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Becoming Baba Yaga, by Kris Spisak

Becoming Baba Yaga: Trickster, Feminist, and Witch of the Woods, by Kris Spisak
Hampton Roads Publishing, 1642970514, 224 pages, September 2024

In Becoming Baba Yaga: Trickster, Feminist, and Witch of the Woods, Kris Spisak seeks the elusive roots of the Slavic crone goddess Baba Yaga in the dark forest of history. Following the trail of her iconic chicken-legged hut, Spisak tracks her transformation from ancient folklore to the present day, exploring her dual nature as both trickster and protector, and her evolution from a fearsome hag to a complex symbol of female empowerment. 

Kris Spisak’s award-winning debut novel, The Baba Yaga Mask, was woven from the ancestral red thread of her family’s Ukrainian diaspora experiences following World War II. Her other works, such as Get a Grip on Your Grammar and The Novel Editing Workbook, are geared towards helping writers perfect their craft. Spisak holds a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary and an M.L.A. from the University of Richmond. Becoming Baba Yaga is her fifth book.

A talented wordsmith with an impressive literary background and an intimate knowledge of Slavic folklore, Spisak spins lush, captivating prose that will leave readers spellbound by the magic of Baba Yaga. Interspersed throughout the book are retellings of traditional stories featuring the enigmatic hag, followed by insightful critical analyses that unravel the rich symbolism and hidden meanings woven into these folktales.

One of my personal favorites was “The Birth of Baba Yaga,” also known as “The Tale of the Twelve Nasty Women,” which recounts how the Devil collected a bag full of difficult, shrewish women and boiled them in a cauldron, inhaled a lungful of the garlicy steam, and spat out Baba Yaga.1 This folktale was no doubt the misogynistic attempt of a Christian author to demonize and oppress her, but I can’t help but be delighted by the idea of Baba Yaga being a distillation of the nastiest feminist women the Devil has ever met.

Like any good fairy tale collection, Becoming Baba Yaga is decorated with beautiful, whimsical illustrations. The work of Davezilla, the creator of the Tarot of the Unexplained, graces these pages. His distinctive black and white artwork, reminiscent of silhouette portraits in an Art Nouveau style, are a lovely complement to the book’s exploration of Slavic folklore.

From Baba Yaga’s lolling tongue and iron teeth to her chicken-legged hut, encircled by fence posts of bones topped with skull lanterns, Spisak explores the symbolic significance of her character and attributes. For example, Spisak offers the intriguing theory that the strange image of the chicken-legged hut may have originated in an ancient Russian burial practice reserved for shamans.

“After death, a wooden coffin was constructed and raised up on stilts, allowing the deceased individual to exist between the sky and the earth, between the planes of life and death, not returning the body to the dirt from whence it came,”2 explains Spisak.

Spisak suggests that Baba Yaga may have originally been an earth goddess, perhaps an elderly Mokosh, the Slavic mother goddess and weaver of fate, who has lost her fertility but retains her wise blood. “Different scholars have linked many figures to Baba Yaga’s origin over time, but each one is rooted in nature and the earth, its potential and its duality,”3 Spisak says. Just as nature is two-faced, both nurturing and destructive, so too is Baba Yaga. Her complex personality, with its blend of kindness and cruelty, is so compelling because it mirrors the multifaceted nature of humanity.  

Baba Yaga echoes the behavior of my own grandmothers, who were both loving and cruel in their own ways. Their deep-seated beliefs about what was right and just could sometimes lead to harsh judgments and criticism, just as Baba Yaga rewards well-behaved children who meet her standards, and threatens to cannibalize those who don’t. This reminds me of how elders often demand that we conform to their expectations, and if we fail to do so, they may seek to control or even destroy the parts of us they perceive as rebellious. This metaphorical act of cannibalism can be seen as an attempt to absorb us back into themselves, rather than allowing us to grow and develop as independent individuals.

