(100176,2,'2013-09-18 23:15:19','2013-09-19 06:15:19','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja & Workshop</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (Spring 2006 & Summer 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">India Pilgrimage \"SHARANYA in the News!\"</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News.jpg\" alt=\"India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100156 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-18 23:15:19','2013-09-19 06:15:19','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100177,2,'2013-09-18 23:19:50','2013-09-19 06:19:50','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja & Workshop</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (Spring 2006 & Summer 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">India Pilgrimage \"SHARANYA in the News!\"</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News.jpg\" alt=\"India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100156 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-18 23:19:50','2013-09-19 06:19:50','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100178,2,'2003-09-19 13:31:51','2003-09-19 20:31:51','','Homepage 1','','publish','closed','closed','','100178','','','2013-10-11 21:57:18','2013-10-12 04:57:18','',0,'',0,'th_slideshows','',0),(100179,2,'2013-09-20 21:19:11','2013-09-21 04:19:11','Join us as we come together to explore Goddess through writings, poetry, reflection, discussion, meditation, devotion, spiritual technologies, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), and the creation of community through Shakta Tantra in the Sha\'can tradition.\r\n\r\nOur courses are designed to help all spiritual seekers contextualize the ancient and living goddess traditions within the socio-cultural and psycho-spiritual framework of today\'s world, creating lived spaces for the Divine in all Her forms—including those of the Sacred Masculine—in personal practice and devotion.\r\n\r\n[testimonials category=\"kali-vidya\" time=\"10\" effect=\"fade\" ]\r\n\r\nIf you seek community and want to learn more about SHARANYA\'s spiritual path as an authentic, Tantric lineage tradition of goddess worship, then we welcome you to delve into <em>Devoted to Devi: Embracing  Tradition - Walking the Path</em>.  Join this introductory class in our open source, interactive online forum!<br><p>\r\n\r\nRegistration is now OPEN for our next offerings.<br><p>\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"SHA101: <em>Devoted to Devi</em>\" active=\"\"]Join us for the next series of classes beginning January 2014. Classes run for sixteen weeks to allow an integration of the rich lessons with your ongoing practice and explorations in the Sha\'can tradition. We begin this introductory course at SHARANYA\'s Kali Vidya with creation of a Western framework that helps us build a respectful and appropriate bridge to the Eastern mysteries and understanding of Devi, Goddess, our Divine Mother, She Who Embraces All. <br><br>\r\n\r\nGiven our roots in the earth-based spiritualities of East and West, we start with a very basic introduction to the Craft. Even if you are already familiar with this tradition, please consider yourself a beginner on our path as we create perspective for Western elements of devotion in Sha\'can. The first section of our course will give you an important introduction to and perspective on how we practice. The exercises given are also important foundational keys for the rest of the spiritual homework provided. In addition to on-line sharing, this includes daily practice, readings, research, participation in development of an on-line glossary, and other requirements designed to facilitate your spiritual exploration and unfolding.<br><br>\r\n\r\nWe then provide a brief background on what Tantra is (and what it is not) and how it fits within Sha\'can. Next, we offer an introduction and overview of the Dark Goddess and why She is important, followed by a beginner\'s look at Kali as the Great Mother and Four-Fold Feminine Force.<br><br>\r\n\r\nThis course, when all of the components are put together, creates a ritual through which you may approach Kali Maa, our Divine Mother, and gain understanding that will complement your sincere devotion.[/toggle]\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"SHA201: <i>Unveiling Goddess: Practices at the Heart of Tantra</i>\" active=\"\"]This is an intermediate course for those who have completed SHA101.<br><br>\r\n\r\nOnce you have journeyed through our introductory course, having learned tools and absorbed the ethics and basics of the tradition, the next step in your studies lies here, in <i>Unveiling Goddess</i>. In this in-depth course, we will continue to explore the nuances of spiritual discipline and practice in the Sha\'can tradition, learning additional methods of worship and delving more deeply into the Tantric frameworks of the Shakta lineage carried from India to new shores. Participants in this collaborative forum will share experiences and receive feedback each week as they develop the techniques during <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice) and utilize them within their own devotional work, inclusive of ritual, prayer, meditation, ecstatic dance and other forms of worship. Emphasis will be on establishment of an invigorated daily practice through the pathways of the <i>Yoga Sutras</i>.[/toggle]\r\n\r\nTo enroll, simply pay online. Once we have received your registration, we will email you with login information and additional course details. Questions? Email us at <a title=\"Email Kali Vidya\" href=\"mailto:info@kalividya.org\" target=\"_blank\">info@kalividya.org</a>.\r\n\r\n<form action=\"https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr\" method=\"post\" target=\"_top\">\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"cmd\" value=\"_s-xclick\">\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"hosted_button_id\" value=\"SLWA52RAF42GG\">\r\n<table>\r\n<tr><td><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"on0\" value=\"Courses offered\">Courses offered</td></tr><tr><td><select name=\"os0\">\r\n <option value=\"SHA101\">SHA101 $81.00 USD</option>\r\n <option value=\"SHA201\">SHA201 $81.00 USD</option>\r\n</select> </td></tr>\r\n</table>\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"currency_code\" value=\"USD\">\r\n<div class=\"widget_feedburner\" style=\"padding: 15px;\"><button type=\"submit\">Enroll Now</button></div>\r\n</form>\r\n\r\n[teaser url=\"http://sharanya.org/kali-vidya\" title=\"Kali Vidya\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/DSC_0387-e1378621009871.jpg\" ]Login now[/teaser]','Kali Vidya','','inherit','open','open','','99152-revision-v1','','','2013-09-20 21:19:11','2013-09-21 04:19:11','',99152,'Join us as we come together to explore Goddess through writings, poetry, reflection, discussion, meditation, devotion, spiritual technologies, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), and the creation of community through Shakta Tantra in the Sha\'can traditio',0,'revision','',0),(100180,2,'2013-09-20 21:20:49','2013-09-21 04:20:49','','Kali Vidya Login','','inherit','open','open','','india-2007-050','','','2013-09-20 21:20:49','2013-09-21 04:20:49','',0,'',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(100181,2,'2013-09-20 21:23:50','2013-09-21 04:23:50','Join us as we come together to explore Goddess through writings, poetry, reflection, discussion, meditation, devotion, spiritual technologies, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), and the creation of community through Shakta Tantra in the Sha\'can tradition.\r\n\r\nOur courses are designed to help all spiritual seekers contextualize the ancient and living goddess traditions within the socio-cultural and psycho-spiritual framework of today\'s world, creating lived spaces for the Divine in all Her forms—including those of the Sacred Masculine—in personal practice and devotion.\r\n\r\n[testimonials category=\"kali-vidya\" time=\"10\" effect=\"fade\" ]\r\n\r\nIf you seek community and want to learn more about SHARANYA\'s spiritual path as an authentic, Tantric lineage tradition of goddess worship, then we welcome you to delve into <em>Devoted to Devi: Embracing  Tradition - Walking the Path</em>.  Join this introductory class in our open source, interactive online forum!<br><p>\r\n\r\nRegistration is now OPEN for our next offerings.<br><p>\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"SHA101: <em>Devoted to Devi</em>\" active=\"\"]Join us for the next series of classes beginning January 2014. Classes run for sixteen weeks to allow an integration of the rich lessons with your ongoing practice and explorations in the Sha\'can tradition. We begin this introductory course at SHARANYA\'s Kali Vidya with creation of a Western framework that helps us build a respectful and appropriate bridge to the Eastern mysteries and understanding of Devi, Goddess, our Divine Mother, She Who Embraces All. <br><br>\r\n\r\nGiven our roots in the earth-based spiritualities of East and West, we start with a very basic introduction to the Craft. Even if you are already familiar with this tradition, please consider yourself a beginner on our path as we create perspective for Western elements of devotion in Sha\'can. The first section of our course will give you an important introduction to and perspective on how we practice. The exercises given are also important foundational keys for the rest of the spiritual homework provided. In addition to on-line sharing, this includes daily practice, readings, research, participation in development of an on-line glossary, and other requirements designed to facilitate your spiritual exploration and unfolding.<br><br>\r\n\r\nWe then provide a brief background on what Tantra is (and what it is not) and how it fits within Sha\'can. Next, we offer an introduction and overview of the Dark Goddess and why She is important, followed by a beginner\'s look at Kali as the Great Mother and Four-Fold Feminine Force.<br><br>\r\n\r\nThis course, when all of the components are put together, creates a ritual through which you may approach Kali Maa, our Divine Mother, and gain understanding that will complement your sincere devotion.[/toggle]\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"SHA201: <i>Unveiling Goddess: Practices at the Heart of Tantra</i>\" active=\"\"]This is an intermediate course for those who have completed SHA101.<br><br>\r\n\r\nOnce you have journeyed through our introductory course, having learned tools and absorbed the ethics and basics of the tradition, the next step in your studies lies here, in <i>Unveiling Goddess</i>. In this in-depth course, we will continue to explore the nuances of spiritual discipline and practice in the Sha\'can tradition, learning additional methods of worship and delving more deeply into the Tantric frameworks of the Shakta lineage carried from India to new shores. Participants in this collaborative forum will share experiences and receive feedback each week as they develop the techniques during <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice) and utilize them within their own devotional work, inclusive of ritual, prayer, meditation, ecstatic dance and other forms of worship. Emphasis will be on establishment of an invigorated daily practice through the pathways of the <i>Yoga Sutras</i>.[/toggle]\r\n\r\nTo enroll, simply pay online. Once we have received your registration, we will email you with login information and additional course details. Questions? Email us at <a title=\"Email Kali Vidya\" href=\"mailto:info@kalividya.org\" target=\"_blank\">info@kalividya.org</a>.\r\n\r\n<form action=\"https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr\" method=\"post\" target=\"_top\">\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"cmd\" value=\"_s-xclick\">\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"hosted_button_id\" value=\"SLWA52RAF42GG\">\r\n<table>\r\n<tr><td><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"on0\" value=\"Courses offered\">Courses offered</td></tr><tr><td><select name=\"os0\">\r\n <option value=\"SHA101\">SHA101 $81.00 USD</option>\r\n <option value=\"SHA201\">SHA201 $81.00 USD</option>\r\n</select> </td></tr>\r\n</table>\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"currency_code\" value=\"USD\">\r\n<div class=\"widget_feedburner\" style=\"padding: 15px;\"><button type=\"submit\">Enroll Now</button></div>\r\n</form>\r\n\r\n[teaser url=\"http://sharanya.org/kali-vidya\" title=\"Kali Vidya\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-2007-050-e1379737365818.jpg\" ]Login now[/teaser]','Kali Vidya','','inherit','open','open','','99152-revision-v1','','','2013-09-20 21:23:50','2013-09-21 04:23:50','',99152,'Join us as we come together to explore Goddess through writings, poetry, reflection, discussion, meditation, devotion, spiritual technologies, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), and the creation of community through Shakta Tantra in the Sha\'can traditio',0,'revision','',0),(100182,2,'2013-09-20 21:24:27','2013-09-21 04:24:27','Join us as we come together to explore Goddess through writings, poetry, reflection, discussion, meditation, devotion, spiritual technologies, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), and the creation of community through Shakta Tantra in the Sha\'can tradition.\r\n\r\nOur courses are designed to help all spiritual seekers contextualize the ancient and living goddess traditions within the socio-cultural and psycho-spiritual framework of today\'s world, creating lived spaces for the Divine in all Her forms—including those of the Sacred Masculine—in personal practice and devotion.\r\n\r\n[testimonials category=\"kali-vidya\" time=\"10\" effect=\"fade\" ]\r\n\r\nIf you seek community and want to learn more about SHARANYA\'s spiritual path as an authentic, Tantric lineage tradition of goddess worship, then we welcome you to delve into <em>Devoted to Devi: Embracing  Tradition - Walking the Path</em>.  Join this introductory class in our open source, interactive online forum!<br><p>\r\n\r\nRegistration is now OPEN for our next offerings.<br><p>\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"SHA101: <em>Devoted to Devi</em>\" active=\"\"]Join us for the next series of classes beginning January 2014. Classes run for sixteen weeks to allow an integration of the rich lessons with your ongoing practice and explorations in the Sha\'can tradition. We begin this introductory course at SHARANYA\'s Kali Vidya with creation of a Western framework that helps us build a respectful and appropriate bridge to the Eastern mysteries and understanding of Devi, Goddess, our Divine Mother, She Who Embraces All. <br><br>\r\n\r\nGiven our roots in the earth-based spiritualities of East and West, we start with a very basic introduction to the Craft. Even if you are already familiar with this tradition, please consider yourself a beginner on our path as we create perspective for Western elements of devotion in Sha\'can. The first section of our course will give you an important introduction to and perspective on how we practice. The exercises given are also important foundational keys for the rest of the spiritual homework provided. In addition to on-line sharing, this includes daily practice, readings, research, participation in development of an on-line glossary, and other requirements designed to facilitate your spiritual exploration and unfolding.<br><br>\r\n\r\nWe then provide a brief background on what Tantra is (and what it is not) and how it fits within Sha\'can. Next, we offer an introduction and overview of the Dark Goddess and why She is important, followed by a beginner\'s look at Kali as the Great Mother and Four-Fold Feminine Force.<br><br>\r\n\r\nThis course, when all of the components are put together, creates a ritual through which you may approach Kali Maa, our Divine Mother, and gain understanding that will complement your sincere devotion.[/toggle]\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"SHA201: <i>Unveiling Goddess: Practices at the Heart of Tantra</i>\" active=\"\"]This is an intermediate course for those who have completed SHA101.<br><br>\r\n\r\nOnce you have journeyed through our introductory course, having learned tools and absorbed the ethics and basics of the tradition, the next step in your studies lies here, in <i>Unveiling Goddess</i>. In this in-depth course, we will continue to explore the nuances of spiritual discipline and practice in the Sha\'can tradition, learning additional methods of worship and delving more deeply into the Tantric frameworks of the Shakta lineage carried from India to new shores. Participants in this collaborative forum will share experiences and receive feedback each week as they develop the techniques during <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice) and utilize them within their own devotional work, inclusive of ritual, prayer, meditation, ecstatic dance and other forms of worship. Emphasis will be on establishment of an invigorated daily practice through the pathways of the <i>Yoga Sutras</i>.[/toggle]\r\n\r\nTo enroll, simply pay online. Once we have received your registration, we will email you with login information and additional course details. Questions? Email us at <a title=\"Email Kali Vidya\" href=\"mailto:info@kalividya.org\" target=\"_blank\">info@kalividya.org</a>.\r\n\r\n<form action=\"https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr\" method=\"post\" target=\"_top\">\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"cmd\" value=\"_s-xclick\">\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"hosted_button_id\" value=\"SLWA52RAF42GG\">\r\n<table>\r\n<tr><td><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"on0\" value=\"Courses offered\">Courses offered</td></tr><tr><td><select name=\"os0\">\r\n <option value=\"SHA101\">SHA101 $81.00 USD</option>\r\n <option value=\"SHA201\">SHA201 $81.00 USD</option>\r\n</select> </td></tr>\r\n</table>\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"currency_code\" value=\"USD\">\r\n<div class=\"widget_feedburner\" style=\"padding: 15px;\"><button type=\"submit\">Enroll Now</button></div>\r\n</form>\r\n<br><br>\r\n\r\n[teaser url=\"http://sharanya.org/kali-vidya\" title=\"Kali Vidya\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-2007-050-e1379737365818.jpg\" ]Login[/teaser]','Kali Vidya','','inherit','open','open','','99152-revision-v1','','','2013-09-20 21:24:27','2013-09-21 04:24:27','',99152,'Join us as we come together to explore Goddess through writings, poetry, reflection, discussion, meditation, devotion, spiritual technologies, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), and the creation of community through Shakta Tantra in the Sha\'can traditio',0,'revision','',0),(100183,2,'2013-09-20 21:25:50','2013-09-21 04:25:50','Join us as we come together to explore Goddess through writings, poetry, reflection, discussion, meditation, devotion, spiritual technologies, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), and the creation of community through Shakta Tantra in the Sha\'can tradition.\r\n\r\nOur courses are designed to help all spiritual seekers contextualize the ancient and living goddess traditions within the socio-cultural and psycho-spiritual framework of today\'s world, creating lived spaces for the Divine in all Her forms—including those of the Sacred Masculine—in personal practice and devotion.\r\n\r\n[testimonials category=\"kali-vidya\" time=\"10\" effect=\"fade\" ]\r\n\r\nIf you seek community and want to learn more about SHARANYA\'s spiritual path as an authentic, Tantric lineage tradition of goddess worship, then we welcome you to delve into <em>Devoted to Devi: Embracing  Tradition - Walking the Path</em>.  Join this introductory class in our open source, interactive online forum!<br><p>\r\n\r\nRegistration is now OPEN for our next offerings.<br><p>\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"SHA101: <em>Devoted to Devi</em>\" active=\"\"]Join us for the next series of classes beginning January 2014. Classes run for sixteen weeks to allow an integration of the rich lessons with your ongoing practice and explorations in the Sha\'can tradition. We begin this introductory course at SHARANYA\'s Kali Vidya with creation of a Western framework that helps us build a respectful and appropriate bridge to the Eastern mysteries and understanding of Devi, Goddess, our Divine Mother, She Who Embraces All. <br><br>\r\n\r\nGiven our roots in the earth-based spiritualities of East and West, we start with a very basic introduction to the Craft. Even if you are already familiar with this tradition, please consider yourself a beginner on our path as we create perspective for Western elements of devotion in Sha\'can. The first section of our course will give you an important introduction to and perspective on how we practice. The exercises given are also important foundational keys for the rest of the spiritual homework provided. In addition to on-line sharing, this includes daily practice, readings, research, participation in development of an on-line glossary, and other requirements designed to facilitate your spiritual exploration and unfolding.<br><br>\r\n\r\nWe then provide a brief background on what Tantra is (and what it is not) and how it fits within Sha\'can. Next, we offer an introduction and overview of the Dark Goddess and why She is important, followed by a beginner\'s look at Kali as the Great Mother and Four-Fold Feminine Force.<br><br>\r\n\r\nThis course, when all of the components are put together, creates a ritual through which you may approach Kali Maa, our Divine Mother, and gain understanding that will complement your sincere devotion.[/toggle]\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"SHA201: <i>Unveiling Goddess: Practices at the Heart of Tantra</i>\" active=\"\"]This is an intermediate course for those who have completed SHA101.<br><br>\r\n\r\nOnce you have journeyed through our introductory course, having learned tools and absorbed the ethics and basics of the tradition, the next step in your studies lies here, in <i>Unveiling Goddess</i>. In this in-depth course, we will continue to explore the nuances of spiritual discipline and practice in the Sha\'can tradition, learning additional methods of worship and delving more deeply into the Tantric frameworks of the Shakta lineage carried from India to new shores. Participants in this collaborative forum will share experiences and receive feedback each week as they develop the techniques during <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice) and utilize them within their own devotional work, inclusive of ritual, prayer, meditation, ecstatic dance and other forms of worship. Emphasis will be on establishment of an invigorated daily practice through the pathways of the <i>Yoga Sutras</i>.[/toggle]\r\n\r\nTo enroll, simply pay online. Once we have received your registration, we will email you with login information and additional course details. Questions? Email us at <a title=\"Email Kali Vidya\" href=\"mailto:info@kalividya.org\" target=\"_blank\">info@kalividya.org</a>.\r\n\r\n<form action=\"https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr\" method=\"post\" target=\"_top\">\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"cmd\" value=\"_s-xclick\">\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"hosted_button_id\" value=\"SLWA52RAF42GG\">\r\n<table>\r\n<tr><td><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"on0\" value=\"Courses offered\">Courses offered</td></tr><tr><td><select name=\"os0\">\r\n <option value=\"SHA101\">SHA101 $81.00 USD</option>\r\n <option value=\"SHA201\">SHA201 $81.00 USD</option>\r\n</select> </td></tr>\r\n</table>\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"currency_code\" value=\"USD\">\r\n<div class=\"widget_feedburner\" style=\"padding: 15px;\"><button type=\"submit\">Enroll Now</button></div>\r\n</form>\r\n<br><br>\r\n\r\n[teaser url=\"http://www.kalividya.org\" title=\"Kali Vidya\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-2007-050-e1379737365818.jpg\" ]Login[/teaser]','Kali Vidya','','inherit','open','open','','99152-revision-v1','','','2013-09-20 21:25:50','2013-09-21 04:25:50','',99152,'Join us as we come together to explore Goddess through writings, poetry, reflection, discussion, meditation, devotion, spiritual technologies, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), and the creation of community through Shakta Tantra in the Sha\'can traditio',0,'revision','',0),(100184,2,'2013-09-22 21:08:44','2013-09-23 04:08:44','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]  \r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (Spring 2006 & Summer 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">India Pilgrimage \"SHARANYA in the News!\"</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News.jpg\" alt=\"India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100156 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2007 Kali Puja SoCal\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja & Workshop</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:08:44','2013-09-23 04:08:44','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100185,2,'2013-09-22 21:09:16','2013-09-23 04:09:16','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]  \r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (Spring 2006 & Summer 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">India Pilgrimage \"SHARANYA in the News!\"</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News.jpg\" alt=\"India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100156 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2007 Kali Puja SoCal\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja & Workshop</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:09:16','2013-09-23 04:09:16','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100186,2,'2013-09-22 21:10:58','2013-09-23 04:10:58','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]  \r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (Spring 2006 & Summer 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">India Pilgrimage \"SHARANYA in the News!\"</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News.jpg\" alt=\"India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100156 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2007 Kali Puja SoCal\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:10:58','2013-09-23 04:10:58','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100187,2,'2013-09-22 21:13:12','2013-09-23 04:13:12','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]  \r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (Spring 2006 & Summer 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2007 Kali Puja SoCal\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:13:12','2013-09-23 04:13:12','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100188,2,'2013-09-22 21:13:53','2013-09-23 04:13:53','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]  \r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (Spring 2006 & Summer 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2007 Kali Puja SoCal\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:13:53','2013-09-23 04:13:53','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100189,2,'2013-09-22 21:14:20','2013-09-23 04:14:20','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]  \r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (2006 & 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2007 Kali Puja SoCal\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:14:20','2013-09-23 04:14:20','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100190,2,'2013-09-22 21:15:05','2013-09-23 04:15:05','Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, and Yoginis) an opportunity to discover Her mysteries more deeply and sweetly. Each voyage invites the devotee to delve deeper into her or his spiritual path, expand horizons, learn first-hand about living Goddess traditions, and experience the history and culture of the birthplace of Tantra. If you join us, you will access and visit temples and spiritual sites otherwise hard to reach, gaining entrance to a world often off-limits to foreign visitors. Come with us to meet priests, tantricks, women adepts, and spiritual seekers devoted to the Divine Mother! \r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">India Pilgrimage \"SHARANYA in the News!\"</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News.jpg\" alt=\"India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100156 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n','Pilgrimage','','inherit','open','open','','99136-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:15:05','2013-09-23 04:15:05','',99136,'Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, and Yoginis) an opportunity to discover Her mysteries more deeply and sweetly. Each voyage invites the devotee to delve deeper into her or h',0,'revision','',0),(100191,2,'2013-09-23 23:05:17','2013-09-24 06:05:17','Pilgrimage—a sacred journey—has the capacity, should we choose to engage it, to take us to the heart of our beingness. Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (for example, through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, or Yoginis) an opportunity to discover Her mysteries more deeply and sweetly. Each voyage invites the devotee to delve deeper into her or his spiritual path, expand horizons, learn first-hand about living Goddess traditions and experience the history and culture of the birthplace of Tantra.<br><br>\n\nIf you join us, you will access and visit temples and spiritual sites otherwise hard to reach, gaining entrance to a world often off-limits to foreign visitors. Come with us to meet Tantrics, adepts, and myriad spiritual seekers devoted to the Divine Mother.<br><br>\n\n[blog category=\"20\" perpage=\"4\" pagination=\"on\" ]\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSHARANYA hosted annual pilgrimages from 2000 through 2009. \n<h3><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"> </a></h3>\n[caption id=\"attachment_100156\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"558\"]<a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-100156 imgborder \" alt=\"India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News.jpg\" width=\"558\" height=\"314\" /></a> Blessings of the Divine Mother Kamakhya at her temple outside of Guwahti in Assam.[/caption]','Pilgrimage','','inherit','open','open','','99136-autosave-v1','','','2013-09-23 23:05:17','2013-09-24 06:05:17','',99136,'Pilgrimage—a sacred journey—has the capacity, should we choose to engage it, to take us to the heart of our beingness. Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (for example, through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, or Yogin',0,'revision','',0),(100192,2,'2013-09-22 21:17:52','2013-09-23 04:17:52','Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, and Yoginis) an opportunity to discover Her mysteries more deeply and sweetly. Each voyage invites the devotee to delve deeper into her or his spiritual path, expand horizons, learn first-hand about living Goddess traditions, and experience the history and culture of the birthplace of Tantra. \r\n\r\nIf you join us, you will access and visit temples and spiritual sites otherwise hard to reach, gaining entrance to a world often off-limits to foreign visitors. Come with us to meet priests, tantricks, women adepts, and spiritual seekers devoted to the Divine Mother! \r\n\r\n<h2><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">India Pilgrimage \"SHARANYA in the News!\"</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News.jpg\" alt=\"India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100156 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIn 2006, as in many years on pilgrimage, we are frequently the only foreigners to arrive for the festival of Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya Mandir in Assam. \r\n\r\n\r\n','Pilgrimage','','inherit','open','open','','99136-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:17:52','2013-09-23 04:17:52','',99136,'Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, and Yoginis) an opportunity to discover Her mysteries more deeply and sweetly. Each voyage invites the devotee to delve deeper into her or h',0,'revision','',0),(100193,2,'2013-09-22 21:20:34','2013-09-23 04:20:34','Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, and Yoginis) an opportunity to discover Her mysteries more deeply and sweetly. Each voyage invites the devotee to delve deeper into her or his spiritual path, expand horizons, learn first-hand about living Goddess traditions, and experience the history and culture of the birthplace of Tantra. \r\n\r\nIf you join us, you will access and visit temples and spiritual sites otherwise hard to reach, gaining entrance to a world often off-limits to foreign visitors. Come with us to meet priests, tantricks, women adepts, and spiritual seekers devoted to the Divine Mother! \r\n\r\n<h2><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">Devotees in the News!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News.jpg\" alt=\"India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100156 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn pilgrimage, we are frequently the only foreigners to arrive for the annual festival of Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya Mandir outside Guwahati in Assam. \r\n\r\n\r\n','Pilgrimage','','inherit','open','open','','99136-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:20:34','2013-09-23 04:20:34','',99136,'Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, and Yoginis) an opportunity to discover Her mysteries more deeply and sweetly. Each voyage invites the devotee to delve deeper into her or h',0,'revision','',0),(100194,2,'2013-09-22 21:20:46','2013-09-23 04:20:46','Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, and Yoginis) an opportunity to discover Her mysteries more deeply and sweetly. Each voyage invites the devotee to delve deeper into her or his spiritual path, expand horizons, learn first-hand about living Goddess traditions, and experience the history and culture of the birthplace of Tantra. \r\n\r\nIf you join us, you will access and visit temples and spiritual sites otherwise hard to reach, gaining entrance to a world often off-limits to foreign visitors. Come with us to meet priests, tantricks, women adepts, and spiritual seekers devoted to the Divine Mother! <br><br>\r\n\r\n<h2><a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\">Devotees in the News!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYA2006IndiaPilgrimage.pdf\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News.jpg\" alt=\"India-Pilgrimage-SHARANYA-in-the-News\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100156 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn pilgrimage, we are frequently the only foreigners to arrive for the annual festival of Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya Mandir outside Guwahati in Assam. \r\n\r\n\r\n','Pilgrimage','','inherit','open','open','','99136-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:20:46','2013-09-23 04:20:46','',99136,'Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, and Yoginis) an opportunity to discover Her mysteries more deeply and sweetly. Each voyage invites the devotee to delve deeper into her or h',0,'revision','',0),(100195,2,'2013-09-22 21:35:07','2013-09-23 04:35:07','<em>By: Chandra Alexandre</em>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful help, especially in times of challenge or crisis. Even the most seasoned among us can fear working with these goddesses. Why is that, and how can we create a safe space in which to work with Her and the potent energy she carries? (In my writing, I intentionally alternate capitalization on words such as goddess and dark goddess. I also oscillate between capitalization on pronouns that refer to her, doing so in order to convey that part of Her grace and mystery lies outside the conventions of language as related to gender and personifications of deity through language.)\r\n\r\nIn this article, my goal is to help you activate your personal crafting with the Dark Goddess, however you choose to name Her. Overall, what I offer is designed to help you discern and strengthen your pathway to Her embrace, helping you gain a solid foundation for exploration of the mysteries. Of course, the Mystery is still the Mystery, and we call on Her knowing that Her response may be appropriately intense or sublime, subtle or sweet. Even if she has not yet appeared in your spiritual purview, may this article whet your appetite for engagement with the delicious and difficult work She inspires!\r\n\r\n<h3>Who is She?</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess embraces everything. Her power—and why so many spiritual practitioners avoid her—tends to lie in our fear of the unknown. And this is not only our individual, personal fear, but also our collective, societal, and cultural fear. The magnitude of her power lies in her claim to what we ignore. When we look at the Dark Goddess, we see whatever we wish to keep out of awareness. Yet, she does not hold back Truth, and for this, we are often terrified of Her. What might she reveal?\r\n\r\nDarkness, indeed, is a metaphor for a deeper truth. Life, we know, is filled with beauty and pain, ecstasy and horror. Look at Kali, for example, Hindu Black Goddess, Devourer of Time. With her right two hands she presents mudras (hand gestures) signifying the granting of boons and blessings, and with her left two hands she holds a severed head and a machete. To look upon her, we in the developed world might wonder how to achieve the benefits and avoid the blood and gore. But Her revelation lies in and through the acceptance of her totality—for the blade and head are in truth the goddess offering the promise of detachment and release from the constraints of our egos and limitedness. To take only half of Her then, is to miss the whole point.\r\n\r\n<!--nextpage-->\r\n\r\n<h3>Working with the Dark Goddess</h3>\r\n<h3>1. Intention</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess can help us find the resolve, dedication, strength, and faith to enter abodes of fear. The first step on the path of engagement with Her is the setting of an intention. Called <i>sankalpa</i> in yogic traditions, this is our resolve, our commitment, our statement of yearning in the dance of free will and determinism. We must be clear in our call, direct and unpretentious in our approach. In one sense, the guidelines are simple:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I. Discern the yearning</strong>\r\nWhat is it that calls to you?</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>II. Engage willingness</strong>\r\nMake a commitment to the path</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>III. Trust the process</strong>\r\nSurrender yourself</p>\r\nThis is not a mere matter of reading words, however; this is the reality of taking steps toward the deep end of the pool. The more clearly you can articulate for yourself the nature of your exploration and where you wish to go, the more carefully and precisely you will be guided toward your destination. With your sankalpa is set, you are ready to begin the work of opening to Her.\r\n<h3>2. The Living Altar: Tools, Symbols, and Practice</h3>\r\nEvery Dark Goddess shares five essential qualities. They are: embodiment, relationality, cyclicity, the chthonic, and the antinomian. Through them, she offers us Her gifts, with liberation the greatest of them all. These five qualities are the very core of what it means to be a dark goddess, and thus, in concert they create a vibrational energy evocative of Her essence. In this way, your opening to the Dark Goddess is facilitated by working with them—they set the stage for a personal invocation that allows the Dark Goddess to manifest as you desire to know Her.\r\n\r\nCreating your Dark Goddess altar with the tools, symbols, and practices offered here, inclusive of your own inspirations, lets Her know that you are ready, and makes a sanctuary in which She can dwell for the duration of your worship. Study these qualities along with their correspondences. Get to know them inside so that you feel both physical and subtle levels of manifestation; for these can help you not only deepen spiritual discovery and self-awareness, but also come closer to the heart of Her—and through this, the heart of the world.\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">i. Embodiment</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This quality is the root of all others. Literally, it corresponds to the Muladhara Chakra, the energy center at the base of our spine, the root of the body. Without this quality, there is little space from which we can engage Her.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Here, in the realm of matter and our embodied selves, is where the Dark Goddess lives and fights for life-affirming change. From here, She calls upon us to re-sanctify nature. She is in the stuff of our bodies, and in the stuff of our world denied and rejected. She is the dirt under our fingernails, excrement, blood, women’s moon-time blood; she is in the juices of our love making, the burps of babies who come in all the colors of rain-washed Earth, the flesh of our beloved dead. She is the Divine immanent, here among us—and she is neither shy nor embarrassed about it. Rather, she shows up inebriated on the festival offered, drunk from the kissing of wounds.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The first of Her qualities, embodiment is also the power of the body’s wisdom and intuition. It has correspondences in Earth and North. Her tool is a sacred diagram (such as a pentacle, labyrinth, yantra, or mandala) that provides a contemplative entryway to insight and deeper revelation of the inner mysteries. Engage practices such as breath work, meditation, focusing, movement, yoga, and energy raising techniques to enter the arena of embodied wisdom. Draw on the power of your personal experiences to call up corporeal parables. These are the stories our bodies know that cross time and space; for example, childbirth, near-death experiences, and athletic episodes of being ‘in the zone.’</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Use resin incense and flowers to help awaken your senses and open the gateways to Her, with mindfulness to both external and internal realities. Find inside yourself the aromas, sounds, sensations, and feelings that arise, and pay particular attention to smells as activators of the subtle body. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">ii. Relationality</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Whether taken literally or metaphorically, the Dark Goddess is the one who shapes reality, creating and filling in spaces where we need to do the hard work of the spiritual journey. As we do this work, we may come to realize that relationships are our primary reminder of connection. We might not be surprised, therefore, to find the quality of relationality located at the Anahata Chakra, our heart center, a place of balance, potential, and equanimity. Seat of the soul in many traditions, the heart is the place through which we experience the bonds of Creation: from the outside in and the inside out.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The second of her qualities, relationality has correspondences in East and Air. The tool of the Dark Goddess in the East is the mirror. In it we see revealed our most authentic nature and the heart of all truths reflected through Her. As she gazes back at us, we may delve into the questions—especially those that relate us to our physically-, emotionally-, intellectually-, and culturally-informed notions of who we are—that get at the meaning of our identity and existence. This is the very stuff of soul making, the very stuff of awakening spiritual maturity. Here, She offers us the power of an unconditional embrace.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Practices such as seva, or selfless service, and other efforts that create happiness, deepen heartfelt feeling states, and cultivate compassion (our ability to be with suffering) ignite this quality of hers. Practices you might wish to explore include dream work, scrying, regression, and forms of transpersonal therapy, journaling, walking/active meditation, and conscious loving.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, use things that you particularly enjoy touching, picking up, and holding. Spend time with the objects of your choosing, allowing the holding to rekindle ancient memories and awaken mythic connections. Choose a variety of tactile delights to incorporate into your ritual environment, such as textured fabrics, wood, stone, and fur. Above all else, bring yourself into love through devotion. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<!--nextpage-->\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iii. Chthonic</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The Pavamana Mantra from the Upanishads offers this prayer: from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality, lead us. The word chthonic, from the Greek khthonios meaning \"in the earth,\" denotes that which is of or relating to the underworld. This quality of Dark Goddess, the chthonic, shares resonance with this most powerful and purifying of mantras. Chant it aloud now and feel the movement of sound around and within you:</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">OM</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Asatoma sad gamaya\r\nAum uh’-suh-toh-maa suhd’ guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya\r\nTuh’-muh-soh-maa jyoh’-teer guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Mrityorma amritam gamaya\r\nMriht’-yohr-maa uhm’-rih-tuhm guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">To feel the reverberations of the chanting as one speaks, intones, or even listens to these Sanskrit syllables is to know the essence of the chthonic, for through this mantra we are shown the potential to shift the very fabric of our being toward our dreams, our fullest realization, and our ultimate bliss. In walking the path of the chthonic and in heeding the words of this eternal prayer, we are celebrating from our original yearning. We are opening to the journey of the underworld, to the origin of our soul’s passage from energy to manifest reality.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This work is particularly relevant where the chthonic is held psychically: at the third chakra, the Manipura Chakra, which is the seat of our individual will, located at the solar plexus.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The chthonic is also the third of her qualities, with correspondences in South and Fire. We might laugh to think of the underworld and fire connected together (since we may automatically conjure up images of a Christian Hell), but although often hot and fierce, the fires of the Dark Goddess burn for reasons other than damnation. In fact, they burn for purification and with the elemental power of light—that which gives form to energy and liberates us from misconceptions about phenomena in the material world. The realm of the chthonic is therefore also our connection to individual power and the sacred dance we share with the Divine in working to discover our true nature.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The tool of the chthonic is the flame, that which brings illumination to the shadows, helping us to see the real and recognize the unreal. Practices such as those that induce trance, bring on altered states of consciousness, and assist inner sight are beneficial toward understanding the realm of the chthonic. For example, shamanic drumming, trataka (focused concentration on one point or object), repetitive chanting, kriya yoga, and yoga nidra (practices that cultivate deep aware sleep) are all aids in coming to know this quality and its ramifications on gross, subtle and causal levels. Mudras too can help one focus the transformational energies of inner and outer worlds to great effect.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In working with this quality of Dark Goddess, you may wish to light candles and practice candle magick. Enjoy the play of the light on your chosen ritual objects, and see if you can enter into meditation, eyes open, while focusing about four feet away from you. Explore movement and dance, opening yourself to the physical landscape and the special features and curves of your own body and face. Create mudras spontaneously. Play with colors, sparkles, and eye-catching items on your altar, manifesting beauty and sweet flows of energy all around you. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iv. Cyclicity</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The power of time, the space between dark and light where the yearning pulls us into the future, the internal mechanisms that reveal the oak tree from the acorn, the strands of our DNA, the ebb and flow of tides. Cyclicity is the fourth of her qualities, with correspondences in West and Water. Its locus is the Svadhisthana Chakra, seat of the self located at the pelvic floor. Some of the mystery may be revealed when we notice that the taste of pure water is unlike anything we know; it is clear, without particular qualities of sour or sweet, pungent or salty. Yet it is utterly refreshing and deeply satisfying to have a good drink. This is the revelation of the Dark Goddess through cyclicity.</p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool in this place of ancestral knowing and remembrance is a water pot, which taps into the cycles of the moon and seasons, helping us open to the dynamic tension of the universe and the pull of our karmas through life, death and rebirth. Practices such as gardening that bring us into communion with nature and allow us to literally taste our efforts (as planting a vegetable garden would), as well as those that symbolically allow us to taste the fruits of life, such as devotional prayer, cooking, poetry writing, and other bhakti (devotional) offerings, can aid us in understanding and deepening our connection with this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Bring spices, food, and drink to your altar, on one level remembering and honoring your ancestors within the cycle of life, and on another remembering and honoring the seasons and what it takes to nourish living beings. Food and drink on your altar also provides a remembering and honoring of the work we do and must do to feed the spirit. Cyclicity offers the prasad (blessed food) of the Dark Goddess. Nourish yourself through the virtues of this quality on all levels, heeding the power of the eternal return. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<!--nextpage-->\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">v. Antinomian</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The antinomian is that which sits outside the normative, the socially acceptable, the so-called rational. It is the quality of the Dark Goddess that makes us think about our assumptions, reveals our internalized oppressions, and forces us to look directly at reality without the blinders of cultural, religious, and social frameworks. The fifth of her qualities, with correspondences in Center/Circumference and Ether, the quality of the antinomian is resonant with the Vishuddha Chakra or throat center. This is the seat of Her unfolding into consciousness through sound, the place where both reality and our karma are created through spoken words.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This space encompasses both sound and echo—the arising from the void into vibration and then into engagement with our sense of hearing, with the phenomenal world and back again. Since all sound is carried on ether, practices such as mantra repetition, chanting, kirtan (call and response singing), and sounding in general (with voice or instruments) are important to help uncover this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, you may wish to keep a rattle, drum, bell, or other instrument that augments or accentuates your voice or the silence as you do ritual, chant, or sing. To know this quality is to move sound, create vibrations, and make waves in the fabric of your being and the world around you. It is to show up as you fully, authentically are, naked to the impositions of family and society. In this way and in a literal sense, digambara (sky-clad) ceremony can be liberating.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool is the murti, or image that you will imbue with life-force energy for worship. The murti can be any object you wish to represent Her. Choose a worthy home for Her, allowing this object to reflect aspects of Her that you wish to honor and to which you will make devotions over time. It can be natural, such as a stone or tree; handcrafted; or purchased in a shop. Unlock her secrets in the anointing, decorating, loving and honoring of Her image, this receptacle for the rapture that is her. Delight in that which will be present through it. If you have selected or created an image with eyes, gaze upon that gateway with intensity of concentration and surrendered self. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h3>3. Activating Her</h3>\r\nWith the Dark Goddess, we can not only discover and work with the transformational powers she possesses, but also find sanctuary in her wisdom, especially in moments of despair, hopelessness, overwhelm, sorrow, and loss. We can find reassurance during times of challenge and crisis because She holds this part of reality too—and holds it along with everything else in loving kindness. Now that you have prepared the space and readied yourself through meditation, contemplation, and other practices, the time is ripe to welcome in the Dark Goddess of your choosing.\r\n\r\nTo activate Her, we begin with activation of Her qualities. Once we feel the power of these essences, we turn inward, to the place of the indwelling Divine. We open to the qualities within ourselves, utilizing a focus on breath to bring us more deeply into present awareness. Place your hands on your heart, left on top of right palm and breathe as though through this chakra, opening your heart as you continue to deepen your breath. In this place of stimulated alignment between the outer experience of the qualities as you’ve represented them on your altar and your inner awareness of them, imagine the coming together of breath and this awareness deep within at your core. Allow yourself to feel the universe of the inner planes together with consciousness fully present here at the root of your connection to all that lies beyond ego attachment and agendas.\r\n\r\nNow, before your altar, keeping your internal focus, gently open your eyes and gaze upon your murti, the image of the goddess you have readied to awaken. Tenderly and with intention, turn your hands outward, keeping left palm on right. Bring your palms over the murti, and imbue the image with the energy you have cultivated. All the while, stay centered with long and slow breaths. To seal the activation, place the ring finger of your right hand (keeping the palms together and merely bending the ring finger) at the heart or center of the murti, and say, “Welcome, Goddess (Name); Evam Astu!” (Evam astu is Sanskrit for “so mote it be.” It is pronounced, “aa-vuhm_ uhs-too.” You may certainly use any other form of concretization or sealing of energy that you wish here.)\r\n\r\nWith this invocation and awakening through intentional touch of prana (life-force energy), She is now present and your altar is alive. Take a few moments to return the awakened energy to your own heart and other chakras, feeling Her energy now through this nyasa (placement) within you. Honor Her living presence wholeheartedly, with reverence and respect. You may wish to make offerings to Her (such as food, jewelry, flowers, incense and other delightful things), pray, do spellwork, bless objects, or simply deepen your meditations. The choice is yours.\r\n<h3>4. Gratitudes &amp; Visarjan (Devocation)</h3>\r\nAs you feel ready to end, it is only proper to thank Her for being present and to acknowledge the gift of the Divine within yourself. You may wish to offer gratitudes to each of Her qualities in turn, finally returning to the murti She inhabits. Give thanks to the Dark Goddess you have lovingly welcomed, and sing her praises. Then, with your hands again placed left over right, begin at the head or top of the image and slowly and gently move down toward the ground or bottom of your altar, drawing the life-force energy out of the murti and releasing it to serve wherever it is needed.\r\n\r\nAt this point, you may wish to ground by bringing the thumb and ring finger of each hand together and touching the earth on either side of your body. End with the words, “Evam Astu” again, or choose some version of, “Hail and farewell!”—something that feels appropriate to you as a final devocation. In this way, the rite is complete and your altar is more richly steeped in the energy gifted through Her living presence. Moreover, you are imbued with Her prana through this work in even fuller and richer ways. Know that by this effort and through Her grace, you are also just a little less encumbered; just a little more free.\r\n\r\nMay Her blessings fill you always.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nThis article first appeared in Llewellyn\'s <a href=\"http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1918\" target=\"_blank\">online journal</a>.','How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess','','publish','open','open','','how-to-create-a-living-altar-to-the-dark-goddess','','','2013-09-26 11:34:55','2013-09-26 18:34:55','',0,'<em>By: Chandra Alexandre</em>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful',0,'post','',1),(100196,2,'2013-09-22 21:35:07','2013-09-23 04:35:07','Many practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful help, especially in times of challenge or crisis. Even the most seasoned among us can fear working with these goddesses. Why is that, and how can we create a safe space in which to work with Her and the potent energy she carries? (In my writing, I intentionally alternate capitalization on words such as goddess and dark goddess. I also oscillate between capitalization on pronouns that refer to her, doing so in order to convey that part of Her grace and mystery lies outside the conventions of language as related to gender and personifications of deity through language.)\r\n\r\nIn this article, my goal is to help you activate your personal crafting with the Dark Goddess, however you choose to name Her. Overall, what I offer is designed to help you discern and strengthen your pathway to Her embrace, helping you gain a solid foundation for exploration of the mysteries. Of course, the Mystery is still the Mystery, and we call on Her knowing that Her response may be appropriately intense or sublime, subtle or sweet. Even if she has not yet appeared in your spiritual purview, may this article whet your appetite for engagement with the delicious and difficult work She inspires!\r\n<h3>Who is She?</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess embraces everything. Her power—and why so many spiritual practitioners avoid her—tends to lie in our fear of the unknown. And this is not only our individual, personal fear, but also our collective, societal, and cultural fear. The magnitude of her power lies in her claim to what we ignore. When we look at the Dark Goddess, we see whatever we wish to keep out of awareness. Yet, she does not hold back Truth, and for this, we are often terrified of Her. What might she reveal?\r\n\r\nDarkness, indeed, is a metaphor for a deeper truth. Life, we know, is filled with beauty and pain, ecstasy and horror. Look at Kali, for example, Hindu Black Goddess, Devourer of Time. With her right two hands she presents mudras (hand gestures) signifying the granting of boons and blessings, and with her left two hands she holds a severed head and a machete. To look upon her, we in the developed world might wonder how to achieve the benefits and avoid the blood and gore. But Her revelation lies in and through the acceptance of her totality—for the blade and head are in truth the goddess offering the promise of detachment and release from the constraints of our egos and limitedness. To take only half of Her then, is to miss the whole point.\r\n<h3>Working with the Dark Goddess</h3>\r\n1. Intention\r\n\r\nThe Dark Goddess can help us find the resolve, dedication, strength, and faith to enter abodes of fear. The first step on the path of engagement with Her is the setting of an intention. Called <i>sankalpa</i> in yogic traditions, this is our resolve, our commitment, our statement of yearning in the dance of free will and determinism. We must be clear in our call, direct and unpretentious in our approach. In one sense, the guidelines are simple:\r\n\r\nI. Discern the yearning\r\nWhat is it that calls to you?\r\n\r\nII. Engage willingness\r\nMake a commitment to the path\r\n\r\nIII. Trust the process\r\nSurrender yourself\r\n\r\nThis is not a mere matter of reading words, however; this is the reality of taking steps toward the deep end of the pool. The more clearly you can articulate for yourself the nature of your exploration and where you wish to go, the more carefully and precisely you will be guided toward your destination. With your sankalpa is set, you are ready to begin the work of opening to Her.\r\n\r\n2. The Living Altar: Tools, Symbols, and Practice\r\n\r\nEvery Dark Goddess shares five essential qualities. They are: embodiment, relationality, cyclicity, the chthonic, and the antinomian. Through them, she offers us Her gifts, with liberation the greatest of them all. These five qualities are the very core of what it means to be a dark goddess, and thus, in concert they create a vibrational energy evocative of Her essence. In this way, your opening to the Dark Goddess is facilitated by working with them—they set the stage for a personal invocation that allows the Dark Goddess to manifest as you desire to know Her.\r\n\r\nCreating your Dark Goddess altar with the tools, symbols, and practices offered here, inclusive of your own inspirations, lets Her know that you are ready, and makes a sanctuary in which She can dwell for the duration of your worship. Study these qualities along with their correspondences. Get to know them inside so that you feel both physical and subtle levels of manifestation; for these can help you not only deepen spiritual discovery and self-awareness, but also come closer to the heart of Her—and through this, the heart of the world.\r\n\r\ni. Embodiment\r\n\r\nThis quality is the root of all others. Literally, it corresponds to the Muladhara Chakra, the energy center at the base of our spine, the root of the body. Without this quality, there is little space from which we can engage Her.\r\n\r\nHere, in the realm of matter and our embodied selves, is where the Dark Goddess lives and fights for life-affirming change. From here, She calls upon us to re-sanctify nature. She is in the stuff of our bodies, and in the stuff of our world denied and rejected. She is the dirt under our fingernails, excrement, blood, women’s moon-time blood; she is in the juices of our love making, the burps of babies who come in all the colors of rain-washed Earth, the flesh of our beloved dead. She is the Divine immanent, here among us—and she is neither shy nor embarrassed about it. Rather, she shows up inebriated on the festival offered, drunk from the kissing of wounds.\r\n\r\nThe first of Her qualities, embodiment is also the power of the body’s wisdom and intuition. It has correspondences in Earth and North. Her tool is a sacred diagram (such as a pentacle, labyrinth, yantra, or mandala) that provides a contemplative entryway to insight and deeper revelation of the inner mysteries. Engage practices such as breath work, meditation, focusing, movement, yoga, and energy raising techniques to enter the arena of embodied wisdom. Draw on the power of your personal experiences to call up corporeal parables. These are the stories our bodies know that cross time and space; for example, childbirth, near-death experiences, and athletic episodes of being ‘in the zone.’\r\n\r\nUse resin incense and flowers to help awaken your senses and open the gateways to Her, with mindfulness to both external and internal realities. Find inside yourself the aromas, sounds, sensations, and feelings that arise, and pay particular attention to smells as activators of the subtle body. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\nii. Relationality\r\n\r\nWhether taken literally or metaphorically, the Dark Goddess is the one who shapes reality, creating and filling in spaces where we need to do the hard work of the spiritual journey. As we do this work, we may come to realize that relationships are our primary reminder of connection. We might not be surprised, therefore, to find the quality of relationality located at the Anahata Chakra, our heart center, a place of balance, potential, and equanimity. Seat of the soul in many traditions, the heart is the place through which we experience the bonds of Creation: from the outside in and the inside out.\r\n\r\nThe second of her qualities, relationality has correspondences in East and Air. The tool of the Dark Goddess in the East is the mirror. In it we see revealed our most authentic nature and the heart of all truths reflected through Her. As she gazes back at us, we may delve into the questions—especially those that relate us to our physically-, emotionally-, intellectually-, and culturally-informed notions of who we are—that get at the meaning of our identity and existence. This is the very stuff of soul making, the very stuff of awakening spiritual maturity. Here, She offers us the power of an unconditional embrace.\r\n\r\nPractices such as seva, or selfless service, and other efforts that create happiness, deepen heartfelt feeling states, and cultivate compassion (our ability to be with suffering) ignite this quality of hers. Practices you might wish to explore include dream work, scrying, regression, and forms of transpersonal therapy, journaling, walking/active meditation, and conscious loving.\r\n\r\nOn your altar, use things that you particularly enjoy touching, picking up, and holding. Spend time with the objects of your choosing, allowing the holding to rekindle ancient memories and awaken mythic connections. Choose a variety of tactile delights to incorporate into your ritual environment, such as textured fabrics, wood, stone, and fur. Above all else, bring yourself into love through devotion. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\niii. Chthonic\r\n\r\nThe Pavamana Mantra from the Upanishads offers this prayer: from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality, lead us. The word chthonic, from the Greek khthonios meaning \"in the earth,\" denotes that which is of or relating to the underworld. This quality of Dark Goddess, the chthonic, shares resonance with this most powerful and purifying of mantras. Chant it aloud now and feel the movement of sound around and within you:\r\n\r\nOM\r\n\r\nAsatoma sad gamaya\r\nAum uh’-suh-toh-maa suhd’ guh’-muh-yuh\r\n\r\nTamaso ma jyotirgamaya\r\nTuh’-muh-soh-maa jyoh’-teer guh’-muh-yuh\r\n\r\nMrityorma amritam gamaya\r\nMriht’-yohr-maa uhm’-rih-tuhm guh’-muh-yuh\r\n\r\nTo feel the reverberations of the chanting as one speaks, intones, or even listens to these Sanskrit syllables is to know the essence of the chthonic, for through this mantra we are shown the potential to shift the very fabric of our being toward our dreams, our fullest realization, and our ultimate bliss. In walking the path of the chthonic and in heeding the words of this eternal prayer, we are celebrating from our original yearning. We are opening to the journey of the underworld, to the origin of our soul’s passage from energy to manifest reality.\r\n\r\nThis work is particularly relevant where the chthonic is held psychically: at the third chakra, the Manipura Chakra, which is the seat of our individual will, located at the solar plexus.\r\n\r\nThe chthonic is also the third of her qualities, with correspondences in South and Fire. We might laugh to think of the underworld and fire connected together (since we may automatically conjure up images of a Christian Hell), but although often hot and fierce, the fires of the Dark Goddess burn for reasons other than damnation. In fact, they burn for purification and with the elemental power of light—that which gives form to energy and liberates us from misconceptions about phenomena in the material world. The realm of the chthonic is therefore also our connection to individual power and the sacred dance we share with the Divine in working to discover our true nature.\r\n\r\nThe tool of the chthonic is the flame, that which brings illumination to the shadows, helping us to see the real and recognize the unreal. Practices such as those that induce trance, bring on altered states of consciousness, and assist inner sight are beneficial toward understanding the realm of the chthonic. For example, shamanic drumming, trataka (focused concentration on one point or object), repetitive chanting, kriya yoga, and yoga nidra (practices that cultivate deep aware sleep) are all aids in coming to know this quality and its ramifications on gross, subtle and causal levels. Mudras too can help one focus the transformational energies of inner and outer worlds to great effect.\r\n\r\nIn working with this quality of Dark Goddess, you may wish to light candles and practice candle magick. Enjoy the play of the light on your chosen ritual objects, and see if you can enter into meditation, eyes open, while focusing about four feet away from you. Explore movement and dance, opening yourself to the physical landscape and the special features and curves of your own body and face. Create mudras spontaneously. Play with colors, sparkles, and eye-catching items on your altar, manifesting beauty and sweet flows of energy all around you. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\niv. Cyclicity\r\n\r\nThe power of time, the space between dark and light where the yearning pulls us into the future, the internal mechanisms that reveal the oak tree from the acorn, the strands of our DNA, the ebb and flow of tides. Cyclicity is the fourth of her qualities, with correspondences in West and Water. Its locus is the Svadhisthana Chakra, seat of the self located at the pelvic floor. Some of the mystery may be revealed when we notice that the taste of pure water is unlike anything we know; it is clear, without particular qualities of sour or sweet, pungent or salty. Yet it is utterly refreshing and deeply satisfying to have a good drink. This is the revelation of the Dark Goddess through cyclicity.\r\n\r\nHer tool in this place of ancestral knowing and remembrance is a water pot, which taps into the cycles of the moon and seasons, helping us open to the dynamic tension of the universe and the pull of our karmas through life, death and rebirth. Practices such as gardening that bring us into communion with nature and allow us to literally taste our efforts (as planting a vegetable garden would), as well as those that symbolically allow us to taste the fruits of life, such as devotional prayer, cooking, poetry writing, and other bhakti (devotional) offerings, can aid us in understanding and deepening our connection with this quality of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\nBring spices, food, and drink to your altar, on one level remembering and honoring your ancestors within the cycle of life, and on another remembering and honoring the seasons and what it takes to nourish living beings. Food and drink on your altar also provides a remembering and honoring of the work we do and must do to feed the spirit. Cyclicity offers the prasad (blessed food) of the Dark Goddess. Nourish yourself through the virtues of this quality on all levels, heeding the power of the eternal return. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\nv. Antinomian\r\n\r\nThe antinomian is that which sits outside the normative, the socially acceptable, the so-called rational. It is the quality of the Dark Goddess that makes us think about our assumptions, reveals our internalized oppressions, and forces us to look directly at reality without the blinders of cultural, religious, and social frameworks. The fifth of her qualities, with correspondences in Center/Circumference and Ether, the quality of the antinomian is resonant with the Vishuddha Chakra or throat center. This is the seat of Her unfolding into consciousness through sound, the place where both reality and our karma are created through spoken words.\r\n\r\nThis space encompasses both sound and echo—the arising from the void into vibration and then into engagement with our sense of hearing, with the phenomenal world and back again. Since all sound is carried on ether, practices such as mantra repetition, chanting, kirtan (call and response singing), and sounding in general (with voice or instruments) are important to help uncover this quality of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\nOn your altar, you may wish to keep a rattle, drum, bell, or other instrument that augments or accentuates your voice or the silence as you do ritual, chant, or sing. To know this quality is to move sound, create vibrations, and make waves in the fabric of your being and the world around you. It is to show up as you fully, authentically are, naked to the impositions of family and society. In this way and in a literal sense, digambara (sky-clad) ceremony can be liberating.\r\n\r\nHer tool is the murti, or image that you will imbue with life-force energy for worship. The murti can be any object you wish to represent Her. Choose a worthy home for Her, allowing this object to reflect aspects of Her that you wish to honor and to which you will make devotions over time. It can be natural, such as a stone or tree; handcrafted; or purchased in a shop. Unlock her secrets in the anointing, decorating, loving and honoring of Her image, this receptacle for the rapture that is her. Delight in that which will be present through it. If you have selected or created an image with eyes, gaze upon that gateway with intensity of concentration and surrendered self. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\n3. Activating Her\r\n\r\nWith the Dark Goddess, we can not only discover and work with the transformational powers she possesses, but also find sanctuary in her wisdom, especially in moments of despair, hopelessness, overwhelm, sorrow, and loss. We can find reassurance during times of challenge and crisis because She holds this part of reality too—and holds it along with everything else in loving kindness. Now that you have prepared the space and readied yourself through meditation, contemplation, and other practices, the time is ripe to welcome in the Dark Goddess of your choosing.\r\n\r\nTo activate Her, we begin with activation of Her qualities. Once we feel the power of these essences, we turn inward, to the place of the indwelling Divine. We open to the qualities within ourselves, utilizing a focus on breath to bring us more deeply into present awareness. Place your hands on your heart, left on top of right palm and breathe as though through this chakra, opening your heart as you continue to deepen your breath. In this place of stimulated alignment between the outer experience of the qualities as you’ve represented them on your altar and your inner awareness of them, imagine the coming together of breath and this awareness deep within at your core. Allow yourself to feel the universe of the inner planes together with consciousness fully present here at the root of your connection to all that lies beyond ego attachment and agendas.\r\n\r\nNow, before your altar, keeping your internal focus, gently open your eyes and gaze upon your murti, the image of the goddess you have readied to awaken. Tenderly and with intention, turn your hands outward, keeping left palm on right. Bring your palms over the murti, and imbue the image with the energy you have cultivated. All the while, stay centered with long and slow breaths. To seal the activation, place the ring finger of your right hand (keeping the palms together and merely bending the ring finger) at the heart or center of the murti, and say, “Welcome, Goddess (Name); Evam Astu!” (Evam astu is Sanskrit for “so mote it be.” It is pronounced, “aa-vuhm_ uhs-too.” You may certainly use any other form of concretization or sealing of energy that you wish here.)\r\n\r\nWith this invocation and awakening through intentional touch of prana (life-force energy), She is now present and your altar is alive. Take a few moments to return the awakened energy to your own heart and other chakras, feeling Her energy now through this nyasa (placement) within you. Honor Her living presence wholeheartedly, with reverence and respect. You may wish to make offerings to Her (such as food, jewelry, flowers, incense and other delightful things), pray, do spellwork, bless objects, or simply deepen your meditations. The choice is yours.\r\n\r\n4. Gratitudes &amp; Visarjan (Devocation)\r\nAs you feel ready to end, it is only proper to thank Her for being present and to acknowledge the gift of the Divine within yourself. You may wish to offer gratitudes to each of Her qualities in turn, finally returning to the murti She inhabits. Give thanks to the Dark Goddess you have lovingly welcomed, and sing her praises. Then, with your hands again placed left over right, begin at the head or top of the image and slowly and gently move down toward the ground or bottom of your altar, drawing the life-force energy out of the murti and releasing it to serve wherever it is needed.\r\n\r\nAt this point, you may wish to ground by bringing the thumb and ring finger of each hand together and touching the earth on either side of your body. End with the words, “Evam Astu” again, or choose some version of, “Hail and farewell!”—something that feels appropriate to you as a final devocation. In this way, the rite is complete and your altar is more richly steeped in the energy gifted through Her living presence. Moreover, you are imbued with Her prana through this work in even fuller and richer ways. Know that by this effort and through Her grace, you are also just a little less encumbered; just a little more free.\r\n\r\nMay Her blessings fill you always.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis article first appeared in Llewellyn\'s <a href=\"http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1918\" target=\"_blank\">online journal</a>.','How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess','','inherit','open','open','','100195-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:35:07','2013-09-23 04:35:07','',100195,'Many practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful help, especially in times of challenge or c',0,'revision','',0),(100197,2,'2013-09-22 21:37:35','2013-09-23 04:37:35','<hr />\r\n\r\nBy Chandra Alexandre\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful help, especially in times of challenge or crisis. Even the most seasoned among us can fear working with these goddesses. Why is that, and how can we create a safe space in which to work with Her and the potent energy she carries? (In my writing, I intentionally alternate capitalization on words such as goddess and dark goddess. I also oscillate between capitalization on pronouns that refer to her, doing so in order to convey that part of Her grace and mystery lies outside the conventions of language as related to gender and personifications of deity through language.)\r\n\r\nIn this article, my goal is to help you activate your personal crafting with the Dark Goddess, however you choose to name Her. Overall, what I offer is designed to help you discern and strengthen your pathway to Her embrace, helping you gain a solid foundation for exploration of the mysteries. Of course, the Mystery is still the Mystery, and we call on Her knowing that Her response may be appropriately intense or sublime, subtle or sweet. Even if she has not yet appeared in your spiritual purview, may this article whet your appetite for engagement with the delicious and difficult work She inspires!\r\n<h3>Who is She?</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess embraces everything. Her power—and why so many spiritual practitioners avoid her—tends to lie in our fear of the unknown. And this is not only our individual, personal fear, but also our collective, societal, and cultural fear. The magnitude of her power lies in her claim to what we ignore. When we look at the Dark Goddess, we see whatever we wish to keep out of awareness. Yet, she does not hold back Truth, and for this, we are often terrified of Her. What might she reveal?\r\n\r\nDarkness, indeed, is a metaphor for a deeper truth. Life, we know, is filled with beauty and pain, ecstasy and horror. Look at Kali, for example, Hindu Black Goddess, Devourer of Time. With her right two hands she presents mudras (hand gestures) signifying the granting of boons and blessings, and with her left two hands she holds a severed head and a machete. To look upon her, we in the developed world might wonder how to achieve the benefits and avoid the blood and gore. But Her revelation lies in and through the acceptance of her totality—for the blade and head are in truth the goddess offering the promise of detachment and release from the constraints of our egos and limitedness. To take only half of Her then, is to miss the whole point.\r\n<h3>Working with the Dark Goddess</h3>\r\n1. Intention\r\n\r\nThe Dark Goddess can help us find the resolve, dedication, strength, and faith to enter abodes of fear. The first step on the path of engagement with Her is the setting of an intention. Called <i>sankalpa</i> in yogic traditions, this is our resolve, our commitment, our statement of yearning in the dance of free will and determinism. We must be clear in our call, direct and unpretentious in our approach. In one sense, the guidelines are simple:\r\n\r\nI. Discern the yearning\r\nWhat is it that calls to you?\r\n\r\nII. Engage willingness\r\nMake a commitment to the path\r\n\r\nIII. Trust the process\r\nSurrender yourself\r\n\r\nThis is not a mere matter of reading words, however; this is the reality of taking steps toward the deep end of the pool. The more clearly you can articulate for yourself the nature of your exploration and where you wish to go, the more carefully and precisely you will be guided toward your destination. With your sankalpa is set, you are ready to begin the work of opening to Her.