What is a Kitchen Witch?

Kitchen witchery is getting back to the roots of the Craft. Back before the "Burning Times" back before the Dark Ages, but back when the Craft was practiced by men and women working around their hearth-fires in their small and simple dwellings. They didn't have kitchens, or even rooms as we know them today - but they had areas of their homes that were specifically for a certain purpose - sleeping, eating, cooking, crafting etc etc etc.

Back in the days where the village wise-men and wise-women were free and respected, when they were the people to turn to for help and problem solving. Their homes would be filled with the bits and pieces they would need for their Craft - herbs, sticks and stones, bottles and pouches. They would have used the same tools for their Craft as they would have used in their day-to-day living - cooking pot, cutting knives, wooden spoons, chopping boards, bowls...they may have used separate tools for magickal work than ordinary cooking, but the tools would have looked the same nonetheless.

Modern witchcraft is very often equated to Wicca, and to many they are one and the same. However, there are many that identify with Witch but not Wicca (there are also those who identify with Wicca and not Witch). Wicca is the religion, it has the ceremonial rituals, the distinction between magickal and mundane. Witchcraft is the practice, it's the down and dirty end of magick.

Kitchen Witch, Green Witch, Hedge Witch - these are all terms for those witches not desiring to follow the theatrics of a religion, but who prefer to work their Craft. To connect on a daily basis to Life, to Nature, and where best to do that but in the heart of their homes? I'm not saying that Wicca doesn't desire these same things, but they have different methods of doing it.

To a Kitchen Witch, the kitchen is sacred. It's where the magick happens, whether it's mixing up a potion, or cooking up a family dinner. Kitchen Witches use the same tools for magickal work as they do for mundane, as ALL work is magickal, and by using these tools, it puts in our energies and binds them to us, makes them more powerful and meaningful. We don't save our tools for "best" - every day is a reason to get the "best" out from the back of the cupboard.

A Kitchen Witch is often a good cook also, and knows a trick or two about keeping house. A house is more than just a home for a kitchen witch - it is their sacred space, and the heart of the home, the place where this magick takes place - that is the kitchen...

Love and hugs

Blaidd

Undines & Mermaids

Undines & Mermaids


The water elementals fall into two distinct sections: freshwater elementals who dwell inland and saltwater elementals who inhabit the seas and oceans.

The freshwater elementals are known as undines. They are generally portrayed as female in art and literature. Though their male counterparts do exist, they are rarer.

Undines are the Faerie Priests and Priestesses of water, the spirits and guardians of wells, lakes, trickling streams and natural springs. Their element governs the emotions and feelings that run deep within us. Water also holds connections and gateways to the Otherworlds. Although when you look into water it reflects earthly reality, beneath the surface is another place of an entirely different quality. Water is the magic looking glass into Faerie land, both symbolically and actually.

As with all elementals, undines should be treated with respect, for they reflect the facets of their element. One moment a lake can be a beautiful place, reflecting the sun’s rays and bringing a sense of peacefulness and in another moment it can be responsible for injury or death. Just as water should be respected, so should the undines. However this does not mean you should not work with them, as they can lead you on journeys to illuminate the inner self and can reflect your emotions so that you can see them more clearly.

An undine’s appearance is traditionally that of a beautiful and alluring young woman resembling a female human in every way. Undines are very often exquisitely beautiful, so much so that in myth and legend mortal men have a hard time resisting their beckoning advances. They have extremely luxuriant hair and many sing so finely that it is a perfect sound.

The saltwater elementals are most known for their merpeople. Mermaids are the female faeries of the sea kingdoms; they are the magic in the waves and the whispering in a seashell. They keep beneath the tides the hidden enchantment which most humans have ceased to believe in.

The appearance of a mermaid is of course legendary, with the upper body of a bewitching young woman, usually with very long hair. Her legs are replaced by the tail of a fish.

There are many seafaring legends of mermaids. Some are said to have saved the lives of sailors from stormy seas, whereas others have summoned storms to cause a shipwreck.