My paternal grandmother is a hypercritical Virgo with a sharp tongue. In retrospect, I realize that with her iron gnashing, she was trying to eat the parts of me she didn’t like, which seemed to be pretty much everything about me. In her presence, I felt pressured to conform to her expectations by wearing a mask, and stuffed the real me deep into my shadow, until I reached a breaking point and realized that, no matter how hard I tried to please her, nothing I did would ever satisfy her, and I cut ties with her altogether.

However, Baba Yaga is a goddess, not a fallible and judgmental human being. Although her methods may seem cruel, they are intended to awaken the hero within. Spisak points out that Baba Yaga never follows through with her cannibalistic threats. She just has a way of “scaring people into being a better version of themselves.”4 

It’s often overlooked that, as a grandmother, Baba Yaga’s role is inherently maternal, albeit as a dark mother, or an evil fairy godmother. All the children that come to her are fed and given shelter, and, in exchange, they are expected to work for her and prove their worth by doing impossible tasks.

“She challenges them to ensure arrogance and entitlement are never pieces of their personality,” Spisak says. “She gives them the freedom to discover themselves and their own abilities.”5

This frightening initiation process serves as a catalyst for personal growth and awakens their latent potential for greatness. According to Spisak, “a good villain makes us reexamine who we are, who we’ve been, and who we could be.”6 

One of my favorite chapters, titled “Horror & Escapism,” explores how Baba Yaga continues to captivate our imaginations due to humanity’s enduring fascination with horror and the terror of nightfall in the untamed wilderness. By vicariously meeting the cannibal witch in the woods through folktales, false fear can provide cathartic release.

Spisak says that the horror genre “can evoke an emotional catharsis and establish greater bonds in our own relationships or between characters we empathize with as we consume their stories.”7 This is why date nights often involve cuddling while watching scary movies, and it’s no coincidence that so many horror flicks take place in a creepy cabin in the woods. “Where the darkness stretches out its claws, there we find the essence of Baba Yaga,”8 Spisak writes, emphasizing the enduring power and primeval allure of this sinister goddess.

Spisak’s Becoming Baba Yaga is a masterful exploration of the Slavic crone. Through her insightful analysis and vivid storytelling, Spisak paints a compelling portrait of Baba Yaga as a symbol of both female empowerment and the embodiment of the dark side of nature that continues to horrify and fascinate humanity on the primal level. The book’s vibrant blend of scholarly research and imaginative retellings of traditional folktales make it a fresh and valuable contribution to the study of Slavic mythology and a fascinating read for anyone interested in folklore, feminism, and the enduring power of storytelling.

Bogowie, by T.D. Kokoszka

Bogowie: A Study of Eastern Europe’s Ancient Gods, by T.D. Kokoszka
Moon Books, 1803412852, 448 pages, September 2023

Without a doubt, the most famous Slavic deity is the child-eating hag goddess Baba Yaga. Thanks to her memorable mobile home on chicken legs, she has achieved mainstream recognition through children’s books, and she even lends her name as an alias to the eponymous assassin played by Keanu Reeves in the John Wick film series (2014). Aside from everyone’s favorite chicken witch, Slavic mythology has inadequate representation in pop culture and western scholarship. In Bogowie: A Study of Eastern Europe’s Ancient Gods, author T.D. Kokoszka seeks to remedy this deficiency. The book’s title, Bogowie (pronounced “BO-GOV-YEH”), is Polish for “Gods,”9 and in this work, Kokoszka uses “comparative analysis to interpret Slavic folklore”10 and reconstruct Slavic paganism.

It may come as a surprise that the author, who has a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from Texas State, would choose to write a book on a topic that digresses so far from his field of expertise. While microbiology may seem unrelated to comparative mythology on the surface, the study of ancient genetics intersects with the reconstruction of ancient Slavic culture. The author recognizes the inherent dangers of investigating the Proto-Indo-European “Aryan” identity, and approaches this topic with sensitivity. As a half Jewish and half Polish-American man, Kokoszka is disturbed by the appropriation of Slavic paganism by far-right nationalist groups, such as Russian and Ukrainian Neo-Nazis, and seeks to reconstruct traditional Slavic faith from a non-biased scholarly perspective.

