The book includes invaluable folklore material collected in the 30s of the XIX century. outstanding Russian ethnographer and archaeologist Ivan Petrovich Sakharov (1807-1863). A connoisseur of folk life and traditions, Sakharov, as a true patriot of the Orthodox faith and a guardian of the Russian folk principle, was an ardent opponent of foreign affairs and was deeply convinced that since the time of Peter I, all of Europe had united in a common desire to destroy the Russian state and destroy the Russian people. The desire to preserve folk traditions for posterity was the reason for Sakharov to write a number of works on folk studies. One of these works is offered to your attention. The reader will discover the secrets of the Russian folk warlock, you will learn how our distant ancestors gave birth and wondered, how they lived according to a special folk calendar, what they believed in and how they spent their leisure time.