Marzanna - a Slavic goddess associated with winter, death, the afterlife, but also with renewing life and spring fertility. Some researchers deny its cult, which seems to be contradicted by the records in the chronicles of Jan Długosz, as well as by chroniclers earlier than him. Today, her figure has been reduced to an effigy ritually melted in the spring in order to say goodbye to winter. In various regions of the Slavic land, Marzanna appears under many names, e.g. Morana/Morena, Mora, Śmiertka/Śmiercicha. The meaning of her name can be considered in two ways. On the one hand, the root "mor" shows the relationship of the goddess with death, on the other "mar" connects her with the ecumene of water (Latin mare - sea). These two meanings are not as far apart as they might seem. Deities associated with the sphere of death and ruling the afterlife are very often associated with water and crops, cattle and generally understood fertility, as exemplified by Weles - the Slavic lord of the afterlife and the guardian of cattle (i.e. in a broader interpretation of prosperity). Similarly, in some myths, the sun's journey across the sky ends with death and descent to the afterlife beyond the water (e.g. sea) horizon, to be reborn after a period of temporary death and start its journey from the beginning. To get to the Greek land of the dead - Hades - you need to use the services of Charon, who is the carrier of the dead, and use his boat to cross the river Styx. As you can see, Marzanna's relationships with water and death form a very logical whole.

In addition to her otherworldly, dark side associated with death, Marzanna also has a positive face, because she gives the world the life-giving powers of water and fertility. She is a kind of personification of the forces of nature, the Slavic version of Mother Nature.