\r\n\r\n2. The Living Altar: Tools, Symbols, and Practice\r\n\r\nEvery Dark Goddess shares five essential qualities. They are: embodiment, relationality, cyclicity, the chthonic, and the antinomian. Through them, she offers us Her gifts, with liberation the greatest of them all. These five qualities are the very core of what it means to be a dark goddess, and thus, in concert they create a vibrational energy evocative of Her essence. In this way, your opening to the Dark Goddess is facilitated by working with them—they set the stage for a personal invocation that allows the Dark Goddess to manifest as you desire to know Her.\r\n\r\nCreating your Dark Goddess altar with the tools, symbols, and practices offered here, inclusive of your own inspirations, lets Her know that you are ready, and makes a sanctuary in which She can dwell for the duration of your worship. Study these qualities along with their correspondences. Get to know them inside so that you feel both physical and subtle levels of manifestation; for these can help you not only deepen spiritual discovery and self-awareness, but also come closer to the heart of Her—and through this, the heart of the world.\r\n\r\ni. Embodiment\r\n\r\nThis quality is the root of all others. Literally, it corresponds to the Muladhara Chakra, the energy center at the base of our spine, the root of the body. Without this quality, there is little space from which we can engage Her.\r\n\r\nHere, in the realm of matter and our embodied selves, is where the Dark Goddess lives and fights for life-affirming change. From here, She calls upon us to re-sanctify nature. She is in the stuff of our bodies, and in the stuff of our world denied and rejected. She is the dirt under our fingernails, excrement, blood, women’s moon-time blood; she is in the juices of our love making, the burps of babies who come in all the colors of rain-washed Earth, the flesh of our beloved dead. She is the Divine immanent, here among us—and she is neither shy nor embarrassed about it. Rather, she shows up inebriated on the festival offered, drunk from the kissing of wounds.\r\n\r\nThe first of Her qualities, embodiment is also the power of the body’s wisdom and intuition. It has correspondences in Earth and North. Her tool is a sacred diagram (such as a pentacle, labyrinth, yantra, or mandala) that provides a contemplative entryway to insight and deeper revelation of the inner mysteries. Engage practices such as breath work, meditation, focusing, movement, yoga, and energy raising techniques to enter the arena of embodied wisdom. Draw on the power of your personal experiences to call up corporeal parables. These are the stories our bodies know that cross time and space; for example, childbirth, near-death experiences, and athletic episodes of being ‘in the zone.’\r\n\r\nUse resin incense and flowers to help awaken your senses and open the gateways to Her, with mindfulness to both external and internal realities. Find inside yourself the aromas, sounds, sensations, and feelings that arise, and pay particular attention to smells as activators of the subtle body. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\nii. Relationality\r\n\r\nWhether taken literally or metaphorically, the Dark Goddess is the one who shapes reality, creating and filling in spaces where we need to do the hard work of the spiritual journey. As we do this work, we may come to realize that relationships are our primary reminder of connection. We might not be surprised, therefore, to find the quality of relationality located at the Anahata Chakra, our heart center, a place of balance, potential, and equanimity. Seat of the soul in many traditions, the heart is the place through which we experience the bonds of Creation: from the outside in and the inside out.\r\n\r\nThe second of her qualities, relationality has correspondences in East and Air. The tool of the Dark Goddess in the East is the mirror. In it we see revealed our most authentic nature and the heart of all truths reflected through Her. As she gazes back at us, we may delve into the questions—especially those that relate us to our physically-, emotionally-, intellectually-, and culturally-informed notions of who we are—that get at the meaning of our identity and existence. This is the very stuff of soul making, the very stuff of awakening spiritual maturity. Here, She offers us the power of an unconditional embrace.\r\n\r\nPractices such as seva, or selfless service, and other efforts that create happiness, deepen heartfelt feeling states, and cultivate compassion (our ability to be with suffering) ignite this quality of hers. Practices you might wish to explore include dream work, scrying, regression, and forms of transpersonal therapy, journaling, walking/active meditation, and conscious loving.\r\n\r\nOn your altar, use things that you particularly enjoy touching, picking up, and holding. Spend time with the objects of your choosing, allowing the holding to rekindle ancient memories and awaken mythic connections. Choose a variety of tactile delights to incorporate into your ritual environment, such as textured fabrics, wood, stone, and fur. Above all else, bring yourself into love through devotion. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\niii. Chthonic\r\n\r\nThe Pavamana Mantra from the Upanishads offers this prayer: from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality, lead us. The word chthonic, from the Greek khthonios meaning \"in the earth,\" denotes that which is of or relating to the underworld. This quality of Dark Goddess, the chthonic, shares resonance with this most powerful and purifying of mantras. Chant it aloud now and feel the movement of sound around and within you:\r\n\r\nOM\r\n\r\nAsatoma sad gamaya\r\nAum uh’-suh-toh-maa suhd’ guh’-muh-yuh\r\n\r\nTamaso ma jyotirgamaya\r\nTuh’-muh-soh-maa jyoh’-teer guh’-muh-yuh\r\n\r\nMrityorma amritam gamaya\r\nMriht’-yohr-maa uhm’-rih-tuhm guh’-muh-yuh\r\n\r\nTo feel the reverberations of the chanting as one speaks, intones, or even listens to these Sanskrit syllables is to know the essence of the chthonic, for through this mantra we are shown the potential to shift the very fabric of our being toward our dreams, our fullest realization, and our ultimate bliss. In walking the path of the chthonic and in heeding the words of this eternal prayer, we are celebrating from our original yearning. We are opening to the journey of the underworld, to the origin of our soul’s passage from energy to manifest reality.\r\n\r\nThis work is particularly relevant where the chthonic is held psychically: at the third chakra, the Manipura Chakra, which is the seat of our individual will, located at the solar plexus.\r\n\r\nThe chthonic is also the third of her qualities, with correspondences in South and Fire. We might laugh to think of the underworld and fire connected together (since we may automatically conjure up images of a Christian Hell), but although often hot and fierce, the fires of the Dark Goddess burn for reasons other than damnation. In fact, they burn for purification and with the elemental power of light—that which gives form to energy and liberates us from misconceptions about phenomena in the material world. The realm of the chthonic is therefore also our connection to individual power and the sacred dance we share with the Divine in working to discover our true nature.\r\n\r\nThe tool of the chthonic is the flame, that which brings illumination to the shadows, helping us to see the real and recognize the unreal. Practices such as those that induce trance, bring on altered states of consciousness, and assist inner sight are beneficial toward understanding the realm of the chthonic. For example, shamanic drumming, trataka (focused concentration on one point or object), repetitive chanting, kriya yoga, and yoga nidra (practices that cultivate deep aware sleep) are all aids in coming to know this quality and its ramifications on gross, subtle and causal levels. Mudras too can help one focus the transformational energies of inner and outer worlds to great effect.\r\n\r\nIn working with this quality of Dark Goddess, you may wish to light candles and practice candle magick. Enjoy the play of the light on your chosen ritual objects, and see if you can enter into meditation, eyes open, while focusing about four feet away from you. Explore movement and dance, opening yourself to the physical landscape and the special features and curves of your own body and face. Create mudras spontaneously. Play with colors, sparkles, and eye-catching items on your altar, manifesting beauty and sweet flows of energy all around you. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\niv. Cyclicity\r\n\r\nThe power of time, the space between dark and light where the yearning pulls us into the future, the internal mechanisms that reveal the oak tree from the acorn, the strands of our DNA, the ebb and flow of tides. Cyclicity is the fourth of her qualities, with correspondences in West and Water. Its locus is the Svadhisthana Chakra, seat of the self located at the pelvic floor. Some of the mystery may be revealed when we notice that the taste of pure water is unlike anything we know; it is clear, without particular qualities of sour or sweet, pungent or salty. Yet it is utterly refreshing and deeply satisfying to have a good drink. This is the revelation of the Dark Goddess through cyclicity.\r\n\r\nHer tool in this place of ancestral knowing and remembrance is a water pot, which taps into the cycles of the moon and seasons, helping us open to the dynamic tension of the universe and the pull of our karmas through life, death and rebirth. Practices such as gardening that bring us into communion with nature and allow us to literally taste our efforts (as planting a vegetable garden would), as well as those that symbolically allow us to taste the fruits of life, such as devotional prayer, cooking, poetry writing, and other bhakti (devotional) offerings, can aid us in understanding and deepening our connection with this quality of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\nBring spices, food, and drink to your altar, on one level remembering and honoring your ancestors within the cycle of life, and on another remembering and honoring the seasons and what it takes to nourish living beings. Food and drink on your altar also provides a remembering and honoring of the work we do and must do to feed the spirit. Cyclicity offers the prasad (blessed food) of the Dark Goddess. Nourish yourself through the virtues of this quality on all levels, heeding the power of the eternal return. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\nv. Antinomian\r\n\r\nThe antinomian is that which sits outside the normative, the socially acceptable, the so-called rational. It is the quality of the Dark Goddess that makes us think about our assumptions, reveals our internalized oppressions, and forces us to look directly at reality without the blinders of cultural, religious, and social frameworks. The fifth of her qualities, with correspondences in Center/Circumference and Ether, the quality of the antinomian is resonant with the Vishuddha Chakra or throat center. This is the seat of Her unfolding into consciousness through sound, the place where both reality and our karma are created through spoken words.\r\n\r\nThis space encompasses both sound and echo—the arising from the void into vibration and then into engagement with our sense of hearing, with the phenomenal world and back again. Since all sound is carried on ether, practices such as mantra repetition, chanting, kirtan (call and response singing), and sounding in general (with voice or instruments) are important to help uncover this quality of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\nOn your altar, you may wish to keep a rattle, drum, bell, or other instrument that augments or accentuates your voice or the silence as you do ritual, chant, or sing. To know this quality is to move sound, create vibrations, and make waves in the fabric of your being and the world around you. It is to show up as you fully, authentically are, naked to the impositions of family and society. In this way and in a literal sense, digambara (sky-clad) ceremony can be liberating.\r\n\r\nHer tool is the murti, or image that you will imbue with life-force energy for worship. The murti can be any object you wish to represent Her. Choose a worthy home for Her, allowing this object to reflect aspects of Her that you wish to honor and to which you will make devotions over time. It can be natural, such as a stone or tree; handcrafted; or purchased in a shop. Unlock her secrets in the anointing, decorating, loving and honoring of Her image, this receptacle for the rapture that is her. Delight in that which will be present through it. If you have selected or created an image with eyes, gaze upon that gateway with intensity of concentration and surrendered self. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.\r\n\r\n3. Activating Her\r\n\r\nWith the Dark Goddess, we can not only discover and work with the transformational powers she possesses, but also find sanctuary in her wisdom, especially in moments of despair, hopelessness, overwhelm, sorrow, and loss. We can find reassurance during times of challenge and crisis because She holds this part of reality too—and holds it along with everything else in loving kindness. Now that you have prepared the space and readied yourself through meditation, contemplation, and other practices, the time is ripe to welcome in the Dark Goddess of your choosing.\r\n\r\nTo activate Her, we begin with activation of Her qualities. Once we feel the power of these essences, we turn inward, to the place of the indwelling Divine. We open to the qualities within ourselves, utilizing a focus on breath to bring us more deeply into present awareness. Place your hands on your heart, left on top of right palm and breathe as though through this chakra, opening your heart as you continue to deepen your breath. In this place of stimulated alignment between the outer experience of the qualities as you’ve represented them on your altar and your inner awareness of them, imagine the coming together of breath and this awareness deep within at your core. Allow yourself to feel the universe of the inner planes together with consciousness fully present here at the root of your connection to all that lies beyond ego attachment and agendas.\r\n\r\nNow, before your altar, keeping your internal focus, gently open your eyes and gaze upon your murti, the image of the goddess you have readied to awaken. Tenderly and with intention, turn your hands outward, keeping left palm on right. Bring your palms over the murti, and imbue the image with the energy you have cultivated. All the while, stay centered with long and slow breaths. To seal the activation, place the ring finger of your right hand (keeping the palms together and merely bending the ring finger) at the heart or center of the murti, and say, “Welcome, Goddess (Name); Evam Astu!” (Evam astu is Sanskrit for “so mote it be.” It is pronounced, “aa-vuhm_ uhs-too.” You may certainly use any other form of concretization or sealing of energy that you wish here.)\r\n\r\nWith this invocation and awakening through intentional touch of prana (life-force energy), She is now present and your altar is alive. Take a few moments to return the awakened energy to your own heart and other chakras, feeling Her energy now through this nyasa (placement) within you. Honor Her living presence wholeheartedly, with reverence and respect. You may wish to make offerings to Her (such as food, jewelry, flowers, incense and other delightful things), pray, do spellwork, bless objects, or simply deepen your meditations. The choice is yours.\r\n\r\n4. Gratitudes &amp; Visarjan (Devocation)\r\nAs you feel ready to end, it is only proper to thank Her for being present and to acknowledge the gift of the Divine within yourself. You may wish to offer gratitudes to each of Her qualities in turn, finally returning to the murti She inhabits. Give thanks to the Dark Goddess you have lovingly welcomed, and sing her praises. Then, with your hands again placed left over right, begin at the head or top of the image and slowly and gently move down toward the ground or bottom of your altar, drawing the life-force energy out of the murti and releasing it to serve wherever it is needed.\r\n\r\nAt this point, you may wish to ground by bringing the thumb and ring finger of each hand together and touching the earth on either side of your body. End with the words, “Evam Astu” again, or choose some version of, “Hail and farewell!”—something that feels appropriate to you as a final devocation. In this way, the rite is complete and your altar is more richly steeped in the energy gifted through Her living presence. Moreover, you are imbued with Her prana through this work in even fuller and richer ways. Know that by this effort and through Her grace, you are also just a little less encumbered; just a little more free.\r\n\r\nMay Her blessings fill you always.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis article first appeared in Llewellyn\'s <a href=\"http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1918\" target=\"_blank\">online journal</a>.','How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess','','inherit','open','open','','100195-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:37:35','2013-09-23 04:37:35','',100195,'<hr />\r\n\r\nBy Chandra Alexandre\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recou',0,'revision','',0),(100199,2,'2013-09-22 21:40:47','2013-09-23 04:40:47','<hr />\r\n\r\nBy Chandra Alexandre\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful help, especially in times of challenge or crisis. Even the most seasoned among us can fear working with these goddesses. Why is that, and how can we create a safe space in which to work with Her and the potent energy she carries? (In my writing, I intentionally alternate capitalization on words such as goddess and dark goddess. I also oscillate between capitalization on pronouns that refer to her, doing so in order to convey that part of Her grace and mystery lies outside the conventions of language as related to gender and personifications of deity through language.)\r\n\r\nIn this article, my goal is to help you activate your personal crafting with the Dark Goddess, however you choose to name Her. Overall, what I offer is designed to help you discern and strengthen your pathway to Her embrace, helping you gain a solid foundation for exploration of the mysteries. Of course, the Mystery is still the Mystery, and we call on Her knowing that Her response may be appropriately intense or sublime, subtle or sweet. Even if she has not yet appeared in your spiritual purview, may this article whet your appetite for engagement with the delicious and difficult work She inspires!\r\n<h3>Who is She?</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess embraces everything. Her power—and why so many spiritual practitioners avoid her—tends to lie in our fear of the unknown. And this is not only our individual, personal fear, but also our collective, societal, and cultural fear. The magnitude of her power lies in her claim to what we ignore. When we look at the Dark Goddess, we see whatever we wish to keep out of awareness. Yet, she does not hold back Truth, and for this, we are often terrified of Her. What might she reveal?\r\n\r\nDarkness, indeed, is a metaphor for a deeper truth. Life, we know, is filled with beauty and pain, ecstasy and horror. Look at Kali, for example, Hindu Black Goddess, Devourer of Time. With her right two hands she presents mudras (hand gestures) signifying the granting of boons and blessings, and with her left two hands she holds a severed head and a machete. To look upon her, we in the developed world might wonder how to achieve the benefits and avoid the blood and gore. But Her revelation lies in and through the acceptance of her totality—for the blade and head are in truth the goddess offering the promise of detachment and release from the constraints of our egos and limitedness. To take only half of Her then, is to miss the whole point.\r\n<h3>Working with the Dark Goddess</h3>\r\n1. Intention\r\n\r\nThe Dark Goddess can help us find the resolve, dedication, strength, and faith to enter abodes of fear. The first step on the path of engagement with Her is the setting of an intention. Called <i>sankalpa</i> in yogic traditions, this is our resolve, our commitment, our statement of yearning in the dance of free will and determinism. We must be clear in our call, direct and unpretentious in our approach. In one sense, the guidelines are simple:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I. Discern the yearning</strong>\r\nWhat is it that calls to you?</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>II. Engage willingness</strong>\r\nMake a commitment to the path</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>III. Trust the process</strong>\r\nSurrender yourself</p>\r\nThis is not a mere matter of reading words, however; this is the reality of taking steps toward the deep end of the pool. The more clearly you can articulate for yourself the nature of your exploration and where you wish to go, the more carefully and precisely you will be guided toward your destination. With your sankalpa is set, you are ready to begin the work of opening to Her.\r\n\r\n2. The Living Altar: Tools, Symbols, and Practice\r\n\r\nEvery Dark Goddess shares five essential qualities. They are: embodiment, relationality, cyclicity, the chthonic, and the antinomian. Through them, she offers us Her gifts, with liberation the greatest of them all. These five qualities are the very core of what it means to be a dark goddess, and thus, in concert they create a vibrational energy evocative of Her essence. In this way, your opening to the Dark Goddess is facilitated by working with them—they set the stage for a personal invocation that allows the Dark Goddess to manifest as you desire to know Her.\r\n\r\nCreating your Dark Goddess altar with the tools, symbols, and practices offered here, inclusive of your own inspirations, lets Her know that you are ready, and makes a sanctuary in which She can dwell for the duration of your worship. Study these qualities along with their correspondences. Get to know them inside so that you feel both physical and subtle levels of manifestation; for these can help you not only deepen spiritual discovery and self-awareness, but also come closer to the heart of Her—and through this, the heart of the world.\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">i. Embodiment</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This quality is the root of all others. Literally, it corresponds to the Muladhara Chakra, the energy center at the base of our spine, the root of the body. Without this quality, there is little space from which we can engage Her.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Here, in the realm of matter and our embodied selves, is where the Dark Goddess lives and fights for life-affirming change. From here, She calls upon us to re-sanctify nature. She is in the stuff of our bodies, and in the stuff of our world denied and rejected. She is the dirt under our fingernails, excrement, blood, women’s moon-time blood; she is in the juices of our love making, the burps of babies who come in all the colors of rain-washed Earth, the flesh of our beloved dead. She is the Divine immanent, here among us—and she is neither shy nor embarrassed about it. Rather, she shows up inebriated on the festival offered, drunk from the kissing of wounds.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The first of Her qualities, embodiment is also the power of the body’s wisdom and intuition. It has correspondences in Earth and North. Her tool is a sacred diagram (such as a pentacle, labyrinth, yantra, or mandala) that provides a contemplative entryway to insight and deeper revelation of the inner mysteries. Engage practices such as breath work, meditation, focusing, movement, yoga, and energy raising techniques to enter the arena of embodied wisdom. Draw on the power of your personal experiences to call up corporeal parables. These are the stories our bodies know that cross time and space; for example, childbirth, near-death experiences, and athletic episodes of being ‘in the zone.’</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Use resin incense and flowers to help awaken your senses and open the gateways to Her, with mindfulness to both external and internal realities. Find inside yourself the aromas, sounds, sensations, and feelings that arise, and pay particular attention to smells as activators of the subtle body. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">ii. Relationality</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Whether taken literally or metaphorically, the Dark Goddess is the one who shapes reality, creating and filling in spaces where we need to do the hard work of the spiritual journey. As we do this work, we may come to realize that relationships are our primary reminder of connection. We might not be surprised, therefore, to find the quality of relationality located at the Anahata Chakra, our heart center, a place of balance, potential, and equanimity. Seat of the soul in many traditions, the heart is the place through which we experience the bonds of Creation: from the outside in and the inside out.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The second of her qualities, relationality has correspondences in East and Air. The tool of the Dark Goddess in the East is the mirror. In it we see revealed our most authentic nature and the heart of all truths reflected through Her. As she gazes back at us, we may delve into the questions—especially those that relate us to our physically-, emotionally-, intellectually-, and culturally-informed notions of who we are—that get at the meaning of our identity and existence. This is the very stuff of soul making, the very stuff of awakening spiritual maturity. Here, She offers us the power of an unconditional embrace.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Practices such as seva, or selfless service, and other efforts that create happiness, deepen heartfelt feeling states, and cultivate compassion (our ability to be with suffering) ignite this quality of hers. Practices you might wish to explore include dream work, scrying, regression, and forms of transpersonal therapy, journaling, walking/active meditation, and conscious loving.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, use things that you particularly enjoy touching, picking up, and holding. Spend time with the objects of your choosing, allowing the holding to rekindle ancient memories and awaken mythic connections. Choose a variety of tactile delights to incorporate into your ritual environment, such as textured fabrics, wood, stone, and fur. Above all else, bring yourself into love through devotion. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iii. Chthonic</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The Pavamana Mantra from the Upanishads offers this prayer: from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality, lead us. The word chthonic, from the Greek khthonios meaning \"in the earth,\" denotes that which is of or relating to the underworld. This quality of Dark Goddess, the chthonic, shares resonance with this most powerful and purifying of mantras. Chant it aloud now and feel the movement of sound around and within you:</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">OM</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Asatoma sad gamaya\r\nAum uh’-suh-toh-maa suhd’ guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya\r\nTuh’-muh-soh-maa jyoh’-teer guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Mrityorma amritam gamaya\r\nMriht’-yohr-maa uhm’-rih-tuhm guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">To feel the reverberations of the chanting as one speaks, intones, or even listens to these Sanskrit syllables is to know the essence of the chthonic, for through this mantra we are shown the potential to shift the very fabric of our being toward our dreams, our fullest realization, and our ultimate bliss. In walking the path of the chthonic and in heeding the words of this eternal prayer, we are celebrating from our original yearning. We are opening to the journey of the underworld, to the origin of our soul’s passage from energy to manifest reality.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This work is particularly relevant where the chthonic is held psychically: at the third chakra, the Manipura Chakra, which is the seat of our individual will, located at the solar plexus.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The chthonic is also the third of her qualities, with correspondences in South and Fire. We might laugh to think of the underworld and fire connected together (since we may automatically conjure up images of a Christian Hell), but although often hot and fierce, the fires of the Dark Goddess burn for reasons other than damnation. In fact, they burn for purification and with the elemental power of light—that which gives form to energy and liberates us from misconceptions about phenomena in the material world. The realm of the chthonic is therefore also our connection to individual power and the sacred dance we share with the Divine in working to discover our true nature.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The tool of the chthonic is the flame, that which brings illumination to the shadows, helping us to see the real and recognize the unreal. Practices such as those that induce trance, bring on altered states of consciousness, and assist inner sight are beneficial toward understanding the realm of the chthonic. For example, shamanic drumming, trataka (focused concentration on one point or object), repetitive chanting, kriya yoga, and yoga nidra (practices that cultivate deep aware sleep) are all aids in coming to know this quality and its ramifications on gross, subtle and causal levels. Mudras too can help one focus the transformational energies of inner and outer worlds to great effect.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In working with this quality of Dark Goddess, you may wish to light candles and practice candle magick. Enjoy the play of the light on your chosen ritual objects, and see if you can enter into meditation, eyes open, while focusing about four feet away from you. Explore movement and dance, opening yourself to the physical landscape and the special features and curves of your own body and face. Create mudras spontaneously. Play with colors, sparkles, and eye-catching items on your altar, manifesting beauty and sweet flows of energy all around you. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iv. Cyclicity</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The power of time, the space between dark and light where the yearning pulls us into the future, the internal mechanisms that reveal the oak tree from the acorn, the strands of our DNA, the ebb and flow of tides. Cyclicity is the fourth of her qualities, with correspondences in West and Water. Its locus is the Svadhisthana Chakra, seat of the self located at the pelvic floor. Some of the mystery may be revealed when we notice that the taste of pure water is unlike anything we know; it is clear, without particular qualities of sour or sweet, pungent or salty. Yet it is utterly refreshing and deeply satisfying to have a good drink. This is the revelation of the Dark Goddess through cyclicity.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool in this place of ancestral knowing and remembrance is a water pot, which taps into the cycles of the moon and seasons, helping us open to the dynamic tension of the universe and the pull of our karmas through life, death and rebirth. Practices such as gardening that bring us into communion with nature and allow us to literally taste our efforts (as planting a vegetable garden would), as well as those that symbolically allow us to taste the fruits of life, such as devotional prayer, cooking, poetry writing, and other bhakti (devotional) offerings, can aid us in understanding and deepening our connection with this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Bring spices, food, and drink to your altar, on one level remembering and honoring your ancestors within the cycle of life, and on another remembering and honoring the seasons and what it takes to nourish living beings. Food and drink on your altar also provides a remembering and honoring of the work we do and must do to feed the spirit. Cyclicity offers the prasad (blessed food) of the Dark Goddess. Nourish yourself through the virtues of this quality on all levels, heeding the power of the eternal return. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">v. Antinomian</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The antinomian is that which sits outside the normative, the socially acceptable, the so-called rational. It is the quality of the Dark Goddess that makes us think about our assumptions, reveals our internalized oppressions, and forces us to look directly at reality without the blinders of cultural, religious, and social frameworks. The fifth of her qualities, with correspondences in Center/Circumference and Ether, the quality of the antinomian is resonant with the Vishuddha Chakra or throat center. This is the seat of Her unfolding into consciousness through sound, the place where both reality and our karma are created through spoken words.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This space encompasses both sound and echo—the arising from the void into vibration and then into engagement with our sense of hearing, with the phenomenal world and back again. Since all sound is carried on ether, practices such as mantra repetition, chanting, kirtan (call and response singing), and sounding in general (with voice or instruments) are important to help uncover this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, you may wish to keep a rattle, drum, bell, or other instrument that augments or accentuates your voice or the silence as you do ritual, chant, or sing. To know this quality is to move sound, create vibrations, and make waves in the fabric of your being and the world around you. It is to show up as you fully, authentically are, naked to the impositions of family and society. In this way and in a literal sense, digambara (sky-clad) ceremony can be liberating.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool is the murti, or image that you will imbue with life-force energy for worship. The murti can be any object you wish to represent Her. Choose a worthy home for Her, allowing this object to reflect aspects of Her that you wish to honor and to which you will make devotions over time. It can be natural, such as a stone or tree; handcrafted; or purchased in a shop. Unlock her secrets in the anointing, decorating, loving and honoring of Her image, this receptacle for the rapture that is her. Delight in that which will be present through it. If you have selected or created an image with eyes, gaze upon that gateway with intensity of concentration and surrendered self. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n3. Activating Her\r\n\r\nWith the Dark Goddess, we can not only discover and work with the transformational powers she possesses, but also find sanctuary in her wisdom, especially in moments of despair, hopelessness, overwhelm, sorrow, and loss. We can find reassurance during times of challenge and crisis because She holds this part of reality too—and holds it along with everything else in loving kindness. Now that you have prepared the space and readied yourself through meditation, contemplation, and other practices, the time is ripe to welcome in the Dark Goddess of your choosing.\r\n\r\nTo activate Her, we begin with activation of Her qualities. Once we feel the power of these essences, we turn inward, to the place of the indwelling Divine. We open to the qualities within ourselves, utilizing a focus on breath to bring us more deeply into present awareness. Place your hands on your heart, left on top of right palm and breathe as though through this chakra, opening your heart as you continue to deepen your breath. In this place of stimulated alignment between the outer experience of the qualities as you’ve represented them on your altar and your inner awareness of them, imagine the coming together of breath and this awareness deep within at your core. Allow yourself to feel the universe of the inner planes together with consciousness fully present here at the root of your connection to all that lies beyond ego attachment and agendas.\r\n\r\nNow, before your altar, keeping your internal focus, gently open your eyes and gaze upon your murti, the image of the goddess you have readied to awaken. Tenderly and with intention, turn your hands outward, keeping left palm on right. Bring your palms over the murti, and imbue the image with the energy you have cultivated. All the while, stay centered with long and slow breaths. To seal the activation, place the ring finger of your right hand (keeping the palms together and merely bending the ring finger) at the heart or center of the murti, and say, “Welcome, Goddess (Name); Evam Astu!” (Evam astu is Sanskrit for “so mote it be.” It is pronounced, “aa-vuhm_ uhs-too.” You may certainly use any other form of concretization or sealing of energy that you wish here.)\r\n\r\nWith this invocation and awakening through intentional touch of prana (life-force energy), She is now present and your altar is alive. Take a few moments to return the awakened energy to your own heart and other chakras, feeling Her energy now through this nyasa (placement) within you. Honor Her living presence wholeheartedly, with reverence and respect. You may wish to make offerings to Her (such as food, jewelry, flowers, incense and other delightful things), pray, do spellwork, bless objects, or simply deepen your meditations. The choice is yours.\r\n\r\n4. Gratitudes &amp; Visarjan (Devocation)\r\nAs you feel ready to end, it is only proper to thank Her for being present and to acknowledge the gift of the Divine within yourself. You may wish to offer gratitudes to each of Her qualities in turn, finally returning to the murti She inhabits. Give thanks to the Dark Goddess you have lovingly welcomed, and sing her praises. Then, with your hands again placed left over right, begin at the head or top of the image and slowly and gently move down toward the ground or bottom of your altar, drawing the life-force energy out of the murti and releasing it to serve wherever it is needed.\r\n\r\nAt this point, you may wish to ground by bringing the thumb and ring finger of each hand together and touching the earth on either side of your body. End with the words, “Evam Astu” again, or choose some version of, “Hail and farewell!”—something that feels appropriate to you as a final devocation. In this way, the rite is complete and your altar is more richly steeped in the energy gifted through Her living presence. Moreover, you are imbued with Her prana through this work in even fuller and richer ways. Know that by this effort and through Her grace, you are also just a little less encumbered; just a little more free.\r\n\r\nMay Her blessings fill you always.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nThis article first appeared in Llewellyn\'s <a href=\"http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1918\" target=\"_blank\">online journal</a>.','How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess','','inherit','open','open','','100195-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:40:47','2013-09-23 04:40:47','',100195,'<hr />\r\n\r\nBy Chandra Alexandre\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful',0,'revision','',0),(100200,2,'2013-09-22 21:43:03','2013-09-23 04:43:03','<hr />\r\n\r\nBy Chandra Alexandre\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful help, especially in times of challenge or crisis. Even the most seasoned among us can fear working with these goddesses. Why is that, and how can we create a safe space in which to work with Her and the potent energy she carries? (In my writing, I intentionally alternate capitalization on words such as goddess and dark goddess. I also oscillate between capitalization on pronouns that refer to her, doing so in order to convey that part of Her grace and mystery lies outside the conventions of language as related to gender and personifications of deity through language.)\r\n\r\nIn this article, my goal is to help you activate your personal crafting with the Dark Goddess, however you choose to name Her. Overall, what I offer is designed to help you discern and strengthen your pathway to Her embrace, helping you gain a solid foundation for exploration of the mysteries. Of course, the Mystery is still the Mystery, and we call on Her knowing that Her response may be appropriately intense or sublime, subtle or sweet. Even if she has not yet appeared in your spiritual purview, may this article whet your appetite for engagement with the delicious and difficult work She inspires!