Leshy

The Forest Lord

**Origin:** Russia

The Leshy, male Russian forest guardians, weep when trees are cut down. Leshy is both singular and plural: they comprise a distinct category of spirits. There is more than one Leshy under the dominion of Musail, the Forest Tsar. Different Leshy have dominion over different parts of the forest; each has his own territory so to speak.

This explains the migrations of forest animals, especially unexpected ones: Leshy gamble at cards with each other, wagering with animals as their stake. When one Leshii loses to another, animals are transferred from one part of the forest to another.

The Leshy are mischievous, sometimes dangerous trickster spirits. Woodcutters, in particular, are targets: the Leshy hide their axes or cause accidents. The Leshy gets people lost in the woods by using ventriloquism or mimicking familiar voices or sounds to lure ‘intruders’ deeper into his forest.

Leshy are usually found in the company of bears and wolves. Wolves are their very favourite animals. In Slavic areas, wolves were once considered rulers of the forest, the true local kings of beasts. The Leshy, like Faunus, mediates between wolves and domestic herds. Like Faunus, the Leshy doesn’t speak or at least not like a human. He makes forest noises instead, echoing the sounds of animals, birds or the rustling of trees. Sometimes the Leshy is described as singing although never with human words. Many people describe encountering the Leshy or witnessing them in the forest. Those with actual encounters with the Leshy were often struck at least temporarily mute.

The Leshy sometimes leaves the forest looking for people. He is among those spirits accused of replacing children with changelings. The Leshy also allegedly carries off (and marries) women, although notably he prefers unattached women or those trapped in unhappy unions. Sometimes women are stolen to serve as midwives, wet-nurses, or nannies for his other women.

Legends suggest that if those kidnapped by the Leshy refrain from eating his food, they can escape his domain. Those who escape are described as looking wild and distraught; some have lost powers of speech (others allegedly have lost their minds) however still others exhibit new magical powers and knowledge, becoming exceptionally skilled shamans and magical practitioners, gifts bestowed by the Leshy.

Not all encounters with the Leshy are unhappy. Allegedly if you encounter him but get him to laugh, you’ll be safe. Sometimes the Leshy befriends people; allegedly they must then make a pact to never wear a cross or take communion. Whether this is because the Leshy is the devil or whether this is because he is an exclusively Pagan spirit who reserves his favours for fellow-travelers is subject to interpretation. The Leshy, a beast master, sometimes offers spirit-familiars (animal allies) to people he loves.

The Leshy may preside over a realm of death. Ancient Pagan Slavs once buried their dead in groves. Until the 19th century, Russians often buried suicides and unbaptized babies in the forest. According to legend, souls of those who die without last rites wander in the forest under the care and supervision of the Leshy. (Berchta.)

**Favoured People:** The Leshy insists on allegiance to Paganism. Unlike other spirits who may don the masks of saints in order to accommodate devotees, the Leshy brooks no compromise. Allegedly hunters seeking his protection and gifts must remove their crosses, swear allegiance to the Leshy and no longer swallow the host but bring it to the Leshy as proof it wasn’t consumed.

**Manifestation:** Allegedly, the Leshy casts no shadow and leaves no footprints. He commonly manifests in various forms:

* The Leshy manifests as a man. The clue to his true identity is that something is wrong with his appearance for instance, his clothes are on backwards or his shoes are on the wrong feet.
* Sometimes he appears as a man whose size dizzyingly shifts from tiny to large.
* He manifests with goat’s horns and hooves, sometimes with black fur and wings.
* Other frequent manifestations include pigs, rabbits, ravens, roosters, wolves, burning fir trees and mushrooms, especially amanita muscaria

However, the Leshy is a master shape-shifter who can assume the guise of specific people. This is one way he lures people into the forest: You think you’re following someone you know who eventually disappears; morphs into another form or is revealed as really the Leshy.

**Attribute:** Club

**Mount:** Leshy ride storm winds.

**Plant/fungus:** Amanita muscaria (fly agaric; toadstool)

**Animals:** All of them, but each Leshy is allegedly accompanied by a huge white wolf.

**Altar:** Tree stumps and fallen logs serve as altars; leave offerings there or wrap food in a clean cloth, tie it up with a red ribbon and leave at a forest crossroads.

**Offerings:** He likes simple, traditional Russian food offerings like blinis or kasha plus salted bread; cookies; candy; hard boiled eggs with shells dyed red (onion peel in the boiling water may turn the trick as will other natural dyes). He is propitiated with really good jokes. (He decides if they’re good.) The Leshy is a passionate cardplayer and gambler. In Northern Siberia, hunters allegedly earned the Leshy’s alliance with gifts of playing cards with the suit of clubs removed.

**See Also:** Faunus; Gran Bois; Leshovikha; Persephone

## Appearance in Modern Media

From CuldceptFrom Rage of BahamutFrom Brave Frontier
## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes