Here she is! The Baba Yaga trading card!

If you have preordered the first issue of Croning, you will be getting one of these little cuties with your zine. If you haven’t preordered yet, it’s not too late!

Huge thanks to Anne of AnneArchy Art for the sweet illustration. If you like her style, check out her shop! Her adorably subversive sundries make great gifts and, right now, she’s offering 15% off purchases with the code SHOP2023.

In other news…

St. Nicholas Day is coming, and you know what that means: Krampusnacht!

As you surely know, Krampus is one of St. Nicholas’s companions in a swathe of Europe stretching from Italy in the southwest to Bavaria in the north and Czechia in the east. On December 6, St. Nicholas goes around filling the shoes of good children with treats. These lucky tots are the righteous remainder of the harrowing that occurs on the night of December 5, when Krampus is hunting for bad children to smack with birch rods—or carry off to Hell.

Good and evil. Light and dark. Damnation and candy. It’s all about balance, right?

I created this Tarot spread for my other Substack, Postmodern Witchcraft, but I thought some of you hags might be into it, too.

FIRST CARD Why do you deserve to be smacked with sticks?

SECOND CARD Why do you deserve a fresh orange and bright penny?

If you, like me, aren’t really into strict binaries, maybe add a third card asking for guidance on how you might find a healthy balance between light and dark in the new year that’s coming.

If you’d like me to do this reading for you on Krampusnacht, let me know! I can do a handful, and we can talk about what kind of reading you want and what that might cost.

No someone who might enjoy this Tarot spread? Please share!

One more note about Croning…

I am in the midst of editing one piece and expect to get the final contribution today. I should be able to send the zine to the printer by Thursday at the latest, which means that the first issue should be in the mail very soon!

A paid subscription ensures that you’ll be on the Nice List, but if you’d prefer to be hit with sticks… Your call. We don’t kink shame here.