Like the undines, they have exquisite singing voices and lure mortal men to be their lovers. Some have been known to marry human lovers and bear their children, although they always yearn for the sea and some do eventually return, with or without their human husbands.

Sea elementals take many other forms apart from mermaids, including the selkies, who are the seal people, the merrows who are the Irish sea people, the kelpies who are the water horses and the morgans of Cornwall and Brittany, who are the alluring sea people. All sea elementals demand the same respect as the element of water and are a privilege to work with.

Tansy
x



Information taken from  – Faeriecraft by Alicen & Neil Geddes Ward
Water element kit available from http://www.kitchenwitch.org/

Beltane

Beltain/Beltane
 Festival of Fertility and Union

The name originates from the Celtic god, Bel - the 'bright one', and the Gaelic word 'teine' meaning fire, giving the name 'bealttainn', meaning 'bright fire'.

This is the beginning of the light half of the year when the Sun begins to set later in the evening . To our ancestors Beltane was the coming of summer and fertility. The fields are sown, the crops are growing, and in the cycle of the farming year, although there is always some work to be done, there is now a little time to relax and enjoy things for a while before the next surge of activity at harvest time. So, it is a time for rejoicing. It is a time for sharing. It is a time for new beginnings - which may well include courtship and marriage, but can also refer to any field of human endeavour.

It officially begins at moonrise on May Day Eve, and marks the beginning of the third quarter or second half of the ancient Celtic year. It accompanies the first turning of the herds out to wild pasture. The rituals were held to promote fertility. Animals were transferred from winter pens to summer pastures, and were driven between the Beltane fires to cleanse them of evil spirits and to bring fertility and a good milk yield. The Celts leapt over Beltane fires - for fertility and purification.Contact with the fire was interpreted as symbolic contact with the sun. In early Celtic times, the druids kindled the Beltane fires with specific incantations. Later the Christian church took over the Beltane observances, a service was held in the church, followed by a procession to the fields or hills, where the priest kindled the fire. The rowan branch is hung over the house fire on May Day to preserve the fire itself from bewitchment .

This is a holiday of Union both between the Goddess and the God and between man and woman. Handfastings are traditional at this time. It is a time of fertility and harvest, the time for reaping the wealth from the seeds that we have sown. We celebrate sexuality, we celebrate life and the unity which fosters it.
The Lord and his Lady, having reached maturity, come together in Perfect Love and Perfect Trust to celebrate the joy of their union. This is a time to celebrate the coming together of the masculine and feminine creative energies. Beltane marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Stirred by the energies at work in nature, he desired the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among the grasses and blossoms and unite.
The flowers and greenery symbolise the Goddess and the Maypole represents the God. Beltane marks the return of vitality and passion of summer. Another common focal point of the Beltane rituals is the cauldron, which represents the Goddess.

It is a time to ask yourself what will you focus on? What can you change to make life better? What can you do to spread goodwill? Let the energy of Beltane carry you closer to your goals.

Beltane activities could include watching the sun rise, have a camp out, sit around a fire with friends, jump the Beltane fire leaving behind anything that is holding you back, make and walk a spiral or labyrinth and of course dance around the maypole!

Symbols are May garlands, the Maypole, May dolls, Beltane fire, the May King and Queen, The Green Man, John Barleycorn, the hobbyhorse, mummery, flowers, mirrors and the Fae.

Deity: Aphrodite, Artemis, Bast, Diana, Flora, Lady of the Greenwood, May Queen, Prithvi, Rhea, Venus, Bel, Green Man, Herne, Horned God, Jack in the Green, May King, Pan

Colours: Sky blue, light green, lavender, orange, pink, peach, red, turquoise, white, yellow

Gemstones: Sapphires, bloodstones, emeralds, orange carnelians and rose quartz.