\r\n<h3>Who is She?</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess embraces everything. Her power—and why so many spiritual practitioners avoid her—tends to lie in our fear of the unknown. And this is not only our individual, personal fear, but also our collective, societal, and cultural fear. The magnitude of her power lies in her claim to what we ignore. When we look at the Dark Goddess, we see whatever we wish to keep out of awareness. Yet, she does not hold back Truth, and for this, we are often terrified of Her. What might she reveal?\r\n\r\nDarkness, indeed, is a metaphor for a deeper truth. Life, we know, is filled with beauty and pain, ecstasy and horror. Look at Kali, for example, Hindu Black Goddess, Devourer of Time. With her right two hands she presents mudras (hand gestures) signifying the granting of boons and blessings, and with her left two hands she holds a severed head and a machete. To look upon her, we in the developed world might wonder how to achieve the benefits and avoid the blood and gore. But Her revelation lies in and through the acceptance of her totality—for the blade and head are in truth the goddess offering the promise of detachment and release from the constraints of our egos and limitedness. To take only half of Her then, is to miss the whole point.\r\n<h3>Working with the Dark Goddess</h3>\r\n<h2>1. Intention</h2>\r\nThe Dark Goddess can help us find the resolve, dedication, strength, and faith to enter abodes of fear. The first step on the path of engagement with Her is the setting of an intention. Called <i>sankalpa</i> in yogic traditions, this is our resolve, our commitment, our statement of yearning in the dance of free will and determinism. We must be clear in our call, direct and unpretentious in our approach. In one sense, the guidelines are simple:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I. Discern the yearning</strong>\r\nWhat is it that calls to you?</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>II. Engage willingness</strong>\r\nMake a commitment to the path</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>III. Trust the process</strong>\r\nSurrender yourself</p>\r\nThis is not a mere matter of reading words, however; this is the reality of taking steps toward the deep end of the pool. The more clearly you can articulate for yourself the nature of your exploration and where you wish to go, the more carefully and precisely you will be guided toward your destination. With your sankalpa is set, you are ready to begin the work of opening to Her.\r\n<h2>2. The Living Altar: Tools, Symbols, and Practice</h2>\r\nEvery Dark Goddess shares five essential qualities. They are: embodiment, relationality, cyclicity, the chthonic, and the antinomian. Through them, she offers us Her gifts, with liberation the greatest of them all. These five qualities are the very core of what it means to be a dark goddess, and thus, in concert they create a vibrational energy evocative of Her essence. In this way, your opening to the Dark Goddess is facilitated by working with them—they set the stage for a personal invocation that allows the Dark Goddess to manifest as you desire to know Her.\r\n\r\nCreating your Dark Goddess altar with the tools, symbols, and practices offered here, inclusive of your own inspirations, lets Her know that you are ready, and makes a sanctuary in which She can dwell for the duration of your worship. Study these qualities along with their correspondences. Get to know them inside so that you feel both physical and subtle levels of manifestation; for these can help you not only deepen spiritual discovery and self-awareness, but also come closer to the heart of Her—and through this, the heart of the world.\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">i. Embodiment</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This quality is the root of all others. Literally, it corresponds to the Muladhara Chakra, the energy center at the base of our spine, the root of the body. Without this quality, there is little space from which we can engage Her.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Here, in the realm of matter and our embodied selves, is where the Dark Goddess lives and fights for life-affirming change. From here, She calls upon us to re-sanctify nature. She is in the stuff of our bodies, and in the stuff of our world denied and rejected. She is the dirt under our fingernails, excrement, blood, women’s moon-time blood; she is in the juices of our love making, the burps of babies who come in all the colors of rain-washed Earth, the flesh of our beloved dead. She is the Divine immanent, here among us—and she is neither shy nor embarrassed about it. Rather, she shows up inebriated on the festival offered, drunk from the kissing of wounds.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The first of Her qualities, embodiment is also the power of the body’s wisdom and intuition. It has correspondences in Earth and North. Her tool is a sacred diagram (such as a pentacle, labyrinth, yantra, or mandala) that provides a contemplative entryway to insight and deeper revelation of the inner mysteries. Engage practices such as breath work, meditation, focusing, movement, yoga, and energy raising techniques to enter the arena of embodied wisdom. Draw on the power of your personal experiences to call up corporeal parables. These are the stories our bodies know that cross time and space; for example, childbirth, near-death experiences, and athletic episodes of being ‘in the zone.’</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Use resin incense and flowers to help awaken your senses and open the gateways to Her, with mindfulness to both external and internal realities. Find inside yourself the aromas, sounds, sensations, and feelings that arise, and pay particular attention to smells as activators of the subtle body. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">ii. Relationality</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Whether taken literally or metaphorically, the Dark Goddess is the one who shapes reality, creating and filling in spaces where we need to do the hard work of the spiritual journey. As we do this work, we may come to realize that relationships are our primary reminder of connection. We might not be surprised, therefore, to find the quality of relationality located at the Anahata Chakra, our heart center, a place of balance, potential, and equanimity. Seat of the soul in many traditions, the heart is the place through which we experience the bonds of Creation: from the outside in and the inside out.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The second of her qualities, relationality has correspondences in East and Air. The tool of the Dark Goddess in the East is the mirror. In it we see revealed our most authentic nature and the heart of all truths reflected through Her. As she gazes back at us, we may delve into the questions—especially those that relate us to our physically-, emotionally-, intellectually-, and culturally-informed notions of who we are—that get at the meaning of our identity and existence. This is the very stuff of soul making, the very stuff of awakening spiritual maturity. Here, She offers us the power of an unconditional embrace.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Practices such as seva, or selfless service, and other efforts that create happiness, deepen heartfelt feeling states, and cultivate compassion (our ability to be with suffering) ignite this quality of hers. Practices you might wish to explore include dream work, scrying, regression, and forms of transpersonal therapy, journaling, walking/active meditation, and conscious loving.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, use things that you particularly enjoy touching, picking up, and holding. Spend time with the objects of your choosing, allowing the holding to rekindle ancient memories and awaken mythic connections. Choose a variety of tactile delights to incorporate into your ritual environment, such as textured fabrics, wood, stone, and fur. Above all else, bring yourself into love through devotion. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iii. Chthonic</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The Pavamana Mantra from the Upanishads offers this prayer: from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality, lead us. The word chthonic, from the Greek khthonios meaning \"in the earth,\" denotes that which is of or relating to the underworld. This quality of Dark Goddess, the chthonic, shares resonance with this most powerful and purifying of mantras. Chant it aloud now and feel the movement of sound around and within you:</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">OM</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Asatoma sad gamaya\r\nAum uh’-suh-toh-maa suhd’ guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya\r\nTuh’-muh-soh-maa jyoh’-teer guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Mrityorma amritam gamaya\r\nMriht’-yohr-maa uhm’-rih-tuhm guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">To feel the reverberations of the chanting as one speaks, intones, or even listens to these Sanskrit syllables is to know the essence of the chthonic, for through this mantra we are shown the potential to shift the very fabric of our being toward our dreams, our fullest realization, and our ultimate bliss. In walking the path of the chthonic and in heeding the words of this eternal prayer, we are celebrating from our original yearning. We are opening to the journey of the underworld, to the origin of our soul’s passage from energy to manifest reality.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This work is particularly relevant where the chthonic is held psychically: at the third chakra, the Manipura Chakra, which is the seat of our individual will, located at the solar plexus.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The chthonic is also the third of her qualities, with correspondences in South and Fire. We might laugh to think of the underworld and fire connected together (since we may automatically conjure up images of a Christian Hell), but although often hot and fierce, the fires of the Dark Goddess burn for reasons other than damnation. In fact, they burn for purification and with the elemental power of light—that which gives form to energy and liberates us from misconceptions about phenomena in the material world. The realm of the chthonic is therefore also our connection to individual power and the sacred dance we share with the Divine in working to discover our true nature.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The tool of the chthonic is the flame, that which brings illumination to the shadows, helping us to see the real and recognize the unreal. Practices such as those that induce trance, bring on altered states of consciousness, and assist inner sight are beneficial toward understanding the realm of the chthonic. For example, shamanic drumming, trataka (focused concentration on one point or object), repetitive chanting, kriya yoga, and yoga nidra (practices that cultivate deep aware sleep) are all aids in coming to know this quality and its ramifications on gross, subtle and causal levels. Mudras too can help one focus the transformational energies of inner and outer worlds to great effect.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In working with this quality of Dark Goddess, you may wish to light candles and practice candle magick. Enjoy the play of the light on your chosen ritual objects, and see if you can enter into meditation, eyes open, while focusing about four feet away from you. Explore movement and dance, opening yourself to the physical landscape and the special features and curves of your own body and face. Create mudras spontaneously. Play with colors, sparkles, and eye-catching items on your altar, manifesting beauty and sweet flows of energy all around you. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iv. Cyclicity</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The power of time, the space between dark and light where the yearning pulls us into the future, the internal mechanisms that reveal the oak tree from the acorn, the strands of our DNA, the ebb and flow of tides. Cyclicity is the fourth of her qualities, with correspondences in West and Water. Its locus is the Svadhisthana Chakra, seat of the self located at the pelvic floor. Some of the mystery may be revealed when we notice that the taste of pure water is unlike anything we know; it is clear, without particular qualities of sour or sweet, pungent or salty. Yet it is utterly refreshing and deeply satisfying to have a good drink. This is the revelation of the Dark Goddess through cyclicity.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool in this place of ancestral knowing and remembrance is a water pot, which taps into the cycles of the moon and seasons, helping us open to the dynamic tension of the universe and the pull of our karmas through life, death and rebirth. Practices such as gardening that bring us into communion with nature and allow us to literally taste our efforts (as planting a vegetable garden would), as well as those that symbolically allow us to taste the fruits of life, such as devotional prayer, cooking, poetry writing, and other bhakti (devotional) offerings, can aid us in understanding and deepening our connection with this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Bring spices, food, and drink to your altar, on one level remembering and honoring your ancestors within the cycle of life, and on another remembering and honoring the seasons and what it takes to nourish living beings. Food and drink on your altar also provides a remembering and honoring of the work we do and must do to feed the spirit. Cyclicity offers the prasad (blessed food) of the Dark Goddess. Nourish yourself through the virtues of this quality on all levels, heeding the power of the eternal return. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">v. Antinomian</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The antinomian is that which sits outside the normative, the socially acceptable, the so-called rational. It is the quality of the Dark Goddess that makes us think about our assumptions, reveals our internalized oppressions, and forces us to look directly at reality without the blinders of cultural, religious, and social frameworks. The fifth of her qualities, with correspondences in Center/Circumference and Ether, the quality of the antinomian is resonant with the Vishuddha Chakra or throat center. This is the seat of Her unfolding into consciousness through sound, the place where both reality and our karma are created through spoken words.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This space encompasses both sound and echo—the arising from the void into vibration and then into engagement with our sense of hearing, with the phenomenal world and back again. Since all sound is carried on ether, practices such as mantra repetition, chanting, kirtan (call and response singing), and sounding in general (with voice or instruments) are important to help uncover this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, you may wish to keep a rattle, drum, bell, or other instrument that augments or accentuates your voice or the silence as you do ritual, chant, or sing. To know this quality is to move sound, create vibrations, and make waves in the fabric of your being and the world around you. It is to show up as you fully, authentically are, naked to the impositions of family and society. In this way and in a literal sense, digambara (sky-clad) ceremony can be liberating.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool is the murti, or image that you will imbue with life-force energy for worship. The murti can be any object you wish to represent Her. Choose a worthy home for Her, allowing this object to reflect aspects of Her that you wish to honor and to which you will make devotions over time. It can be natural, such as a stone or tree; handcrafted; or purchased in a shop. Unlock her secrets in the anointing, decorating, loving and honoring of Her image, this receptacle for the rapture that is her. Delight in that which will be present through it. If you have selected or created an image with eyes, gaze upon that gateway with intensity of concentration and surrendered self. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2>3. Activating Her</h2>\r\nWith the Dark Goddess, we can not only discover and work with the transformational powers she possesses, but also find sanctuary in her wisdom, especially in moments of despair, hopelessness, overwhelm, sorrow, and loss. We can find reassurance during times of challenge and crisis because She holds this part of reality too—and holds it along with everything else in loving kindness. Now that you have prepared the space and readied yourself through meditation, contemplation, and other practices, the time is ripe to welcome in the Dark Goddess of your choosing.\r\n\r\nTo activate Her, we begin with activation of Her qualities. Once we feel the power of these essences, we turn inward, to the place of the indwelling Divine. We open to the qualities within ourselves, utilizing a focus on breath to bring us more deeply into present awareness. Place your hands on your heart, left on top of right palm and breathe as though through this chakra, opening your heart as you continue to deepen your breath. In this place of stimulated alignment between the outer experience of the qualities as you’ve represented them on your altar and your inner awareness of them, imagine the coming together of breath and this awareness deep within at your core. Allow yourself to feel the universe of the inner planes together with consciousness fully present here at the root of your connection to all that lies beyond ego attachment and agendas.\r\n\r\nNow, before your altar, keeping your internal focus, gently open your eyes and gaze upon your murti, the image of the goddess you have readied to awaken. Tenderly and with intention, turn your hands outward, keeping left palm on right. Bring your palms over the murti, and imbue the image with the energy you have cultivated. All the while, stay centered with long and slow breaths. To seal the activation, place the ring finger of your right hand (keeping the palms together and merely bending the ring finger) at the heart or center of the murti, and say, “Welcome, Goddess (Name); Evam Astu!” (Evam astu is Sanskrit for “so mote it be.” It is pronounced, “aa-vuhm_ uhs-too.” You may certainly use any other form of concretization or sealing of energy that you wish here.)\r\n\r\nWith this invocation and awakening through intentional touch of prana (life-force energy), She is now present and your altar is alive. Take a few moments to return the awakened energy to your own heart and other chakras, feeling Her energy now through this nyasa (placement) within you. Honor Her living presence wholeheartedly, with reverence and respect. You may wish to make offerings to Her (such as food, jewelry, flowers, incense and other delightful things), pray, do spellwork, bless objects, or simply deepen your meditations. The choice is yours.\r\n<h2>4. Gratitudes &amp; Visarjan (Devocation)</h2>\r\nAs you feel ready to end, it is only proper to thank Her for being present and to acknowledge the gift of the Divine within yourself. You may wish to offer gratitudes to each of Her qualities in turn, finally returning to the murti She inhabits. Give thanks to the Dark Goddess you have lovingly welcomed, and sing her praises. Then, with your hands again placed left over right, begin at the head or top of the image and slowly and gently move down toward the ground or bottom of your altar, drawing the life-force energy out of the murti and releasing it to serve wherever it is needed.\r\n\r\nAt this point, you may wish to ground by bringing the thumb and ring finger of each hand together and touching the earth on either side of your body. End with the words, “Evam Astu” again, or choose some version of, “Hail and farewell!”—something that feels appropriate to you as a final devocation. In this way, the rite is complete and your altar is more richly steeped in the energy gifted through Her living presence. Moreover, you are imbued with Her prana through this work in even fuller and richer ways. Know that by this effort and through Her grace, you are also just a little less encumbered; just a little more free.\r\n\r\nMay Her blessings fill you always.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nThis article first appeared in Llewellyn\'s <a href=\"http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1918\" target=\"_blank\">online journal</a>.','How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess','','inherit','open','open','','100195-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:43:03','2013-09-23 04:43:03','',100195,'<hr />\r\n\r\nBy Chandra Alexandre\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful',0,'revision','',0),(100201,2,'2013-09-22 21:45:01','2013-09-23 04:45:01','<hr />\r\n\r\nBy Chandra Alexandre\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful help, especially in times of challenge or crisis. Even the most seasoned among us can fear working with these goddesses. Why is that, and how can we create a safe space in which to work with Her and the potent energy she carries? (In my writing, I intentionally alternate capitalization on words such as goddess and dark goddess. I also oscillate between capitalization on pronouns that refer to her, doing so in order to convey that part of Her grace and mystery lies outside the conventions of language as related to gender and personifications of deity through language.)\r\n\r\nIn this article, my goal is to help you activate your personal crafting with the Dark Goddess, however you choose to name Her. Overall, what I offer is designed to help you discern and strengthen your pathway to Her embrace, helping you gain a solid foundation for exploration of the mysteries. Of course, the Mystery is still the Mystery, and we call on Her knowing that Her response may be appropriately intense or sublime, subtle or sweet. Even if she has not yet appeared in your spiritual purview, may this article whet your appetite for engagement with the delicious and difficult work She inspires!\r\n<h3>Who is She?</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess embraces everything. Her power—and why so many spiritual practitioners avoid her—tends to lie in our fear of the unknown. And this is not only our individual, personal fear, but also our collective, societal, and cultural fear. The magnitude of her power lies in her claim to what we ignore. When we look at the Dark Goddess, we see whatever we wish to keep out of awareness. Yet, she does not hold back Truth, and for this, we are often terrified of Her. What might she reveal?\r\n\r\nDarkness, indeed, is a metaphor for a deeper truth. Life, we know, is filled with beauty and pain, ecstasy and horror. Look at Kali, for example, Hindu Black Goddess, Devourer of Time. With her right two hands she presents mudras (hand gestures) signifying the granting of boons and blessings, and with her left two hands she holds a severed head and a machete. To look upon her, we in the developed world might wonder how to achieve the benefits and avoid the blood and gore. But Her revelation lies in and through the acceptance of her totality—for the blade and head are in truth the goddess offering the promise of detachment and release from the constraints of our egos and limitedness. To take only half of Her then, is to miss the whole point.\r\n<h3>Working with the Dark Goddess</h3>\r\n<h3>1. Intention</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess can help us find the resolve, dedication, strength, and faith to enter abodes of fear. The first step on the path of engagement with Her is the setting of an intention. Called <i>sankalpa</i> in yogic traditions, this is our resolve, our commitment, our statement of yearning in the dance of free will and determinism. We must be clear in our call, direct and unpretentious in our approach. In one sense, the guidelines are simple:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I. Discern the yearning</strong>\r\nWhat is it that calls to you?</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>II. Engage willingness</strong>\r\nMake a commitment to the path</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>III. Trust the process</strong>\r\nSurrender yourself</p>\r\nThis is not a mere matter of reading words, however; this is the reality of taking steps toward the deep end of the pool. The more clearly you can articulate for yourself the nature of your exploration and where you wish to go, the more carefully and precisely you will be guided toward your destination. With your sankalpa is set, you are ready to begin the work of opening to Her.\r\n<h3>2. The Living Altar: Tools, Symbols, and Practice</h3>\r\nEvery Dark Goddess shares five essential qualities. They are: embodiment, relationality, cyclicity, the chthonic, and the antinomian. Through them, she offers us Her gifts, with liberation the greatest of them all. These five qualities are the very core of what it means to be a dark goddess, and thus, in concert they create a vibrational energy evocative of Her essence. In this way, your opening to the Dark Goddess is facilitated by working with them—they set the stage for a personal invocation that allows the Dark Goddess to manifest as you desire to know Her.\r\n\r\nCreating your Dark Goddess altar with the tools, symbols, and practices offered here, inclusive of your own inspirations, lets Her know that you are ready, and makes a sanctuary in which She can dwell for the duration of your worship. Study these qualities along with their correspondences. Get to know them inside so that you feel both physical and subtle levels of manifestation; for these can help you not only deepen spiritual discovery and self-awareness, but also come closer to the heart of Her—and through this, the heart of the world.\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">i. Embodiment</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This quality is the root of all others. Literally, it corresponds to the Muladhara Chakra, the energy center at the base of our spine, the root of the body. Without this quality, there is little space from which we can engage Her.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Here, in the realm of matter and our embodied selves, is where the Dark Goddess lives and fights for life-affirming change. From here, She calls upon us to re-sanctify nature. She is in the stuff of our bodies, and in the stuff of our world denied and rejected. She is the dirt under our fingernails, excrement, blood, women’s moon-time blood; she is in the juices of our love making, the burps of babies who come in all the colors of rain-washed Earth, the flesh of our beloved dead. She is the Divine immanent, here among us—and she is neither shy nor embarrassed about it. Rather, she shows up inebriated on the festival offered, drunk from the kissing of wounds.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The first of Her qualities, embodiment is also the power of the body’s wisdom and intuition. It has correspondences in Earth and North. Her tool is a sacred diagram (such as a pentacle, labyrinth, yantra, or mandala) that provides a contemplative entryway to insight and deeper revelation of the inner mysteries. Engage practices such as breath work, meditation, focusing, movement, yoga, and energy raising techniques to enter the arena of embodied wisdom. Draw on the power of your personal experiences to call up corporeal parables. These are the stories our bodies know that cross time and space; for example, childbirth, near-death experiences, and athletic episodes of being ‘in the zone.’</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Use resin incense and flowers to help awaken your senses and open the gateways to Her, with mindfulness to both external and internal realities. Find inside yourself the aromas, sounds, sensations, and feelings that arise, and pay particular attention to smells as activators of the subtle body. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">ii. Relationality</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Whether taken literally or metaphorically, the Dark Goddess is the one who shapes reality, creating and filling in spaces where we need to do the hard work of the spiritual journey. As we do this work, we may come to realize that relationships are our primary reminder of connection. We might not be surprised, therefore, to find the quality of relationality located at the Anahata Chakra, our heart center, a place of balance, potential, and equanimity. Seat of the soul in many traditions, the heart is the place through which we experience the bonds of Creation: from the outside in and the inside out.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The second of her qualities, relationality has correspondences in East and Air. The tool of the Dark Goddess in the East is the mirror. In it we see revealed our most authentic nature and the heart of all truths reflected through Her. As she gazes back at us, we may delve into the questions—especially those that relate us to our physically-, emotionally-, intellectually-, and culturally-informed notions of who we are—that get at the meaning of our identity and existence. This is the very stuff of soul making, the very stuff of awakening spiritual maturity. Here, She offers us the power of an unconditional embrace.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Practices such as seva, or selfless service, and other efforts that create happiness, deepen heartfelt feeling states, and cultivate compassion (our ability to be with suffering) ignite this quality of hers. Practices you might wish to explore include dream work, scrying, regression, and forms of transpersonal therapy, journaling, walking/active meditation, and conscious loving.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, use things that you particularly enjoy touching, picking up, and holding. Spend time with the objects of your choosing, allowing the holding to rekindle ancient memories and awaken mythic connections. Choose a variety of tactile delights to incorporate into your ritual environment, such as textured fabrics, wood, stone, and fur. Above all else, bring yourself into love through devotion. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iii. Chthonic</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The Pavamana Mantra from the Upanishads offers this prayer: from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality, lead us. The word chthonic, from the Greek khthonios meaning \"in the earth,\" denotes that which is of or relating to the underworld. This quality of Dark Goddess, the chthonic, shares resonance with this most powerful and purifying of mantras. Chant it aloud now and feel the movement of sound around and within you:</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">OM</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Asatoma sad gamaya\r\nAum uh’-suh-toh-maa suhd’ guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya\r\nTuh’-muh-soh-maa jyoh’-teer guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Mrityorma amritam gamaya\r\nMriht’-yohr-maa uhm’-rih-tuhm guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">To feel the reverberations of the chanting as one speaks, intones, or even listens to these Sanskrit syllables is to know the essence of the chthonic, for through this mantra we are shown the potential to shift the very fabric of our being toward our dreams, our fullest realization, and our ultimate bliss. In walking the path of the chthonic and in heeding the words of this eternal prayer, we are celebrating from our original yearning. We are opening to the journey of the underworld, to the origin of our soul’s passage from energy to manifest reality.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This work is particularly relevant where the chthonic is held psychically: at the third chakra, the Manipura Chakra, which is the seat of our individual will, located at the solar plexus.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The chthonic is also the third of her qualities, with correspondences in South and Fire. We might laugh to think of the underworld and fire connected together (since we may automatically conjure up images of a Christian Hell), but although often hot and fierce, the fires of the Dark Goddess burn for reasons other than damnation. In fact, they burn for purification and with the elemental power of light—that which gives form to energy and liberates us from misconceptions about phenomena in the material world. The realm of the chthonic is therefore also our connection to individual power and the sacred dance we share with the Divine in working to discover our true nature.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The tool of the chthonic is the flame, that which brings illumination to the shadows, helping us to see the real and recognize the unreal. Practices such as those that induce trance, bring on altered states of consciousness, and assist inner sight are beneficial toward understanding the realm of the chthonic. For example, shamanic drumming, trataka (focused concentration on one point or object), repetitive chanting, kriya yoga, and yoga nidra (practices that cultivate deep aware sleep) are all aids in coming to know this quality and its ramifications on gross, subtle and causal levels. Mudras too can help one focus the transformational energies of inner and outer worlds to great effect.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In working with this quality of Dark Goddess, you may wish to light candles and practice candle magick. Enjoy the play of the light on your chosen ritual objects, and see if you can enter into meditation, eyes open, while focusing about four feet away from you. Explore movement and dance, opening yourself to the physical landscape and the special features and curves of your own body and face. Create mudras spontaneously. Play with colors, sparkles, and eye-catching items on your altar, manifesting beauty and sweet flows of energy all around you. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iv. Cyclicity</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The power of time, the space between dark and light where the yearning pulls us into the future, the internal mechanisms that reveal the oak tree from the acorn, the strands of our DNA, the ebb and flow of tides. Cyclicity is the fourth of her qualities, with correspondences in West and Water. Its locus is the Svadhisthana Chakra, seat of the self located at the pelvic floor. Some of the mystery may be revealed when we notice that the taste of pure water is unlike anything we know; it is clear, without particular qualities of sour or sweet, pungent or salty. Yet it is utterly refreshing and deeply satisfying to have a good drink. This is the revelation of the Dark Goddess through cyclicity.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool in this place of ancestral knowing and remembrance is a water pot, which taps into the cycles of the moon and seasons, helping us open to the dynamic tension of the universe and the pull of our karmas through life, death and rebirth. Practices such as gardening that bring us into communion with nature and allow us to literally taste our efforts (as planting a vegetable garden would), as well as those that symbolically allow us to taste the fruits of life, such as devotional prayer, cooking, poetry writing, and other bhakti (devotional) offerings, can aid us in understanding and deepening our connection with this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Bring spices, food, and drink to your altar, on one level remembering and honoring your ancestors within the cycle of life, and on another remembering and honoring the seasons and what it takes to nourish living beings. Food and drink on your altar also provides a remembering and honoring of the work we do and must do to feed the spirit. Cyclicity offers the prasad (blessed food) of the Dark Goddess. Nourish yourself through the virtues of this quality on all levels, heeding the power of the eternal return. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">v. Antinomian</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The antinomian is that which sits outside the normative, the socially acceptable, the so-called rational. It is the quality of the Dark Goddess that makes us think about our assumptions, reveals our internalized oppressions, and forces us to look directly at reality without the blinders of cultural, religious, and social frameworks. The fifth of her qualities, with correspondences in Center/Circumference and Ether, the quality of the antinomian is resonant with the Vishuddha Chakra or throat center. This is the seat of Her unfolding into consciousness through sound, the place where both reality and our karma are created through spoken words.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This space encompasses both sound and echo—the arising from the void into vibration and then into engagement with our sense of hearing, with the phenomenal world and back again. Since all sound is carried on ether, practices such as mantra repetition, chanting, kirtan (call and response singing), and sounding in general (with voice or instruments) are important to help uncover this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, you may wish to keep a rattle, drum, bell, or other instrument that augments or accentuates your voice or the silence as you do ritual, chant, or sing. To know this quality is to move sound, create vibrations, and make waves in the fabric of your being and the world around you. It is to show up as you fully, authentically are, naked to the impositions of family and society. In this way and in a literal sense, digambara (sky-clad) ceremony can be liberating.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool is the murti, or image that you will imbue with life-force energy for worship. The murti can be any object you wish to represent Her. Choose a worthy home for Her, allowing this object to reflect aspects of Her that you wish to honor and to which you will make devotions over time. It can be natural, such as a stone or tree; handcrafted; or purchased in a shop. Unlock her secrets in the anointing, decorating, loving and honoring of Her image, this receptacle for the rapture that is her. Delight in that which will be present through it. If you have selected or created an image with eyes, gaze upon that gateway with intensity of concentration and surrendered self. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h3>3. Activating Her</h3>\r\nWith the Dark Goddess, we can not only discover and work with the transformational powers she possesses, but also find sanctuary in her wisdom, especially in moments of despair, hopelessness, overwhelm, sorrow, and loss. We can find reassurance during times of challenge and crisis because She holds this part of reality too—and holds it along with everything else in loving kindness. Now that you have prepared the space and readied yourself through meditation, contemplation, and other practices, the time is ripe to welcome in the Dark Goddess of your choosing.\r\n\r\nTo activate Her, we begin with activation of Her qualities. Once we feel the power of these essences, we turn inward, to the place of the indwelling Divine. We open to the qualities within ourselves, utilizing a focus on breath to bring us more deeply into present awareness. Place your hands on your heart, left on top of right palm and breathe as though through this chakra, opening your heart as you continue to deepen your breath. In this place of stimulated alignment between the outer experience of the qualities as you’ve represented them on your altar and your inner awareness of them, imagine the coming together of breath and this awareness deep within at your core. Allow yourself to feel the universe of the inner planes together with consciousness fully present here at the root of your connection to all that lies beyond ego attachment and agendas.\r\n\r\nNow, before your altar, keeping your internal focus, gently open your eyes and gaze upon your murti, the image of the goddess you have readied to awaken. Tenderly and with intention, turn your hands outward, keeping left palm on right. Bring your palms over the murti, and imbue the image with the energy you have cultivated. All the while, stay centered with long and slow breaths. To seal the activation, place the ring finger of your right hand (keeping the palms together and merely bending the ring finger) at the heart or center of the murti, and say, “Welcome, Goddess (Name); Evam Astu!” (Evam astu is Sanskrit for “so mote it be.” It is pronounced, “aa-vuhm_ uhs-too.” You may certainly use any other form of concretization or sealing of energy that you wish here.)