Creating a proper definition
November 1st
There is a word in the Polish language — “uroczysko”, it can be translated as a sacred spot or sacred site. It pertains to such a spot in a forest or woodland that has mystical, pagan connotations in local lore that was kept as localized secret knowledge throughout the generations. Now, it is usually used as the geographical name of a particular place in the said forest.
That doesn't work for me. This definition and lack of a simple translation into English bother me, and I decided to do something about it. Especially when there is a place like that within a short walk from where I live (all photos in this post were taken today within a 20 minutes walking distance from my home). Since I cannot describe/translate it in one or a few words, a longer form will be needed:
Uroczysko — (def.) a sinister place, a witches' playground, a place inhabited by nefarious spirits. A place that is always wet, with the ground swollen with hidden streams and water pockets. A place that is usually shrouded in fog, with the silence broken only by the croaking of frogs and cawing of crows. A place where decay is always visible. A place full of slime and a mess of dying and regrowing nature.
A place where it is very easy to lose the way. Where the paths (especially in autumn when leaves cover the ground) can be deceiving and deceitful. Where every step needs to be carefully measured and placed. A place that survived to our times only by evil ways which kept people and civilization from encroaching. A place full of ominous foreboding spreading through the moist and sticky air.
A place where trees threaten with disquieting silence, where shrubs catch the arms of a passerby, trying to pull the unexpecting victim deeper and deeper. Where a sudden sway of a branch or a movement of a forest spirit in a form of a bird or a squirrel, caught by a corner of an eye, brings dark terror into a soul and a mind. A place where a human is an unwelcomed guest and annoyance. And made clearly aware of that feeling.
That is exactly how I felt today on a morning walk there. And there is no exaggeration to any of what I wrote above as a definition of the name and that particular place. That is what I understood in my mind and what I experienced there in my feelings as I was quickly making my way back to civilization. And I am very glad a place like that exists still and conveys it mystical nature today as it did to many previous generations.
