towards building a North American society. In May 2005, the Council on Foreign Relations, which aims to explain to the world the goals of US foreign policy, published a report that contained a plan to redraw the borders of three North American states and create a Union.

Then the host of the radio program “The Hal Turner Show,” Harold Turner, posted on his website photographs of Amero coins, which the Treasury had allegedly already begun minting. Proof that the coin was real would be the letter D engraved on the lower right side of the reverse of the coin, indicating that it was made by the Denver, Colorado Mint.

The reporter put forward the idea that the US government deliberately wants to cause panic among its citizens so that they will voluntarily accept the merger of the three countries as the only possible option to avoid economic disaster. At the same time, according to Turner, only Mexicans could benefit from the creation of the North American Union, since pesos are cheaper than Canadian and US dollars.

Turner was immediately accused of slander and falsification of facts, and a website “fictitious Amero coin” appeared, which displayed the same photographs that the reporter showed. In response to this, the journalist gave more and more arguments in favor of a conspiracy between the three countries, including claiming that the United States sent 800 billion ameros to the China Development Bank in anticipation of the collapse of the national currency.

In the end, everyone was so tired of him that Wikipedia users made a change to his page on this resource, writing that he died on October 13, 2007. Turner, however, is still alive, and living quite an interesting life. So, in August 2010, he was sentenced to 33 months in prison for threatening to kill three federal judges. He was released in 2012, but he is not allowed to appear on the radio for several more years.

During the existence of the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership, US foreign debt continued to grow and by 2009 reached $13 trillion, which fully justified the need to introduce a new currency in the eyes of Amero adherents. However, after six meetings held by the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States from March 2005 to August 2009, this association ceased to exist.

Elijah's Day in ancient Rus' was always celebrated with a religious procession and a solemn prayer service in all churches on August 2 (July 20, old style). In the Middle Ages, a prayer service in Moscow was held at Lobnoye Mesto on Red Square, and then the clergy, led by the patriarch, and the entire Orthodox people went to Ilyinka, the oldest one, where they served the liturgy.

Elijah's Day is celebrated by all Orthodox peoples; the Prophet Elijah is revered not only by Christians, but also by Catholics, and also by Muslims – Ilyas, and Jews – Elijah, whose name is translated: “My God is the Lord.”

The veneration of the prophet Elijah as the intercessor of the Russian land during the Time of Troubles especially intensified. All historians mention the alarm that sounded from the bell tower of the Elias Church on May 17, 1606 and called on the people to start an uprising against False Dmitry I and expel foreigners from Moscow - Poles, Lithuanians and Germans. And the people, who rose up against foreigners at the calling sound of the bell of the Church of St. Elijah, have since considered Elijah the prophet the intercessor of their Fatherland.

The tradition of Ilyinsky religious processions to Red Square to Lobnoye Mesto lasted in Moscow until the revolution, and in 2003 this tradition was revived again.

The airborne troops are the elite of the Russian army.

Hundreds of military personnel are gathering today in the center of Moscow - at the Temple of Elijah the Prophet, the heavenly patron of the Russian Airborne Forces, celebrating the 85th anniversary of the creation of the Russian Airborne Forces.

Professional holiday - Day of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation is celebrated in honor of the first drop of a group of 12 paratroopers during training exercises for aviators near Voronezh in 1930. Now more than 45 thousand people serve in the “winged guard” troops.

Today, the ancient Ilyinsky Church of the capital has become the central temple of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation, where soldiers attend a prayer service on the Day of Remembrance of the Holy Prophet Elijah, their heavenly patron.

The abbot of the Moscow Novospassky Monastery, Bishop Savva of the Resurrection, and Bishop John of Slavonia (Serbian Orthodox Church) led a solemn prayer service on Red Square.
« Paratroopers are people who fearlessly perform their duty; they are likened to the prophet of God Elijah, who was a zealot for the glory of God. Elijah's heart did not tremble before those who tried to take his life, he fearlessly denounced the powers that be - it is not surprising that the paratroopers chose just such a heavenly patron for themselves. He zealously carried the word of God, and you care about the glory of the fatherland“,” Bishop Savva (Mikheev) emphasized in his address to those gathered at the Execution Ground.

Today, near the walls of the Kremlin on Red Square, there will be demonstration performances by paratroopers of the Ryazan school, and a parade of cadets of the Russian Airborne Forces, a festive concert will be held, and a field kitchen will be opened.

Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin congratulated veterans and fighters of the Airborne Forces on their professional holiday, noting that thousands of soldiers and officers serving in the Airborne Forces “passed difficult tests of strength with honor” and preserved the laws of military brotherhood and courage.

In the Moscow region, on the territory of the military training ground in Alabino, the “International Army Games - 2015” (“Army-2015”) started today. At the opening ceremony, speeches were made by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Sergei Shoigu, and the Commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov.

Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov, said that 11 training grounds equipped for the International Army Games 2015 will be used by Russian military units and formations after the competition to improve combat training all year round.

"Uncle Vasya's Troops"

One of the unofficial names of the Airborne Forces units is “Uncle Vasya’s Troops” - in honor of the legendary Soviet general Vasily Margelov, who commanded the Airborne Forces in 1954-1959 and 1961-1979.

Dmitry Rogozin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Board of the Military-Industrial Commission of the Russian Federation, the Naval Board under the Government of the Russian Federation, promised to continue to pay special attention to equipping the RF Armed Forces with modern weapons and equipment and re-equipping the legendary “Uncle Vasya’s Troops.”

Their motto speaks about the tenacity of the Airborne Forces soldiers: “ Knocked down - fight on your knees, if you can’t walk - attack while lying down.”

Since the times of Ancient Rus', Elijah's Day has been considered one of the main Christian holidays of the year. On August 2, it is customary to honor the prophet Elijah, who lived in the Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC. According to legend, he was a zealous champion of Judaism and devoted his life to denouncing idolatry. Among some peoples, Ilya, like the ancient god Perun, is considered a thunderer. In addition, the saint is the heavenly patron of the Airborne Forces, which celebrate its birthday on August 2.

Why Ilya the Prophet is the patron of the Airborne Forces

On August 2, Russia celebrates one of the most beloved holidays by the people - Airborne Forces Day. Soldiers in blue berets celebrate it widely, and those of them who consider themselves Orthodox say, not without pride, that on the same day the Church remembers the prophet Elijah. Therefore, recently the saint is increasingly called the patron saint of airborne troops. This is not surprising, because in the Christian religion Ilya is revered as an “air warrior.” According to legend, God's prophet, who lived 900 years before the birth of Christ, has not died to this day. He ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire.

Why did Elijah the Prophet drag away an hour and throw a piece of ice into the water?

Since ancient times, many folk proverbs and sayings have been associated with the name of the prophet. One of them - “Ilya the prophet dragged away for two hours” - is associated with a change in the length of daylight hours. It was believed that after July 12, when the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul is celebrated, it is shortened by an hour (“Peter and Paul reduced the hour”), and after Ilyin’s day - by two.

Ilyin's Day is a kind of boundary between summer and autumn. From August 2, according to the folk calendar, cold matinees began, and the water was considered unsuitable for swimming. This was often explained by the fact that a deer dipped the horns or hooves of a deer in it, or the saint himself threw a piece of ice into the water (hence the proverbs “Ilya the Prophet threw a piece of ice into the water”, “Ilya the Prophet dropped a lump of ice”).

Other signs and customs on Elijah’s day and the life of the prophet Elijah

Elijah is one of the biblical prophets who predicted and prepared the coming of Christ and a new creed to earth. The image of the saint was captured in the Old Testament. According to legend, his father had a vision: some men “twined the baby Elijah with fire” and gave him a fiery flame instead of food.

Elijah's main feat was his fight against the apostate Ahab, who worshiped the pagan god Baal. In order to convert the king to the Jewish faith, the prophet predicted: there would be neither dew nor rain until he said otherwise. The prediction came true - drought and famine began, lasting three and a half years. Ilya at this time was in voluntary exile, and, if you believe the story about him, he lived in solitude, and the crows brought him food.

Three years later, Elijah challenged Ahab to see which of them was able to stop the famine. Ahab gathered 850 priests of Baal, but Elijah acted alone - and won, causing torrents of rain. When the king tried to seize the prophet, heavenly fire scorched the soldiers, and the last detachment sent by the king went over to the side of Elijah. According to legend, at the end of his earthly journey the prophet was transported to heaven on a fiery chariot without experiencing death.

Most of the signs and customs associated with the day of Elijah the Prophet relate to the onset of autumn, weather forecasting and harvesting. On Elijah’s Day, it was strictly forbidden to work in the field: the cut hay or the collected bread would not be used for future use; they would be burned by the holy Thunderer, angry for disrespect. It was believed that bad weather began with this holiday, all evil spirits returned to the water, so it was forbidden to swim. If you believe the signs, rain on Elijah’s Day foretells a good harvest for the next year.

Also for this holiday, it was customary to bake the first loaves of the new harvest, which the whole village enjoyed, to organize religious processions and to pray to the prophet for rain or, conversely, for clear weather - depending on what was more needed.