In Slavic tradition, the word ‘zagovory’ refers to verbal incantations thought to cast spells. The word itself means roughly ‘that which is performed with speech’. Practitioners used particular words, pronounced in a special way, as they performed their rites.
The tradition of zagovory is based on pre- or non-Christian beliefs, with frequent reference to sacred trees and to celestial bodies such as the sun and moon. It was an integral part of life in Slavic regions until the religious authorities decided to crack down on it from the mid-seventeenth century onwards. In response, the tradition adopted Christian themes and imagery, with the names of figures such as Jesus frequently invoked in more recent iterations of the tradition.
