This painting of Saint Christopher looks kind of creepy

Lovely thread that mentions something I came across years ago but there is not a lot of source material available in English on it, the keeping of a snake in the home to be honored as a tutelary spirit. I had read that they were honored with offerings including a bowl of milk, so the image of the girl handing a bowl of milk to the snake caught my eye. This thread mentions the Belorussians, but I had read the practice was more widespread among Northern Europeans.

Remember, snakes keep down the rodent population. Rodents spread disease and ruin your food stores. So there’s a practical reason they would be viewed as suspicious for the wealth and prosperity of your family lines.

But, cats a cuter and perform the same role 😛

https://mobile.twitter.com/Skytallets/status/1293560806559358977

We are each nodes along the web. One by one we awaken, one by one we light up, one by one we begin to pulsate outward. And, before you know it, the web is glowing and we have changed our fate.

Rusalki & Wilas - water nymphs, and mermaids from Slavic mythology

Wilas dancing

Vilas (Le Villi, 1906) as represented by Bartolomeo Giuliano

Rusalka, 1928, by Sergey Solomko

The Rhinemaidens by Arthur Rackham