SLAVIC KRUGOLET OF CHISLOBOG (SVAROZHY CIRCLE)

The Krugolet Chislobog (also called the Svarog Circle or Kologod) is a system presented by a segment of modern Russian neo-paganism (Rodnovery) as the "true" pre-Slavic or Vedic-Aryan calendar, allegedly displaced after the adoption of Christianity. In reality, the system is a 19th-20th century reconstruction — and largely an authorial creation of mystic-nationalists of the late Soviet and post-Soviet period, with no credible historical sources to support it.

The system comprises several layers. The basic unit is the Leto (year) with the sign of one of 16 animals: Hedgehog, Woodpecker, Elk, Otter, Pike, Ram, Fox, Horse, Eagle, Dolphin, and others — in contrast to the Chinese 12-year cycle. Sixteen elements or primordial substances govern not only years but also hours of the day, cardinal directions, and other parameters. The Svarog Circle spans 144 years (16 years times 9 circles) and is presented as a complete cycle of spiritual development.

The system is actively used in Rodnovery communities for organizing the ritual year, choosing names, describing character "by birth year," and constructing a kind of horoscope. Its language is pointedly nationalistic and appeals to "Slavic roots" and "Aryan wisdom," making the system inseparable from the political context of Russian neo-paganism — an important analytical context when studying it.

In Errarium, the Krugolet Chislobog (#49) is included as an actually existing practice with a living audience and as a representative of the cluster of reconstructed and neo-pagan systems. Its analogue in principle is the Druidic system (#23) as another reconstructed folk calendar with animal patrons and zodiacal analogues. The key distinction is a pronounced ideological charge, atypical for most other systems on the platform.