The
story of Baba Yaga is prime among many images of the Black Goddess. The
Black Goddess is at the heart of all creative processes and cannot be
so easily viewed. Men and women rarely approach her, except in fear.
Women are learning of her through the strength and boldness of elder
women who are not afraid to unveil her many faces.
Sofia
as wisdom lies waiting to be discovered within the Black Goddess who is
her mirror image. Knowing that, until we make that important
recognition, we are going to have to face the hidden and rejected images
of ourselves again and again.
As
women, we are confronted throughout our lives with unavoidable body
messages regarding the uniqueness of our form and the inevitable changes
that characterize aging and the passage of time. Although aging
presents difficult challenges for both men and women, women confront
some specific difficulties because of their gender. In traditional
narratives, the end of biological fertility has relegated women to the
status of "old women" who are stereotypically viewed as poor, powerless,
and pitiful in our sexist and youth oriented culture. Baba Yaga, often
referred to as the Black Goddess, and Vasalisa, often representing
Sophia (Matthew's 1992, p. 289-90), are intrinsic to the psyche of girls
and women because they shows us that the illusion of form can hide
wonderful qualities within.
One
of the cruelest of stereotypes that older women face is the "menopausal
woman." These are accentuated by the very fact that younger women are
often rejecting or distancing to older women in society, unwilling to
identify with women older than themselves. These experiences are painful
confirmations that the aging woman no longer meets the social criteria
of a physically and securely attractive woman. The common result for
most women is the activation of shame -- as if becoming/looking older
means that something is deeply and truly wrong with oneself.
Conscious
femininity is a cyclic process (Woodman 1990) and involves an awakened
awareness of the triple form of the Goddess - Mother, Virgin and Crone -
and how she exists simultaneously and continuously in all of our
psyches, each taking center stage in awareness at different moments.
These archetypal patterns are considered intrapsychic modes of
consciousness in the individual, and the primordial image of a powerful
and integrated woman, crowned with wisdom gleaned through real
experience, is again reemerging through both the individual and
collective psyches of humanity. First, however, women must learn to
embrace, respect and honor their changing bodies, abilities, capacities
and WISDOM. We can learn a lot from Baba Yaga!
An
archetype is a universal symbol, an inherited mental image to which
humankind responds, and which is often acted upon as an unconscious
reaction to human experience. These stories are no different and the
story of Baba Yaga exemplify this phenomena. The female experience is
symbolized by and archetypally corresponds with the ancient Triple
Goddess as the creator and destroyer of all life -- "the ancient and
venerable female divinity embodying the whole of female experience as
Virgin, Mother, Crone" (Mantecon 1993, p. 81). The archetypal figure
representing the end of a woman's childbearing years, or the "third age"
for women, is the third aspect of the Triple Goddess, the Crone.
At
the climacteric or menopause, women are often forced to stand
precipitously between the culmination of past experiences, to realize
that youth is left behind, and prepare a new space within whereby a
fresh image will coalesce as she envisions her future. This is real
labor. The traditional constructs that are available to women are
largely influenced by patriarchal standards of youth and beauty and we
need fresh constructs that honor the diversity of life in all of its
forms.
When
a culture's language has no word to connote "wise elder woman," what
happens to the women who carry the "Grandmother" consciousness for the
collective? Prejudicial (prejudged) attacks throughout history against
older women symbolized patriarchy's feminization of fear: the ultimate
fear of annihilation, to be nonexistent (no existence). Centuries-long
indoctrination limits our imagination so that we see this ancient aspect
of the feminine only in her negative forms. We see her as the one who
brings death to our old way of being, to our lives as we have known
them, and to our embodied selves.
Our
fear of the unconscious makes the Crone or Baba into an image of evil.
The prevalence of paranoid masochism finds its expression through
feminine perversion. Kristeva (1986) writes from "Stabat Matar" that:
"Feminine perversion is coiled up in the desire for law as desire for
reproduction and continuity, it promotes feminine masochism to the rank
of structure stabilizer" (p. 183).
