Thiskid
Survivor
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2015
- Messages
- 21
- Reaction score
- 28
Have you ever seen a magic trick? I sure have. Many, infact, my favorites are the ones that have to do with Cryptids. Many of you might be asking, "Thiskid! What the hell is the magic of the cryptids?" Well you this cryptic magic is actually a plant. Yes, it is called the Raskovnik. It is a magical herb in Slavic and Romanian mythology. According to lore, the raskovnik has the magical property to unlock or uncover anything that is locked or closed. It could also uncover treasures buried in the ground: in Bulgarian beliefs, it could split the ground at the place where a treasure lay so that people could locate it. However, legends claim it is notoriously difficult to recognize the herb, and reputedly only certain chthonic animals are able to identify it. Bulgarian sources the raskovnik is sometimes described as a grass resembling a four-leaf clover.
It grows in meadows and may be picked either while green and blooming or in hay, when it is already dry. Who would want this magical herb? Well, the raskovnik is believed to have been sought after by treasure hunters, sorcerers and herbalists who desired its magic powers for personal benefit. In Serbia, it was believed that there exist certain treasures, such as the Treasure of Tsar Radovan, which could not be unlocked in any other way but employing a raskovnik. As, according to Bulgarian mythology and some other traditions, tortoises were the only beings who knew the appearance of the herb and the location where it grows, such people would try to obtain the raskovnik by deceiving a tortoise. They would find a tortoise nesting site and hem it in with a fence while the tortoise is away. When it returns, the tortoise would be unable to access its eggs, so it would return with a raskovnik in order to breach the fence. Thus, the tortoise would reveal the herb and people would acquire it from the tortoise, which does not need it anymore. While the tricking of a tortoise was the most popular method in Bulgarian mythology, in Dalmatia the legend refers to snakes, and among Serbs another version involves the locking of young hedgehogs in a box for their mother to unlock. In Serbia, one would also have to be quick to take the raskovnik, as the hedgehog would swallow it after use. In any case, turtles, snakes and hedgehogs are all animals with chthonic characteristics which were often variously associated with the underworld in South Slavic tradition. Karadžić also mentions another Serbian method to obtain the raskovnik. He recorded a story from the town of Zemun about a merchant who desired to find the herb. The merchant locked an old woman into leg irons and let her wander in a field during the night; if the irons unlocked by themselves at a certain place, that would be a place where the raskovnik grows.
Maybe someday I will go to Eastern Europe to find this magical herb myself. Who knows, even you may find yourself searching for this treasure.
It grows in meadows and may be picked either while green and blooming or in hay, when it is already dry. Who would want this magical herb? Well, the raskovnik is believed to have been sought after by treasure hunters, sorcerers and herbalists who desired its magic powers for personal benefit. In Serbia, it was believed that there exist certain treasures, such as the Treasure of Tsar Radovan, which could not be unlocked in any other way but employing a raskovnik. As, according to Bulgarian mythology and some other traditions, tortoises were the only beings who knew the appearance of the herb and the location where it grows, such people would try to obtain the raskovnik by deceiving a tortoise. They would find a tortoise nesting site and hem it in with a fence while the tortoise is away. When it returns, the tortoise would be unable to access its eggs, so it would return with a raskovnik in order to breach the fence. Thus, the tortoise would reveal the herb and people would acquire it from the tortoise, which does not need it anymore. While the tricking of a tortoise was the most popular method in Bulgarian mythology, in Dalmatia the legend refers to snakes, and among Serbs another version involves the locking of young hedgehogs in a box for their mother to unlock. In Serbia, one would also have to be quick to take the raskovnik, as the hedgehog would swallow it after use. In any case, turtles, snakes and hedgehogs are all animals with chthonic characteristics which were often variously associated with the underworld in South Slavic tradition. Karadžić also mentions another Serbian method to obtain the raskovnik. He recorded a story from the town of Zemun about a merchant who desired to find the herb. The merchant locked an old woman into leg irons and let her wander in a field during the night; if the irons unlocked by themselves at a certain place, that would be a place where the raskovnik grows.
Maybe someday I will go to Eastern Europe to find this magical herb myself. Who knows, even you may find yourself searching for this treasure.
