Morana, Moréna, Mara, Maržena, Mora or Marmora is a Slavic goddess associated with seasonal agrarian rites based on the idea of death and rebirth of nature. She is associated with death and winter and often described as the goddess of death. Her name is derived from the same Indo-European root as Latin mors 'death' and Russian mor 'pestilence'. Some authors also likened her to mare, an evil spirit in Slavic folklore, associated with nightmares and sleep paralysis. In some Russian dialects the word 'mara' means 'phantom', 'vision', 'hallucination'.