In the pantheon of Slavic deities, Perun is the sky god and Veles rules the Underworld. And, as one might assume, they are eternally in battle. The sun was believed to be the wife of Perun, who kidnaps her every night, taking her down to his Underworld abode. In the morning, she is delivered back into the arms of Perun. Another factor in this rivalry was the belief that each felt the other stole their divine cattle. In Slavic culture, cattle were sacred animals connected to water and rain. Perun believed that Veles was also guilty of stealing the divine waters and taking them down to the Underworld. Perun would have an obvious connection to rain, being a sky god and a god of thunder. His life-giving rain would be fuel for the crops and thus revered.

In my research I frequently come upon references for the evil eye which seems to be a world-wide phenomenon and for me the best example in classical mythology was the gorgon Medusa. Medusa and her two sisters were very beautiful women who became cursed and turned into gruesome monsters with snakes for hair. Medusa’s visage was so hideous that any mortal who looked upon her would turn to stone. One finds a touch of sympathetic magic with Medusa's image placed on the helmets and shields of Roman soldiers to frighten their enemies, possibly freezing them with fear. When worn as an amulet the image of Medusa was used as protection against the evil eye. The terrifying image of Medusa would seem to be that of a nightmare and freeze people with terror. Sometimes the other Greek goddess of the night, Hecate, was described as having snakes for hair who would terrify anyone who beheld, leaving them paralyzed with fear. According to one of the myths surrounding Medusa was that the heron Perseus beheaded her and tossed her head into the Mediterranean, where it could do no more harm. Pictures of squid that swim there often resemble the severed head of Medusa and might be the spring board for the mythical monster. And so it goes.