\r\n\r\nWith this invocation and awakening through intentional touch of prana (life-force energy), She is now present and your altar is alive. Take a few moments to return the awakened energy to your own heart and other chakras, feeling Her energy now through this nyasa (placement) within you. Honor Her living presence wholeheartedly, with reverence and respect. You may wish to make offerings to Her (such as food, jewelry, flowers, incense and other delightful things), pray, do spellwork, bless objects, or simply deepen your meditations. The choice is yours.\r\n<h3>4. Gratitudes &amp; Visarjan (Devocation)</h3>\r\nAs you feel ready to end, it is only proper to thank Her for being present and to acknowledge the gift of the Divine within yourself. You may wish to offer gratitudes to each of Her qualities in turn, finally returning to the murti She inhabits. Give thanks to the Dark Goddess you have lovingly welcomed, and sing her praises. Then, with your hands again placed left over right, begin at the head or top of the image and slowly and gently move down toward the ground or bottom of your altar, drawing the life-force energy out of the murti and releasing it to serve wherever it is needed.\r\n\r\nAt this point, you may wish to ground by bringing the thumb and ring finger of each hand together and touching the earth on either side of your body. End with the words, “Evam Astu” again, or choose some version of, “Hail and farewell!”—something that feels appropriate to you as a final devocation. In this way, the rite is complete and your altar is more richly steeped in the energy gifted through Her living presence. Moreover, you are imbued with Her prana through this work in even fuller and richer ways. Know that by this effort and through Her grace, you are also just a little less encumbered; just a little more free.\r\n\r\nMay Her blessings fill you always.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nThis article first appeared in Llewellyn\'s <a href=\"http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1918\" target=\"_blank\">online journal</a>.','How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess','','inherit','open','open','','100195-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:45:01','2013-09-23 04:45:01','',100195,'<hr />\r\n\r\nBy Chandra Alexandre\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful',0,'revision','',0),(100202,2,'2013-09-22 21:46:31','2013-09-23 04:46:31','<em>By: Chandra Alexandre</em>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-100111 imgborder\" alt=\"DarkGoddessParvati\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DarkGoddessParvati.jpg\" />\r\n\r\nHumanity is now experiencing a shift in evolutionary consciousness especially catalyzed and facilitated by the Divine Female. Goddess, as She is often called, can be represented through a variety of guises, forms, and names; but it is because we tend to think of \"God\" as strictly male (and usually transcendent) that I avoid this term when speaking about Her, although she is nonetheless that. In this brief introduction to the Dark Goddess, I will alternatively represent Her using capitalization or lower case (e.g., \"Her\" and \"her,\" or \"Goddess\" and \"goddess\") and will universalize or particularize my articulations in order to shatter limiting notions of the Great Mystery. But first, why focus on Her?\r\n\r\nGoddess is today gathering worldwide appeal even in lands that have historically denied Her. Within a global milieu that largely assigns value and power only to the male and masculine, it has become increasingly important to rebalance within levels of the mundane and sacred, holding equal space within our bodies for the feminine and equal room for Goddess to answer our prayers. Once uncovered from unhealthy layers of meaning imposed by religion, culture, and society, the Divine Female can be called upon to manifest, empower, and ultimately heal. Today, She is driving us, challenging us, to get beyond our fear, beyond our egos, beyond our dualistic notions of right and wrong. She is helping us finally get things back into balance.\r\n\r\nThe role of the Dark Goddess is both simple and complex. She depotentiates toxicity wherever it is found and creates new spaces for life-affirming, fuller expressions of reality. She is Dark because she can speak of that which we don\'t want illuminated: injustice, inequity, inequality, inappropriateness. She is Dark because the Dark is what humanity has generally subjugated, one people to the next. She is Dark because she reveals our secrets. She gives voice to the voiceless, creates room for the marginalized and oppressed, opens our eyes and moves us to greater depths of soul...if we are willing to struggle with Her and move mountains.\r\n\r\nWherever we find Her, we know Her as a deeply transformational power capable of awakening humanity to new potentials. She is the Goddess of Resistance and Sanctuary. Goddess of Compassion and Freedom. And while the difficulties of certain religio-cultural constructs have imposed less-than-direct divine revelation in many of the living goddess traditions, with numerous devotees suffering despite Her exquisite grace within them, the Divine Female (inclusive of her ancient and post-modern roots) can nevertheless help us all, I believe, find creative ways to break pathological hierarchies from both inside and outside the mainstream.\r\n\r\nIn an increasingly global world, how can borders hold Her back? Change is upon us, and She is Change. Although often concretized in culture-specific ways and given names such as Kali, Tara, Quan Yin, and Spider Woman, Goddess, as well as goddesses, are required for the unfurling of beauty, for the opening to personal, planetary and cosmic healing. From lands near and far, we see Her coming to us no matter what our address, speaking to us through dreams, inspirations and synchronicities while offering boons, blessings, tension and direct confrontations. She may visit as terrifying Kali to humble a selfish heart, or reveal herself as Persephone to dissuade material desire. We may not speak her native tongue or understand Her sacred symbols in cultural context, yet our heart knows Her meaning and relevance for our time and particulars. Indeed, many of us are listening to our deepest yearning and finding Goddess there, quite alive.\r\n\r\nHer healing gifts and powers, I argue, most deeply align with five principles that I have come to understand act across gross, subtle and causal levels. Briefly, these principles are:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><b>Antinomian</b> - she sits outside the mainstream, breaking normative conceptions in order to provide safe and free spaces for embracing of the whole, uncensored spectrum of beingness. With this consciousness, She helps us fly in the face of convention, questioning the doxa or unspoken agreements we have about life and our values, ethics and moral concerns;</li>\r\n	<li><b>Relational</b> - She enables connection across divides of difference (gender, race, culture, ethnicity, species, age, etc.) and is facilitating new meanings for the union of opposites, particularly of Sacred Female and Sacred Male;</li>\r\n	<li><b>Embodied</b> - she is sacred Earth, sacred matter, calling for a recognition of the immanence of Spirit. She is the power of our ancestors, upon whose shoulders we stand in new consciousness, demanding to be honored for the sake of including, synthesizing and then transcending their and our greatest aspirations;</li>\r\n	<li><b>Cyclical</b> - she is the power of spiraling space-time and non-linear constructions of reality helping us collectively move into new awareness (such as offered through Life-Death-Rebirth and Creation-Preservation-Destruction-Transformation constructions); and</li>\r\n	<li><b>Chthonic</b> - She is <i>cāyā</i>, our shadow individual and collective, brought to consciousness from the depths of all we have repressed and suppressed so that we may reintegrate ourselves, kissing our patriarchal wounds and coming to wholeness. She brings the Ouroboric Primordial Snake of Transformation to consciousness so that we can all do our own deepest self-reflective work.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nActing as and through these principles, Goddess is leading us to a <i>hieros unios</i>. This is my term for a sacred union within a multiplex reality that includes and transcends the traditional<i>hieros gamos</i> (sacred marriage) alluded to in ancient mythologies, alchemical traditions, and depth psychology. Hieros unios as I intend fully means first, a partnership that frees opposites from charged, pathologically hierarchical renderings of relationship; and second, allows for expansion into a radically non-dual awareness. It also means a multiplicitous coming together of all graces of divine spirit - within both the immanent and transcendent realms - in order to suggest something applicable to the condition of Creation from personal to cosmic proportions.\r\n\r\nTo be more specific, rather than limited to a simple pairing of opposites with restricted gender perspectives (and traditional overlays of patriarchal visionings of marriage) as with the hieros gamos, the hieros unios offers a position affirming of life\'s ability to simultaneously express duality, multiplicity, and unity. It is exactly a non-dual awareness that brings particularities of perspective to bear on the appreciation of all realities and is not a monolithic One dismissive of individuality or unique expressions of the divine (whether embodied or not). Thus, a hieros unios is not simply <i>advaita</i> (non-duality). It is equally an awareness in which the consciousness of matter, dynamic balance of opposites, and transformational character of a spiraling involution/evolution are witnessed and understood to reflect the Divine\'s yearning for itself.\r\n\r\nWhether invoking through spiritual, alchemical, psychological or other metaphors, the hieros unios She inspires can be readily expressed as <i>shakti</i> - primary, activating female energy - unleashed now for moves beyond the patriarchal paradigm. Her presence thus means forcing an unpathologizing of dualities and facilitating the shattering of structures to provide liberatory spaces for females and the feminine to (re)emerge. On Earth, it means, for example, that we honor women in places of power within all institutions and allow men free and full expression of whatever might be considered feminine qualities. On the level of the Divine, it means that we grant the Sacred Male his place among us here, immanent, sexual and alive...for example, might we envision taking Jesus down from the cross, allowing Him as Cosmic Christ to rest a time in Her earthy embrace? Might we grant Shiva a wild dance of liberation in partnership with Her, rather than one of destruction which must be stopped in its lonely rampage? Might we then afford the Divine a Female \'side,\' calling God \"She\" while opening to the principles addressed above in our formulations of Her? Such ideas and desires may help catalyze a (r)evolution of consciousness that can not only wake humanity up to the fact of what denying the fullest spectrum of life looks like, but also help us make difficult choices in order to embrace our truest potentials.\r\n\r\nThe Dark Goddess is the one holding us tenderly now as we, our planetary collective, travel through this often times painful transition into wholeness. This is perhaps also our greatest initiation into the next evolutionary phase of spiritual development, and her strength comes from Her vulnerability. She is with us aware of the unique position we each occupy at an intersection of identity-forming categories. She knows, for example, the color of our skin, our gender and overall make up and how that has been impacted as well as impacts us within human-constructed, imposed or realized notions of s/Self. Knowing us, she makes the process personally meaningful. Call her Hecate, Oya, Mary, Guadalupe, Baba Yaga or Great Mother, but call Her. Let us open to her offerings of guidance, wisdom, energy and unabashed candor in our individual and collective quests for sustainability, truth, beauty and the kind of good, happy lives we most deeply want to have. She will listen and respond to our unique heart\'s song.\r\n\r\n<center>To learn more about the Dark Goddess and discover\r\n<i>How to build a Living Altar</i> for Her, <a title=\"How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess\" href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/how-to-create-a-living-altar-to-the-dark-goddess/\"><b>read on</b></a>...</center>','Why She...and Why A Dark Goddess?','','inherit','open','open','','100110-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:46:31','2013-09-23 04:46:31','',100110,'<em>By: Chandra Alexandre</em>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-100111 imgborder\" alt=\"DarkGoddessParvati\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DarkGoddessParvati.jpg\" />\r\n\r\nHumanity is now experiencing a shift in evo',0,'revision','',0),(100203,2,'2013-09-22 21:47:16','2013-09-23 04:47:16','By: Chandra Alexandre\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful help, especially in times of challenge or crisis. Even the most seasoned among us can fear working with these goddesses. Why is that, and how can we create a safe space in which to work with Her and the potent energy she carries? (In my writing, I intentionally alternate capitalization on words such as goddess and dark goddess. I also oscillate between capitalization on pronouns that refer to her, doing so in order to convey that part of Her grace and mystery lies outside the conventions of language as related to gender and personifications of deity through language.)\r\n\r\nIn this article, my goal is to help you activate your personal crafting with the Dark Goddess, however you choose to name Her. Overall, what I offer is designed to help you discern and strengthen your pathway to Her embrace, helping you gain a solid foundation for exploration of the mysteries. Of course, the Mystery is still the Mystery, and we call on Her knowing that Her response may be appropriately intense or sublime, subtle or sweet. Even if she has not yet appeared in your spiritual purview, may this article whet your appetite for engagement with the delicious and difficult work She inspires!\r\n<h3>Who is She?</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess embraces everything. Her power—and why so many spiritual practitioners avoid her—tends to lie in our fear of the unknown. And this is not only our individual, personal fear, but also our collective, societal, and cultural fear. The magnitude of her power lies in her claim to what we ignore. When we look at the Dark Goddess, we see whatever we wish to keep out of awareness. Yet, she does not hold back Truth, and for this, we are often terrified of Her. What might she reveal?\r\n\r\nDarkness, indeed, is a metaphor for a deeper truth. Life, we know, is filled with beauty and pain, ecstasy and horror. Look at Kali, for example, Hindu Black Goddess, Devourer of Time. With her right two hands she presents mudras (hand gestures) signifying the granting of boons and blessings, and with her left two hands she holds a severed head and a machete. To look upon her, we in the developed world might wonder how to achieve the benefits and avoid the blood and gore. But Her revelation lies in and through the acceptance of her totality—for the blade and head are in truth the goddess offering the promise of detachment and release from the constraints of our egos and limitedness. To take only half of Her then, is to miss the whole point.\r\n<h3>Working with the Dark Goddess</h3>\r\n<h3>1. Intention</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess can help us find the resolve, dedication, strength, and faith to enter abodes of fear. The first step on the path of engagement with Her is the setting of an intention. Called <i>sankalpa</i> in yogic traditions, this is our resolve, our commitment, our statement of yearning in the dance of free will and determinism. We must be clear in our call, direct and unpretentious in our approach. In one sense, the guidelines are simple:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I. Discern the yearning</strong>\r\nWhat is it that calls to you?</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>II. Engage willingness</strong>\r\nMake a commitment to the path</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>III. Trust the process</strong>\r\nSurrender yourself</p>\r\nThis is not a mere matter of reading words, however; this is the reality of taking steps toward the deep end of the pool. The more clearly you can articulate for yourself the nature of your exploration and where you wish to go, the more carefully and precisely you will be guided toward your destination. With your sankalpa is set, you are ready to begin the work of opening to Her.\r\n<h3>2. The Living Altar: Tools, Symbols, and Practice</h3>\r\nEvery Dark Goddess shares five essential qualities. They are: embodiment, relationality, cyclicity, the chthonic, and the antinomian. Through them, she offers us Her gifts, with liberation the greatest of them all. These five qualities are the very core of what it means to be a dark goddess, and thus, in concert they create a vibrational energy evocative of Her essence. In this way, your opening to the Dark Goddess is facilitated by working with them—they set the stage for a personal invocation that allows the Dark Goddess to manifest as you desire to know Her.\r\n\r\nCreating your Dark Goddess altar with the tools, symbols, and practices offered here, inclusive of your own inspirations, lets Her know that you are ready, and makes a sanctuary in which She can dwell for the duration of your worship. Study these qualities along with their correspondences. Get to know them inside so that you feel both physical and subtle levels of manifestation; for these can help you not only deepen spiritual discovery and self-awareness, but also come closer to the heart of Her—and through this, the heart of the world.\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">i. Embodiment</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This quality is the root of all others. Literally, it corresponds to the Muladhara Chakra, the energy center at the base of our spine, the root of the body. Without this quality, there is little space from which we can engage Her.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Here, in the realm of matter and our embodied selves, is where the Dark Goddess lives and fights for life-affirming change. From here, She calls upon us to re-sanctify nature. She is in the stuff of our bodies, and in the stuff of our world denied and rejected. She is the dirt under our fingernails, excrement, blood, women’s moon-time blood; she is in the juices of our love making, the burps of babies who come in all the colors of rain-washed Earth, the flesh of our beloved dead. She is the Divine immanent, here among us—and she is neither shy nor embarrassed about it. Rather, she shows up inebriated on the festival offered, drunk from the kissing of wounds.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The first of Her qualities, embodiment is also the power of the body’s wisdom and intuition. It has correspondences in Earth and North. Her tool is a sacred diagram (such as a pentacle, labyrinth, yantra, or mandala) that provides a contemplative entryway to insight and deeper revelation of the inner mysteries. Engage practices such as breath work, meditation, focusing, movement, yoga, and energy raising techniques to enter the arena of embodied wisdom. Draw on the power of your personal experiences to call up corporeal parables. These are the stories our bodies know that cross time and space; for example, childbirth, near-death experiences, and athletic episodes of being ‘in the zone.’</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Use resin incense and flowers to help awaken your senses and open the gateways to Her, with mindfulness to both external and internal realities. Find inside yourself the aromas, sounds, sensations, and feelings that arise, and pay particular attention to smells as activators of the subtle body. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">ii. Relationality</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Whether taken literally or metaphorically, the Dark Goddess is the one who shapes reality, creating and filling in spaces where we need to do the hard work of the spiritual journey. As we do this work, we may come to realize that relationships are our primary reminder of connection. We might not be surprised, therefore, to find the quality of relationality located at the Anahata Chakra, our heart center, a place of balance, potential, and equanimity. Seat of the soul in many traditions, the heart is the place through which we experience the bonds of Creation: from the outside in and the inside out.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The second of her qualities, relationality has correspondences in East and Air. The tool of the Dark Goddess in the East is the mirror. In it we see revealed our most authentic nature and the heart of all truths reflected through Her. As she gazes back at us, we may delve into the questions—especially those that relate us to our physically-, emotionally-, intellectually-, and culturally-informed notions of who we are—that get at the meaning of our identity and existence. This is the very stuff of soul making, the very stuff of awakening spiritual maturity. Here, She offers us the power of an unconditional embrace.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Practices such as seva, or selfless service, and other efforts that create happiness, deepen heartfelt feeling states, and cultivate compassion (our ability to be with suffering) ignite this quality of hers. Practices you might wish to explore include dream work, scrying, regression, and forms of transpersonal therapy, journaling, walking/active meditation, and conscious loving.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, use things that you particularly enjoy touching, picking up, and holding. Spend time with the objects of your choosing, allowing the holding to rekindle ancient memories and awaken mythic connections. Choose a variety of tactile delights to incorporate into your ritual environment, such as textured fabrics, wood, stone, and fur. Above all else, bring yourself into love through devotion. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iii. Chthonic</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The Pavamana Mantra from the Upanishads offers this prayer: from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality, lead us. The word chthonic, from the Greek khthonios meaning \"in the earth,\" denotes that which is of or relating to the underworld. This quality of Dark Goddess, the chthonic, shares resonance with this most powerful and purifying of mantras. Chant it aloud now and feel the movement of sound around and within you:</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">OM</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Asatoma sad gamaya\r\nAum uh’-suh-toh-maa suhd’ guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya\r\nTuh’-muh-soh-maa jyoh’-teer guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Mrityorma amritam gamaya\r\nMriht’-yohr-maa uhm’-rih-tuhm guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">To feel the reverberations of the chanting as one speaks, intones, or even listens to these Sanskrit syllables is to know the essence of the chthonic, for through this mantra we are shown the potential to shift the very fabric of our being toward our dreams, our fullest realization, and our ultimate bliss. In walking the path of the chthonic and in heeding the words of this eternal prayer, we are celebrating from our original yearning. We are opening to the journey of the underworld, to the origin of our soul’s passage from energy to manifest reality.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This work is particularly relevant where the chthonic is held psychically: at the third chakra, the Manipura Chakra, which is the seat of our individual will, located at the solar plexus.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The chthonic is also the third of her qualities, with correspondences in South and Fire. We might laugh to think of the underworld and fire connected together (since we may automatically conjure up images of a Christian Hell), but although often hot and fierce, the fires of the Dark Goddess burn for reasons other than damnation. In fact, they burn for purification and with the elemental power of light—that which gives form to energy and liberates us from misconceptions about phenomena in the material world. The realm of the chthonic is therefore also our connection to individual power and the sacred dance we share with the Divine in working to discover our true nature.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The tool of the chthonic is the flame, that which brings illumination to the shadows, helping us to see the real and recognize the unreal. Practices such as those that induce trance, bring on altered states of consciousness, and assist inner sight are beneficial toward understanding the realm of the chthonic. For example, shamanic drumming, trataka (focused concentration on one point or object), repetitive chanting, kriya yoga, and yoga nidra (practices that cultivate deep aware sleep) are all aids in coming to know this quality and its ramifications on gross, subtle and causal levels. Mudras too can help one focus the transformational energies of inner and outer worlds to great effect.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In working with this quality of Dark Goddess, you may wish to light candles and practice candle magick. Enjoy the play of the light on your chosen ritual objects, and see if you can enter into meditation, eyes open, while focusing about four feet away from you. Explore movement and dance, opening yourself to the physical landscape and the special features and curves of your own body and face. Create mudras spontaneously. Play with colors, sparkles, and eye-catching items on your altar, manifesting beauty and sweet flows of energy all around you. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iv. Cyclicity</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The power of time, the space between dark and light where the yearning pulls us into the future, the internal mechanisms that reveal the oak tree from the acorn, the strands of our DNA, the ebb and flow of tides. Cyclicity is the fourth of her qualities, with correspondences in West and Water. Its locus is the Svadhisthana Chakra, seat of the self located at the pelvic floor. Some of the mystery may be revealed when we notice that the taste of pure water is unlike anything we know; it is clear, without particular qualities of sour or sweet, pungent or salty. Yet it is utterly refreshing and deeply satisfying to have a good drink. This is the revelation of the Dark Goddess through cyclicity.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool in this place of ancestral knowing and remembrance is a water pot, which taps into the cycles of the moon and seasons, helping us open to the dynamic tension of the universe and the pull of our karmas through life, death and rebirth. Practices such as gardening that bring us into communion with nature and allow us to literally taste our efforts (as planting a vegetable garden would), as well as those that symbolically allow us to taste the fruits of life, such as devotional prayer, cooking, poetry writing, and other bhakti (devotional) offerings, can aid us in understanding and deepening our connection with this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Bring spices, food, and drink to your altar, on one level remembering and honoring your ancestors within the cycle of life, and on another remembering and honoring the seasons and what it takes to nourish living beings. Food and drink on your altar also provides a remembering and honoring of the work we do and must do to feed the spirit. Cyclicity offers the prasad (blessed food) of the Dark Goddess. Nourish yourself through the virtues of this quality on all levels, heeding the power of the eternal return. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">v. Antinomian</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The antinomian is that which sits outside the normative, the socially acceptable, the so-called rational. It is the quality of the Dark Goddess that makes us think about our assumptions, reveals our internalized oppressions, and forces us to look directly at reality without the blinders of cultural, religious, and social frameworks. The fifth of her qualities, with correspondences in Center/Circumference and Ether, the quality of the antinomian is resonant with the Vishuddha Chakra or throat center. This is the seat of Her unfolding into consciousness through sound, the place where both reality and our karma are created through spoken words.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This space encompasses both sound and echo—the arising from the void into vibration and then into engagement with our sense of hearing, with the phenomenal world and back again. Since all sound is carried on ether, practices such as mantra repetition, chanting, kirtan (call and response singing), and sounding in general (with voice or instruments) are important to help uncover this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, you may wish to keep a rattle, drum, bell, or other instrument that augments or accentuates your voice or the silence as you do ritual, chant, or sing. To know this quality is to move sound, create vibrations, and make waves in the fabric of your being and the world around you. It is to show up as you fully, authentically are, naked to the impositions of family and society. In this way and in a literal sense, digambara (sky-clad) ceremony can be liberating.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool is the murti, or image that you will imbue with life-force energy for worship. The murti can be any object you wish to represent Her. Choose a worthy home for Her, allowing this object to reflect aspects of Her that you wish to honor and to which you will make devotions over time. It can be natural, such as a stone or tree; handcrafted; or purchased in a shop. Unlock her secrets in the anointing, decorating, loving and honoring of Her image, this receptacle for the rapture that is her. Delight in that which will be present through it. If you have selected or created an image with eyes, gaze upon that gateway with intensity of concentration and surrendered self. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h3>3. Activating Her</h3>\r\nWith the Dark Goddess, we can not only discover and work with the transformational powers she possesses, but also find sanctuary in her wisdom, especially in moments of despair, hopelessness, overwhelm, sorrow, and loss. We can find reassurance during times of challenge and crisis because She holds this part of reality too—and holds it along with everything else in loving kindness. Now that you have prepared the space and readied yourself through meditation, contemplation, and other practices, the time is ripe to welcome in the Dark Goddess of your choosing.\r\n\r\nTo activate Her, we begin with activation of Her qualities. Once we feel the power of these essences, we turn inward, to the place of the indwelling Divine. We open to the qualities within ourselves, utilizing a focus on breath to bring us more deeply into present awareness. Place your hands on your heart, left on top of right palm and breathe as though through this chakra, opening your heart as you continue to deepen your breath. In this place of stimulated alignment between the outer experience of the qualities as you’ve represented them on your altar and your inner awareness of them, imagine the coming together of breath and this awareness deep within at your core. Allow yourself to feel the universe of the inner planes together with consciousness fully present here at the root of your connection to all that lies beyond ego attachment and agendas.\r\n\r\nNow, before your altar, keeping your internal focus, gently open your eyes and gaze upon your murti, the image of the goddess you have readied to awaken. Tenderly and with intention, turn your hands outward, keeping left palm on right. Bring your palms over the murti, and imbue the image with the energy you have cultivated. All the while, stay centered with long and slow breaths. To seal the activation, place the ring finger of your right hand (keeping the palms together and merely bending the ring finger) at the heart or center of the murti, and say, “Welcome, Goddess (Name); Evam Astu!” (Evam astu is Sanskrit for “so mote it be.” It is pronounced, “aa-vuhm_ uhs-too.” You may certainly use any other form of concretization or sealing of energy that you wish here.)\r\n\r\nWith this invocation and awakening through intentional touch of prana (life-force energy), She is now present and your altar is alive. Take a few moments to return the awakened energy to your own heart and other chakras, feeling Her energy now through this nyasa (placement) within you. Honor Her living presence wholeheartedly, with reverence and respect. You may wish to make offerings to Her (such as food, jewelry, flowers, incense and other delightful things), pray, do spellwork, bless objects, or simply deepen your meditations. The choice is yours.\r\n<h3>4. Gratitudes &amp; Visarjan (Devocation)</h3>\r\nAs you feel ready to end, it is only proper to thank Her for being present and to acknowledge the gift of the Divine within yourself. You may wish to offer gratitudes to each of Her qualities in turn, finally returning to the murti She inhabits. Give thanks to the Dark Goddess you have lovingly welcomed, and sing her praises. Then, with your hands again placed left over right, begin at the head or top of the image and slowly and gently move down toward the ground or bottom of your altar, drawing the life-force energy out of the murti and releasing it to serve wherever it is needed.\r\n\r\nAt this point, you may wish to ground by bringing the thumb and ring finger of each hand together and touching the earth on either side of your body. End with the words, “Evam Astu” again, or choose some version of, “Hail and farewell!”—something that feels appropriate to you as a final devocation. In this way, the rite is complete and your altar is more richly steeped in the energy gifted through Her living presence. Moreover, you are imbued with Her prana through this work in even fuller and richer ways. Know that by this effort and through Her grace, you are also just a little less encumbered; just a little more free.\r\n\r\nMay Her blessings fill you always.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nThis article first appeared in Llewellyn\'s <a href=\"http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1918\" target=\"_blank\">online journal</a>.','How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess','','inherit','open','open','','100195-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:47:16','2013-09-23 04:47:16','',100195,'By: Chandra Alexandre\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful help, es',0,'revision','',0),(100204,2,'2013-09-22 21:48:01','2013-09-23 04:48:01','<em>By: Chandra Alexandre</em>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-100111 imgborder\" alt=\"DarkGoddessParvati\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DarkGoddessParvati.jpg\" />\r\n\r\nHumanity is now experiencing a shift in evolutionary consciousness especially catalyzed and facilitated by the Divine Female. Goddess, as She is often called, can be represented through a variety of guises, forms, and names; but it is because we tend to think of \"God\" as strictly male (and usually transcendent) that I avoid this term when speaking about Her, although she is nonetheless that. In this brief introduction to the Dark Goddess, I will alternatively represent Her using capitalization or lower case (e.g., \"Her\" and \"her,\" or \"Goddess\" and \"goddess\") and will universalize or particularize my articulations in order to shatter limiting notions of the Great Mystery. But first, why focus on Her?\r\n\r\nGoddess is today gathering worldwide appeal even in lands that have historically denied Her. Within a global milieu that largely assigns value and power only to the male and masculine, it has become increasingly important to rebalance within levels of the mundane and sacred, holding equal space within our bodies for the feminine and equal room for Goddess to answer our prayers. Once uncovered from unhealthy layers of meaning imposed by religion, culture, and society, the Divine Female can be called upon to manifest, empower, and ultimately heal. Today, She is driving us, challenging us, to get beyond our fear, beyond our egos, beyond our dualistic notions of right and wrong. She is helping us finally get things back into balance.\r\n\r\nThe role of the Dark Goddess is both simple and complex. She depotentiates toxicity wherever it is found and creates new spaces for life-affirming, fuller expressions of reality. She is Dark because she can speak of that which we don\'t want illuminated: injustice, inequity, inequality, inappropriateness. She is Dark because the Dark is what humanity has generally subjugated, one people to the next. She is Dark because she reveals our secrets. She gives voice to the voiceless, creates room for the marginalized and oppressed, opens our eyes and moves us to greater depths of soul...if we are willing to struggle with Her and move mountains.\r\n\r\nWherever we find Her, we know Her as a deeply transformational power capable of awakening humanity to new potentials. She is the Goddess of Resistance and Sanctuary. Goddess of Compassion and Freedom. And while the difficulties of certain religio-cultural constructs have imposed less-than-direct divine revelation in many of the living goddess traditions, with numerous devotees suffering despite Her exquisite grace within them, the Divine Female (inclusive of her ancient and post-modern roots) can nevertheless help us all, I believe, find creative ways to break pathological hierarchies from both inside and outside the mainstream.\r\n\r\nIn an increasingly global world, how can borders hold Her back? Change is upon us, and She is Change. Although often concretized in culture-specific ways and given names such as Kali, Tara, Quan Yin, and Spider Woman, Goddess, as well as goddesses, are required for the unfurling of beauty, for the opening to personal, planetary and cosmic healing. From lands near and far, we see Her coming to us no matter what our address, speaking to us through dreams, inspirations and synchronicities while offering boons, blessings, tension and direct confrontations. She may visit as terrifying Kali to humble a selfish heart, or reveal herself as Persephone to dissuade material desire. We may not speak her native tongue or understand Her sacred symbols in cultural context, yet our heart knows Her meaning and relevance for our time and particulars. Indeed, many of us are listening to our deepest yearning and finding Goddess there, quite alive.\r\n\r\nHer healing gifts and powers, I argue, most deeply align with five principles that I have come to understand act across gross, subtle and causal levels. Briefly, these principles are:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><b>Antinomian</b> - she sits outside the mainstream, breaking normative conceptions in order to provide safe and free spaces for embracing of the whole, uncensored spectrum of beingness. With this consciousness, She helps us fly in the face of convention, questioning the doxa or unspoken agreements we have about life and our values, ethics and moral concerns;</li>\r\n	<li><b>Relational</b> - She enables connection across divides of difference (gender, race, culture, ethnicity, species, age, etc.) and is facilitating new meanings for the union of opposites, particularly of Sacred Female and Sacred Male;</li>\r\n	<li><b>Embodied</b> - she is sacred Earth, sacred matter, calling for a recognition of the immanence of Spirit. She is the power of our ancestors, upon whose shoulders we stand in new consciousness, demanding to be honored for the sake of including, synthesizing and then transcending their and our greatest aspirations;</li>\r\n	<li><b>Cyclical</b> - she is the power of spiraling space-time and non-linear constructions of reality helping us collectively move into new awareness (such as offered through Life-Death-Rebirth and Creation-Preservation-Destruction-Transformation constructions); and</li>\r\n	<li><b>Chthonic</b> - She is <i>cāyā</i>, our shadow individual and collective, brought to consciousness from the depths of all we have repressed and suppressed so that we may reintegrate ourselves, kissing our patriarchal wounds and coming to wholeness. She brings the Ouroboric Primordial Snake of Transformation to consciousness so that we can all do our own deepest self-reflective work.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nActing as and through these principles, Goddess is leading us to a <i>hieros unios</i>. This is my term for a sacred union within a multiplex reality that includes and transcends the traditional<i>hieros gamos</i> (sacred marriage) alluded to in ancient mythologies, alchemical traditions, and depth psychology. Hieros unios as I intend fully means first, a partnership that frees opposites from charged, pathologically hierarchical renderings of relationship; and second, allows for expansion into a radically non-dual awareness. It also means a multiplicitous coming together of all graces of divine spirit - within both the immanent and transcendent realms - in order to suggest something applicable to the condition of Creation from personal to cosmic proportions.