Even during my childhood, disobedient children were frightened by a witch or Baba Yaga. In the minds of the majority, these characters merged into a single image - an evil, bony old woman, from whom no good was expected. Meanwhile, Baba Yaga has nothing to do with witchcraft. Rather, she can be called the "colleague" of Charon, the ancient Greek carrier of the souls of the dead, or Kerberus, the three-headed dog who stands guard over Hades, the world of the dead.
After all, the famous hut on chicken legs was located on the border of the Koscheev kingdom, which, according to the beliefs of the ancient Slavs, was an underground, afterlife. And a living person could get there only by passing the test of an old woman with a bone leg.
As for the witch, in folklore a completely different character corresponded to her - Vasilisa the Wise. The lady is pleasant in all respects, with magical powers and all kinds of magical "gadgets". As they say, feel the difference.
OLD, OLD TALE
By the way, one very ancient legend reveals the secret of Vasilisa's magical abilities. The plot is somewhat reminiscent of the story of Cinderella, but only at the very beginning: a man's wife dies, and he is left alone with a little daughter named Vasilisa. After a while, he brings a new wife with two daughters to the house.
The stepmother and her children begin to harass poor Vasilisa in every possible way and one day they declare that the fire is over in the house, and in order to get it, you need to go to Baba Yaga, whose hut is located at the other end of the dark forest.
Vasilisa obeyed and set off. The road through the forest was long and scary, but the girl did not give up. She was not afraid of the three horsemen who met on her way - one white, another red, and the third black. All of them were on their way to Baba Yaga's dwelling.
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When Vasilisa got to her hut, she saw a high fence made of stakes, and a human skull was planted on each of them. Even such a terrible picture did not frighten Vasilisa, and the girl entered Baba Yaga's hut.
Twilight reigned in the house, strange, frightening objects were seen from everywhere, but the mistress turned out to be the most terrible - a bony old woman with a huge hooked nose and a bone leg. However, when Vasilisa stated her request, Baba Yaga promised to help - with the conditions, of course. In one day, Vasilisa must clean the yard, wash things, cook food, separate healthy grains from spoiled and poppy seeds from dirt.
If the girl does not cope or performs the tasks poorly, Baba Yaga threatened to eat her. But Vasilisa did everything perfectly, and then the old woman allowed her to ask any questions. Vasilisa asked what kind of horsemen she met along the way. Yaga replied that these were her faithful servants - Clear Day, Red Sun and Black Night.
For some time, Vasilisa continued to serve Baba Yaga, and at the same time she watched how the old woman works real miracles and even makes the world revolve around her hut. It turns out that in this old tale, Baba Yaga is not just a guard on the border of the worlds, she is a great goddess, the foremother of humanity. And the smart girl Vasilisa is her student.
In the end, Baba Yaga gives Vasilisa a fire - a flaming skull worn on a stake, a symbol of secret magical knowledge. With such a shining staff, Vasilisa went home, although Baba Yaga suggested that she stay.
However, Vasilisa chose a worldly life, returned to her family, but did not give herself offense. Thanks to magical art, she began to help her father and good people, and she could punish enemies. In the end, the girl grew up, became not only Wise, but also Beautiful, and successfully married. For the Tsarevich, of course.
FROM LOVE TO HATE
In each fairy tale there is only a fraction of a fairy tale: the fact that witches received magical knowledge and abilities from the gods was unconditionally recognized by the Slavs. The word "witch" itself is derived from two foundations - "to know" and "mother", that is, it is a knowing mother, a wise woman with sacred knowledge. It was she who was approached with any problems - whether it be illness, damage, crop failure or disagreements in the family.
Witches saved their family from epidemics, helped to defeat the invaders. They were indispensable and the main participants in calendar rituals: people believed that the weather and the harvest depended on the witch. And of course, the witches were fortunate, practiced love and protective magic, prepared medicinal potions, treated, delivered. Almost every village had its own witch, and people simply could not imagine how to live without her support.
However, in those distant times, everyone was a little wizards. Each member of the clan or community took part in collective rituals, rituals were held in any family aimed at protecting the home, getting rid of diseases and other misfortunes. Women made amulets, prepared healing decoctions and infusions.
Later, as people began to live more apart, attitudes towards witches changed. They were still respected, but fear began to mingle with reverence. Which, in general, is quite understandable: witches managed to preserve ancient secret knowledge, but ordinary people gradually lost touch with ancestral roots and nature. Magic began to be perceived as something supernatural, inexplicable - and if a person does not understand something, he is afraid. As before, people turned to the witch for help.
But when trouble happened, all the responsibility was shifted to her. Anything could happen - from drought to unhappy love, from illness to unsuccessful trade. If there was a crop failure or cattle fell ill, the witch was declared guilty. Completely undeservedly, the image of a witch acquired a rather unpleasant mythological touch.
