Slavic deities from Poland (part 3): God Łado
Łado (pronounced: wa-doh) or Ładzic is the mighty god of fire, war, order, law, and spring revival. His name is derived from the word “ład” meaning order and harmony.
In the oldest Polish chronicles he is always the first to be mentioned. Making obeisance to the Sun and adoring Łado was observed even as late as the battle of Grunwald (1410) - during the times when Poland was supposedly fully Christianized. In the oldest sources his name was Latinized to Lado or Alado, and compared to the god Mars.
The tree dedicated to Łado is the oak. His attributes and symbols include the Sun, isosceles cross (solar symbol), shields, weapons (paritcularly spears or arrows). His sacred animals are the horse and the rooster. In his honour (as well as that of Lela / Łada, his consort) both women and men performed a sword dance in the spring - those celebrations were still in practice in Poland at the beginning of 15th century.
He brings prosperity and order - as a Young Sun he overcomes the darkness of winter and awakens spring, making it possible to begin sowing and initiate military actions planned in advance. He’s not only a patron of war, but also of alliances, oaths, and marriages - ensuring them with lawfulness and peace. In many aspects he’s complemented by the goddess Lela.
His worship was quite similar to this of the god Svarožič / Swarożyc (analogous to the god Dažbog / Dadźbóg known from Eastern Slavic chronicles), who was mentioned in the chronicles describing Polabians (Western Slavic tribes). There’s a possibility that “Łado” was the major title or the local name used for the same deity among the Polish tribes. Therefore, he is sometimes referred to as Łado-Swarożyc, as included in the artwork.
Image © BogowiePolscy.net
Check also my general tag Slavic mythology, and the other described deities: Goddess Marzanna, Goddess Lela.