This book is the result of many years of research undertaken by the author in the field of Russian mythology. The work was performed at the intersection of various disciplines: folklore, literary criticism, linguistics, ethnography, art history, history, with the involvement of mythological aspects of folk botany, medicine, geography. Discovering typological parallels, the author widely attracts mythologems formed in the traditions of other peoples of the world. Through a comprehensive analysis, the origins and polysemantism of images identified in epics, stories, legends, beliefs, in works of other genres and varieties of folklore, not only verbal, but also pictorial, are revealed. Reconstructed in the process of research, these characters appeared as former pagan deities (brownies, goblin, water, etc.), and Veduns and sorcerers - as heirs of the ancient Magi priests.