Bone Mothers, Baba Yaga & the Witches Who Guard the Gate

There are witches who heal, and witches who hex—but the Bone Mothers are something older. In folklore across cultures, you’ll find them: guardians of thresholds, keepers of secrets, women who don’t smooth their edges for anyone. Baba Yaga, with her chicken-legged hut and iron teeth, is one of the most iconic. But she’s not alone. These figures appear again and again in stories—half-dangerous, half-divine—waiting at the edge of the forest or the end of the world, daring the seeker to ask the right question.

Baba Yaga doesn’t offer easy answers. She offers tests. She asks you to sweep the floor with no broom, cook a meal from nothing, find your own way out of the dark. The Bone Mothers strip you down to the truth—not to punish, but to prepare. In tarot, they echo in cards like Death, the High Priestess, the Moon. They are transformation incarnate: the parts of life that unmake us before we can be remade. They aren’t here to be liked. They’re here to turn the wheel.

To work with these archetypes—whether in divination, dreamwork, or personal ritual—is to welcome wild wisdom. It’s not about becoming fearless. It’s about becoming honest. The Bone Mothers don’t guard the gate to keep you out. They guard it to make sure you’re ready. If you knock, know this: they’ll open the door—but they’ll also ask you what you’re willing to leave behind.