Herbs: Almond, angelica, ash trees, birch trees, bluebells, cinquefoil, daisies, frankincense, hawthorn, ivy, lilac, marigolds, primroses, rosemary, roses, satyrion root, woodruff and yellow cowslip.

Happy Beltane!

Tansy
x

Reincarnation - the Sandwich Theory

Where do we go when we die? Ha! Where indeed. Personally, I like the theory raised in the author Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, that after we die we go wherever we believe we were going to go whilst we were alive. He had an anthropomorphic personification of Death meeting the souls of the newly departed, and he waited with them in the brief pause in the transition between the Living World and the After Life. These souls passed on to wherever they thought that they should go, which included fading into nothingness if they just didn't believe in an afterlife.

I also like CS Lewis' explanation, when his world of Narnia came to an end, all the souls passed through a small shed and into another Narnia, more real than the "real" one - something that possibly mirrors the idea of the Summerlands. Colours are more colourful, tastes and smells tastier and smellier (or perhaps that should be more aromatic).

Put very simplistically, the Christians have their angelic, cloudy Heaven and fiery, demonic Hell. The other monotheistic religions have something similar. The Greeks had their uninviting underworld of Hades, where the dead souls go to eternally suffer for their crimes in life. The Norse had Valhalla, where the souls of warriors were snatched from where they fell on the battlefield by valkyries, to feast and carouse in the Halls until Ragnarok and the end of days. Hindus see this world as the Afterlife, with souls being reincarnated back into this world, and hopefully attaining a higher state of consciousness in the process.

The Irish have their Isle of Blest, or Tir Na N'Og, a paradise somewhere to the west of Ireland. Wiccans have their Summerlands, also a paradise, where the souls reside and reflect until reincarnation into this world.

Some believe the Celts saw death as a transition to another, parallel life, a rebirth there after a death here. Just the other day I tried explaining this to my 8 year old daughter, she likes learning about the Celts and the Romans. I likened it to the two slices of bread in a sandwich - two identical pieces of bread, each a perfect copy of the other, but separated by the filling. When we die in one piece of bread, we are reborn in the other piece, live out a lifetime there, and return to the original piece of bread in the subquent cycle. We continue alternating our bread residences, living out lifetime after lifetime, perhaps growing a little more with each incarnation.

I don't really believe that we exist inside a sandwich (filling of your choice), but we could do - who knows! Whether it's heaven or hell, Summerlands or this world, there is an Afterlife. Personally, I believe that we are reborn, whether in this slice of bread, or another slice, but I think that the next world will look pretty much like this one, but perhaps more colourful and smellier (or is that aromatic!)

Love and hugs

Blaidd

Unicorns

The unicorn, king of all equines is found in folklore throughout the world. It is most usually depicted as a pure white horse with a long spiral horn projecting from its forehead.

However in some cultures it is more stag than horse like, while in other parts of the world it has the appearance of a goat, and it may be grey, black, blue, roan or dappled in colour.


The unicorn is a symbol of purity and innocence and is thus associated with young children. Unicorns are also connected with magic, enchantment, the faerie realm, speed, beauty, chastity, valour and ferocity when needd. Legend states that a unicorn gallps so swiftly it can never be captured. Instead it has to be lured into a trap baited with a fair maiden (a virgin). The unicorn cannot resist the attraction of innocence and will always fall into the trap.

Unicorns were said to live in forests or groves of apple trees. The apple is of course a symbol of Avalon, the Celtic Otherworld and this association illustrates the unicorn’s ability to move between the worlds. He is a guardian of treasures kept in a chest made of cedarwood, and he is also believed to hold the secrets of true alchemy. The use of apple or cedarwood essential oil in ritual can help you to connect with this beautiful creature.

Although unicorns are not considered to have a physical existence on the material plane, there have nevertheless been occasional sightings of them. It is not clear what prompts them to make such a visitation. These beautiful creatures have much to teach us if we open our hearts and minds and let them in. It represents good will, fame, prosperity, gentleness, purity, strength of mind. Individual power that is unlimited. For wisdom with success. Developing personal power.

