Baba Yaga is know as being a terrifying old witch of Slavic myths and fairy tales, so how did she become someone that we may want to work with on our magical path of light?
If you are interested in embracing and loving the shadow-self while still living in the light, reclaiming your magick, healing the witch wound and embodying your wild divine feminine power, then Baba Yaga may be someone you want to connect with.
Like all ascended masters, gods, goddesses and angels, Baba Yaga is just another aspect of the divine feminine energy.
She represents the harsh, wild, untamed facets of the Goddess.
Many people are put off by her ugly, haggard appearance. But our immediate response to her is often the first opportunity for shadow work.
In the fairy-tales Baba Yaga is said to be an ugly old woman who lives alone in the woods. They say she is a witch, and that she is evil and does horrible things to the people who cross her path.
Baba Yaga is wild and free. She does not conform. She doesn’t do what’s expected of her. She lives her own life on her own terms.
For many of us who identify as feminist witches, the way we view Baba Yaga is a symbol of everything that is wrong with our current patriarchal, youth and beauty obsessed culture.
Baba Yaga from the Angels Among Us Oracle by me, Victoria Maxwell and Ellie Grant
We take the ugly and we hide it away. We put our elderly into homes and ignore their depth of experience and wisdom, choosing instead to see what all the beautiful people are talking about on Tiktok.
Women of all ages are told how to dress, how to act, who to talk to, who to marry and when… the list goes on
Baba Yaga is the expression of the divine feminine that takes no shit.
If you are someone who needs a little less conforming and a little more wildness in your life, call her in!
Baba Yaga provides an opportunity to use her as a mirror and to see how our own views, beliefs and programming are playing out in the world. It’s not always other people telling us what we can and can’t do that’s the problem. How often do we tell ourselves what we should and shouldn’t be doing?
Baba Yaga gives us a chance to look at the parts of ourselves that we believe are old and ugly and serve no purpose.
If we come to her door with the right intention in our heart she will gladly invite us in, and if we are willing to, we will see that she is capable of both harming and healing, just like we all are.
We can bring our fears to her kitchen table and she will help us to see them as they truly are, she will help us to not be afraid of the fear, the darkness, that lives inside of each of us.
And she will offer us a cup of tea and a choice to either disown and push away the uncomfortable, the hard parts of life, the “ugly” aspects of ourselves, or she will help us to reveal them, see them with love and work through them.
Baba Yaga can be an incredible ally for anyone struggling with aging, which is really most of us, considering society tells us aging is something to fear from the day we choose our first moisturiser.
But most of all, she asks us to look again, to see both her and ourselves with eyes of love.
Baba Yaga is a mirror that we can look into anytime we feel called to visit our shadow selves.
Baba Yaga is our shadow, and if we really get to know her, we might just realise that she’s not so bad after all. We might even find that Baba Yaga, and our shadow, can be one of our greatest teachers.
I’ve created a spread for you to use to help you connect to power and magick of Baba Yaga.
You can use this spread with tarot, oracle or angel cards or simply use the questions as prompts in your journaling or meditation.
1. How to heal the witch wound
The witch wound means different things to all of us. It can be about being misunderstood, about not feeling safe to work your magick, to be yourself, to come out of the broom closet. The witch wound is also very present in some magickal communities and often shows up in challenging relationships with other witches.
2. How to embrace the dark and the light
There are many ways to approach shadow work. For me, it’s not about just accepting and embracing the shadow, but bringing the shadow to light, seeing it’s truth, understanding it and working with and through it. Sometimes there are things we need to accept about ourselves, sometimes there are things we need to work on and change in order to be more loving and kind and effective in the world.
3. How to reclaim your magick
Baba Yaga never forgets her own power. This card can help you see how you can reclaim your power and magick and if you choose to, even reclaim the title “witch” for yourself if that resonates.
4. How to follow your own path
Baba Yaga is queen of doing her own thing and following her own path, even when others don’t understand it. Here you’ll find some guidance around how to go your own way and just do you.
If you share your readings with this spread or the Angels Among Us Oracle on socials please drop me a tag so I can find you and say hey! I’m @newagehipster333 on IG and @newagehipster333 on FB and I’d love to connect and see your readings! :D
With love, light and wild witching,
Vix
x