Kokoszka felt compelled to write this book because the study of pre-Christian Slavic culture and mythology has been neglected by modern scholarship, and he was frustrated and disappointed by the dearth of quality research in this field. However, his target audience is not scholars (he doubts they would take him seriously), but those who are interested in Slavic paganism. Being a Slavic pagan himself, he hopes this work will be a valuable resource for both curious readers and devoted practitioners attempting to reconstruct the pre-Christian Slavic faith.

I fall into the curious camp, and Baba Yaga’s chicken foot hut led me through a dark forest to the unfurling leaves of this book. Earlier this year, I read Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft: Slavic Magic of the Woods by Ukrainian diaspora witch Madame Pamita, which piqued my interest in Slavic mythology, a topic I shamefully knew little to nothing about up until that point. Bogowie proved to be the nitty-gritty, in-depth scholarly analysis I enjoy as a mythology buff.

While the author humbly refers to himself as an “amateur,”11 the depth of his comparative mythology analysis is impressive and reminiscent of the works of Joseph Campbell. Kokoszka explores parallels between the Slavic pantheon and other world mythologies, with an emphasis on major deities such as Mokosh, the goddess of fate and the personification of Mother Earth; Perun, the thunder god; Volos, the god of cattle and Lord of the Underworld; the Zoryas, sea maidens of the dawn; and the solar deity Dazhbog. Several chapters end with a sample tale, including one of my personal favorites, called “Baba Yaga and Vasilissa the Fair.”12 

In Chapter 2, titled “Baba Yaga and Mokosh the Great Mother,” Kokoszka’s exploration of the widespread European folk tradition of saving the last sheaf of grain for a deity is fascinating. In the Ukranian folk tale of “The Snake Wife,” a farmer is advised by a talking serpent in the forest to ask for the last sheaf of corn as payment after he harvests his master’s fields. Then he throws the last sheaf into a fire and a beautiful woman leaps like a spark from the flames. They get married, and his new bride warns him to never call her a serpent, or else she will leave him. Inevitably, he does so anyway, and she turns into a snake. Before she slithers away, he kisses her thrice, and is blessed with knowledge each time. She tells him to go to the Tsar, who will reward him for his wisdom by giving him a princess for a bride.

“Why does the peasant burn the last sheaf of grain to summon the snake wife?”13 Kokoszka asks. He reveals that the last sheaf is associated with an old woman or hag throughout Europe. In Scotland, the last sheaf of grain was dressed as a woman and devoted to the Cailleach, a hag goddess. In German folklore, the last sheaf is called “the corn mother” or “wheat-bride,” and “some Dutch stories portray the Ruggenmoeder (Rye Mother) as an old hag with red eyes and a black nose who carries a whip and pursues children.”14 Meanwhile, in Russia, “sometimes a small patch of rye stalks were left in the corner of the field, and braided for Baba Yaga,” who “feeds the world, but is herself hungry.”15 Perhaps this is why she eats naughty children! “Another tradition which intersects with this is found in Central Europe, where one can find narratives about an old hag getting ground up by a mill and coming out as a maiden, with her youth restored,”16 says Kokoszka.

The last sheaf may also be personified as “The Old Man,”17 and in some parts of Russia, Kokoszka says, “the last sheaf of grain was called ‘The Beard of Volos.’” 18 While it may seem strange to connect an agrarian fertility tradition with the god of death, Kokoszka believes there is evidence that this practice is rooted in ancestral cult worship, as illustrated by the Ukrainian Didukh, another ceremonial last sheaf representing a grandfather spirit. The Didukh was believed to be a spirit house for deceased family members, and was brought into the home for winter festivities.

