Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga (Polish Baba Jaga, Slovene Jaga Baba, Macedonian ???? ????, Russian ????-???, Bulgarian ???? ???, Ukrainian ???? ???) in Slavic mythology is the wild woman, the dark lady and mistress of magic. She is also seen as a forest spirit, leading hosts of spirits. The word baba in most Slavic languages means an older or married woman of lower social class.

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Baba Yaga is portrayed as a witch who flies through the air in a mortar using the pestle as a rudder sweeping away the tracks behind her with a broom made out of silver birch. She lives in a log cabin that revolves around by means of a pair of chicken legs that dance. Her fence outside is made with human bones with skulls on top. The keyhole to her front door is a mouth filled with sharp teeth. In another legend the house does not reveal the door until it is told a magical phrase: turn your back to the forest, your front to me.

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She aids those who are pure of heart and eats the souls of those that visit her unprepared and unclean of spirit. She is said to be the Guardian Spirit of the fountain of the water of life.

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In one folk tale a young girl, Vasilisa, is sent to visit Baba Yaga on an errand and is enslaved by her, but the hag's servants — a cat, a dog, a gate and a tree — help Vasilisa to escape because she has been kind to them. Finally, Baba Yaga is turned into a crow. In another version of the same story recorded by Aleksandr Nikolajevitj Afanasjev in Narodnye russkie skazki (vol 4, 1862) Vasilisa is given three impossible tasks that she solves using a magic doll her mother gave to her.

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In Hungarian folklore she was originally a good fairy, but later became a witch.

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Polish: Polish () may refer to:...

Slovene: The terms Slovene and Slovenian refer to anything related to Slovenes and Slovenia. Both terms have been used for a long time in English....

Macedonian: __NOTOC__...

Baba Yaga related Images and Photos (experimental)

Baba Yaga	Baba Yaga the Witch There She was Beating with the Pestle and Sweeping with the Besom	Ali Baba	Ali Baba Goes to Town Eddie Cantor (Center) 1937
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves	MMA Fighters - Baba	Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves DVD (Full Frame)	Ali Baba Goes to Town Eddie Cantor 1937
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Maria Montez 1944	Star Wars Walrus Man Ponda Baba Jumbo Vintage Kenner Figure	Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey Salt and Pepper Shakers	Mount Olympus as Seen Between Larissa and Baba Plate 22 from Part 4 of "Views in Greece"