Saturday, October 2, 2010

Do come in!

Merry Meet fair revelers, I'm your friendly forest witch Danni and this is my Whimsical Cottage.




Welcome! Please, do come in, put your feet up and stay a spell. Mind you, watch the cobwebs as you come in and keep an eye out for wee goblins under foot, the place seems to be infested with them this time of year.

It's good to see some familiar faces, but for those who are new to my little acre of the vast internet forest let me introduce myself and my space here. My cottage is home to my artwork, photography and various crafts as well as musings of both the mundane and magical variety. It also seems to have the ability to change its look from time to time and is currently all done up for Samhain/Hallowe'en. Sure, it doesn't have chicken legs and isn't made of gingerbread, but every witch's cottage needs to house some magic all it's own. As for myself, I'm an eclectic soul who wanders the path of the green witch, makes messes and artwork and has a fondness for abandoned places and old stories of all sorts. Today I thought I'd share my love for old stories with a bit of Folklore about a croney old witch I associate with this season, the Baba Yaga of Slavic folklore.





Baba yaga is the fearsome, iron toothed, crone goddess of Autumn and master of the elements. She is said to be the keeper of the waters of life and death and is a wild and untamed spirit of nature.

She stands apart from other witches of the flying variety as she doesn't ride a broom, but rather prefers to soar the skies in a giant mortar or iron cauldron using her pestle to steer and a silver birch broom to erase her trail.

Her foot house is a wonder all its own, as it spins in place shrieking or runs through the forests on it's great chicken legs. The house possesses a fence made of bone and topped with illuminated skulls to warn off intruders and trespassers. Baba yaga resides in her monstrously magical house with her three faithful horsemen of white, red and black whom she refers to as her bright dawn, red sun and dark midnight.

Although many tales of the black goddess refer to her as a kidnapper and devourer of children, she is also a wise, if cunning, woman. She has been known to give advice and guidance to the pure of heart, the lost souls and the heroic few who come to her seeking her knowledge.

One of the most famous stories about Baba Yaga is "Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave", but if you keep a watchful eye out in certain fairy tales and folk lore, you'll see her signs and know she is the witch in the story though she isn't named.

I hope you enjoyed the folklore, help yourself to some cider from the cauldron and have a peek around the rest of my cottage if you'd like. There are so many clickable things you may lose yourself for a while! If you're feeling a bit lost, feel free to start out at the top with the tabs or view a list of some of my favorite posts from the past year here.

Before I leave you to wander, I'd like to invite you to attend an easy peasy party I'm throwing. I'm counting down the days to Hallowe'en by doing 31 Hallowe'en/Autumn activities throughout the month and encouraging others to join in. Please take a peek at my detailed post about it, here. As much fun as this season already is, it gets even moreso when your friends join in!

I hope you enjoy your stay here and that you'll visit again!

**The pumpkin roofed house in the photo, sadly, is not mine. It sits on a backroad near my home town in NJ. While it doesn't appear to be abandoned due to the lively potted plants and grill on the property, I have never-ever seen anybody there. I also have no idea why it has a pumpkin on it, but I'd like to live in it.**

24 comments:

  1. I will definitely make sure to visit your blog every day! I hope to post a lot Halloween-related entries, too. :)

    -- Birgit

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  2. Oh Danni, you made a beautiful job decorating your place for Halloween! Love everything! :) And Baba Yaga became so familiar to me last week! I adored your painting!!

    Have a great weekend, dear!

    Kisses and love from us.

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  3. Fantastic house! There is nothing so charming in my area.

    As I have hopped around the blogs, I am amazed at the layouts and graphics. I will have to learn how to do or how to get these nifty things one day soon!

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  4. Great entry! I hope you have a happy Halloween in that lovely home!

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  5. Subbing!

    I am always drawn to the dark goddesses, and often they are reported as "child devourers" etc. My patron (Lilith) is like that in history- but she calls me to be a healer in her name. Go figure.

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  6. love the pumpkin house... and love the new decor... blessings to you

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  7. great post & love the Halloween look you've given to the place.

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  8. Thank you for such a warm welcome, Danni. Your artwork is gorgeous!

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  9. How wonderful to visit a sanctuary where crones are honored (I'm not one yet) but I love that you see the beauty in all. I mean we all want to visit a whimsical cottage. I love the word "whimsy." I look forward to visiting here again and again.

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  10. What a wonderful post! Thank you for sharing the story of Baba Yaga with us. I just love your image of her flying around in her mortar. :0)

    And love the image of the Pumpkin Cottage. Would love to have a home like that as well....

    Enjoyed my visit!

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  11. ~such a vivid and welcoming post to us...i felt myself wandering and sneaking about...your drawing painted the perfect picture of the tale you told...warm wishes and brightest blessings~

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  12. gratz on the tour! I like the look =).

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  13. What a wonderful blog! You are a beautiful artist, and I am glad to meet ya! Mrs. B's blog tour is a lot of fun. Brightest Blessings and Have a Fantastic October.

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  14. I am familiar with Baba Yaga and enjoyed your telling. Glad you explained the house with the Pumpkin. I would be tempted to knock on the door.
    I hope to see you at more parties this month. I am sure you have an "inspirational witch" in your life. There's a party on the 13th.
    And now, some cider and a look around...

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  15. great article.enjoyed learning about baba yaga

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  16. Here from the tour ... how do I get to the pumpkin house? I live in NJ, and my daughter loves weird houses!

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  17. I love your post! I've never heard of Baba Yaga but the way you described her I was able to recognize her right away. And I love that house. If I'm ever in Jersey I will stalk it down! *hopping over to your count down page to sign up!*

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  18. Love your post Danni! I absolutely love the house with the pumpkin roof! I don't blame you for wanting to live there... I want to live there too lol

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  19. Fantastic! Magic October blessings! :)

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  20. I would SO love to live in that house! And I'd be thrilled to live under a pumpkin all year - lol! Happy October!

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  21. Baba Yaga has always had a special place in my heart and you have captured her beautifully. :)

    That cottage is so lovely. It does seem like a great place to live, with some cats. But maybe that's just me.

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  22. I came over from Mrs. B's. Lovely blog you've got here lady! I also grabbed the countdown button for my own 31 days of Halloween. :)

    -Shelly

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  23. Our second home is not to far from the pumpkin house! I was so surprised to see a photo of it here on your blog!

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