The allicorn is the name given to the spiraling horn on the unicorn’s head. It is blessed with magical properties, and at one time it was believed that the unicorn had been hunted to extinction for the gift of its horn. During the Middle Ages many fake allicorns were in circulation and were widely accepted as genuine. They were used as magical wands and were fashioned into drinking horns, as the main attribute of the allicorn was that it could detect all poisons and purity them, rendering them harmless. Allicorns were also said to be able to purity water. It was believed that a unicorn would dip its horn into a lake or stream before drinking from it.


Spell to see a unicorn


The unicorn can be quite shy, so do you best to attune with its energy before you call it. You could do this by beginning to collect statues and pictures of unicorns, or make your own unicorn art. Alternatively work with unicorns in your meditations. Once you feel that you have made a psychic link with the unicorn, perform this spell.

What you need:

A picture or object to represent the unicorn realm, illuminator candles and matches or a lighter.

Light the illuminator candles on your altar and cast your usual Circle.

Focusing on the unicorn picture or object, bring to mind the image of a unicorn. When you have the image clear, call out the following invocation (or one of your own choosing)

I send these words through time and space
To bring a unicorn to this place
Be it today, or be it soon
Be it by the light of the magical moon
Be it in flesh or be it in dreams
The beautiful unicorn will be seen
By I who walk the witch’s road
Unicorn strength now lightens my load
Unicorn come to me
Your beauty I would wish to see
Unicorn come to me!
This is my will, so mote it be!

Close the circle. In the weeks that follow, make careful note of your dreams. This may be where the unicorn makes its appearance.


Tansy
x



Spell taken from Magical Beasts by Marie Bruce, edited by Tansy
Unicorn animal spirit stone available from Kitchen Witch website

Handfasting

Handfasting

This lovely ritual has it roots in ancient times and many believe that it developed in the Celtic cultures of Europe and the British Isles.

Originally it was a betrothal or a promise of marriage between two people who would then spend a traditional term of a year and day together to see if they were compatible. After this time, and if they were in agreement the vows could be taken again and they would be considered married.

The Handfasting ritual takes its name from the joining and tying of the hands of the couple to be wed, usually with cords. This is where the term "tying the knot" comes from today in reference to getting married. The Handfasting ritual would have been performed by an important member of the community - chieftain, Priest, Priestess, Shaman or Elder, who would have guided the couple through the ritual and presided over them as they exchanged vows in front of witnesses, probably the whole community. The witnessing of the ritual by friends and the community would make it law in the eyes of the community as no official records would have been kept until the introduction of a "Church based" wedding.


This custom spanned the centuries and was still legal in many parts until 1753 when one Lord Hardwick passed an Act through Parliament declaring that marriages in England could only be legal if sanctioned by the Church. This law however was exempt in both Scotland and the Channel Islands. The Act set the precedence for modern Church marriages in the UK ever since with some updates being allowed for modern times. However Handfastings continued to be legal in Scotland up until 1939, particularly in the Highlands and Islands where they may not have had a permanent Clergyman. If this was the case a Handfasting ritual could be performed and then when a traveling Clergyman visited the community the marriage could then be legalised by the Church. As a direct result of Lord Hardwick's Act and its strict marriage laws the famous town of Gretna Green became popular with English couples running away to get married as Scotland was outside the jurisdiction of English law. Today, Handfasting is the choice of many Pagans and Magical Folk when choosing to commit to a partner. It is sometimes, although not always preceded by a civil ceremony. Whether or not the marriage has been legally performed, in the eyes of the pagan community the couple Handfasted are seen as married within Pagan tradition. For those people who follow a Pagan Path the vows taken within a Handfasting ceremony are no less binding than those taken in a Church or Registry Office.

