Pagan Dawn article

I set out to write Baba Yaga: Slavic Earth Goddess at the time when the collective was screaming with pain and fear and the call for making unconscious conscious was becoming ever stronger all around. My work with Baba Yaga intensified a few months prior when she was not just coming forward more but staying around for longer. That is unusual for an elusive and highly private deity. Yes, to me, she’s beyond literary and cultural archetype and a folklore figure. To me she represents the world in both its dark and light manifestations. She is the ultimate alchemist and magician of the highest rank.

Why now, I wondered after seemingly eternity waiting for her to speak? It was time she disclosed a path for collective to take, if unafraid and prepared. It was time for her to whisper, if not speak openly. Feeling overwhelmed and deeply honoured I began to listen to what she said and in that discovering who she really was beyond her collective labels.

The book was born that speaks of Baba Yaga in ways of who she really is. My journey was only just beginning when in 2020 she stayed around for longer than she, perhaps, wanted. She first appears around Samhain and remains throughout winter dwelling in dreams and shadows and post Ostara she begins to loosen her grip on the Earth and allows the Maiden to step forward. This time she stayed for longer to bare witness to events that unfolded and to offer assistance and wisdom, however, unheard of, to myself in writing the book and to the world in its state of chaotic fear.

Apprenticing into her magic is a difficult task, perhaps, one of the most difficult tasks one can undertake as once on the path turning back has serious consequences and if staying transformation is inevitable and profound. 

Baba Yaga is a world-famous character with which we are familiarised from early childhood and she stays for many of us in our consciousness for the rest of our lives. This speaks of her power and universal appeal, but why? I believe that is because her mysteries are deep and limitless. She inspires questions and sparks endless curiosity, yet she often remains as a static archetype of a scary Crone who lives in the woods and devours children. She continues to live in fairy tales that tells stories over and over in the same way they had always been told. In our consciousness she does not evolve and that is also for a reason. She’s full of darkness and darkness is a place of immense fear and avoidance for us humans. So, she remains hidden via the narrative and via our lives, as who dares look darkness in the face? Now we are faced with it in all areas of our existence. “Facing the demise of what is familiar and precious and becoming wild again is the quest of brave and raw ones. Are you one?” The thing that I discovered was just how much she resents repetition and lack of evolution and her imprisonment in the collective hive mind infuriates her. As I began my relationship with Baba Yaga, I discovered the light behind the darkness, kindness behind hatred, the well-hidden nuances of this folklore figure, her character, spirit, attributes, and magic. 

She calls for a revolution and evolution, for rediscovery of spirit like never before. She is hugely relevant today to all of us individually and the world. For the first time in very long, perhaps, she is willing to offer some wisdom, however unnatural it might seem, as she is private and does not come forward unless there is someone truly ready on the other side. Are we ready? Many of us are. She can offer perspectives on balance, climate change, beauty and aging, motherhood, belonging and connection, partnerships, and gender roles. She is the world, the Earth, nature all wrapped into one energy that is immensely powerful and important and to know her is to know the deepest, the most meaningful and profound truths about yourself, others, and the world.

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Baba Yaga book – author interview

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What’s behind Beltane story?

What if the Maiden May Queen didn’t want to join the Green Man, get pregnant and give birth? What then? What if the story of Beltane was a different story? Would the earth not continue thriving in its cycles? Does it always require a union? These questions seem important to ask and I was thrown a different image this year of what it might mean in the overall presentation of life, this earthly dimension specifically. It feels important to bring this download into awareness of whoever is going to stumble upon this. Perhaps, you feel the same? Perhaps this Beltane is meant to be radically different? What would it look like in your magical world?

Tradition lies deep within our stories that had been told for millions of years over and over and I hear it sneaking into the earth story too. It is almost like I didn’t see it before, but right now it asks of me to go through its narrative and ask the important questions. Can nature exist and have its magic sovereignty without mixing in the union of the Maiden and the Green man? We all know what happens after, the power of the Sun takes over and one king replaces another, while the Queen is heavily pregnant. Beltane has always been triggering time for me over the years although I have come to a place of peace with the timing and historical manifestation of events, but I wonder what if a different story was attached to this time of year. Did it attach to May for a reason only to let me see later on what really happened collectively through the generations, not just my own, but globally.

There is still an exchange of power, one submitting to another (however willingly and mutual it is portrayed) and one giving birth while the other rules over the planets and the earth while the Maiden/Mother is in its most blooming state. Who has really got the most power here if you look at manifestations of nature?