For example, they began to say that witches milk cows to blood at night, and then those milk disappears, that they conjure clouds and tie spikelets in a special way to bring hunger, that turn into animals in order to get into someone's house and harm.
But although the reputation of witches was badly damaged, people were afraid to openly oppose them, they were afraid to spoil them from wearing, because, as before, they believed in their power. But with the spread of Christianity in Russia, the situation changed. Prince Vladimir issued a decree on church courts, according to which witchcraft and sorcery began to be persecuted by the church. The first trials and massacres of witches and sorcerers are mentioned in the 11th century.
Fortunately, in our country the witch-hunt did not reach the scale of medieval Europe, but, as it is not difficult to guess, these persecutions did not lead to anything good. The witches were forced to hide, to hide their abilities. It was not always possible to pass on the ancient sacred knowledge to the new generation, so that a huge layer of the magical heritage of the ancestors was lost. And if earlier almost every village had its own witch, then by the beginning of the 18th century, when the persecution of people with magical abilities practically stopped, there were very few true witches.
However, during this time, many people suffered who had nothing to do with magic and witchcraft. In 1551, the Stoglavy Cathedral forbade keeping "loathsome books" in the house and called on the people to denounce sorcerers. All who were suspected of divination were beaten, robbed and expelled from the community. Naturally, the most common people suffered, who somehow did not please their neighbors.
Interest in magic revived only in the Age of Enlightenment and only in elite circles. The peasants, on the other hand, were still wary of anyone who aroused the slightest suspicion. True, the reprisals stopped, and the court took up such cases less and less.
WITCHES OF THE NEW CENTURY
In Soviet times, there could be no talk of any magic in our country. Scientific atheism was the only permitted "faith", and an interest in magic was easy to end up in a psychiatric hospital. So, the few witches who managed to get sacred knowledge from their ancestors went underground again. But now we just have a flourishing of witchcraft and magic! Little girls dream of becoming witches, and quite adult young ladies seriously consider themselves to be such.
If you look at the numerous thematic forums on the Internet, you get the impression that magicians, sorcerers, witches and witches are literally everywhere. Young and not very young people enthusiastically create all kinds of "magic" communities, covens, schools of magic, openly share "secret" knowledge and gladly accept new "magicians" into their ranks.
All this resembles the theater of the absurd, although it is not difficult to understand the reasons for the craze for witchcraft. For many centuries magic has been banned, and now, when it has been rehabilitated, it has become incredibly attractive for ordinary people: you must admit, it is tempting to consider yourself a sorcerer or witch.
Mass interest in magic is fueled by foreign pop culture. In the cinema, for example, witches have long ceased to be portrayed as decrepit ugly old women. On the contrary, these are very attractive persons of any age - from young schoolgirls to respectable mothers of the family, who in the meantime save the world from universal evil.
However, in the West, the excitement has long passed: people played enough with wizards back in the 20th century. Starting from the 50s, all kinds of magical orders, neo-pagan movements, and witchcraft communities began to appear in the USA and Europe.
One of the most famous and popular trends has become Wicca (from English, witchcraft - "witchcraft") - a teaching at the intersection of magic and religion. In 1954, Gerald Gardner, a retired American clerk, published Witchcraft Today, outlining the basic principles and concepts of Wicca. Gardner called himself one of the last initiates of the ancient magical tradition that existed in Europe before our era.
Wiccans worship the forces of nature, the Horned God (which in the Celtic tradition corresponds to the deity Cernunnos, as well as folklore characters - the Green Man, the Oak King, the Holly King, etc.) and the Triune Goddess (the goddess of the Moon in her three manifestations - Virgin, Mother and Old Woman, who correspond to the lunar phases).
The adherents of this tradition practice ritual magic (in many respects echoes the Celtic calendar rites) and adhere to fairly free moral principles.
“Do whatever you want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone” is the basic rule of Wicca. In a word, the course turned out to be very attractive. And most importantly, getting initiation into the Wicca tradition is not at all difficult: you need to study the basic principles on your own for a year, and then undergo initiation. However, in some covens self-initiation is also practiced: if a person thinks that he is ready to become a magician, then why not?
Of course, you can treat Wicca with a smile, but in America, Wiccans received official status, and their symbol (a pentagram placed in a circle) is included in the official list of emblems of religion. Wicca also took root in new Russia: in 2011, the first Russian Wicca coven with the beautiful name “Willow Hollow Coven” was registered in the city of Izhevsk.
True, it is not entirely clear where we are and where the traditions of pagan Europe are. Moreover, we have enough of our own neopagans. Newly minted wise men and sorceresses aged "16 and older" claim that they are striving to make the world a better place.
However, very few can offer specific magical help. Which is understandable: there are only a few real sorcerers and witches today. And they are in no hurry to share sacred knowledge with everyone: not everyone is capable of becoming a true magician - just remember the story of Vasilisa.
Anastasia NEVEROVA