Besom Weddings - Jumping the Broom


I have read about what was called the ‘besom wedding’, an unofficial custom that was considered quite lawful in parts of Wales until recent times. A birch besom was placed aslant in the open doorway of the house, with its head on the doorstep and the top of its handle on the door-post. First a young man jumped over it, then his bride, in the presence of witnesses. If either touched or knocked it in any way, the marriage was not recognised. In this kind of marriage, a woman kept her own home and did not become the property of her husband. It was a partnership, “cyd-fydio,” rather than an ownership. A child of the marriage was considered to be legitimate. If the couple decided to divorce, they simply jumped back over the broomstick again, but this could only be done in the first year of marriage. If a child had come, it was the father’s responsibility.

Slave marriages

Broomstick ceremonies in the USA began on pre-Civil War plantations whose owners prohibited Christian or civil weddings among slaves. The desire of couples to bond for life in a sanctified ceremony won out, however, as slaves created their own ceremonies, which included an eclectic mix of rituals from different African tribes. The traditional slave marriage ceremony called "jumping the broomstick." was informal. The bride and groom jump over a broom lying on the ground. It was a symbol for sweeping out the old and welcoming the new as their married life starts.

"Tradition says that whoever jumps the highest will make the decisions in the family," says Hunter. "If one doesn't jump, the other wears the pants."

Dark an' stormy may come de wedder

I jines dis he-male an' dis she'male togedder.
Let none, but Him dat makes de thunder,
Put dis he-male and dis she-male asunder.
I darefor 'nounce you bofe de same.
Be good, go 'long, an' keep up yo' name.
De broomstick's jumped, de world not wide.
She's now yo' own. Salute yo' bride!


A song found in the sheet music of "At an Ole Virginia Wedding" and is dated Sept. 9, 1900


Tansy
x

Camellia - the flower of riches!

Camellia – the money flower!


I have a beautiful camellia bush in my garden that is covered with pink blossoms. I pick up the flowers once they have dropped on the ground and place them on my altar, as they stay in perfect condition for several days afterwards.

The camellia was one of the Chinese imports that arrived in Europe and Britain in the 19th century. A shrubby plant with delicate blooms in white, pink or red.

The name Camellia was also used by Tolkien – Camellia Baggins who was Otho’s mother and Lobelia’s mother in law.

The camellia brings riches and luxury, and so is used in spells of this kind.

Place the blossoms in vessels of water on your altar during money and prosperity rituals, or try this money spell:

Camellia Money Spell


These lovely Moon ruled blooms are good for money spells. Just before Full Moon, place a bowl of them on your altar and drop three silver coins in between the blooms, naming one for money to spend, one for a loved one to spend it on and the third for the wisdom to spend it wisely. When your rite is over, take the three coins and keep them in a piece of cotton. Press one of the flowers between two sheets of tissue paper and keep that with the coins as your fortune begins to grow.

Gender: Feminine
Planet: Moon
Element: Water
Powers: Riches


Tansy
x


The spell was taken from Power of the Moon by Teresa Moorey

Dress Up Smart, We're Shopping at Waitrose

Radio 4's Thought for the Day this morning talked about segregation in our society - and how the only place left that wasn't segregated in some way were our buildings of worship. In our "christian but multi-faith ethnic multi-culturality" he couldn't say churches, and besides, he was a Rabbi, and couldn't say synagogues either. I don't particularly agree with that sentiment, but perhaps that's because I don't particularly agree with buildings of worship.

He talked about our society being limited by boundaries, and as we "advance" we become more and more limited by these boundaries. By class, by neighbourhoods, by cultures, by ages, by gender. But it's really all in the mind, segregation is a Choice.

It happens when we see something Different to what we know and are comfortable with. Be it skin colour, knowing which knife to use when, the etiquette of bus use. It comes down to behaviour, and knowing how one should behave in a given situation. When we don't know what we should do, we are uncomfortable and we choose to avoid that situation - we segregate ourselves, and we miss out on the chance of learning and expanding our horizons.