“The Didukh was given a place of honor during Christmas in many Ukrainian households,” Kokoszka says. “Finally, in early January, it was taken to the field and burned to free the spirits.”19

I found it even more intriguing that the pagan Volos was syncretized with the Christian Saint Nicholas. In some parts of Russia, the “Beard of Volos” was also known as the “Beard of Nicholas,”20 and a bull was sacrificed to him on his feast day on December 6th, an obviously pagan practice that hearkens back to the ancient association of Volos with cattle. Kokoszka says that “the bull to be sacrificed was named mikolets, after the Saint himself.”21

Bogowie is jam-packed with nutritious tidbits like this. I loved following the little bread crumbs about Baba Yaga the most because I have been fascinated with her ever since I first saw an image of her chicken foot hut in a computer game as a child. I was delighted to learn that, in Slavic mythology, there is also a female house spirit with chicken legs called a kikimora who lives behind the stove. In the middle of the night, she will tangle unspun thread or unravel needlework that has not been put away or sained (blessed with the sign of the cross).

Now that I have my own little coven of seven Easter Egger hens I call the Chicken Foot Clan, I like to think of myself as a chicken witch, and I want to be known as Baba Yaga to my grandchildren. I made a feather duster/chicken feather besom for ritual use with a bundle of naturally-shed tail feathers and a branch from the chaste tree growing in my backyard. According to Kokoszka, “witches of Carpatho-Ukrainian folk belief often have chicken feet.”22 I don’t have chicken feet yet, but after the ladies pass away of natural causes, I plan on harvesting theirs, mummifying them, and painting their toenails so they look like little hag hands. In witchcraft, dried chicken feet have protective powers, and it will also be a way for me to memorialize my hens.

Bogowie will be an engrossing read for chicken witches, Slavic pagans, and anyone who enjoys studying comparative mythology. Kokoszka’s thorough investigation of Eastern European folklore is formidable, and this book is destined to be an essential text on Slavic mythology.

Pagan Portals – Baba Yaga, by Natalia Clarke

Pagan Portals – Baba Yaga, Slavic Earth Goddess, by Natalia Clarke
Moon Books, 1789048788, 104 pages, January 2022

I recently finished season two of the Witcher, which had a prominent focus on the Deathless Mother. The chant to call her goes, “Behold the mother of forests, the Deathless Mother, nesting in dreams. Turn your back to the forest, hut, hut. Turn your front to me, hut, hut.” As I watched, the Deathless Mother started to remind me of Baba Yaga.

I had first encountered (figuratively) at Philadelphia’s der Geischderschtrutz (Parade of Spirits) annually held in dark days of winter. The purpose of the Parade of Spirits is “observance of the shadow side of the self, of the murky times in shortest days of the year, and of shady entities and liminal deities.’14 My first year there, I was challenged to enter the hut of Baba Yaga, but unsure of whether she’d want to eat me alive or provide timeless wisdom, I kept my distance. Even if it was just a custom, the energy was potent and I felt a shiver of fear every time I looked in that direction.

It’s been years since that experience, and though I continued to respect Baba Yaga (my coven’s primary focus is the Sacred Hag, of which one might say Baba Yaga is a archetypal representation of), I had yet to muster the courage to embrace Her in personal life or magical practice. But Pagan Portals – Baba Yaga, Slavic Earth Goddess by Natalia Clarke has changed my perception a bit, and I feel like I now view Baba Yaga with a new lens.

Clarke invites the reader to get to know Baba Yaga that goes beyond folklore knowledge. The book is filled with Clarke’s journal entries through the years as she established a connection with Baba Yaga and incorporated this relationship into her own spiritual practice. This presentation style of wisdom is less of a “how-to”, though some suggestions are provided for working with Baba Yaga, and more of a journey into possibility filled with rich, descriptive writing that sets the scene for the magic of this book to unfold.

I appreciated how the book integrated Clarke’s revelations and creative writing with information about Baba Yaga, as it provided a bridge towards Baba Yaga, who otherwise can feel very intimidating to connect with. I am a big fan of Clarke’s intuitive approach to spirituality as described in her book Pagan Portals – Intuitive Magic Practice. In this book, it’s as though she translates her natural intuitions about Baba Yaga into a reference for those wishing to walk Her path.