\r\n\r\nTo be more specific, rather than limited to a simple pairing of opposites with restricted gender perspectives (and traditional overlays of patriarchal visionings of marriage) as with the hieros gamos, the hieros unios offers a position affirming of life\'s ability to simultaneously express duality, multiplicity, and unity. It is exactly a non-dual awareness that brings particularities of perspective to bear on the appreciation of all realities and is not a monolithic One dismissive of individuality or unique expressions of the divine (whether embodied or not). Thus, a hieros unios is not simply <i>advaita</i> (non-duality). It is equally an awareness in which the consciousness of matter, dynamic balance of opposites, and transformational character of a spiraling involution/evolution are witnessed and understood to reflect the Divine\'s yearning for itself.\r\n\r\nWhether invoking through spiritual, alchemical, psychological or other metaphors, the hieros unios She inspires can be readily expressed as <i>shakti</i> - primary, activating female energy - unleashed now for moves beyond the patriarchal paradigm. Her presence thus means forcing an unpathologizing of dualities and facilitating the shattering of structures to provide liberatory spaces for females and the feminine to (re)emerge. On Earth, it means, for example, that we honor women in places of power within all institutions and allow men free and full expression of whatever might be considered feminine qualities. On the level of the Divine, it means that we grant the Sacred Male his place among us here, immanent, sexual and alive...for example, might we envision taking Jesus down from the cross, allowing Him as Cosmic Christ to rest a time in Her earthy embrace? Might we grant Shiva a wild dance of liberation in partnership with Her, rather than one of destruction which must be stopped in its lonely rampage? Might we then afford the Divine a Female \'side,\' calling God \"She\" while opening to the principles addressed above in our formulations of Her? Such ideas and desires may help catalyze a (r)evolution of consciousness that can not only wake humanity up to the fact of what denying the fullest spectrum of life looks like, but also help us make difficult choices in order to embrace our truest potentials.\r\n\r\nThe Dark Goddess is the one holding us tenderly now as we, our planetary collective, travel through this often times painful transition into wholeness. This is perhaps also our greatest initiation into the next evolutionary phase of spiritual development, and her strength comes from Her vulnerability. She is with us aware of the unique position we each occupy at an intersection of identity-forming categories. She knows, for example, the color of our skin, our gender and overall make up and how that has been impacted as well as impacts us within human-constructed, imposed or realized notions of s/Self. Knowing us, she makes the process personally meaningful. Call her Hecate, Oya, Mary, Guadalupe, Baba Yaga or Great Mother, but call Her. Let us open to her offerings of guidance, wisdom, energy and unabashed candor in our individual and collective quests for sustainability, truth, beauty and the kind of good, happy lives we most deeply want to have. She will listen and respond to our unique heart\'s song.\r\n\r\n<center>To learn more about the Dark Goddess and discover\r\n<i>How to build a Living Altar</i> for Her, <a title=\"How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess\" href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/how-to-create-a-living-altar-to-the-dark-goddess/\"><b>read on</b></a>...</center>','Why She & Why A Dark Goddess?','','inherit','open','open','','100110-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:48:01','2013-09-23 04:48:01','',100110,'<em>By: Chandra Alexandre</em>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-100111 imgborder\" alt=\"DarkGoddessParvati\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DarkGoddessParvati.jpg\" />\r\n\r\nHumanity is now experiencing a shift in evo',0,'revision','',0),(100205,2,'2013-09-22 21:48:40','2013-09-23 04:48:40','<em>By: Chandra Alexandre</em>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful help, especially in times of challenge or crisis. Even the most seasoned among us can fear working with these goddesses. Why is that, and how can we create a safe space in which to work with Her and the potent energy she carries? (In my writing, I intentionally alternate capitalization on words such as goddess and dark goddess. I also oscillate between capitalization on pronouns that refer to her, doing so in order to convey that part of Her grace and mystery lies outside the conventions of language as related to gender and personifications of deity through language.)\r\n\r\nIn this article, my goal is to help you activate your personal crafting with the Dark Goddess, however you choose to name Her. Overall, what I offer is designed to help you discern and strengthen your pathway to Her embrace, helping you gain a solid foundation for exploration of the mysteries. Of course, the Mystery is still the Mystery, and we call on Her knowing that Her response may be appropriately intense or sublime, subtle or sweet. Even if she has not yet appeared in your spiritual purview, may this article whet your appetite for engagement with the delicious and difficult work She inspires!\r\n<h3>Who is She?</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess embraces everything. Her power—and why so many spiritual practitioners avoid her—tends to lie in our fear of the unknown. And this is not only our individual, personal fear, but also our collective, societal, and cultural fear. The magnitude of her power lies in her claim to what we ignore. When we look at the Dark Goddess, we see whatever we wish to keep out of awareness. Yet, she does not hold back Truth, and for this, we are often terrified of Her. What might she reveal?\r\n\r\nDarkness, indeed, is a metaphor for a deeper truth. Life, we know, is filled with beauty and pain, ecstasy and horror. Look at Kali, for example, Hindu Black Goddess, Devourer of Time. With her right two hands she presents mudras (hand gestures) signifying the granting of boons and blessings, and with her left two hands she holds a severed head and a machete. To look upon her, we in the developed world might wonder how to achieve the benefits and avoid the blood and gore. But Her revelation lies in and through the acceptance of her totality—for the blade and head are in truth the goddess offering the promise of detachment and release from the constraints of our egos and limitedness. To take only half of Her then, is to miss the whole point.\r\n<h3>Working with the Dark Goddess</h3>\r\n<h3>1. Intention</h3>\r\nThe Dark Goddess can help us find the resolve, dedication, strength, and faith to enter abodes of fear. The first step on the path of engagement with Her is the setting of an intention. Called <i>sankalpa</i> in yogic traditions, this is our resolve, our commitment, our statement of yearning in the dance of free will and determinism. We must be clear in our call, direct and unpretentious in our approach. In one sense, the guidelines are simple:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>I. Discern the yearning</strong>\r\nWhat is it that calls to you?</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>II. Engage willingness</strong>\r\nMake a commitment to the path</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>III. Trust the process</strong>\r\nSurrender yourself</p>\r\nThis is not a mere matter of reading words, however; this is the reality of taking steps toward the deep end of the pool. The more clearly you can articulate for yourself the nature of your exploration and where you wish to go, the more carefully and precisely you will be guided toward your destination. With your sankalpa is set, you are ready to begin the work of opening to Her.\r\n<h3>2. The Living Altar: Tools, Symbols, and Practice</h3>\r\nEvery Dark Goddess shares five essential qualities. They are: embodiment, relationality, cyclicity, the chthonic, and the antinomian. Through them, she offers us Her gifts, with liberation the greatest of them all. These five qualities are the very core of what it means to be a dark goddess, and thus, in concert they create a vibrational energy evocative of Her essence. In this way, your opening to the Dark Goddess is facilitated by working with them—they set the stage for a personal invocation that allows the Dark Goddess to manifest as you desire to know Her.\r\n\r\nCreating your Dark Goddess altar with the tools, symbols, and practices offered here, inclusive of your own inspirations, lets Her know that you are ready, and makes a sanctuary in which She can dwell for the duration of your worship. Study these qualities along with their correspondences. Get to know them inside so that you feel both physical and subtle levels of manifestation; for these can help you not only deepen spiritual discovery and self-awareness, but also come closer to the heart of Her—and through this, the heart of the world.\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">i. Embodiment</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This quality is the root of all others. Literally, it corresponds to the Muladhara Chakra, the energy center at the base of our spine, the root of the body. Without this quality, there is little space from which we can engage Her.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Here, in the realm of matter and our embodied selves, is where the Dark Goddess lives and fights for life-affirming change. From here, She calls upon us to re-sanctify nature. She is in the stuff of our bodies, and in the stuff of our world denied and rejected. She is the dirt under our fingernails, excrement, blood, women’s moon-time blood; she is in the juices of our love making, the burps of babies who come in all the colors of rain-washed Earth, the flesh of our beloved dead. She is the Divine immanent, here among us—and she is neither shy nor embarrassed about it. Rather, she shows up inebriated on the festival offered, drunk from the kissing of wounds.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The first of Her qualities, embodiment is also the power of the body’s wisdom and intuition. It has correspondences in Earth and North. Her tool is a sacred diagram (such as a pentacle, labyrinth, yantra, or mandala) that provides a contemplative entryway to insight and deeper revelation of the inner mysteries. Engage practices such as breath work, meditation, focusing, movement, yoga, and energy raising techniques to enter the arena of embodied wisdom. Draw on the power of your personal experiences to call up corporeal parables. These are the stories our bodies know that cross time and space; for example, childbirth, near-death experiences, and athletic episodes of being ‘in the zone.’</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Use resin incense and flowers to help awaken your senses and open the gateways to Her, with mindfulness to both external and internal realities. Find inside yourself the aromas, sounds, sensations, and feelings that arise, and pay particular attention to smells as activators of the subtle body. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">ii. Relationality</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Whether taken literally or metaphorically, the Dark Goddess is the one who shapes reality, creating and filling in spaces where we need to do the hard work of the spiritual journey. As we do this work, we may come to realize that relationships are our primary reminder of connection. We might not be surprised, therefore, to find the quality of relationality located at the Anahata Chakra, our heart center, a place of balance, potential, and equanimity. Seat of the soul in many traditions, the heart is the place through which we experience the bonds of Creation: from the outside in and the inside out.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The second of her qualities, relationality has correspondences in East and Air. The tool of the Dark Goddess in the East is the mirror. In it we see revealed our most authentic nature and the heart of all truths reflected through Her. As she gazes back at us, we may delve into the questions—especially those that relate us to our physically-, emotionally-, intellectually-, and culturally-informed notions of who we are—that get at the meaning of our identity and existence. This is the very stuff of soul making, the very stuff of awakening spiritual maturity. Here, She offers us the power of an unconditional embrace.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Practices such as seva, or selfless service, and other efforts that create happiness, deepen heartfelt feeling states, and cultivate compassion (our ability to be with suffering) ignite this quality of hers. Practices you might wish to explore include dream work, scrying, regression, and forms of transpersonal therapy, journaling, walking/active meditation, and conscious loving.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, use things that you particularly enjoy touching, picking up, and holding. Spend time with the objects of your choosing, allowing the holding to rekindle ancient memories and awaken mythic connections. Choose a variety of tactile delights to incorporate into your ritual environment, such as textured fabrics, wood, stone, and fur. Above all else, bring yourself into love through devotion. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iii. Chthonic</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The Pavamana Mantra from the Upanishads offers this prayer: from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality, lead us. The word chthonic, from the Greek khthonios meaning \"in the earth,\" denotes that which is of or relating to the underworld. This quality of Dark Goddess, the chthonic, shares resonance with this most powerful and purifying of mantras. Chant it aloud now and feel the movement of sound around and within you:</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">OM</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Asatoma sad gamaya\r\nAum uh’-suh-toh-maa suhd’ guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya\r\nTuh’-muh-soh-maa jyoh’-teer guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Mrityorma amritam gamaya\r\nMriht’-yohr-maa uhm’-rih-tuhm guh’-muh-yuh</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">To feel the reverberations of the chanting as one speaks, intones, or even listens to these Sanskrit syllables is to know the essence of the chthonic, for through this mantra we are shown the potential to shift the very fabric of our being toward our dreams, our fullest realization, and our ultimate bliss. In walking the path of the chthonic and in heeding the words of this eternal prayer, we are celebrating from our original yearning. We are opening to the journey of the underworld, to the origin of our soul’s passage from energy to manifest reality.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This work is particularly relevant where the chthonic is held psychically: at the third chakra, the Manipura Chakra, which is the seat of our individual will, located at the solar plexus.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The chthonic is also the third of her qualities, with correspondences in South and Fire. We might laugh to think of the underworld and fire connected together (since we may automatically conjure up images of a Christian Hell), but although often hot and fierce, the fires of the Dark Goddess burn for reasons other than damnation. In fact, they burn for purification and with the elemental power of light—that which gives form to energy and liberates us from misconceptions about phenomena in the material world. The realm of the chthonic is therefore also our connection to individual power and the sacred dance we share with the Divine in working to discover our true nature.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The tool of the chthonic is the flame, that which brings illumination to the shadows, helping us to see the real and recognize the unreal. Practices such as those that induce trance, bring on altered states of consciousness, and assist inner sight are beneficial toward understanding the realm of the chthonic. For example, shamanic drumming, trataka (focused concentration on one point or object), repetitive chanting, kriya yoga, and yoga nidra (practices that cultivate deep aware sleep) are all aids in coming to know this quality and its ramifications on gross, subtle and causal levels. Mudras too can help one focus the transformational energies of inner and outer worlds to great effect.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In working with this quality of Dark Goddess, you may wish to light candles and practice candle magick. Enjoy the play of the light on your chosen ritual objects, and see if you can enter into meditation, eyes open, while focusing about four feet away from you. Explore movement and dance, opening yourself to the physical landscape and the special features and curves of your own body and face. Create mudras spontaneously. Play with colors, sparkles, and eye-catching items on your altar, manifesting beauty and sweet flows of energy all around you. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">iv. Cyclicity</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The power of time, the space between dark and light where the yearning pulls us into the future, the internal mechanisms that reveal the oak tree from the acorn, the strands of our DNA, the ebb and flow of tides. Cyclicity is the fourth of her qualities, with correspondences in West and Water. Its locus is the Svadhisthana Chakra, seat of the self located at the pelvic floor. Some of the mystery may be revealed when we notice that the taste of pure water is unlike anything we know; it is clear, without particular qualities of sour or sweet, pungent or salty. Yet it is utterly refreshing and deeply satisfying to have a good drink. This is the revelation of the Dark Goddess through cyclicity.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool in this place of ancestral knowing and remembrance is a water pot, which taps into the cycles of the moon and seasons, helping us open to the dynamic tension of the universe and the pull of our karmas through life, death and rebirth. Practices such as gardening that bring us into communion with nature and allow us to literally taste our efforts (as planting a vegetable garden would), as well as those that symbolically allow us to taste the fruits of life, such as devotional prayer, cooking, poetry writing, and other bhakti (devotional) offerings, can aid us in understanding and deepening our connection with this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Bring spices, food, and drink to your altar, on one level remembering and honoring your ancestors within the cycle of life, and on another remembering and honoring the seasons and what it takes to nourish living beings. Food and drink on your altar also provides a remembering and honoring of the work we do and must do to feed the spirit. Cyclicity offers the prasad (blessed food) of the Dark Goddess. Nourish yourself through the virtues of this quality on all levels, heeding the power of the eternal return. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">v. Antinomian</h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The antinomian is that which sits outside the normative, the socially acceptable, the so-called rational. It is the quality of the Dark Goddess that makes us think about our assumptions, reveals our internalized oppressions, and forces us to look directly at reality without the blinders of cultural, religious, and social frameworks. The fifth of her qualities, with correspondences in Center/Circumference and Ether, the quality of the antinomian is resonant with the Vishuddha Chakra or throat center. This is the seat of Her unfolding into consciousness through sound, the place where both reality and our karma are created through spoken words.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This space encompasses both sound and echo—the arising from the void into vibration and then into engagement with our sense of hearing, with the phenomenal world and back again. Since all sound is carried on ether, practices such as mantra repetition, chanting, kirtan (call and response singing), and sounding in general (with voice or instruments) are important to help uncover this quality of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">On your altar, you may wish to keep a rattle, drum, bell, or other instrument that augments or accentuates your voice or the silence as you do ritual, chant, or sing. To know this quality is to move sound, create vibrations, and make waves in the fabric of your being and the world around you. It is to show up as you fully, authentically are, naked to the impositions of family and society. In this way and in a literal sense, digambara (sky-clad) ceremony can be liberating.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Her tool is the murti, or image that you will imbue with life-force energy for worship. The murti can be any object you wish to represent Her. Choose a worthy home for Her, allowing this object to reflect aspects of Her that you wish to honor and to which you will make devotions over time. It can be natural, such as a stone or tree; handcrafted; or purchased in a shop. Unlock her secrets in the anointing, decorating, loving and honoring of Her image, this receptacle for the rapture that is her. Delight in that which will be present through it. If you have selected or created an image with eyes, gaze upon that gateway with intensity of concentration and surrendered self. What you experience, this is an essence of the Dark Goddess.</p>\r\n\r\n<h3>3. Activating Her</h3>\r\nWith the Dark Goddess, we can not only discover and work with the transformational powers she possesses, but also find sanctuary in her wisdom, especially in moments of despair, hopelessness, overwhelm, sorrow, and loss. We can find reassurance during times of challenge and crisis because She holds this part of reality too—and holds it along with everything else in loving kindness. Now that you have prepared the space and readied yourself through meditation, contemplation, and other practices, the time is ripe to welcome in the Dark Goddess of your choosing.\r\n\r\nTo activate Her, we begin with activation of Her qualities. Once we feel the power of these essences, we turn inward, to the place of the indwelling Divine. We open to the qualities within ourselves, utilizing a focus on breath to bring us more deeply into present awareness. Place your hands on your heart, left on top of right palm and breathe as though through this chakra, opening your heart as you continue to deepen your breath. In this place of stimulated alignment between the outer experience of the qualities as you’ve represented them on your altar and your inner awareness of them, imagine the coming together of breath and this awareness deep within at your core. Allow yourself to feel the universe of the inner planes together with consciousness fully present here at the root of your connection to all that lies beyond ego attachment and agendas.\r\n\r\nNow, before your altar, keeping your internal focus, gently open your eyes and gaze upon your murti, the image of the goddess you have readied to awaken. Tenderly and with intention, turn your hands outward, keeping left palm on right. Bring your palms over the murti, and imbue the image with the energy you have cultivated. All the while, stay centered with long and slow breaths. To seal the activation, place the ring finger of your right hand (keeping the palms together and merely bending the ring finger) at the heart or center of the murti, and say, “Welcome, Goddess (Name); Evam Astu!” (Evam astu is Sanskrit for “so mote it be.” It is pronounced, “aa-vuhm_ uhs-too.” You may certainly use any other form of concretization or sealing of energy that you wish here.)\r\n\r\nWith this invocation and awakening through intentional touch of prana (life-force energy), She is now present and your altar is alive. Take a few moments to return the awakened energy to your own heart and other chakras, feeling Her energy now through this nyasa (placement) within you. Honor Her living presence wholeheartedly, with reverence and respect. You may wish to make offerings to Her (such as food, jewelry, flowers, incense and other delightful things), pray, do spellwork, bless objects, or simply deepen your meditations. The choice is yours.\r\n<h3>4. Gratitudes &amp; Visarjan (Devocation)</h3>\r\nAs you feel ready to end, it is only proper to thank Her for being present and to acknowledge the gift of the Divine within yourself. You may wish to offer gratitudes to each of Her qualities in turn, finally returning to the murti She inhabits. Give thanks to the Dark Goddess you have lovingly welcomed, and sing her praises. Then, with your hands again placed left over right, begin at the head or top of the image and slowly and gently move down toward the ground or bottom of your altar, drawing the life-force energy out of the murti and releasing it to serve wherever it is needed.\r\n\r\nAt this point, you may wish to ground by bringing the thumb and ring finger of each hand together and touching the earth on either side of your body. End with the words, “Evam Astu” again, or choose some version of, “Hail and farewell!”—something that feels appropriate to you as a final devocation. In this way, the rite is complete and your altar is more richly steeped in the energy gifted through Her living presence. Moreover, you are imbued with Her prana through this work in even fuller and richer ways. Know that by this effort and through Her grace, you are also just a little less encumbered; just a little more free.\r\n\r\nMay Her blessings fill you always.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nThis article first appeared in Llewellyn\'s <a href=\"http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1918\" target=\"_blank\">online journal</a>.','How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess','','inherit','open','open','','100195-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:48:40','2013-09-23 04:48:40','',100195,'<em>By: Chandra Alexandre</em>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nMany practitioners are afraid of dark goddess energies. Divinities such as Hecate, The Morrigan, Freya, Gran Brijit, Kali, Lilith, Oya and others prove frightening, leaving many without recourse to some powerful',0,'revision','',0),(100206,2,'2013-09-22 21:59:05','2013-09-23 04:59:05','Sha\'can is a <i>marga</i> (way or path) of Goddess-worshiping Hinduism—an authentic lineage tradition of Śākta Tantra. It is born from and honoring of the old, relevant to the circumstances of today, and grounded in the potentials of tomorrow. Passed on through initiatory blessing, Sha\'can is at once groundbreaking and what has always happened with Goddess worshipers in and beyond India; for ours is an engaged spirituality activating a rooted category of challenge to the dominant culture in which we live. As <i>bhaktas</i> (devotees) who treasure the temple of this world through this incarnation, we are committed to expanding Tantric mother worship in ways that sanctify earth-based, embodied spirituality and (r)evolutionize potentials for social justice and peace on our planet.\r\n\r\nIn our tradition, we teach tools for the affirmation of <em>shakti</em> (the female principle) in self and world. We celebrate the commonalities of thought and practice that bring the marginal to center, helping the voiceless and dominated find spaces for blossoming, healing and bliss. Our roots are deep in ancient consciousness and practices of worship that have lived for millennia in the hearts of humanity. Learn more about how you can work within the tradition by reading our <a title=\"Articles\" href=\"http://sharanya.org/resources/articles/\">articles</a> on establishment of a living altar and performing puja.\r\n\r\nThe work of our devotion is to honor the Divine as She—the One who facilitates the spiritual journey by taking us to the heart of our yearning, beyond our fears, beyond our ego, beyond our attachments, and into liberation.\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"Sha\'can\" active=\"\"]\r\n<a href=\"http://religionnerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Shacan-Kali-Maa-Tara-Kali-Web1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright\" title=\"Sha\'can Kali Maa &amp; Tara Kali Web\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://religionnerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Shacan-Kali-Maa-Tara-Kali-Web1.jpg\" width=\"181\" height=\"266\" /></a>\r\n\r\nToday, a robust and dynamic complexity of religious thought and engagement is being achieved through new traditions in which symbols, deities, and rituals (some only recently constructed) inform by connecting to passions, devotion and a desire for engaged spirituality not contained by country of origin—practitioner’s or deity’s. Add to this a confluence of feminism, goddess-focused spiritualities, and access to various forms of Hinduism, as well as a growing Indian-American population with Hindu diasporic roots and bi-cultural sensibilities, and we find a Western Śākta Hindu perspective and related forms of worship and practice emerging that assert both authenticity and independence from the Hindu source. One such emergence is the countercultural religious tradition known as Sha’can, what I fondly call a (R)evolutionary Shakta Tantra.\r\n\r\nRecognizing deep roots in India, Sha’can arose with a finger on the pulse of something larger—the critical work being done around the world to reclaim the power of womanhood and a Feminine/Female Divine. Whether in Kolkata or California, academic or activist circles, the past twenty years have seen subordinated communities and individuals finding ways to take back marginalized ideological and literal spaces, often using powerful and sometimes fierce goddesses as allies, inspirations, and provocateurs. Philosophies such as ecofeminism, through alignment of goddess spirituality with Earth justice<strong> </strong>and the fight for women’s equality, have helped further the cause. So too has the work of Indian and Hindu feminists (for example, Rita Gross, Vandana Shiva, and Rani Jethmalani) who have utilized the goddess, often particularized as Kali, and the principles of Śākta Tantra, the goddess-honoring path of embodied Hindu spirituality, to fight patriarchal religious and cultural norms, dictates, and oppressions. Finally, the field of women’s spirituality and the rubrics of Pagan thought and practice have offered an embrace toward dynamic discourse and life-affirming ceremony that many have described as a distinct home coming for a fully integrated sense of self and purpose within the realm of living spirituality.\r\n\r\nThe Sha’can tradition arose in 1998 from this admixture, with an emphasis on connection between the truths offered by Śākta Tantra and the realities of today’s world—realities that are recognized as both freeing and limiting. Seeking “the bridging of East and West through (r)evolutionary, embodied spirituality, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), wisdom teachings, and worship of the Goddess in Her myriad forms,” especially as Kali Maa, “our beloved Dark Mother…a change agent for our times…helping to transform, empower, and heal individuals, communities, and the planet,” Sha’can originally evolved within the crucible of the San Francisco-based SHARANYA community in a hotbed of cross-cultural and diverse spiritual influences. It has, since its formation, expanded to include a Southern California presence and larger global community through online courses and the work of practitioners and initiates, notably in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.\r\n\r\nThe tradition, I believe, is potentially an exciting case study for the development of Hinduism in America with ramifications for the new religious movement. Sitting poised in a synchretism of faith honoring Shaktism and contemporary Paganism, Sha’can, much like American Buddhism, is co-created from ancient roots in a new land. Additionally, while Sha’can in my mind is not part of the Indo-Pagan movement (because it is an innovation of Shakta Hindu philosophy and the(a)ology rather than a tradition that offers space for Hindu deities and ritual within established or newly established Pagan pathways), others within the tradition do consider it a manifestation of the rise in popularity and awareness of Hindu deities increasingly incorporated into different varieties of Paganism. Either way, the tradition stands ready to welcome those seeking an expression for their devotion to and yearning for Goddess in and through the forms, symbols, tools and practices that She offers via-a-vis Hindu Śākta Tantra and its contemporary expressions. Sha’can seeks to make the experience of worship and devotion relevant to these times at the same time that it drives for an honoring of those teachers and practitioners, past, present and future, who have grown and continue to grow Shakta Tantra in India and beyond.\r\n\r\nIt may be helpful if I explain that as the tradition’s initial conjurer, I affirm a Śākta lineage with initiation in India (into both dualistic and non-dualistic forms of Tantra) at the same time that I recognize my situatedness as a woman born and raised in the developed West. My cultural and initial spiritual influences therefore have been largely Abrahamic or Abrahamic-infused. This, when combined with a radical feminist stance and ecofeminist spirituality, have created in me a recognition of the importance of the Witch and various manifestations of antinomian spirituality that honor Earth as well as the female and feminine (on both micro-and macro-cosmic scales) toward overcoming patriarchal religions and religious influences. Thus, I priestess our <em>puja </em>(worship) ceremonies by chanting mantras in Sanskrit, casting a circle in a Pagan-recognizable way, and invoking directions saying, “Hail and welcome! CA HUM PHAT, SVAHA!” at the end to concretize the energy. In this light, Sha’can rituals have been described by Pagans as immediately accessible despite some of the language barriers (we do our best to explain unfamiliar meanings and ask for a deepening into personal experience), and by Indian Hindus as, “feeling like I was in my home village temple.” We are humbled on both accounts and excited by what this portends.\r\n\r\n<strong>The Role of Goddess Kali in Sha’can</strong>\r\n\r\nOften, those who seek the Mysteries touch on the fringes of what Goddess Kali offers, yet stay away because they are afraid. Some are afraid, with due cause, of cultural appropriation. ”I am not from India or Hindu,” some might say, “and therefore, worshiping a goddess such as Kali, with roots in a living goddess tradition, is out of bounds for me.” Others might just be afraid, period.\r\n\r\nCertainly, it should be acknowledged that how this goddess is typically represented inspires reaction. No account of Kali could possibly leave out Her image and iconography, for even in India—let alone the Goddess-fearing West—She is something to behold. Many are already familiar with Her black-skinned, skull-adorned appearance; yet there is more than meets the eye to Her manifest presence and its significance. Not only do Her symbols convey spiritual revelations, but the fact of Her existence today in the minds and hearts of devotees around the world (some of Hindu birth, others not) is inspiring of something even greater, not the least of which is moves beyond the confines of religion with a call for social justice—sometimes born of spiritual longing.\r\n\r\nWithin Sha’can, we recognize the esoteric wisdom of opening to the presence of energy—Shakti—and consciousness—Shiva—within ourselves in order to harmonize and understand Self with regard for and in relationship to the life-force as present both in nature and the unseen world. We recognize that Goddess today is becoming a “transaction between contexts, encouraging us to discover how the two contexts [of human and divine] can illuminate each other in new and sometimes unexpected ways.” For us, Kali is that light, presenting us with a radical role model and helping those seeking expanded cosmogonies, cosmologies and consciousness to break through limiting fears so that the biases of the Western milieu, wherever it is found and particularized through agents of patriarchy (such as religious, educational, social and cultural institutions), may be overcome.\r\n\r\nThrough the ancient traditions of Goddess worship still practiced today in Hindu South Asia and especially as made relevant for those without otherwise religious or cultural access to the Divine Female<strong> </strong>and Divine Feminine in ways that are empowering for actual women, the Sha’can tradition offers a glimpse through Kali worship and the practices of Shakta Tantra at possibilities for the Feminine and female that lie outside of limiting constructs. Certainly, patriarchy plays a role in religions everywhere, and religions of Goddess are no exception. Yet, within Hindu Shakta Tantra conjured in conjunction with ecofeminist spirituality, we are finding expanded notions of divinity and (r)evolutionary potentials for engagement in the world that promote healing and peace in response to patriarchy and its agendas.\r\n\r\nI should note that as I type, an image of Kali greets my gaze. I focus on Her black feet sporting golden anklets, with the residue of <em>alta</em>, a red plant-based, semi-permanent dye, decorating the outline of the soles and spaces in-between the toes. Join me in this gaze for a moment. From this perspective, we are internally bowed low. We are spiritually naked before Adya Maa, the Primordial Dark Goddess, and here, we may come just a bit closer to an understanding of who She is and what She offers. I argue that here, the Witch and the Tantrick meet to create, enliven and empower us all!\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nChandra Alexandre\r\nAs originally published in <i><a href=\"http://religionnerd.com/2011/04/17/a-walk-on-the-wild-side-introduction-to-a-goddess-honoring-tradition-where-the-witch-and-the-tantrick-meet/\">Religion Nerd</a></i>\r\n[/toggle]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[testimonials category=\"the-tradition\" time=\"10\" effect=\"fade\" ]','The Tradition','','inherit','open','open','','99129-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:59:05','2013-09-23 04:59:05','',99129,'Sha\'can is a <i>marga</i> (way or path) of Goddess-worshiping Hinduism—an authentic lineage tradition of Śākta Tantra. It is born from and honoring of the old, relevant to the circumstances of today, and grounded in the potentials of tomorrow. Passed on t',0,'revision','',0),(100207,2,'2013-09-22 21:59:43','2013-09-23 04:59:43','Sha\'can is a <i>marga</i> (way or path) of Goddess-worshiping Hinduism—an authentic lineage tradition of Śākta Tantra. It is born from and honoring of the old, relevant to the circumstances of today, and grounded in the potentials of tomorrow. Passed on through initiatory blessing, Sha\'can is at once groundbreaking and what has always happened with Goddess worshipers in and beyond India; for ours is an engaged spirituality activating a rooted category of challenge to the dominant culture in which we live. As <i>bhaktas</i> (devotees) who treasure the temple of this world through this incarnation, we are committed to expanding Tantric mother worship in ways that sanctify earth-based, embodied spirituality and (r)evolutionize potentials for social justice and peace on our planet.\r\n\r\nIn our tradition, we teach tools for the affirmation of <em>shakti</em> (the female principle) in self and world. We celebrate the commonalities of thought and practice that bring the marginal to center, helping the voiceless and dominated find spaces for blossoming, healing and bliss. Our roots are deep in ancient consciousness and practices of worship that have lived for millennia in the hearts of humanity. <a href=\"http://sharanya.org/resources/articles/\">Learn more </a>about how you can work within the tradition by reading our articles on establishment of a living altar and performing puja.\r\n\r\nThe work of our devotion is to honor the Divine as She—the One who facilitates the spiritual journey by taking us to the heart of our yearning, beyond our fears, beyond our ego, beyond our attachments, and into liberation.