A płanetnik (also called chmurnik, obłocznik) is a character from Slavic beliefs, a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

ic or partly demonic creature which is an embodiment of atmospheric phenomena.

Background

It was believed that płanetniks directed

cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...

s, sent

storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

s and

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

. Thus, the name ''płanetnik'' is derived from '' płaneta'', meaning a cloud, especially a storm cloud. The alternative names ''chmurnik'' and ''obłocznik'' are also derived from words which refer to clouds. According to an opposing theory the name is delivered from Latin ''

planet A planet is a large, Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets b ...

a'' and is relatively new, in opposition to the Slavic terms ''chmurnik'' and ''obłocznik''. In the South Slavic countries, because of the similarity of their functions, płanetniks, which there are called

zduhać A zduhać (Cyrillic: здухаћ, ) and vetrovnjak (ветровњак, []) in Serbian tradition, and a dragon man in Bulgarians, Bulgarian, Macedonians (ethnic group), Macedonian and southern Serbian traditions, were men believed to have an in ...

i, are identified with żmijs.

Common themes

Soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

s of those who have died suddenly or by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

become płanetniks, mainly hangmans and floaters. They were imagined as tall, old people in wide hats, or as small creatures. Płanetniks were also identified with snake oil salesmen, the shepherds of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

and

Podhale Podhale (; ), sometimes referred to as the Polish Highlands, is Poland's southernmost region. The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian Mountains. It is the most famous region of the Goral Lands which are a ...

, who were local healers. Thus, a płanetnik was a Slavic

shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

which could defend against

vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

and malevolent spirits. It was believed that the souls of those who had committed suicide, płanetniks, returned to the mortal realm as zduhaczs. It was also believed that their bodies were cursed to be a żmij until the fate of the płanetnik would end, which as a suicide had an aspiration to return from the realm of the dead and to again oppose the vampires. Planetniks could be benevolent or malevolent. Their favor could be gained by throwing

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

in the

wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

or casting it to the

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

. Benevolent płanetniks descended to earth and warned people about storms or protected them against droughts. Płanetniks were also selected men with the gift of controlling weather. Just before a storm, they were taken to the sky, sometimes by

rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

s, where they would fight dragons symbolized by storm and hail clouds, or they would go into the fields and cast away the storm with magic spells. The name ''płanetnik'' also described those who practiced

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmo ...

or who controlled it.

Representation

The płanetnik often appears in the literature of

Young Poland Young Poland ( ) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Poland promoted tre ...

, for instance in ''Powieść o Płanetniku'' (Novel about the płanetniks) by

Antoni Lange Antoni Lange (28 April 1862 – 17 March 1929) was a Polish poet, philosopher, polyglot (15 languages), writer, novelist, science-writer, reporter and translator. A representative of Polish Parnassianism and symbolism, he is also regarded as ...

or ''Płanetnicy'' (Płanetniks) by

Władysław Orkan Władysław Orkan (27 November 1875 – 14 May 1930) (born ''Franciszek Ksawery Smaciarz'', later changed to Smreczyński, also known under his pen name, ''Orkan'') was a Polish Goral writer and poet from the Young Poland period. He is kno ...

, as well as in the stories of

Bolesław Leśmian Bolesław Leśmian (born Bolesław Lesman; 22 January 1877The exact date of his birth is disputed: the birth certificate gives 1877, Leśmian himself used 1878, while the date on his tombstone is 1879. – 5 November 1937) was a Polish poet, ...

such as ''Strój'' (from the novel ''Łąka''). The protagonist of the novel ''Syn boginki'' by Adolf Dygasiński also becomes a płanetnik.

References

{{Slavic mythology Slavic mythology Slavic weather deities European witchcraft