I hear the critical parent/the punisher/the demon/the judge and the finger-pointer for sin, for heresy and how dare I even consider re-writing the story as old as time itself. This does include all religions whatever orientations. It is exactly the point to bring it out into the light. It can no longer stay where it’s been for so long. We all have to give ourselves permission to ask questions, to find what feels good to us and meet our needs in the cycle of life. Following something without a question is a loss of sovereignty that cuts down the roots of our inner wisdom and knowing.

I first received an inkling of this message in early April this year about this forthcoming Beltane and how there is another way of looking at it or rather why haven’t we until now? The sleep that we have been in and will continue to be in is deep. The joining of the Goddess and the God in a dance of fertility is wonderful and all good, but what if she didn’t want to join him or he didn’t want to join her come to that? The question of complete recognition and acknowledgement of their own sovereignty is paramount here. May be that aspect is laced with assumption from another story that underlines all other stories. She submits and he rules? Sounds quite superficial and made-up now that I say it out loud. Do you hear it? Perhaps, this act of joining needs to be redefined. What are their motivations, perhaps, they share the power, the process of growth, giving and receiving? Perhaps, they caretake the earth together? What I feel the strongest during this time, I suppose, is a possibility of polarization of these masculine and feminine energies and it is not surprising having looked at the history of the union and how it is looked upon by the story of this society. What we need to have in place is a self-reliance and allow ourselves to hear, see and speak a different story should we need to. It is ok not to agree and take charge of your own storytelling. I can’t deny I do feel sad having seen a different picture and heard a different story and realising stories are there often to create an illusion, not just to transmit wisdom. Not all the time clearly. Just think of what collective calls ‘the greatest story ever told’. Do you feel it now? It is during Beltane that any wounding around relationships would come up, but it is also time when we have the best chance to come to terms with what ailed us for so long and redefine a new path into the rest of the year.

Nature will continue with its cycles, which are a constant reminder of transitions and change and we must find comfort in that knowledge that there is always an opportunity to move on, to retell a different story and join the forces or not, whatever feels good to us. That IS ok.

Image: https://www.learnreligions.com/the-legend-of-the-may-queen-2561660

Imbolc is here

The feeling this week is one of having passed a threshold of something that held us in a static position, almost dragging us back, but failing in its efforts. Nature speaks of forward movement in all its manifestations from a vibrant bird song to snowdrops appearing on the forest floor.

Imbolc carries subtle energy and what I love at this point is the knowing that spring will come, flowers will bloom and light will continue to grow with increasing warmth.

Archetypes and deities of the season, Brigit in particular, are all around us on the eve of Imbolc. They are so much more than the energy of psyche and nature. They are not here only to tell us metaphorically of spring coming but, most importantly to awaken us to our own potential blooming. Its aim is to remind us we look at nature and life from a perspective of moving forward with present moment awareness, with every step, every day, every month. It is unifying in its perspective, and whatever we do and whoever we are, nature is a form of reflection of what is possible. One can always change perspective, direction and we will be supported on that journey. That is the message.

It is a reality that is wide and all-encompassing reminding us that we are all part of the whole, part of the bigger picture. Just as the divinity of the goodness is in everything, so are we. Brigit begins her dance in and through the fabric of life. It is like water that penetrates every corner and opening she seeks to fill our awareness with the potential of life.

Imbolc is a milestone in the Celtic calendar and nature-spirituality beliefs that speaks of a soul needing to be stirred up with every step; a reminder of conditions being present for waking up. It is not abstract but grounded in nature, which is always present, changing no matter what. It is like love that never goes away. It is a well that is open and ready for drinking; ground that is ready to cultivate. She’s in the mud under foot and in copper coloured tree tops that will soon take shape in its blooming canopy.

The light is on and with awareness of its faint glow through consciously keeping its flame alive we will reap rewards of its power.

Brigit is the most visible goddesses during this time. She comes forward at Imbolc predictable and strong, providing light and nurturing energy to the land and all of us. Incredibly reassuring and for that I am always grateful. Her fiery hair and gentle manner and compassion warms the heart and the earth.

She’s a saint dressed in delicate white and with a soft smile and bowed head watching over the light of divinity. She is also an earth mother goddess, dressed in browns, grey and copper dancing in the woods singing with the birdsong. She is Celtic and Christian loved by so many for centuries.

Blessed Imbolc, everyone! Let this time bring balance into all that is in life and in spirit and open our eyes to possibilities.

Sacred parts of the WHOLE

There are many sides to each and every one of you. Very often we get stuck in the earthly and conditioning so much that we had not been able to see or know who we truly are. That always comes from such messages as ‘you should be this… or this is not acceptable… or this is a good thing to do… are you sure you know what you are doing…’, imposed expectations and conditions from the external environment, family dynamics and ancestral roots. We grow up hearing, seeing and internalising those messages and voices of the external and with that what we truly are gets simply left behind, rejected or forgotten.

In my work I am primarily concerned with and interested in who a person connecting with me in sacred work is. Who is a person without the pain, without the burden of obligation or duty? Who are you? This is exciting and fundamental work for a personal transformation and a fulfilling life. Through intuitive work/intuitive reading you can discover and connect to your sacred parts of the whole. The work goes in cycles and with each cycle a person goes deeper into their layers and discovering more of themselves. This is transformational work I feel very passionate about.  As long as we don’t force to be one way or another, put ourselves in a box, trying to either be it all at once or just one as a dominant force, exactly like it has been done to us from the external before, through this work we can reach the depth of inner knowing that will propel us into life in a completely different way. True parts of you cannot be rushed or told what to do. They will come when they are most needed and what’s expected of us is to get to know each of them intimately and know when to call upon one energy/archetype or another. They are a team working together within your psyche and have your best interest at heart only if you give them full understanding, acceptance and unconditional regard and love. They want to be allowed to be and this is very important.

I will share with you examples from my own journey. There are several parts that I know well within me and have built or am building a relationship with. Seasons of the year, the wheel of the year and four seasons of the soul have played a huge part in my journey and you can connect a lot of it with what is going on in nature. My intuitive practice and spell casting are interlinked closely with working in nature. This is part of who I am, something I was born with that can never be lost.

The Nature Spirit – this is my biggest, all-inclusive part that includes The Inner Mother, The Goddess (a few of them depending on where we are in the wheel of the year), The Healer (working with plants predominantly), The Magician (solitary practitioner that seeks solitude and quiet to bring about a change), The Green man (a position masculine energy), The Five Elements, fairy folk, spirits of the woods and many more archetypes. It is the most alive and vibrant energy within me, something I feel I knew even before I was born and is inseparable from the core of who I am.

The Witch – this part is the most connected to underworld/unconscious/the Moon/darkness. It usually comes forth several times a year and the way I recognise it or know it comes into my body is through my hands. Magic energy starts pulsating and buzzing in my hands and goes into my fingers that I can feel it very clearly. What I do with that depends on what intuition tells me at the time and what is going on around me or within me at the time. It can be nothing, just being with it, or doing some creative spell casting (more on that in another post) or change an altar. I always follow my intuition as an Intuitive practitioner. My magic practice is also intuitive rather than ritualistic, mainstream or fixed. The Witch is unsuprisingly fond of autumn time and comes up close to Samhain, and my own birthday time.

Land Guardian – this part is the most connected to my soul, but different from a Nature spirit. This one is all about a deep sacred relationship with the land. It is an expression of the most beautiful love that I know. It is a source of my inspiration, my deepest emotions. This part of me reads various locations naturally, it picks up on land signatures and knows what needs to be healed or how we can be healed by relating to the land.

Wolf – this part is connected to the body. Leezil is a female wolf. It is wild and instinctual and a source of sexual energy. This one feels incredibly freeing and empowering when it is present and makes me feel invincible. It also has the most profound quality of honour and loyalty – my primary life values.

Intuitive self – this part of me is connected to Spirit. It receives messages from the Source for myself or others and it is the most knowing part of me that taught me a lot about living a fully intuitive life. Nowadays I don’t know any other way to live.

Inner child – this part is connected to freedom and joy. I have been working on this part for many years (my inner child was lost for what felt like an eternity and was not reachable for many years. It took a long time and effort to bring it back. I am still working on it discovering more with each inner work cycle. The most recent discovery earlier this year was that there are, in fact, two inner children within me.

These are just some parts and there are many more, of what I see as many parts of the whole and when I sit with a client, who had been ‘in a box’ for many years, it is always the most hopeful thing for them to hear that they are not just THAT, they are many beautiful manifestations of the Spirit. The journey of discovery of these lost parts of yourself that need to be called home and collected into one whole piece is the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed within myself and in working with other people. It is a true privilege to see someone arrive where they had always meant to be.

Work with me

Many blessings!

Image source/Credit to: https://blaqkdiamondgroup.com/green-diamond/issue1/