Baba Yaga: the Autumn Witch and the Power of Letting Go

October is a vitally mystical and folklore-rich time of year, a between and betwixt season of transformation characterized by the changing colors of the leaves and filled with heroes and heroines who symbolize our own transformative potential. One such folk heroine is the quintessential enigmatic wilderness witch Baba Yaga: a courageous crone who dares to dance with the dying and also the mystical old mother who midwifes new life. She resonates with the spirit of Autumn telling us we can be beautiful as we let go of our old selves to make room for what is waiting to emerge, vibrant and gold . . .

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Plants, Magic and Power: Folklore's Storied Plants Wield Their Quiet Power

Whether it is a giant beanstalk, benevolent flowers, wise herbs, sacred birch goddesses or mossy coats, many ancient folktales remind us how our ancestors lived in harmony with plants, relying on them not only for sustenance but also for healing, protection, wisdom, empowerment and inspiration. Ancient plant folktales encapsulate wisdom and teachings passed down through generations, reflecting the roles that flora and fauna have played for our survival, cultural identity and in the mythic imagination, often intersecting all three.

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Fox Woman: The Shapeshifting Woman at the Threshold Between Worlds

Fox Woman, also known as Kitsune in Japanese folklore, is a shapeshifting trickster character who resembles the elusive, clever fox from the wild. Although this folktale comes in many different variations and her story is told in many tongues, what they all have in common is a trickster character who shifts between human and fox, sometimes androgynous, living in multiple worlds, questioning the order of things through her mischief, playfulness, wit, deception, magic and defiance of authority. The tale of Fox Woman is almost always makes visible the tension between the need for order, and its reinvention.

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The Mitten: the undercurrent of synchronicities that connects us all together

There is a folktale about the importance of generosity when faced with a scarcity of resources that can be found in both Ukrainian folklore and in Abenaki folklore. In the Ukrainian version, woodland animals try to fit into a mitten to stay warm even though it is too small, and in the Abenaki version they are all coerced into a bag to feed a hunter and his grandmother even though taking all of them exceeds the hunter’s needs for the winter. Myths and stories that reveal shared values and themes despite having originated from two distinct cultures and landscapes reveals a collective consciousness: an undercurrent of synchronicities that connects us all together.

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The Owl Lover: When the Wild Courts Us

An endearing love story about a rare white Great Horned Owl who falls in love with a human woman, retold by Joseph Bruchac in his book Wabi: A Hero’s Journey. This Abenaki folktale suggests that nature is courting us, that there is a a romance taking place. . .a precious mythos from ancient times about the intimate and tender relationship between humans and the wild.

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