Structure
stabilizer! Natural death is to be feared, hidden away, certainly not
recognized as part of the natural rhythm of cycles of birth, death and
rebirth? Only when death becomes projected does it become a monster to
be feared. There is an unconscious belief that a woman who has outlived
her husband has somehow used up his life force. Walker (1985) claims
that the secret hidden in the depths of men's minds is that images of
women are often identified with death. Women have also bought into this
mindset largely because of lost connection with their own spirituality
and the natural cycles of nature!
To
be sent to Baba Yaga was tantamount to being sent to one's death, but
Vasalisa was actually helped by Baba Yaga. By facing her own worst fear
-- death itself, Vasalisa became liberated from her previous situation
and immaturity.
The
myths of our society tell us much about the attitudes and world view of
the myth-owners (Kaufert 1982), and these attitudes are the products of
women's roles within the wider society. Myth arises out of the
collective level of humankind's experience, which is presented through
images and symbols that resonate within our psyche. It is something we
inherit from our ancestors and it is expressed through our genetic,
racial memory. Kaufert (1982) reminds us however, that "myth is a system
of values presented as if it were a system of facts" (p. 143).
The
symbol of the Crone is unique to a feminine worldview where the face of
the Virgin and the fecund Mother, the Virgin Mother Mary, was absorbed
in Western tradition into Judeo-Christian imagery. Likewise, we see the
image of Vasalisa embodied as this innocence. The Crone has retained
much of her pre-patriarchial character where she has haunted the fringes
of Western culture, largely ignored, unacknowledged and rejected; one
that often strikes fear into the hearts of men and some women because
she has tremendous power and cannot be confined (Hall 1992). "Wise
women," in the past, were literally seen as having the power of life and
death. They symbolized maturity, authority, attuned to nature and
instinct. They were women whom men could not bind by making pregnant.
They personified, as Hall (1992) writes:
"That
aspect of life that men would most like to control but against which
they are powerless: death. The Crone was healer, seer, medicine woman
and, when death arrived with inexorable certainty, she was the mid-wife
for the transition to another life (p. 170)."
Over
time, and in recent history the Crone became associated with the dark
side of the feminine; the withered old hag, the witch. Ironically, the
word "Hag" used to mean "holy one" from the Greek hadia, as in
hagiolatry, "worship of saints." (Starck 1993). And during the middle
ages hag was said to mean the same as fairy.
In
deconstructing these familiar images of the older aging woman, we must
first identify their symbolic roots and challenge them in order to allow
for potent, vital images that energize women's potential creative
spiritual evolution. In this quest it is crucial to find valued female
images that present creative and spiritual power, that offer a paradigm
of ongoing formation and integration. If we do not do so, we risk
encountering images of women that reinforce stereotypical models and
moreover, can only alienate us from our own truest selves.
The
Crone is a figure who incorporates both dark and light, life and death,
creation and destruction, form and dissolution. The doll [Vasalisa's
doll, given to her by her dying mother] becomes the symbol of the Sibyl,
a figure of inspiration and intuition. She acts as a guide through the
great passages of life, leading a woman into her own inner knowing.
We
see this in the story of Vasalisa and Baba Yaga, the innocence of the
maiden coming of age through a series of tasks. Baba Yaga forces
Vasalisa to look within through intuition (the doll) and she awakens to
the illuminating light that is carried in her heart. Within the simple
limits of a folk story, the interactions of Sophia (Vasalisa) and the
Black Goddess (Baba Yaga) are demonstrated. Baba Yaga or the Crone also
embodies the inner archetype of Sophia, feminine wisdom. Hall (1992)
writes:
"Sophia
is a Wise Woman, one who epitomizes feminine thought. This thought is
of a particular kind. It is 'gestalt' or whole perception; it
synthesizes and looks at the overall pattern; it is logical but
empathetic, and combines acute observation with intuition. It is
relational (taking account of the past in order to project forward into
the future), and it arises out of care and concern for man and
womankind. It uses both the left and right brain modes of thought. It is
creative and concerned with vision and solutions -- attributes which
are an integral part of the Wise Woman (p. 179)."
Sophia
plays, hides, adepts, disguises, and brings justice. Interestingly, we
see these very same qualities attributed to the wise woman as being
Vasalisa's, only not fully formed. Thus affirming the feminist
perspective of the Goddess in all of her aspects and that all ways to
wisdom are valid paths. Girls and women are encouraged to rely on their
own subjective experience or on the communal experience of other women
This is a very important point!