\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"Sha\'can\" active=\"\"]\r\n<a href=\"http://religionnerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Shacan-Kali-Maa-Tara-Kali-Web1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright\" title=\"Sha\'can Kali Maa &amp; Tara Kali Web\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://religionnerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Shacan-Kali-Maa-Tara-Kali-Web1.jpg\" width=\"181\" height=\"266\" /></a>\r\n\r\nToday, a robust and dynamic complexity of religious thought and engagement is being achieved through new traditions in which symbols, deities, and rituals (some only recently constructed) inform by connecting to passions, devotion and a desire for engaged spirituality not contained by country of origin—practitioner’s or deity’s. Add to this a confluence of feminism, goddess-focused spiritualities, and access to various forms of Hinduism, as well as a growing Indian-American population with Hindu diasporic roots and bi-cultural sensibilities, and we find a Western Śākta Hindu perspective and related forms of worship and practice emerging that assert both authenticity and independence from the Hindu source. One such emergence is the countercultural religious tradition known as Sha’can, what I fondly call a (R)evolutionary Shakta Tantra.\r\n\r\nRecognizing deep roots in India, Sha’can arose with a finger on the pulse of something larger—the critical work being done around the world to reclaim the power of womanhood and a Feminine/Female Divine. Whether in Kolkata or California, academic or activist circles, the past twenty years have seen subordinated communities and individuals finding ways to take back marginalized ideological and literal spaces, often using powerful and sometimes fierce goddesses as allies, inspirations, and provocateurs. Philosophies such as ecofeminism, through alignment of goddess spirituality with Earth justice<strong> </strong>and the fight for women’s equality, have helped further the cause. So too has the work of Indian and Hindu feminists (for example, Rita Gross, Vandana Shiva, and Rani Jethmalani) who have utilized the goddess, often particularized as Kali, and the principles of Śākta Tantra, the goddess-honoring path of embodied Hindu spirituality, to fight patriarchal religious and cultural norms, dictates, and oppressions. Finally, the field of women’s spirituality and the rubrics of Pagan thought and practice have offered an embrace toward dynamic discourse and life-affirming ceremony that many have described as a distinct home coming for a fully integrated sense of self and purpose within the realm of living spirituality.\r\n\r\nThe Sha’can tradition arose in 1998 from this admixture, with an emphasis on connection between the truths offered by Śākta Tantra and the realities of today’s world—realities that are recognized as both freeing and limiting. Seeking “the bridging of East and West through (r)evolutionary, embodied spirituality, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), wisdom teachings, and worship of the Goddess in Her myriad forms,” especially as Kali Maa, “our beloved Dark Mother…a change agent for our times…helping to transform, empower, and heal individuals, communities, and the planet,” Sha’can originally evolved within the crucible of the San Francisco-based SHARANYA community in a hotbed of cross-cultural and diverse spiritual influences. It has, since its formation, expanded to include a Southern California presence and larger global community through online courses and the work of practitioners and initiates, notably in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.\r\n\r\nThe tradition, I believe, is potentially an exciting case study for the development of Hinduism in America with ramifications for the new religious movement. Sitting poised in a synchretism of faith honoring Shaktism and contemporary Paganism, Sha’can, much like American Buddhism, is co-created from ancient roots in a new land. Additionally, while Sha’can in my mind is not part of the Indo-Pagan movement (because it is an innovation of Shakta Hindu philosophy and the(a)ology rather than a tradition that offers space for Hindu deities and ritual within established or newly established Pagan pathways), others within the tradition do consider it a manifestation of the rise in popularity and awareness of Hindu deities increasingly incorporated into different varieties of Paganism. Either way, the tradition stands ready to welcome those seeking an expression for their devotion to and yearning for Goddess in and through the forms, symbols, tools and practices that She offers via-a-vis Hindu Śākta Tantra and its contemporary expressions. Sha’can seeks to make the experience of worship and devotion relevant to these times at the same time that it drives for an honoring of those teachers and practitioners, past, present and future, who have grown and continue to grow Shakta Tantra in India and beyond.\r\n\r\nIt may be helpful if I explain that as the tradition’s initial conjurer, I affirm a Śākta lineage with initiation in India (into both dualistic and non-dualistic forms of Tantra) at the same time that I recognize my situatedness as a woman born and raised in the developed West. My cultural and initial spiritual influences therefore have been largely Abrahamic or Abrahamic-infused. This, when combined with a radical feminist stance and ecofeminist spirituality, have created in me a recognition of the importance of the Witch and various manifestations of antinomian spirituality that honor Earth as well as the female and feminine (on both micro-and macro-cosmic scales) toward overcoming patriarchal religions and religious influences. Thus, I priestess our <em>puja </em>(worship) ceremonies by chanting mantras in Sanskrit, casting a circle in a Pagan-recognizable way, and invoking directions saying, “Hail and welcome! CA HUM PHAT, SVAHA!” at the end to concretize the energy. In this light, Sha’can rituals have been described by Pagans as immediately accessible despite some of the language barriers (we do our best to explain unfamiliar meanings and ask for a deepening into personal experience), and by Indian Hindus as, “feeling like I was in my home village temple.” We are humbled on both accounts and excited by what this portends.\r\n\r\n<strong>The Role of Goddess Kali in Sha’can</strong>\r\n\r\nOften, those who seek the Mysteries touch on the fringes of what Goddess Kali offers, yet stay away because they are afraid. Some are afraid, with due cause, of cultural appropriation. ”I am not from India or Hindu,” some might say, “and therefore, worshiping a goddess such as Kali, with roots in a living goddess tradition, is out of bounds for me.” Others might just be afraid, period.\r\n\r\nCertainly, it should be acknowledged that how this goddess is typically represented inspires reaction. No account of Kali could possibly leave out Her image and iconography, for even in India—let alone the Goddess-fearing West—She is something to behold. Many are already familiar with Her black-skinned, skull-adorned appearance; yet there is more than meets the eye to Her manifest presence and its significance. Not only do Her symbols convey spiritual revelations, but the fact of Her existence today in the minds and hearts of devotees around the world (some of Hindu birth, others not) is inspiring of something even greater, not the least of which is moves beyond the confines of religion with a call for social justice—sometimes born of spiritual longing.\r\n\r\nWithin Sha’can, we recognize the esoteric wisdom of opening to the presence of energy—Shakti—and consciousness—Shiva—within ourselves in order to harmonize and understand Self with regard for and in relationship to the life-force as present both in nature and the unseen world. We recognize that Goddess today is becoming a “transaction between contexts, encouraging us to discover how the two contexts [of human and divine] can illuminate each other in new and sometimes unexpected ways.” For us, Kali is that light, presenting us with a radical role model and helping those seeking expanded cosmogonies, cosmologies and consciousness to break through limiting fears so that the biases of the Western milieu, wherever it is found and particularized through agents of patriarchy (such as religious, educational, social and cultural institutions), may be overcome.\r\n\r\nThrough the ancient traditions of Goddess worship still practiced today in Hindu South Asia and especially as made relevant for those without otherwise religious or cultural access to the Divine Female<strong> </strong>and Divine Feminine in ways that are empowering for actual women, the Sha’can tradition offers a glimpse through Kali worship and the practices of Shakta Tantra at possibilities for the Feminine and female that lie outside of limiting constructs. Certainly, patriarchy plays a role in religions everywhere, and religions of Goddess are no exception. Yet, within Hindu Shakta Tantra conjured in conjunction with ecofeminist spirituality, we are finding expanded notions of divinity and (r)evolutionary potentials for engagement in the world that promote healing and peace in response to patriarchy and its agendas.\r\n\r\nI should note that as I type, an image of Kali greets my gaze. I focus on Her black feet sporting golden anklets, with the residue of <em>alta</em>, a red plant-based, semi-permanent dye, decorating the outline of the soles and spaces in-between the toes. Join me in this gaze for a moment. From this perspective, we are internally bowed low. We are spiritually naked before Adya Maa, the Primordial Dark Goddess, and here, we may come just a bit closer to an understanding of who She is and what She offers. I argue that here, the Witch and the Tantrick meet to create, enliven and empower us all!\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nChandra Alexandre\r\nAs originally published in <i><a href=\"http://religionnerd.com/2011/04/17/a-walk-on-the-wild-side-introduction-to-a-goddess-honoring-tradition-where-the-witch-and-the-tantrick-meet/\">Religion Nerd</a></i>\r\n[/toggle]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[testimonials category=\"the-tradition\" time=\"10\" effect=\"fade\" ]','The Tradition','','inherit','open','open','','99129-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 21:59:43','2013-09-23 04:59:43','',99129,'Sha\'can is a <i>marga</i> (way or path) of Goddess-worshiping Hinduism—an authentic lineage tradition of Śākta Tantra. It is born from and honoring of the old, relevant to the circumstances of today, and grounded in the potentials of tomorrow. Passed on t',0,'revision','',0),(100208,2,'2013-09-22 22:01:36','2013-09-23 05:01:36','Sha\'can is a <i>marga</i> (way or path) of Goddess-worshiping Hinduism—an authentic lineage tradition of Śākta Tantra. It is born from and honoring of the old, relevant to the circumstances of today, and grounded in the potentials of tomorrow. Passed on through initiatory blessing, Sha\'can is at once groundbreaking and what has always happened with Goddess worshipers in and beyond India; for ours is an engaged spirituality activating a rooted category of challenge to the dominant culture in which we live. As <i>bhaktas</i> (devotees) who treasure the temple of this world through this incarnation, we are committed to expanding Tantric mother worship in ways that sanctify earth-based, embodied spirituality and (r)evolutionize potentials for social justice and peace on our planet.<br><br>\r\n\r\nIn our tradition, we teach tools for the affirmation of <em>shakti</em> (the female principle) in self and world. We celebrate the commonalities of thought and practice that bring the marginal to center, helping the voiceless and dominated find spaces for blossoming, healing and bliss. Our roots are deep in ancient consciousness and practices of worship that have lived for millennia in the hearts of humanity. <a href=\"http://sharanya.org/resources/articles/\">Learn more </a>about how you can work within the tradition by reading our articles on establishment of a living altar and performing puja.<br><br>\r\n\r\nThe work of our devotion is to honor the Divine as She—the One who facilitates the spiritual journey by taking us to the heart of our yearning, beyond our fears, beyond our ego, beyond our attachments, and into liberation.<br><br>\r\n\r\n[toggle type=\"gray\" title=\"Sha\'can\" active=\"\"]\r\n<a href=\"http://religionnerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Shacan-Kali-Maa-Tara-Kali-Web1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright\" title=\"Sha\'can Kali Maa &amp; Tara Kali Web\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://religionnerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Shacan-Kali-Maa-Tara-Kali-Web1.jpg\" width=\"181\" height=\"266\" /></a>\r\n\r\nToday, a robust and dynamic complexity of religious thought and engagement is being achieved through new traditions in which symbols, deities, and rituals (some only recently constructed) inform by connecting to passions, devotion and a desire for engaged spirituality not contained by country of origin—practitioner’s or deity’s. Add to this a confluence of feminism, goddess-focused spiritualities, and access to various forms of Hinduism, as well as a growing Indian-American population with Hindu diasporic roots and bi-cultural sensibilities, and we find a Western Śākta Hindu perspective and related forms of worship and practice emerging that assert both authenticity and independence from the Hindu source. One such emergence is the countercultural religious tradition known as Sha’can, what I fondly call a (R)evolutionary Shakta Tantra.<br><br>\r\n\r\nRecognizing deep roots in India, Sha’can arose with a finger on the pulse of something larger—the critical work being done around the world to reclaim the power of womanhood and a Feminine/Female Divine. Whether in Kolkata or California, academic or activist circles, the past twenty years have seen subordinated communities and individuals finding ways to take back marginalized ideological and literal spaces, often using powerful and sometimes fierce goddesses as allies, inspirations, and provocateurs. Philosophies such as ecofeminism, through alignment of goddess spirituality with Earth justice<strong> </strong>and the fight for women’s equality, have helped further the cause. So too has the work of Indian and Hindu feminists (for example, Rita Gross, Vandana Shiva, and Rani Jethmalani) who have utilized the goddess, often particularized as Kali, and the principles of Śākta Tantra, the goddess-honoring path of embodied Hindu spirituality, to fight patriarchal religious and cultural norms, dictates, and oppressions. Finally, the field of women’s spirituality and the rubrics of Pagan thought and practice have offered an embrace toward dynamic discourse and life-affirming ceremony that many have described as a distinct home coming for a fully integrated sense of self and purpose within the realm of living spirituality.<br><br>\r\n\r\nThe Sha’can tradition arose in 1998 from this admixture, with an emphasis on connection between the truths offered by Śākta Tantra and the realities of today’s world—realities that are recognized as both freeing and limiting. Seeking “the bridging of East and West through (r)evolutionary, embodied spirituality, <i>sadhana</i> (spiritual practice), wisdom teachings, and worship of the Goddess in Her myriad forms,” especially as Kali Maa, “our beloved Dark Mother…a change agent for our times…helping to transform, empower, and heal individuals, communities, and the planet,” Sha’can originally evolved within the crucible of the San Francisco-based SHARANYA community in a hotbed of cross-cultural and diverse spiritual influences. It has, since its formation, expanded to include a Southern California presence and larger global community through online courses and the work of practitioners and initiates, notably in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.<br><br>\r\n\r\nThe tradition, I believe, is potentially an exciting case study for the development of Hinduism in America with ramifications for the new religious movement. Sitting poised in a synchretism of faith honoring Shaktism and contemporary Paganism, Sha’can, much like American Buddhism, is co-created from ancient roots in a new land. Additionally, while Sha’can in my mind is not part of the Indo-Pagan movement (because it is an innovation of Shakta Hindu philosophy and the(a)ology rather than a tradition that offers space for Hindu deities and ritual within established or newly established Pagan pathways), others within the tradition do consider it a manifestation of the rise in popularity and awareness of Hindu deities increasingly incorporated into different varieties of Paganism. Either way, the tradition stands ready to welcome those seeking an expression for their devotion to and yearning for Goddess in and through the forms, symbols, tools and practices that She offers via-a-vis Hindu Śākta Tantra and its contemporary expressions. Sha’can seeks to make the experience of worship and devotion relevant to these times at the same time that it drives for an honoring of those teachers and practitioners, past, present and future, who have grown and continue to grow Shakta Tantra in India and beyond.<br><br>\r\n\r\nIt may be helpful if I explain that as the tradition’s initial conjurer, I affirm a Śākta lineage with initiation in India (into both dualistic and non-dualistic forms of Tantra) at the same time that I recognize my situatedness as a woman born and raised in the developed West. My cultural and initial spiritual influences therefore have been largely Abrahamic or Abrahamic-infused. This, when combined with a radical feminist stance and ecofeminist spirituality, have created in me a recognition of the importance of the Witch and various manifestations of antinomian spirituality that honor Earth as well as the female and feminine (on both micro-and macro-cosmic scales) toward overcoming patriarchal religions and religious influences. Thus, I priestess our <em>puja </em>(worship) ceremonies by chanting mantras in Sanskrit, casting a circle in a Pagan-recognizable way, and invoking directions saying, “Hail and welcome! CA HUM PHAT, SVAHA!” at the end to concretize the energy. In this light, Sha’can rituals have been described by Pagans as immediately accessible despite some of the language barriers (we do our best to explain unfamiliar meanings and ask for a deepening into personal experience), and by Indian Hindus as, “feeling like I was in my home village temple.” We are humbled on both accounts and excited by what this portends.<br><br>\r\n\r\n<strong>The Role of Goddess Kali in Sha’can</strong><br><br>\r\n\r\nOften, those who seek the Mysteries touch on the fringes of what Goddess Kali offers, yet stay away because they are afraid. Some are afraid, with due cause, of cultural appropriation. ”I am not from India or Hindu,” some might say, “and therefore, worshiping a goddess such as Kali, with roots in a living goddess tradition, is out of bounds for me.” Others might just be afraid, period.<br><br>\r\n\r\nCertainly, it should be acknowledged that how this goddess is typically represented inspires reaction. No account of Kali could possibly leave out Her image and iconography, for even in India—let alone the Goddess-fearing West—She is something to behold. Many are already familiar with Her black-skinned, skull-adorned appearance; yet there is more than meets the eye to Her manifest presence and its significance. Not only do Her symbols convey spiritual revelations, but the fact of Her existence today in the minds and hearts of devotees around the world (some of Hindu birth, others not) is inspiring of something even greater, not the least of which is moves beyond the confines of religion with a call for social justice—sometimes born of spiritual longing.<br><br>\r\n\r\nWithin Sha’can, we recognize the esoteric wisdom of opening to the presence of energy—Shakti—and consciousness—Shiva—within ourselves in order to harmonize and understand Self with regard for and in relationship to the life-force as present both in nature and the unseen world. We recognize that Goddess today is becoming a “transaction between contexts, encouraging us to discover how the two contexts [of human and divine] can illuminate each other in new and sometimes unexpected ways.” For us, Kali is that light, presenting us with a radical role model and helping those seeking expanded cosmogonies, cosmologies and consciousness to break through limiting fears so that the biases of the Western milieu, wherever it is found and particularized through agents of patriarchy (such as religious, educational, social and cultural institutions), may be overcome.<br><br>\r\n\r\nThrough the ancient traditions of Goddess worship still practiced today in Hindu South Asia and especially as made relevant for those without otherwise religious or cultural access to the Divine Female<strong> </strong>and Divine Feminine in ways that are empowering for actual women, the Sha’can tradition offers a glimpse through Kali worship and the practices of Shakta Tantra at possibilities for the Feminine and female that lie outside of limiting constructs. Certainly, patriarchy plays a role in religions everywhere, and religions of Goddess are no exception. Yet, within Hindu Shakta Tantra conjured in conjunction with ecofeminist spirituality, we are finding expanded notions of divinity and (r)evolutionary potentials for engagement in the world that promote healing and peace in response to patriarchy and its agendas.<br><br>\r\n\r\nI should note that as I type, an image of Kali greets my gaze. I focus on Her black feet sporting golden anklets, with the residue of <em>alta</em>, a red plant-based, semi-permanent dye, decorating the outline of the soles and spaces in-between the toes. Join me in this gaze for a moment. From this perspective, we are internally bowed low. We are spiritually naked before Adya Maa, the Primordial Dark Goddess, and here, we may come just a bit closer to an understanding of who She is and what She offers. I argue that here, the Witch and the Tantrick meet to create, enliven and empower us all!<br><br>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nChandra Alexandre<br>\r\nAs originally published in <i><a href=\"http://religionnerd.com/2011/04/17/a-walk-on-the-wild-side-introduction-to-a-goddess-honoring-tradition-where-the-witch-and-the-tantrick-meet/\">Religion Nerd</a></i>\r\n[/toggle]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[testimonials category=\"the-tradition\" time=\"10\" effect=\"fade\" ]','The Tradition','','inherit','open','open','','99129-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 22:01:36','2013-09-23 05:01:36','',99129,'Sha\'can is a <i>marga</i> (way or path) of Goddess-worshiping Hinduism—an authentic lineage tradition of Śākta Tantra. It is born from and honoring of the old, relevant to the circumstances of today, and grounded in the potentials of tomorrow. Passed on t',0,'revision','',0),(100209,2,'2013-09-22 22:10:22','2013-09-23 05:10:22','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]  \r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (2006 & 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2007 Kali Puja SoCal\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 22:10:22','2013-09-23 05:10:22','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100210,2,'2013-09-22 22:11:12','2013-09-23 05:11:12','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong><br><br>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]  \r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (2006 & 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2007 Kali Puja SoCal\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 22:11:12','2013-09-23 05:11:12','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100211,2,'2013-09-22 22:12:46','2013-09-23 05:12:46','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]  \r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (2006 & 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2007 Kali Puja SoCal\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-22 22:12:46','2013-09-23 05:12:46','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379570392148.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100213,2,'2013-09-23 11:16:22','2013-09-23 18:16:22','<div id=\"lipsum\">\r\n\r\n<!-- BEGIN Mantra of the Month -->\r\n<!-- Audio thumbnail and title link -->\r\n<h2><img alt=\"\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/themes/churchope/lib/metabox/images/i_audio.png\" />\r\n<a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_gallery/kalis-names/\">September\'s Mantra: Kali\'s Names</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_gallery/kalis-names/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-99337 imgborder alignnone\" alt=\"51 names\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/51-names.jpg\" width=\"534\" height=\"178\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<!-- Audio player -->\r\n[thaudio href=\'http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/51names.mp3\'][/thaudio]\r\n<h2><b style=\"font-size: 13px;\">Translation:</b></h2>\r\n<em>I call to you: Kali of the cremation grounds, auspicious Kali, she who bears the skull cup (remover of the ego), secret one and she who is above all else; Ultimate goddess, black night, eternal mother, she who is the one beyond the fear of time and who illuminates the entire clan wave of my ancestors; She who gives desire, is desire and desired, the one who is the nature of desire, whose thighs are anointed with the juice of musk and who moves softly like the elephants...</em>\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_gallery/kalis-names/\">Learn more about this mantra...</a></em></strong>\r\n\r\n<!-- END Mantra of the Month -->\r\n\r\n<hr style=\"border-top: 3px solid #aaa; margin: 30px 0;\" />\r\n\r\n[terms_gallery terms=\"24\" perpage=\"10\" pagination=\"on\" layout=\"medium\" isotope=\"on\" ]\r\n\r\n</div>','Mantra','','inherit','open','open','','99154-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 11:16:22','2013-09-23 18:16:22','',99154,'<div id=\"lipsum\">\r\n\r\n<!-- BEGIN Mantra of the Month -->\r\n<!-- Audio thumbnail and title link -->\r\n<h2><img alt=\"\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/themes/churchope/lib/metabox/images/i_audio.png\" />\r\n<a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://shara',0,'revision','',0),(100214,2,'2013-09-23 11:18:04','2013-09-23 18:18:04','<!-- BEGIN Mantra of the Month -->\r\n<!-- Audio thumbnail and title link -->\r\n<h2><img alt=\"\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/themes/churchope/lib/metabox/images/i_audio.png\" />\r\n<a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_gallery/kalis-names/\">September\'s Featured Mantra: Kali\'s Names</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_gallery/kalis-names/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-99337 imgborder alignnone\" alt=\"51 names\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/51-names.jpg\" width=\"534\" height=\"178\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<!-- Audio player -->\r\n[thaudio href=\'http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/51names.mp3\'][/thaudio]\r\n<h2><b style=\"font-size: 13px;\">Translation:</b></h2>\r\n<em>I call to you: Kali of the cremation grounds, auspicious Kali, she who bears the skull cup (remover of the ego), secret one and she who is above all else; Ultimate goddess, black night, eternal mother, she who is the one beyond the fear of time and who illuminates the entire clan wave of my ancestors; She who gives desire, is desire and desired, the one who is the nature of desire, whose thighs are anointed with the juice of musk and who moves softly like the elephants...</em>\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_gallery/kalis-names/\">Learn more about this mantra...</a></em></strong>\r\n\r\n<!-- END Mantra of the Month -->\r\n\r\n<hr style=\"border-top: 3px solid #aaa; margin: 30px 0;\" />\r\n\r\n<h2>More Mantras</h2>\r\n\r\n[terms_gallery terms=\"24\" perpage=\"10\" pagination=\"on\" layout=\"medium\" isotope=\"on\" ]','Mantra','','inherit','open','open','','99154-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 11:18:04','2013-09-23 18:18:04','',99154,'<!-- BEGIN Mantra of the Month -->\r\n<!-- Audio thumbnail and title link -->\r\n<h2><img alt=\"\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/themes/churchope/lib/metabox/images/i_audio.png\" />\r\n<a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_ga',0,'revision','',0),(100215,2,'2013-09-23 11:18:51','2013-09-23 18:18:51','<!-- BEGIN Mantra of the Month -->\r\n<!-- Audio thumbnail and title link -->\r\n<h2><img alt=\"\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/themes/churchope/lib/metabox/images/i_audio.png\" />\r\n<a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_gallery/kalis-names/\">September\'s Featured Mantra: Kali\'s Names</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_gallery/kalis-names/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-99337 imgborder alignnone\" alt=\"51 names\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/51-names.jpg\" width=\"534\" height=\"178\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<!-- Audio player -->\r\n[thaudio href=\'http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/51names.mp3\'][/thaudio]\r\n<h2><b style=\"font-size: 13px;\">Translation:</b></h2>\r\n<em>I call to you: Kali of the cremation grounds, auspicious Kali, she who bears the skull cup (remover of the ego), secret one and she who is above all else; Ultimate goddess, black night, eternal mother, she who is the one beyond the fear of time and who illuminates the entire clan wave of my ancestors; She who gives desire, is desire and desired, the one who is the nature of desire, whose thighs are anointed with the juice of musk and who moves softly like the elephants...</em>\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_gallery/kalis-names/\">Learn more about this mantra...</a></em></strong>\r\n\r\n<!-- END Mantra of the Month -->\r\n\r\n<hr style=\"border-top: 3px solid #aaa; margin: 30px 0;\" />\r\n\r\n[terms_gallery terms=\"24\" perpage=\"10\" pagination=\"on\" layout=\"medium\" isotope=\"on\" ]','Mantra','','inherit','open','open','','99154-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 11:18:51','2013-09-23 18:18:51','',99154,'<!-- BEGIN Mantra of the Month -->\r\n<!-- Audio thumbnail and title link -->\r\n<h2><img alt=\"\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/themes/churchope/lib/metabox/images/i_audio.png\" />\r\n<a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/th_ga',0,'revision','',0),(100219,2,'2013-09-23 14:04:40','2013-09-23 21:04:40','<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Featured Article: Honoring the Divine Mother</a></h2>\r\n\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/PujaAltarMainIIFramed.jpg\" alt=\"PujaAltarMainIIFramed\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100107 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<p>We at SHARANYA honor the Goddess as the cosmic interconnectedness of all beings, the Mother of Life, and the pathway to illumination and ultimate bliss. Through Her grace and love, She guides us into the depths of our innermost being and inspires us to live in the fullness of our humanity. Specifically, we worship Maa Kali, the fierce and compassionate Mother Goddess of Hinduism, in both Her transcendent and immanent forms. Blending authentic ritual methodologies of both East and West, we are more fully able to open our hearts to Her love and offer devotion and prayer for personal, collective, and planetary evolution.</p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Read more...</a></em></strong></p>\r\n\r\n<!-- END Featured Article -->\r\n\r\n<hr style=\"border-top: 3px solid #aaa; margin: 30px 0;\" />\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Goddess Inspirations\"] [blog category=\"46\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"Initiations, Power, &amp; The Antinomian\"] [blog category=\"47\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"The Sha\'can Tradition\"] [blog category=\"48\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Articles','','inherit','open','open','','99177-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 14:04:40','2013-09-23 21:04:40','',99177,'<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Featured Article: Honoring the Divine Mother</a></h2>\r\n\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-',0,'revision','',0),(100220,2,'2013-09-23 14:05:00','2013-09-23 21:05:00','<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Featured Article: Honoring the Divine Mother</a></h2>\r\n\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/PujaAltarMainIIFramed.jpg\" alt=\"PujaAltarMainIIFramed\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100107 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<p>We at SHARANYA honor the Goddess as the cosmic interconnectedness of all beings, the Mother of Life, and the pathway to illumination and ultimate bliss. Through Her grace and love, She guides us into the depths of our innermost being and inspires us to live in the fullness of our humanity. Specifically, we worship Maa Kali, the fierce and compassionate Mother Goddess of Hinduism, in both Her transcendent and immanent forms. Blending authentic ritual methodologies of both East and West, we are more fully able to open our hearts to Her love and offer devotion and prayer for personal, collective, and planetary evolution.</p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Read more...</a></em></strong></p>\r\n\r\n<!-- END Featured Article -->\r\n\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Goddess Inspirations\"] [blog category=\"46\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"Initiations, Power, &amp; The Antinomian\"] [blog category=\"47\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"The Sha\'can Tradition\"] [blog category=\"48\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Articles','','inherit','open','open','','99177-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 14:05:00','2013-09-23 21:05:00','',99177,'<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Featured Article: Honoring the Divine Mother</a></h2>\r\n\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-',0,'revision','',0),(100221,2,'2013-09-23 14:05:23','2013-09-23 21:05:23','<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Featured Article: Honoring the Divine Mother</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100107 imgborder\" alt=\"PujaAltarMainIIFramed\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/PujaAltarMainIIFramed.jpg\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe at SHARANYA honor the Goddess as the cosmic interconnectedness of all beings, the Mother of Life, and the pathway to illumination and ultimate bliss. Through Her grace and love, She guides us into the depths of our innermost being and inspires us to live in the fullness of our humanity. Specifically, we worship Maa Kali, the fierce and compassionate Mother Goddess of Hinduism, in both Her transcendent and immanent forms. Blending authentic ritual methodologies of both East and West, we are more fully able to open our hearts to Her love and offer devotion and prayer for personal, collective, and planetary evolution.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Read more...</a></em></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<!-- END Featured Article -->\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Goddess Inspirations\"] [blog category=\"46\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"Initiations, Power, &amp; The Antinomian\"] [blog category=\"47\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"The Sha\'can Tradition\"] [blog category=\"48\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Articles','','inherit','open','open','','99177-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 14:05:23','2013-09-23 21:05:23','',99177,'<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Featured Article: Honoring the Divine Mother</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-moth',0,'revision','',0),(100222,2,'2013-09-23 14:06:34','2013-09-23 21:06:34','<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Featured Article: Honoring the Divine Mother</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100107 imgborder\" alt=\"PujaAltarMainIIFramed\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/PujaAltarMainIIFramed.jpg\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<p>We at SHARANYA honor the Goddess as the cosmic interconnectedness of all beings, the Mother of Life, and the pathway to illumination and ultimate bliss. Through Her grace and love, She guides us into the depths of our innermost being and inspires us to live in the fullness of our humanity. Specifically, we worship Maa Kali, the fierce and compassionate Mother Goddess of Hinduism, in both Her transcendent and immanent forms. Blending authentic ritual methodologies of both East and West, we are more fully able to open our hearts to Her love and offer devotion and prayer for personal, collective, and planetary evolution.</p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Read more...</a></em></strong></p>\r\n\r\n<br /><br />\r\n\r\n<strong><em></em></strong>[tabgroup]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Goddess Inspirations\"] [blog category=\"46\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"Initiations, Power, &amp; The Antinomian\"] [blog category=\"47\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"The Sha\'can Tradition\"] [blog category=\"48\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Articles','','inherit','open','open','','99177-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 14:06:34','2013-09-23 21:06:34','',99177,'<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Featured Article: Honoring the Divine Mother</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-moth',0,'revision','',0),(100223,2,'2013-09-23 16:01:52','2013-09-23 23:01:52','For thousands of years, yantras have been used in the Tantric tradition as visual metaphors for the body of the divine. As expressions of devotion and contemplation, they are similar to Tibetan mandalas in that meditation upon them is tantamount to returning to the primordial fiat of one’s being. Because yantras are comprised of archetypal geometric forms and shapes, they are believed to offer liberation from bondage. There are many different yantras, all of which have specific intentions and meanings. For instance, the sri yantra (believed to be the mother of all yantras) is made up of nine interlacing triangles, five inverted ones which represent Shakti and four upright ones which represent Shiva. As a symbolic map of a human being’s spiritual journey, the sri yantra describes nine different routes (from the center, or bindu, to the outer plane) that represent a different stage in the process. <img class=\"alignleft\" style=\"color: #333333; font-style: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 0.4em;\" title=\"Kali Yantra\" alt=\"Kali Yantra\" src=\"http://media.jbanetwork.com/image/cache/8/6/5/9/3/6_w220_h214_s1_PT0_PR15_PB0_PL0_PCffffff.jpg\" width=\"235\" height=\"214\" /> As a geometric symbol, the yantra represents everything that can be internalized in our consciousness. Ma Kali, the mother of time (and its destruction), is also the progenitor of breath, divine love, and transformation. The elegant Kali yantra can thus be understood as a signifier of transformation and healing. To meditate upon it is to surrender totally to the energy of spiritual growth, and to turn emotional catharsis to one’s spiritual advantage. The 36 centers of the Kali yantra correspond to the 36 principles of creation. The central bindu itself is the elemental aspect of the soul, and of Kali, from which everything in the material world emanates<strong>.</strong> The five inverted triangles of the yantra represent the sheaths of human consciousness: physical, life force, mental/emotional, wisdom, and bliss. And the inverted position of the triangles symbolize the regenerative power of the divine feminine. The two circles represent life and death. The eight lotus petals that surround the bindu represent the eight tattvas of nature: earth, water, fire, air, ether, the lower mind, the higher mind, and the ego. The colors of the yantra are also, of course, symbolic. Red represents the life blood and energy of the manifested world, black represents the eternal mystery of the void from which creation ensues, and gray represents the liminal space between realms. To meditate on the Kali yantra, simply do the following:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Gaze at the bindu of the yantra, being sure to concentrate on your third eye, or Ajna chakra.</li>\r\n	<li>Experience and relish the exchange of energy between the yantra and your heart center, which is where Ma resides.</li>\r\n	<li>Let the colors of the yantra infuse your consciousness.</li>\r\n	<li>Silently call forth on the regenerative power of Kali, which has the power to transform the deepest suffering into the deepest bliss and wareness.</li>\r\n	<li>Close your eyes now, but let the image of the yantra remain with you.</li>\r\n	<li>Chant the sacred breath of Ma Kali, “sa’ham,” and stay relaxed and peaceful.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">  <strong><em>Jai Kali Maa!