If we choose to step over the boundaries we find that we gain much understanding, and realise that segregation is based on fears, and besides, it's pretty good at population management too, but that's another issue ;)

Myself and my best friend at the time were the first girls to choose Technology for an O Level option at 14. I was the only female on my unversity course for the first two years. Some of the best experiences of my life have been when I have stepped outside of my boundaries. I never got to climb up inside the chimney at the power station I did my year's work experience (it was the third tallest in the country) but I got to climb inside a 150 foot tall boiler (obviously not working at the time!) There is something spectacular in massive machinery - not quite comparable to Nature's own work, but awe inspiring nonetheless.

In my town there is a particular road that delineates between affluent and non-affluent neighbourhoods. South of that road, the house get gradually bigger and more expensive, until you end up in Sandbanks, one of the most expensive postcodes in the country. North of that road the houses are cramped together and small, many owned by the council and housing associations. The road itself is full of cheap shops. All except Waitrose.

Waitrose chose to move to this road several years ago, and it's here that I find an end to segregation. Here there are the young single parents with their baby buggies shopping side-by-side with the affluent business couple with their Jaguar down in the car-park. Waitrose have brought the classes together, they've brought people and cultures together.

Segregation is all in the mind, we are limited by our own fears of inadequacy. Take the risk, step outside, stand out and be proud, shop at Waitrose and don't dress smart just because there are posh people there.

Moonstone

Moonstone


I was once given a moonstone by a lady that runs a witchcraft store when I mentioned to her that I was leading my first ritual, she gave it to me to take with me. I also have a beautiful ring that I purchased some years ago that has a rainbow moonstone.

The Romans thought moonstone was formed out of pure moonlight because of its silvery gleaming hue. It is the stone of moon goddesses everywhere, especially the Greek moon and love goddess Aphrodite and Selene, the Greco-Roman full moon goddess.

According to legend, blue moonstones, the most rare and precious moonstones are washed up on shore only on the night of the blue moon, the second full moon to fall in the same month.

Throughout the Orient and in Europe the moonstone is associated with love and was worn to attract a lover. In India lovers spoke their vows over matching moonstones empowered by the light of the full moon to ensure continuing love and fidelity so long as the moon is in the sky.

Moonstone is especially healing for woman, though it helps with hormonal and thyroid problems with both males and females. For women it eases trouble with fluid retention, PMT, menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, the menopause and fertility. Moonstone helps to lesson mood swings and prevents overreacting to situations and the pressures of others. It relieves insomnia, nightmares and hormonal and stress related headaches.

A dish of moonstones in the main sitting area at home helps to ease the tensions of the day and to mark the transition between the world of home and work. Moonstone also helps the body clock adjust for those that work shifts.

Moonstone is a favourite with children. It prevents night terrors and helps wakeful children establish a regular sleep pattern. It will promote calm in hyperactive children by helping them to get in touch with natural rhythms.

A moonstone near a cat bed will prevent the cat from straying too far at night.

Moonstones protect travellers, especially those who travel at night and on the sea. Frequent travellers should keep one in the glove box of a car for safe night driving and as protection against road rage. Other travellers can keep a moonstone in their luggage.

As one of the most magickal stones, the moonstone plays a central part in allowing positive energies to flow in rituals, especially moon magick, and for developing psychic abilities in a safe, gradual way. During the full and waning moon, and for all readings at night, moonstone is a powerful trigger for divination and prophecy.

For personal divination, ask a question and drop five moonstones into a crystal bowl of water lit by the moon or by silver candles. The ripples as each falls into the water will suggest an image in your mind’s eye and the five images will answer your question.

You can also place a moonstone on your brow before sleep while you ask your question. The answer should appear in a dream.

Moonstone is also associated with the growth of plants. Bury one in the soil when planting herbs in the three days before the full moon.

Moonstone is believed to absorb the powers of the moon, becoming deeper in colour, more translucent and more powerful for healing as the moon waxes until it reaches full moon. As the moon wanes, the moonstone becomes paler and releases gentler energy, encouraging rest and withdrawal from frantic activity.

