Baba Yaga

By Crusader1307

  Seen in many Slavic legends and myths, The Baba Yaga is malevolent. Seen as a horrible, hag-looking Witch woman, she lives deep within a forest (and usually shuns human contact). She is sometimes seen as a Protector of wildlife. Seen with a Mortar and Pestle, she is also sometimes given a broom. Baba Yaga may have been an early attempt to describe hermit healers (which would later become our more traditional Witch). Different Regions have Baba looking saggy and horrible other kindly and Matron like. She would be sought out for magical cures and herbs. She is also the basis for a Boogeyman type creature used to frighten little children who misbehaved. Baba Yaga legends were popular in Russia and Germany around the 16th Century.