On Sunday, May 23, SHARANYA hosted our regular monthly public puja, except this month, we aligned our energies and intentions with the cross-roads of the dark goddess in Europe, a place where ancient traditions of the goddess came to shore and today, the Black Madonna stands as testimony to Her presence. For this worship, we recognized the concurrence of our puja with the Festival of Gitanes, or Gypsies, in the south of France, who come together to honor their Dark Goddess, Sarah the Black...[url=http://www.sharanya.org/articles/saralakali/]Sarah-la-Kali[/url]!
<img src="http://www.sharanya.org/images/Saint%20Sara%20Altar.jpg" align=right>
The puja was particularly moving as we toned sacred syllables and took turns adorning Sara's altar with scarves from around our necks in the same fashion that those gathered in France for her festival do. As one of our initiates, Haravallabha, shared about her puja experience...

<i>I got lots of images of constant movement of a tribe slipping through the edges of society, and after a night's sleep, a host of clear lessons from La Sara. They are about community, versatility, autonomy, and self-authority. Here are a few glimpses:

<ul><li>Don't try to fit any mold
<li>Don't try to be a single thing - activate versatility
<li>Be willing to cast a spell
<li>Keep some things private when it fits your strategy for survival or service, and find a way to let them flow with full force in a trusted setting
<li>It's OK to run counter to the main currents of society - or not to participate in them at all
<li>Use fascination to your advantage
<li>Do ritual instead of picking a fight
<li>Acting on our own truth is more important than playing an expected role
<li>Protect yourself and your tribe
<li>Learn to go between, around, outside of ordinary structures & conventions
<li>Keep your knives sharp
<li>There's no celebration like music & dancing around a fire</li></ul></i>

What do you think She offers, this dark goddess of the in-between, standing between worlds of East and West? 