One of the most unique features of Clarke’s approach to Baba Yaga is her intention to explore Baba Yaga in the context of Earth-based spirituality, rather than fitting Her into “literary, cultural, or societal concepts and beliefs.”16 I find this approach extremely valuable, as my spiritual practice is deeply connected to nature.

In this passage, Clarke illuminates how Baba Yaga feels to her:

“She doesn’t feel like a grandmother or an old Crone with terrifying features. She’s a master shapeshifter, and her essence is that of nature itself. She’s the changing seasons, the leaves in the forest in the autumn and a smell of the coming snow storm. She’s footsteps on the ice and a cold mountain brook. She is like the wind as she flies and in the whooshing sound of a breeze she’s gone. She’s the smoke in the dark and she can be found in animal bones. She is in the smallest insect and the highest tree, the snake hiding in the undergrowth. Illusive, unobtrusive, hardly ever visible and fiercely private. Her dwelling is her own and, on her terms, where everything is just so. It is for no else to make sense of.”19

These words make me feel a spiritually tangible and embodied connection to Baba Yaga, as my senses are opened through envisioning these words. Clarke is able to convey Her essence in this book, which is no easy feat considering Baba Yaga is a deity that prefers to not bother with human affairs, preferring solitude over interruption. I think this is one of the things that in the end draws me towards Baba Yaga, based on Clarke’s experience and description of Her though.

I like that Baba Yaga isn’t for everyone, doesn’t directly answer one’s pleas for answers, and can’t be summoned on-demand. Working with Baba Yaga seems to take determination, self-awareness, and a bit of grit. There’s a chapter called “Bones, Skulls, and Skin Magic” about how incorporating Animal Magic, using bones, skulls, and skins of animals, can strengthen one’s relationship with Baba Yaga. These items aren’t just your typical herbs or crystals, and I think it speaks to the nature of Baba Yaga as a deity.

My favorite chapter in the Book was “Baba Yaga’s Apprenticeship” where Clarke prompts the reader with the question: “How well do you know nature and how you relate to it from within?”23 I thought this was a profound question, and Clarke encourages taking one’s time to find the answer. Meanwhile, to connect with Baba Yaga, Clarke details the necessity of awareness of the elements, seasons, one’s psychology, and one’s spiritual self. Clarke provides prompts on how to work within these areas to become an apprentice of Baba Yaga, leaving the reader with hope that they too can eventually be initiated into Her wisdom.

Another really interesting chapter was “Baba Yaga and Motherhood” where Clarke suggests working with Baba Yaga for “integrating your birth mother or your own inner mother when birthing and mothering you own children.”24 Baba Yaga is not a deity I would have ever considered working with for this purpose, but Clarke’s reasoning that it’s important to accept both the good and bad aspects of ourselves as mother and our own mothers was interesting. For this particular reason, I am feeling more drawn to working with Baba Yaga.

And the last thing I’ll say is that I really think The Witcher is drawing from Baba Yaga’s folklore, and especially even more so after reading the chapter “The Three Horsemen and the Masculine”. In this chapter, Clarke describes how Baba Yaga has three horsemen (red, white, and black) that “represent an archetype of the sacred masculine , in service to the sacred feminine/the Earth.”25 She then describes how the color of The Three Horsemen correspond to different stages of the alchemical process and how working with the cyclical nature of their energy can help to strength one’s bond with Baba Yaga. But red, white, and black as the colors of them? For anyone who’s watched The Witcher Season 2, this is very significant and something I thought was totally cool.

While initiating a relationship with Baba Yaga requires patience and willingness to accept hard truths, Clarke showcases the value of working with Her over time. Pagan Portals – Baba Yaga, Slavic Earth Goddess is a wonderful book to learn more about Baba Yaga for anyone considering deity work with Her. And even if Baba Yaga doesn’t seem aligned for a personal deity relationship, there’s still a lot of value in learning more about Her in general, especially if one is interested in nature-based spirituality.