In regards to a post on vampires, I find it interesting that in Croatia (and probably a lot of other slavic countries) there is an interchangeability between words Vampir and Vukodlak (Werewolf), I think that a concrete seperation of blood-sucking corpse and wolf-changer only came with Christianity, but this is my speculation. Also there was this description of Mokoš that mentioned her being ‘as dark as wet earth’ which i of course used to draw her with brown skin. :) In any case, wonderful blog

slavic-mythology:

That’s very cool, actually! Yes of course, we have to keep in mind that early notions of vampires noted their animalistic appearance, not the sophisticated and cadaverous immortals who just walked out of a Gucci perfume ad. Their shapeshifting-aspect was emphasized (and not just shifting into bats either – wolves, rats and other nasty vermin are fair game) so that brings them closer to the human-animal binary of werewolves. I know that 

Bulgarian folklore for example states that werewolves will become vampires after death, which might be a part of a more general superstition or fear that all heretics (including Slavic pagans and sorcerers) are forsaken and their (improper by Vatican standards) burial ceremonies will lead to “unclean dead” that could return among the living. 

As far as Mokoš is concerned, she is pretty much a later and more strongly personified variant of the Indo-Iranian Ardvi Sura Anahita (“Humid Mother of the Earth”) so it makes that much more sense to draw her with brown skin. I know saying this upsets many people but it’s the truth. Look at Mat Zemlya, Mokoš’s predecessor and arguably the oldest Slavic deity to see the contrast: ethnographers and other researchers of Slavic mythology make a point to stress that she was not personalized but instead simply worshipped in the basic, natural form. 

Thank you for your nice message and sorry for not replying sooner!