Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Baba Yaga Gets A Painting

Baba Yaga Gets A Painting

Last updated on: July 25, 2018 at 11:34 am by Laura Tempest Zakroff

Baba Yaga Gets A Painting 2018-07-25T11:34:33-08:00 Laura Tempest Zakroff

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One important thing to know and remember: you don’t argue with Baba Yaga.

“You need to ‘X’ “. The voice rang out clear in my head, as if she was standing right next to me. Instantly my stomach dropped and my heartbeat quickened at her words.

I glanced around. Everyone else in the circle under the shade of the giant tree seemed to be having a rather gentle, almost blissful experience. Maybe she hadn’t gotten to them yet.

Her words weren’t a polite suggestion or gentle nudge. They carried the tone of the grandmother who knows your number, and she’s done with your shit. I had been plopped into the boiling cauldron with a “how do you like them apples?” flair and wry smile.

She spoke the truth. It was something I had been avoiding taking care of. The excuse list was a mile long on why I hadn’t, and yet it was a huge source of underlying stress for me.

12″ x 5.5″ painting of Baba Yaga by the author, circa 2015

The place: a Baba Yaga ritual at Hexenfest, happening in the middle of a bright beautiful California fall day. I rarely attend other folks’ rituals at festivals – partly because I’m usually too busy running a booth or presenting, and partly because most other folks’ rituals aren’t a good fit for me. But this ritual was being led by my friend Phoenix, I didn’t have a schedule conflict, and it was a small enough festival that I could step away from my booth (but still keep an eye on it.) Also, Baba Yaga and I go way back, so of course I went to the ritual. It was a lovely ritual and a print of one of my paintings decorated the altar. Not sure what I was expecting, but safe to say I didn’t quite expect to get called out. Oye.

After the ritual, I shared the command revelation with my partner, who is also quite familiar with Baba Yaga (he wrote a song about her). We discussed what we needed to do, and I felt better that we were going to tackle this thing together.

But we ran smack into the busy season without setting a definite plan in motion. It could wait a little longer. But come the next round of Mercury Retrograde, we found ourselves facing a multi-level crisis that I wasn’t sure how we were going to conquer. We had to make some hard decisions and I felt like I was drowning in anxiety.

Drawing by the author, circa 2013

In the depths of the late-night insomnia, I called out to Baba Yaga. She cackled. I told her, “I know, I heard you. I AM going to do the thing. I give you my word, but we need to be able to get through this crisis first. I can’t do the work I need to do with this happening. If you help us, I will do such a painting for you.”She smiled. Almost instantly, I fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, I resolved myself to try a different route, and to my surprise, the biggest part of the crisis had mysteriously vanished. I must have asked the lady on the phone at least 3 times, “Are you sure? That’s it? We’re all set?” I was so happy I cried.

Then, I took care of the thing. I had been hoping to find someone to help me with it, to make sure I did it right, but the message I got was, “You’re smart. You can do this on your own. It may seem confusing, but it’s not that hard. Look at it like a game.”

So I did, and I tackled the thing, and I even added in a little sigil work for good measure. I breathed and sent it off. And then, as soon as I could, I got down to making Baba’s painting. I’ve done quite several drawings and paintings for her over the years, but never a large, full-color painting. The painting came together quickly, and I got it done in time for the annual Goddess show at Gargoyles Statuary. I modeled Baba after my Italian great grandmother Celie – my grandfather’s mother. I recently had received a photo of my paternal great grandmother, and you would think it would make more sense to channel the Russian/Slavic side of my family, but nope. My hand and eye was guided to the little tiny woman who fascinated me as a little girl.

Baba’s newest painting, 2018

I did the thing. I followed through with what I vowed to do on all accounts.

But I still worried. What if I had messed up somehow? I scanned the mail nervously every day.

Yesterday we got home from visiting family, and there was indeed something in the mail. Essentially what amounts to a bonus check from the whole ordeal. Definitely not what I was expecting/fearing. Confirmation that I did the thing I supposed to do.

So I guess Baba Yaga likes her painting!

Previous Post

July 18, 2018

The Power of Shared Magick

Next Post

August 8, 2018 The Time I Accidentally Manifested a Kitten

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Books cats cauldron month community contest Events home Metaphysics Modern Practice Movement Myth & Folklore satire sigils Tradition travel Uncategorized video

Select a Month May 2026 March 2026 January 2026 September 2025 August 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 February 2023 December 2022 November 2022 September 2022 July 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz