My piece for “Afraid of the Dark” is inspired by the tale of Vasilisa the Beautiful (you can read a version of it here) in which Baba Yaga gives Vasilisa a skull full of fire, which ends up burning the abusive family members who sent her into the dark, alone and afraid. There’s much more to the story than this, of course, but this is the bit that strikes me the most.

Baba Yaga is a complicated figure, whose roots extend deep into the past, and who is alternately praised and vilified from one tale to another. She’s become an important figure in my religious life, and a lot of my art lately has been insipired by Her tales.

Many of the Gods and spirits I’ve formed relationships with over the years have fearsome or ambivalent repuations. Any time such a fierce being is willing to spend time with me in any way, I’m a little surprised. I’m kind of a timid mouse of a human, most of the time. But also? I don’t find these beings frightening. It’s other humans I find frightening. When you spend your chioldhood terrified of your caregivers, the “monsters” in the dark often turn out to be your friends and allies. After all, humans are writing the stories that call these beings dark, frightening, even evil. And humans never write without agendas or biases. Many (most?) of those agendas and biases have to do with maintaining the status quo, and many are saturated with unrecognized xtian assumptions and values. Are all spirit beings full of sweetness and light, just looking to hand out presents to any human who comes asking? Of course not. There’s danger in any spiritwork, just as there’s danger in every aspect of living as a human. But safe isn’t the same as worthwhile, or even good for you. Sometimes, frightening things are what we need most, and so-called safety is a trap. Sometimes the darkness is unbelievably beautiful. 

Baba Yaga’s skull full of fire seemed like a perfect symbol to represent the way so many things I feared as a child and young adult turned out to be gifts and blessings. 

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