Zagovor
The Russian spoken charm, whispered by a village healer, a znakhar or a babka, over illness, fear and trouble.
Also: zagovory, заговор, znakhar, whisper charm
Zagovor (заговор) is the Russian and wider Slavic name for a spoken charm: a formula whispered over a sick person, a wound, a bride or a field, often by an older woman, a babka, or a man known as a znakhar. A typical text starts with a rural scene, names a saint or an unseen helper, and ends with a closing phrase; many mix Orthodox prayer with older images of dawn, water and stones. Folklorists such as Leonid Maikov and the collectors of the nineteenth century recorded thousands, and many were later published in Soviet and post-Soviet editions. The same word now also means a conspiracy in modern Russian. Charm texts are traditionally passed on privately, from elder to chosen successor.