UCZA

Ucza (pron. oo-CHAH)

Depicted As

- A burnt crone with blackened, flaking skin, no eyes and no lips.
- A beautiful young maiden with multi-coloured hair (usually green, brown, etc.) often blood-stained or blood-splattered. Usually has certain features that belong to animals, such as animal ears, a tail or bird feet.
- An above ground black eel, that swims through the air, curves around trees, slithers along the ground as though the air was water. The touch of this eel was thought to bring instant death.
- A burnt forest, in the underworlds (non-personified)
- A hurricane / tornado / whirlpool (non-personified)

Other Names

None.

Symbols

Burnt trees
Burnt items
Eel (any colour, especially black)
Black fish
Melanistic animals
Feces
Decay
Exposed teeth
Blindness
Hybrid animal/people
Ash (not from hearth fires)

Presides Over

Ucza is an unforgiving death goddess of the Underworld. She is thought to guard many of the 'final' gateways that may lead to places beyond the Underworld. Several of her incarnations, particular her presence as the black eel, indicate instant death, and if an Oraite was touched by it in the Underworld they would make final preparations after journeying.

Ucza very rarely appears as a person, appearing instead as iconic landscapes that most usually avoid while journeying (such as burnt forests or distant hurricane/s).

She has been employed by Oraite in the past in curse magic that focuses on burning and fecal matter. Her magic is death and plague magic. It is thought that she will give wise, helpful counsel, but that her price is often 'too' high. Many fall ill after receiving her wisdom, or know others around them that are claimed by fire or illness. A working relationship with Ucza is not encouraged.

In my practices in Australia, I feel her more strongly here than others have in Russia. Devastating fires on huge scales are more well known on this continent, and what I consider to be her work is seen many times each summer. I feel her presence quite strongly while journeying, and it is often alongside other more primitive 'Australian' spirits. There is something incredibly primal about Ucza, who seems to preside over that aspect of nature that just wishes to kill. She does not represent the life after the fire, other deities or energies take charge of this, she is just the burning, the death, the decay and the rot.

Connections to Other Deities and Folklore

Ucza is thought to be capable of killing gods, and once threatened the life of L'yuvotn'r (the rain), who constantly rained on her destructive fires. She swept him up into a hurricane and threatened to kill him, devouring him in the eye of her storm, but he survived this threat and even now travels with many hurricanes and many tornadoes in order to ensure that rain falls on the destroyed ground.

Ucza was thought to have killed the children of D'miezak'r and Karijiana, and thought to destroy child-gods in general. This is why there are almost no child-gods in Vilturj mythology.

Times of Honour

- During extremely hot days
- Summer
- All serious wind storms (hurricanes / tornadoes / sand-dust storms)
- Any time of complete or near-complete blackness (full eclipses)

Places of Honour

- All burnt places, such as recently burnt forests etc.
- Cemetaries (particularly crematoriums)
- Sites destroyed by hurricane / tornado

Offerings

It's not generally recommended that one 'work' with Ucza, because she brings death too quickly to those who summon her genuine energy. Mostly, offerings are just given to appease and prevent her:

- Cremains
- Ash (not from hearth-fires)
- Burnt items (particularly burnt animals)
- Flame
- Licorice / Black coffee / Black foods
- Tinder
- Flammable items
- Fox effigies
- Weasel / Marten / Mongoose effigies