</em></strong></p>\r\nContributed by Nirmala Nataraj for the SHARANYA <a title=\"SHARANYA\'s May Newsletter\" href=\"http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1411330215\" target=\"_blank\">May newsletter</a>. Read it to learn more about our work in the world and upcoming (6/17) <a title=\"Yoni Puja (6/17)\" href=\"/events/festivals/\" target=\"_blank\">Yoni Puja</a>.','Kali Yantra','','inherit','open','open','','62-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 16:01:52','2013-09-23 23:01:52','',62,'For thousands of years, yantras have been used in the Tantric tradition as visual metaphors for the body of the divine. As expressions of devotion and contemplation, they are similar to Tibetan mandalas in that meditation upon them is tantamount to return',0,'revision','',0),(100224,2,'2013-09-23 16:09:17','2013-09-23 23:09:17','<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Featured Article: Honoring the Divine Mother</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100107 imgborder\" alt=\"PujaAltarMainIIFramed\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/PujaAltarMainIIFramed.jpg\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<p>We at SHARANYA honor the Goddess as the cosmic interconnectedness of all beings, the Mother of Life, and the pathway to illumination and ultimate bliss. Through Her grace and love, She guides us into the depths of our innermost being and inspires us to live in the fullness of our humanity. Specifically, we worship Maa Kali, the fierce and compassionate Mother Goddess of Hinduism, in both Her transcendent and immanent forms. Blending authentic ritual methodologies of both East and West, we are more fully able to open our hearts to Her love and offer devotion and prayer for personal, collective, and planetary evolution.</p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Read more...</a></em></strong></p>\r\n\r\n<br /><br />\r\n\r\n<strong><em></em></strong>[tabgroup]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"The Sha\'can Tradition\"] [blog category=\"48\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Goddess Inspirations\"] [blog category=\"46\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"Initiations, Power &amp; The Antinomian\"] [blog category=\"47\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n','Articles','','inherit','open','open','','99177-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 16:09:17','2013-09-23 23:09:17','',99177,'<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-mother/\">Featured Article: Honoring the Divine Mother</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/kali-puja-honoring-the-divine-moth',0,'revision','',0),(100225,2,'2013-09-23 16:11:05','2013-09-23 23:11:05','<em><em>By Chandra Alexandre</em>\n\n<hr />\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-100111 imgborder\" alt=\"DarkGoddessParvati\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DarkGoddessParvati.jpg\" />\n\nHumanity is now experiencing a shift in evolutionary consciousness especially catalyzed and facilitated by the Divine Female. Goddess, as She is often called, can be represented through a variety of guises, forms, and names; but it is because we tend to think of \"God\" as strictly male (and usually transcendent) that I avoid this term when speaking about Her, although she is nonetheless that. In this brief introduction to the Dark Goddess, I will alternatively represent Her using capitalization or lower case (e.g., \"Her\" and \"her,\" or \"Goddess\" and \"goddess\") and will universalize or particularize my articulations in order to shatter limiting notions of the Great Mystery. But first, why focus on Her?\n\nGoddess is today gathering worldwide appeal even in lands that have historically denied Her. Within a global milieu that largely assigns value and power only to the male and masculine, it has become increasingly important to rebalance within levels of the mundane and sacred, holding equal space within our bodies for the feminine and equal room for Goddess to answer our prayers. Once uncovered from unhealthy layers of meaning imposed by religion, culture, and society, the Divine Female can be called upon to manifest, empower, and ultimately heal. Today, She is driving us, challenging us, to get beyond our fear, beyond our egos, beyond our dualistic notions of right and wrong. She is helping us finally get things back into balance.\n\nThe role of the Dark Goddess is both simple and complex. She depotentiates toxicity wherever it is found and creates new spaces for life-affirming, fuller expressions of reality. She is Dark because she can speak of that which we don\'t want illuminated: injustice, inequity, inequality, inappropriateness. She is Dark because the Dark is what humanity has generally subjugated, one people to the next. She is Dark because she reveals our secrets. She gives voice to the voiceless, creates room for the marginalized and oppressed, opens our eyes and moves us to greater depths of soul...if we are willing to struggle with Her and move mountains.\n\nWherever we find Her, we know Her as a deeply transformational power capable of awakening humanity to new potentials. She is the Goddess of Resistance and Sanctuary. Goddess of Compassion and Freedom. And while the difficulties of certain religio-cultural constructs have imposed less-than-direct divine revelation in many of the living goddess traditions, with numerous devotees suffering despite Her exquisite grace within them, the Divine Female (inclusive of her ancient and post-modern roots) can nevertheless help us all, I believe, find creative ways to break pathological hierarchies from both inside and outside the mainstream.\n\nIn an increasingly global world, how can borders hold Her back? Change is upon us, and She is Change. Although often concretized in culture-specific ways and given names such as Kali, Tara, Quan Yin, and Spider Woman, Goddess, as well as goddesses, are required for the unfurling of beauty, for the opening to personal, planetary and cosmic healing. From lands near and far, we see Her coming to us no matter what our address, speaking to us through dreams, inspirations and synchronicities while offering boons, blessings, tension and direct confrontations. She may visit as terrifying Kali to humble a selfish heart, or reveal herself as Persephone to dissuade material desire. We may not speak her native tongue or understand Her sacred symbols in cultural context, yet our heart knows Her meaning and relevance for our time and particulars. Indeed, many of us are listening to our deepest yearning and finding Goddess there, quite alive.\n\nHer healing gifts and powers, I argue, most deeply align with five principles that I have come to understand act across gross, subtle and causal levels. Briefly, these principles are:\n<ul>\n	<li><b>Antinomian</b> - she sits outside the mainstream, breaking normative conceptions in order to provide safe and free spaces for embracing of the whole, uncensored spectrum of beingness. With this consciousness, She helps us fly in the face of convention, questioning the doxa or unspoken agreements we have about life and our values, ethics and moral concerns;</li>\n	<li><b>Relational</b> - She enables connection across divides of difference (gender, race, culture, ethnicity, species, age, etc.) and is facilitating new meanings for the union of opposites, particularly of Sacred Female and Sacred Male;</li>\n	<li><b>Embodied</b> - she is sacred Earth, sacred matter, calling for a recognition of the immanence of Spirit. She is the power of our ancestors, upon whose shoulders we stand in new consciousness, demanding to be honored for the sake of including, synthesizing and then transcending their and our greatest aspirations;</li>\n	<li><b>Cyclical</b> - she is the power of spiraling space-time and non-linear constructions of reality helping us collectively move into new awareness (such as offered through Life-Death-Rebirth and Creation-Preservation-Destruction-Transformation constructions); and</li>\n	<li><b>Chthonic</b> - She is <i>cāyā</i>, our shadow individual and collective, brought to consciousness from the depths of all we have repressed and suppressed so that we may reintegrate ourselves, kissing our patriarchal wounds and coming to wholeness. She brings the Ouroboric Primordial Snake of Transformation to consciousness so that we can all do our own deepest self-reflective work.</li>\n</ul>\nActing as and through these principles, Goddess is leading us to a <i>hieros unios</i>. This is my term for a sacred union within a multiplex reality that includes and transcends the traditional<i>hieros gamos</i> (sacred marriage) alluded to in ancient mythologies, alchemical traditions, and depth psychology. Hieros unios as I intend fully means first, a partnership that frees opposites from charged, pathologically hierarchical renderings of relationship; and second, allows for expansion into a radically non-dual awareness. It also means a multiplicitous coming together of all graces of divine spirit - within both the immanent and transcendent realms - in order to suggest something applicable to the condition of Creation from personal to cosmic proportions.\n\nTo be more specific, rather than limited to a simple pairing of opposites with restricted gender perspectives (and traditional overlays of patriarchal visionings of marriage) as with the hieros gamos, the hieros unios offers a position affirming of life\'s ability to simultaneously express duality, multiplicity, and unity. It is exactly a non-dual awareness that brings particularities of perspective to bear on the appreciation of all realities and is not a monolithic One dismissive of individuality or unique expressions of the divine (whether embodied or not). Thus, a hieros unios is not simply <i>advaita</i> (non-duality). It is equally an awareness in which the consciousness of matter, dynamic balance of opposites, and transformational character of a spiraling involution/evolution are witnessed and understood to reflect the Divine\'s yearning for itself.\n\nWhether invoking through spiritual, alchemical, psychological or other metaphors, the hieros unios She inspires can be readily expressed as <i>shakti</i> - primary, activating female energy - unleashed now for moves beyond the patriarchal paradigm. Her presence thus means forcing an unpathologizing of dualities and facilitating the shattering of structures to provide liberatory spaces for females and the feminine to (re)emerge. On Earth, it means, for example, that we honor women in places of power within all institutions and allow men free and full expression of whatever might be considered feminine qualities. On the level of the Divine, it means that we grant the Sacred Male his place among us here, immanent, sexual and alive...for example, might we envision taking Jesus down from the cross, allowing Him as Cosmic Christ to rest a time in Her earthy embrace? Might we grant Shiva a wild dance of liberation in partnership with Her, rather than one of destruction which must be stopped in its lonely rampage? Might we then afford the Divine a Female \'side,\' calling God \"She\" while opening to the principles addressed above in our formulations of Her? Such ideas and desires may help catalyze a (r)evolution of consciousness that can not only wake humanity up to the fact of what denying the fullest spectrum of life looks like, but also help us make difficult choices in order to embrace our truest potentials.\n\nThe Dark Goddess is the one holding us tenderly now as we, our planetary collective, travel through this often times painful transition into wholeness. This is perhaps also our greatest initiation into the next evolutionary phase of spiritual development, and her strength comes from Her vulnerability. She is with us aware of the unique position we each occupy at an intersection of identity-forming categories. She knows, for example, the color of our skin, our gender and overall make up and how that has been impacted as well as impacts us within human-constructed, imposed or realized notions of s/Self. Knowing us, she makes the process personally meaningful. Call her Hecate, Oya, Mary, Guadalupe, Baba Yaga or Great Mother, but call Her. Let us open to her offerings of guidance, wisdom, energy and unabashed candor in our individual and collective quests for sustainability, truth, beauty and the kind of good, happy lives we most deeply want to have. She will listen and respond to our unique heart\'s song.\n\n<center>To learn more about the Dark Goddess and discover\n<i>How to build a Living Altar</i> for Her, <a title=\"How to Create a Living Altar to the Dark Goddess\" href=\"http://sharanya.org/mandala/how-to-create-a-living-altar-to-the-dark-goddess/\"><b>read on</b></a>...</center>','Why She & Why A Dark Goddess?','','inherit','open','open','','100110-autosave-v1','','','2013-09-23 16:11:05','2013-09-23 23:11:05','',100110,'<em><em>By Chandra Alexandre</em>\n\n<hr />\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-100111 imgborder\" alt=\"DarkGoddessParvati\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DarkGoddessParvati.jpg\" />\n\nHumanity is now experiencing a shift in evolut',0,'revision','',0),(100226,2,'2013-10-18 23:17:04','2013-10-19 06:17:04','<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\">Featured Article: Why She & Why a Dark Goddess</a></h2>\n<!-- Header image -->\n<a href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100107 imgborder\" alt=\"Dark Goddess Parvati\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DarkGoddessParvati.jpg\" /></a>\n\n<p>Humanity is now experiencing a shift in evolutionary consciousness especially catalyzed and facilitated by the Divine Female. Goddess, as She is often called, can be represented through a variety of guises, forms, and names; but it is because we tend to think of God as strictly male and usually transcendent that we avoid this term when speaking about Her, although she is nonetheless that. In this brief introduction to the Dark Goddess, we seek to shatter limiting notions of the Great Mystery and welcome you to Her embrace.</p>\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\">Read more...</a></em></strong></p>\n\n<br /><br />\n<h5>\n[tabgroup]\n\n[tab title=\"The Tradition\"] [blog category=\"48\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\n[tab title=\"Devi Inspirations\"] [blog category=\"46\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\n[tab title=\"Power & Presence\"] [blog category=\"47\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\n[/tabgroup]','Articles','','inherit','open','open','','99177-autosave-v1','','','2013-10-18 23:17:04','2013-10-19 06:17:04','',99177,'<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\">Featured Article: Why She & Why a Dark Goddess</a></h2>\n<!-- Header image -->\n<a href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\"><img cla',0,'revision','',0),(100227,2,'2013-09-23 16:15:34','2013-09-23 23:15:34','<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\">Featured Article: Why She & Why a Dark Goddess</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100107 imgborder\" alt=\"Dark Goddess Parvati\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DarkGoddessParvati.jpg\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<p>Humanity is now experiencing a shift in evolutionary consciousness especially catalyzed and facilitated by the Divine Female. Goddess, as She is often called, can be represented through a variety of guises, forms, and names; but it is because we tend to think of God as strictly male and usually transcendent that we avoid this term when speaking about Her, although she is nonetheless that. In this brief introduction to the Dark Goddess, we seek to shatter limiting notions of the Great Mystery and welcome you to Her embrace.</p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\">Read more...</a></em></strong></p>\r\n\r\n<br /><br />\r\n\r\n<strong><em></em></strong>[tabgroup]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"The Sha\'can Tradition\"] [blog category=\"48\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Goddess Inspirations\"] [blog category=\"46\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"Initiations, Power &amp; The Antinomian\"] [blog category=\"47\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n','Articles','','inherit','open','open','','99177-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 16:15:34','2013-09-23 23:15:34','',99177,'<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\">Featured Article: Why She & Why a Dark Goddess</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\"><img ',0,'revision','',0),(100228,2,'2013-09-23 16:16:36','2013-09-23 23:16:36','<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\">Featured Article: Why She & Why a Dark Goddess</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100107 imgborder\" alt=\"Dark Goddess Parvati\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DarkGoddessParvati.jpg\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<p>Humanity is now experiencing a shift in evolutionary consciousness especially catalyzed and facilitated by the Divine Female. Goddess, as She is often called, can be represented through a variety of guises, forms, and names; but it is because we tend to think of God as strictly male and usually transcendent that we avoid this term when speaking about Her, although she is nonetheless that. In this brief introduction to the Dark Goddess, we seek to shatter limiting notions of the Great Mystery and welcome you to Her embrace.</p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\">Read more...</a></em></strong></p>\r\n\r\n<br /><br />\r\n\r\n<strong><em></em></strong>[tabgroup]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"The Sha\'can Tradition\"] [blog category=\"48\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"Goddess Inspirations\"] [blog category=\"46\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[tab title=\"Initiations, Power &amp; The Antinomian\"] [blog category=\"47\" perpage=\"\" pagination=\"\" ][/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Articles','','inherit','open','open','','99177-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 16:16:36','2013-09-23 23:16:36','',99177,'<!-- BEGIN Featured Article -->\r\n<h2><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\">Featured Article: Why She & Why a Dark Goddess</a></h2>\r\n<!-- Header image -->\r\n<a href=\"/mandala/why-she-and-why-a-dark-goddess/\"><img ',0,'revision','',0),(100229,2,'2013-09-23 16:30:16','2013-09-23 23:30:16','<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379978974431.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/events/festivals/\">2013 Yoni Puja Festival</a></h1>\r\nOn the night of Sunday, June 9, 2013, we gathered together in community to celebrate the time when Goddess bleeds. Also known as Ambubachi Mela, this festival is a weaving of indigenous, Earth-centered, and Goddess mysteries. It culminates in the drinking of <I>yoni tattva</I>, the essence of the Divine Female.  \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[tabgroup]\r\n[tab title=\"Kali Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2009 Kali Puja Festival\" href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\">6th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-Fundraiser.jpg\" alt=\"6th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival-&amp;-Fundraiser\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100131 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, October 17, 2009, we gathered together in community to honor Kali,  Dark Goddess, Devourer of Time, She of No Beginning and No Ending, Mother of the Universe. The work of preparing for this annual celebration and festival was intense; and everyone in community worked overtime to make the space and our spirits ready to welcome Her in during this special Divali time, Festival of Lights, the Tantric New Year and opening to Kali\'s deepest mysteries. Prior to opening the doors to let everyone in for worship, some of SHARANYA\'s initiates and Daughters of Kali gathered to ground into the temple space and focus for the worship and work to be done.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">5th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"5th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100133 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of October 25th was our 5th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 80 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine our gathering. The evening was mild and warm, with a beautiful waning moon in the sky winding toward Divali. Incense, candles and beautiful, community-created altars to each of the cardinal directions blessed the space. Here is some of what we experienced together. Jai Maa! \r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-10-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">4th Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"4th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100137 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe night of November 10, 2007 was our 4th Annual Kali Puja Festival, a celebration of the Divine Mother. Over 70 people attended from all paths and backgrounds, bringing their curiosity, open hearts, and love of the Divine to our gathering. The evening was stormy, adding a special coziness to the ritual. This night, community gathers to create the sacred container for our evening\'s work. Much planning, thought and preparation goes into our Kali Puja!\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-11-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\">2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"2th-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100138 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOn the night of Saturday, November 5, 2005, SHARANYA community welcomed in the Divine Mother during our 2nd Annual Kali Puja Festival. Held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, just next to the life-giving ocean waters. About 50 devotees joined hands to cast our sacred circle for the night. Community built altars and decorated the space to create a magickal and memorable event. Each direction was consecrated. Here, we hailed the energies of the north.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2005-kali-puja-festival\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">First (2004) Annual Kali Puja Festival</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SHARANYAs-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"SHARANYA&#039;s-First-Annual-Kali-Puja-Festival\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100140 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2004-kali-puja-festival/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Yoni Puja Festivals\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">Yoni Puja (June 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-June-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(June-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100153 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-yoni-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]  \r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">Yoni Puja (2006 & 2007)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Puja-Spring-2006-Summer-2007.jpg\" alt=\"Yoni-Puja-(Spring-2006-&amp;-Summer-2007)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100154 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/first-yoni-pujas/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n[/tab]\r\n\r\n[tab title=\"Worship &amp; Events\"]\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (April 2010)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-April-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(April-2010)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100143 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2010-04-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (September 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-September-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(September-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100144 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-09-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100145 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">Trans/Trance: My Big Fat Gay Puja!</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja.jpg\" alt=\"TransTrance-My-Big-Fat-Gay-Puja\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100146 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-03-public-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (February 2009)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-February-2009.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(February-2009)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100147 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-02-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">Kali Puja (August 2008)</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kali-Puja-August-2008.jpg\" alt=\"Kali-Puja-(August-2008)\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100148 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2008-08-kali-puja/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<h2><a title=\"2007 Kali Puja SoCal\" href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\">Orange County Kali Puja</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop.jpg\" alt=\"Orange-County-Kali-Puja-Workshop\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100149 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2007-07-socal\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n<h2><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">South Altar at Spiral Dance</a></h2>\r\n<a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\"><img src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance.jpg\" alt=\"South-Altar-at-Spiral-Dance\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-100152 imgborder\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ut felis cursus, congue nunc eget, molestie felis. Maecenas dapibus convallis nunc sed malesuada. Morbi semper urna erat, ut vehicula sapien vulputate hendrerit. Cras venenatis convallis facilisis. Duis aliquet orci id placerat semper. Morbi vel dignissim mi. Morbi quis neque pulvinar, faucibus nunc ac, sodales neque. Phasellus fringilla eros ac magna semper, sed hendrerit nisi tincidunt. Nullam eu fringilla dui.\r\n\r\n<strong><em><a href=\"/galleries/2009-samhain-altar/\">View the gallery &gt;</a></em></strong>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[/tab]\r\n[/tabgroup]','Galleries','','inherit','open','open','','99940-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 16:30:16','2013-09-23 23:30:16','',99940,'<a href=\"/events/festivals/\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-80 imgborder\" alt=\"SHARANYA\'s 2013 Yoni Puja\" src=\"http://sharanya.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yoni-Altar-e1379978974431.jpg\" /></a>\r\n<h1><a title=\"2013 Yoni Puja Festival\" href=\"/ev',0,'revision','',0),(100230,2,'2013-09-23 16:31:44','2013-09-23 23:31:44','','Bagala Temple','','inherit','open','open','','india-2007-106','','','2013-09-23 16:31:44','2013-09-23 23:31:44','',0,'',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(100231,2,'2013-09-23 16:38:33','2013-09-23 23:38:33','Dear Kaula, Community, and Friends of SHARANYA:\n\nI\'m excited to report that, <i><b><span>Crafting Puja for Maa: Understanding Ritual &amp; the Devotional Experience in the Sha\'can Tradition of Western Shakta Tantra,</span></b></i> was chosen for presentation at the <a href=\"http://www.aarweb.org/Meetings/Annual_Meeting/Current_Meeting/default.asp\">American Academy of Religion</a>\'s national conference held from November 7-9, 2009 in Montreal. The presentation was part of the <a href=\"http://www.aarweb.org/Meetings/Annual_Meeting/Current_Meeting/Program_Book/default.asp?ANum=A8-270&amp;DayTime=&amp;KeyWord=&amp;Submit=View+Program+Book#results\">New Religious Movement</a> section within a rich and relatively diverse forum under the theme, <a href=\"http://www.aarweb.org/Meetings/Annual_Meeting/Current_Meeting/Program_Book/default.asp?ANum=A8-270&amp;DayTime=&amp;KeyWord=&amp;Submit=View+Program+Book#results\"><i>The Turn East Revisited: New Religions from Asian Traditions</i></a>.\n\nMany contributed to my research and I\'m deeply grateful for all of your efforts. Thank you! You can view results in <a href=\"http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1410091117\">SHARANYA\'s November newsletter</a>. As you engage the material, please feel free to send any questions you may have and let me know what you think. <a href=\"https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&amp;fs=1&amp;tf=1&amp;to=chandra@sharanya.org\" target=\"_blank\">Email me!</a>.\n\nFor your reference, here\'s the proposal and abstract:\n<blockquote>Through a confluence of feminism, goddess-focused spiritualities, and access to various forms of Hinduism, as well as given a growing Indian-American population with Hindu diasporic roots and bi-cultural sensibilities, a Western Shakta Hindu perspective and related forms of worship and practice are emerging today that assert both authenticity and independence from the Hindu source. One such emergence is the countercultural religious tradition known as Sha\'can, a Western Shakta Tantra.\n\nIn this paper, I discuss the history of the tradition and examine the ways in which Shakta and Tantric Hindu beliefs and practices have been assimilated, transmitted, or otherwise adopted and incorporated into modes and methods of worship. The question of appropriation will be addressed and evaluated. Other roots or influences within the tradition, such as ecofeminism and Western earth-based spiritualities, will be elucidated, using interview material from Sha\'can practitioners of various geographic and demographic backgrounds to do so. In this vein, the paper will also briefly engage the question of if or how Sha\'can sits within the recognized Indo-Pagan movement.\n\nUsing this as a backdrop for the creation of deeper understanding of the tradition\'s emphasis on \"the bridging of East and West through (r)evolutionary, embodied spirituality, sadhana (spiritual practice), wisdom teachings, and worship of the Goddess in Her myriad forms,\" and especially as Kali Maa, \"our beloved Dark Mother...a change agent for our times...helping to transform, empower, and heal individuals, communities, and the planet,\" I will then relate my own experience as a leader in the San Francisco-based SHARANYA community where the Sha\'can tradition originally evolved, sharing personal experiences of coming to the divine as Maa Kali and how that shaped the formation of the community in 1998.\n\nGiven this history and context, the focus of the paper will be demonstration of the evolution of spiritual practice in the tradition, particularly noting how emphasis on personal connection to the Divine is made manifest for both those who lead (whether as primary officiant or inner circle community member) and those who participate in Sha\'can pujas (whether as an initiate in the tradition or someone in the extended family of community members). This research will then be juxtaposed with both Shakta Hindu temple puja, and ceremonies conducted for the public by Pagan covens or similar earth-based spiritual organizations. From this, the boundaries of Sha\'can ritual will be delineated, offering insight into Shakta Hindu and Western religious sources, as well as innovations of the tradition.\n\nAn exploration of how public puja (worship), as a centerpiece of Sha\'can\'s commitment to engaged spirituality, is performed, when it is performed, by whom, using what symbols, icons, and forms, why it is performed, and noting who/what is invoked as deity will help uncover: i) how participants\' experience is facilitated; and ii) the nature of that experience.\n\nThe specific nature of practitioners\' experience will be further studied relative to the bhakti (devotional) path within Hinduism and the religio-cultural norms of the developed West (particularly the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia) in which the vast majority of practitioners reside. This will be done in order to answer the question, \"What is the experience of devotees in Sha\'can ritual?\" I will argue that the answers to this question may help underscore the importance of the tradition as an exciting case study for the development of Hinduism in America with ramifications for the new religious movement.\n\n<strong>Abstract:</strong>\n\nHinduism is a source of inspiration in myriad Western spiritual communities, with practitioners offering devotions to Hindu deities on their home altars as readily as they supplicate resurrected and reconstructed divinities from other pantheons. Combine this trend with a confluence of feminism, goddess-focused spiritualities, and a growing Indian-American population that has Hindu diasporic roots and bi-cultural sensibilities, and we witness the birthing of new, culturally relevant and accessible Hinduisms. This paper explores the particulars of ritual and devotion within the countercultural religious tradition known as Sha\'can, a Western Shakta Tantra, in order to offer insight into Shakta Hindu and Western sources with the possibility for an exciting case study at the crossroads of East and West that has potential ramifications for the new religious movement.</blockquote>\nJai Maa!\n\n<em>Chandra</em>\n\nRashani Chandranath Alexandre, Ph.D., D.Min.\nFounder &amp; Executive Director\nSHARANYA / The Maa Batakali Cultural Mission, Inc.\n415.505.6840\n415.723.7299 (fax)\nwww.SHARANYA.org\nWhere East Meets West in Her Name\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Visita Inferiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem\n~ Yaireva Patanam Dravyaih Siddhih Taireva ~</p>','Crafting Puja for Maa','','inherit','open','open','','100124-autosave-v1','','','2013-09-23 16:38:33','2013-09-23 23:38:33','',100124,'Dear Kaula, Community, and Friends of SHARANYA:\n\nI\'m excited to report that, <i><b><span>Crafting Puja for Maa: Understanding Ritual &amp; the Devotional Experience in the Sha\'can Tradition of Western Shakta Tantra,</span></b></i> was chosen for presentat',0,'revision','',0),(100232,2,'2013-09-23 16:39:11','2013-09-23 23:39:11','Dear Kaula, Community, and Friends of SHARANYA:\r\n\r\nI\'m excited to report that, <i><b><span>Crafting Puja for Maa: Understanding Ritual &amp; the Devotional Experience in the Sha\'can Tradition of Western Shakta Tantra,</span></b></i> was chosen for presentation at the <a href=\"http://www.aarweb.org/Meetings/Annual_Meeting/Current_Meeting/default.asp\">American Academy of Religion</a>\'s national conference held from November 7-9, 2009 in Montreal. The presentation was part of the <a href=\"http://www.aarweb.org/Meetings/Annual_Meeting/Current_Meeting/Program_Book/default.asp?ANum=A8-270&amp;DayTime=&amp;KeyWord=&amp;Submit=View+Program+Book#results\">New Religious Movement</a> section within a rich and relatively diverse forum under the theme, <a href=\"http://www.aarweb.org/Meetings/Annual_Meeting/Current_Meeting/Program_Book/default.asp?ANum=A8-270&amp;DayTime=&amp;KeyWord=&amp;Submit=View+Program+Book#results\"><i>The Turn East Revisited: New Religions from Asian Traditions</i></a>.\r\n\r\nMany contributed to my research and I\'m deeply grateful for all of your efforts. Thank you! You can view results in <a href=\"http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1410091117\">SHARANYA\'s November newsletter</a>. For your reference, here\'s the proposal and abstract:\r\n\r\n<blockquote>Through a confluence of feminism, goddess-focused spiritualities, and access to various forms of Hinduism, as well as given a growing Indian-American population with Hindu diasporic roots and bi-cultural sensibilities, a Western Shakta Hindu perspective and related forms of worship and practice are emerging today that assert both authenticity and independence from the Hindu source. One such emergence is the countercultural religious tradition known as Sha\'can, a Western Shakta Tantra.\r\n\r\nIn this paper, I discuss the history of the tradition and examine the ways in which Shakta and Tantric Hindu beliefs and practices have been assimilated, transmitted, or otherwise adopted and incorporated into modes and methods of worship. The question of appropriation will be addressed and evaluated. Other roots or influences within the tradition, such as ecofeminism and Western earth-based spiritualities, will be elucidated, using interview material from Sha\'can practitioners of various geographic and demographic backgrounds to do so. In this vein, the paper will also briefly engage the question of if or how Sha\'can sits within the recognized Indo-Pagan movement.\r\n\r\nUsing this as a backdrop for the creation of deeper understanding of the tradition\'s emphasis on \"the bridging of East and West through (r)evolutionary, embodied spirituality, sadhana (spiritual practice), wisdom teachings, and worship of the Goddess in Her myriad forms,\" and especially as Kali Maa, \"our beloved Dark Mother...a change agent for our times...helping to transform, empower, and heal individuals, communities, and the planet,\" I will then relate my own experience as a leader in the San Francisco-based SHARANYA community where the Sha\'can tradition originally evolved, sharing personal experiences of coming to the divine as Maa Kali and how that shaped the formation of the community in 1998.\r\n\r\nGiven this history and context, the focus of the paper will be demonstration of the evolution of spiritual practice in the tradition, particularly noting how emphasis on personal connection to the Divine is made manifest for both those who lead (whether as primary officiant or inner circle community member) and those who participate in Sha\'can pujas (whether as an initiate in the tradition or someone in the extended family of community members). This research will then be juxtaposed with both Shakta Hindu temple puja, and ceremonies conducted for the public by Pagan covens or similar earth-based spiritual organizations. From this, the boundaries of Sha\'can ritual will be delineated, offering insight into Shakta Hindu and Western religious sources, as well as innovations of the tradition.\r\n\r\nAn exploration of how public puja (worship), as a centerpiece of Sha\'can\'s commitment to engaged spirituality, is performed, when it is performed, by whom, using what symbols, icons, and forms, why it is performed, and noting who/what is invoked as deity will help uncover: i) how participants\' experience is facilitated; and ii) the nature of that experience.\r\n\r\nThe specific nature of practitioners\' experience will be further studied relative to the bhakti (devotional) path within Hinduism and the religio-cultural norms of the developed West (particularly the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia) in which the vast majority of practitioners reside. This will be done in order to answer the question, \"What is the experience of devotees in Sha\'can ritual?\" I will argue that the answers to this question may help underscore the importance of the tradition as an exciting case study for the development of Hinduism in America with ramifications for the new religious movement.\r\n\r\n<strong>Abstract:</strong>\r\n\r\nHinduism is a source of inspiration in myriad Western spiritual communities, with practitioners offering devotions to Hindu deities on their home altars as readily as they supplicate resurrected and reconstructed divinities from other pantheons. Combine this trend with a confluence of feminism, goddess-focused spiritualities, and a growing Indian-American population that has Hindu diasporic roots and bi-cultural sensibilities, and we witness the birthing of new, culturally relevant and accessible Hinduisms. This paper explores the particulars of ritual and devotion within the countercultural religious tradition known as Sha\'can, a Western Shakta Tantra, in order to offer insight into Shakta Hindu and Western sources with the possibility for an exciting case study at the crossroads of East and West that has potential ramifications for the new religious movement.</blockquote>\r\nJai Maa!\r\n\r\n<em>Chandra</em>\r\n\r\nRashani Chandranath Alexandre, Ph.D., D.Min.\r\nFounder &amp; Executive Director\r\nSHARANYA / The Maa Batakali Cultural Mission, Inc.\r\n415.505.6840\r\n415.723.7299 (fax)\r\nwww.SHARANYA.org\r\nWhere East Meets West in Her Name\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Visita Inferiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem\r\n~ Yaireva Patanam Dravyaih Siddhih Taireva ~</p>','Crafting Puja for Maa','','inherit','open','open','','100124-revision-v1','','','2013-09-23 16:39:11','2013-09-23 23:39:11','',100124,'Dear Kaula, Community, and Friends of SHARANYA:\r\n\r\nI\'m excited to report that, <i><b><span>Crafting Puja for Maa: Understanding Ritual &amp; the Devotional Experience in the Sha\'can Tradition of Western Shakta Tantra,</span></b></i> was chosen for present',0,'revision','',0),(100233,2,'2013-09-23 16:40:32','2013-09-23 23:40:32','','Kali Maa','','inherit','open','open','','081310-ybca-bowls-project','','','2013-09-23 16:40:32','2013-09-23 23:40:32','',0,'',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),