Baba Yaga Demystified

As a child, I remember listening to the tales of Baba Yaga with both trepidation and wonder. I was obsessed with her mystery and intrigued by her magical house that walked about the forest on chicken legs. But this infamous 'witch' of Slavic folklore, who flies at night in a mortar and pestle; who supposedly eats children and lines her fence with human skulls, has a deeper metaphorical meaning.
 
With the years, come wisdom and insight. Having embraced my own spiritual powers and gifts has given me a greater appreciation of Baba Yaga. She was clearly the wise woman; the shaman of the village. Her knowledge of  the forest herbs, her ability to communicate with the ancestors and to journey into the spirit realm made her a powerful healer; an integral part of the community.

During the Crusades she became a key target as the Vatican soldiers savagely conquered the 'heathens'. Baba Yaga was, literally and metaphorically, chased deep into the woods, brutalized and murdered. Then she was demonized to justify the patriarchal 'Holy War'. Her name vilified and smeared, her wisdom mocked, her spells and medicines banned. The people of the villages were often stripped of their native tongue, as well as their spiritual practices, medicine and leaders; then tortured until the memories of her primordial grace were snuffed out and all that that remained was the slanderous propaganda of the religious zealots that ruthlessly overtook village after village, in their quest for world domination.

Baba Yaga represents the collective shamans of the world. Every indigenous/original culture has endured the brutal eradication of their shamans and traditions at the hands of the crusades or colonialism. It has truly been a dark age. But the tide is turning; a new day is dawning. The Baba Yagas are returning to banish the demons that have ravaged the planet with hateful rule and greed. So, in honor of all the Baba Yagas of the world, I dedicate this website to celebrating the folk magic, folk lore and folk remedies from every corner of the world.