The Seasonal Cycle (Jarilo vs. Morana, reconstructed)
In the reconstructed seasonal cycle, Jarilo (spring/youth) and Morana (winter/death) are in opposition. The cycle is expressed in folk ritual: the 'drowning of Marzanna' (the winter-goddess) in spring, and the 'Kupala' night (the midsummer fire-and-water festival) in the height of summer [S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic[S6]S6 · Modern comparative reconstruction (e.g., Ivanov & Toporov, 'Theses on Slavic Mythology')1970s-2000sacademic. The 'spring kills winter, summer peaks, winter returns' is the reconstructed annual cycle [S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic[S6]S6 · Modern comparative reconstruction (e.g., Ivanov & Toporov, 'Theses on Slavic Mythology')1970s-2000sacademic.
Pre-Christian Slavic religion left no native written corpus. Named gods are attested (Vladimir's pantheon, 980 CE; chronicles; ethnography), but the narrative layer is largely scholarly reconstruction (Ivanov–Toporov et al.). Every reconstructed claim is badged as such.
The seasonal cycle is reconstructed from well-attested folk rituals (the 'drowning of Marzanna', the 'Kupala' night); the 'myth' itself is a scholarly interpretation of these rituals [S6]S6 · Modern comparative reconstruction (e.g., Ivanov & Toporov, 'Theses on Slavic Mythology')1970s-2000sacademic.