From
a feminist perspective, the entry into the third phase of women's life
is seen as a time of spiritual questing, renewal and self-development.
It is a time where women are encouraged to explore themselves through
interaction with other females who are providers of friendship, support,
love, even sexual satisfaction, rather than a woman's family.
Likewise,
the young girl growing into maidenhood needs the guidance and wisdom
that elder women can provide. She must receive the gifts that the wise
ones can give her. Baba Yaga may appear as a witch, yet she is
instrumental in folk traditions. She aids heroes to find weapons,
simplifying tasks and quests when she is treated with courtesy. Her
transposed reflection is none other than Vasilisa the fair - the young
righteous maiden who defeats her opposite aspect by truth and integrity
(Matthews 1992)
The
older woman is the keeper of the wisdom and tradition in her family,
clan, tribe, and community. She is the keeper of relations, whether they
be interpersonal or with all of nature. Every issue is an issue of
relationship. It is assumed that she has a deep understanding of the two
great mysteries, birth and death.
Another
quality is the ability to be mediator between the world of spirit and
earth. She is emancipated from traditional female roles of mothering and
is free to make a commitment to the greater community. As a result of
this freedom, there is an abundance of creativity unleashed in this
phase of life; often expressed through art, poetry, song, dance, and
crafts, and through her sexuality as she celebrates her joy (Joussance).
This
elder time must again become a stage of life revered and honored by
others and used powerfully in service by women themselves. The elder
"Wise-woman" can represent precisely the kind of power women so
desperately need today, and do not have: the power to force the hand of
the ruling elite to do what is right, for the benefit of future
generations and of the earth itself.
Like
Baba Yaga, the Crone must help us by her example and "admonish us to
revere all peoples and all circles of life upon this earth . . . not
only important for the dignity and self-esteem of each woman, but vital
for the countenance of life on our sweet Mother Earth" (Eagle). Since
men define power as the capacity to destroy, the Destroying Mother Crone
must be the most powerful female image for them, therefore, the only
one likely to force them (us) in any new direction.
A
woman who denies her life process at any time in her development,
clinging desperately to outmoded images, myths and rituals of her past,
obscures her connection with Self, the Divine, and therefore, with her
spiritual heritage, the natural universe. The same holds true for our
daughters, maidens who are coming of age. There is a kind of internal
balance and sense of holiness available to us when we accept ourselves
as part of a world that honors cycles, changes, decay and rebirth. It is
time for women to reflect and give form to the authentic self in its
evolving, formative process. The woman who is willing to make that
change must become pregnant with herself, at last. She must bear
herself, her third self, her old age with labor. There are not many who
will help her with that birth. To Crone is to birth oneself as
"Wise-woman," and see the world through new eyes.
We
have not had the safety valve of feminine metaphor in our spiritual
understanding; consequently, the Feminine, both Divine and human, have
appeared monstrously contorted, threatening and uncontrollable.
The
Black Goddess lies at the basis of Spiritual knowing, which is why her
image continuously appears within many traditions as the Veiled Goddess,
the Black Virgin, the Outcast Daughter, the Wailing Widow, the Dark
Woman of Knowledge.
The
way of Sophia is the way of personal experience. It takes us into the
realm of "magical reality," those areas of our lives where extraordinary
vocational and creative skills are called upon to manifest. Those
treasures of Baba Yaga and Vasalisa lie deep within each of us, waiting
to be discovered.
REFERENCES:
Matthews, Caitlin. (1992) Sophia Goddess of Wisdom: the divine feminine
from black goddess to world-soul. London, Eng.: Thorsons, p. 289-90)
Starck, Marcia. (1993) Medicine ways: cross-cultural rites of passage.
Freedom, CA: Crossing Press.
Tijerina-Jim, Aleticia. (1993) Three native american women speak about
the significance of ceremony. Women and therapy: a feminist quarterly, 14 (1/2), p. 33-39.
Audio
Eagle, Brooke Medicine. Grandmother wisdom: lessons of the moon-pause.
Guerneville, CA: Harmony Network Productions
Author of text is unknown.
