On the etymology:
The name of the religion and its disciples comes from the Latin Pax, meaning "peace" or Pax anami, meaning "peace of mind," and Navitas / vis, meaning "energy." This name was chosen according to our goal of finding and spreading peace as the internal/personal meaning of life, as well as our recognition of Energy as the physical origin and meaning of life.
A "Paxavit" is someone who ascribes to Paxavism; Paxavism is the Paxavit religion. This makes Paxavits the disciples, and while I consider myself a Paxavit as well, I am a Volkhv: beings from Slavic folklore, as well as a name for priests/wizards connected to the gods who were believed to have extrasensory powers. This title, while sitting above disciples in religious hierarchy, grants me no powers over others, as believing in humanly power hierarchies goes against many of the tenets. It simply serves as a name for those of us within the religion who have a greater understanding of the teachings, as well as a greater ability to sense and control Energy.
We acknowledge and borrow from sociological, psychological, and philosophical thought from varying cultures and perspectives in our teachings, but many of the titles and names are borrowed from Slavic folklore and culture.
Veles, while the name of my author account, is a Slavic god of poetic inspiration and sight, magic, the underworld, cattle, the harvest, wealth, music, and trickery. He is a forest god, often regarded as both malevolent and peaceful, something vital to our teachings about how humans are dynamic and rarely one or the other; our teachings in the name of Veles seek to identify and remedy our more malevolent parts within, in order to reach a peaceful status and connect more empathetically with the world.
Similar in behaviour is Leshy; a forest deity who is masculine and humanoid in shape, and is able to assume any likeness and can change in size and height. He is sometimes portrayed with horns and surrounded by packs of wolves and bears. While he can be passive and respectful of humans whose behaviour and mental status is passive, he can become malevolent, and is often regarded as such in folklore. Leshy is written to have a propensity to lead travellers astray and abduct children, again depending on the attitude of who he encounters. To us, Leshy represents man who has not yet understood that his happiness relies on shifting his own view of others as eternally deserving of respect and love, and has yet to discover his power over the self and energy. He is those who still have yet to prioritize peace, empathy, and the senses.
More will come in the future, but these are essential terms that will be repeated often.
This book of Veles we dedicate to our god, in whom is our refuge and our strength.