On the night of the full moon, leave your crystals in a dish from moonrise to moon set to recharge them.

Rainbow moonstone:

Believed in classical times to absorb moon and starlight, rainbow moonstone increases in translucence or becomes dull in response to the underlying mood of the person carrying or wearing it.

The iridescence is caused by what may appear to be insect like inclusions, these are in fact tiny prismatic fractures that reflect rainbows.

Tansy
x



Source - Healing Crystals by Cassandra Eason

Hindu Deity

I have been looking at Hindu Gods & Goddesses today, some of the artwork for them is beautiful. I have listed in brief only but a few that I found today:

Ganesha
All Tantric and spiritual worship in the Hindu tradition begins with the invocation of Lord Ganesha (or Lord Ganesh) the elephant headed god.

Ganesha became the Lord of all existing beings after winning a contest from his brother Kartikay. When given the task to race around the universe, Ganesha did not start the race like Kartikay did, but simply walked around Shiva and Parvati, both is father and mother as the source of all existence.

Acceptance of Ganesha as the divine force stills the rational mind and its doubts, forcing one to look beyond outer appearances. Thus Ganesha creates the faith to remove all obstacles, forcing one to look beyond form, removing doubts and pointing out the spiritual side of everything. Ganesha is thus often worshipped to remove obstacles.

Shakti
Shakti is the divine force, manifesting to destroy demonic forces and restore balance. Every God in Hinduisim has his Shakti and without that energy they have no power.

So Shakti is the mother goddess, the source of all, the universal principle of energy, power or creativity. The worship of Shakti as this energy is the main objective of Tantra Yoga. Shakti is inseperable from the one who beholds her, the Shakti-man, the masculine principle or universal father. Shakti-man is called Brahma or Shiva.

The play of female energy has no beginning and no end. Although it is restless, the energy moves through alternating periods of motion and rest, during which order is re-established. Tantra believes that as long as the phenomenal world exists, it is the Universal mother who is the creator, preserver.

Shiva
Shiva is the god of the yogis, self controlled and celibate, while at the same time a lover of Shakti his spouse. Lord Shiva is the destroyer of the world, following Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver, after which Brahma again creates the world and so on. Shiva is responsible for change both in the form of death and destruction and in the positive sense of destroying the ego. This also includes the shedding of old habits and attachments.

The power of destruction associated with Lord Shiva has great purifying power, both on a personal level and a universal level. Destruction opens the path for a new creation of the universe, a new opportunity for the beauty and drama of universal illusion to unfold.

Kali
Kali is a ferocious form of the Divine Mother, who sent her Shakti, the Mother Gauri to free the gods from the dominion of the demonic forces Shumbh and Nishumbh who had conquered the three worlds of earth, the astral plane and the celestial plane.

Kali is the goddess of time and the transformation that is death. Lord Shiva and Mother Gauri in their destructive form are known as Mahakala and Mahakali or Kali.

Kali is the kundalini energy that paralyses the attachments produced by the solar and lunar currents. This attachment causes fear of death. In the ignorant one she creates fear, while for others Kali removes the ignorance that makes us fear death, the basic insecurity of the first chakra, a fear rooted in the brain.

Vishnu
In the basic Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the Hindu god Vishnu is the preserver and protector of creation. Vishnu is the embodiment of mercy and goodness, the self existent, all pervading power that preserves the universe and maintains the cosmic order.

Vishnu never sleeps and is the deity of Shanti, the peaceful mood. Vishnu does not however tolerate ego.

Brahma
Within the hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, Brahma is the creator. Nevertheless, Brahma grew ina lotus out of the navel of the sleeping Vishnu. The daily alternation of light and dark is attributed to the activity of Brahma.

Lakshmi
Shiva claimed Lakshmi as his wife, but since he had already taken the Moon, her hand was given to Vishnu, whom Lakshmi preferred.

Lakshmi is the goddess of light, beauty, good fortune and wealth. Being the consort of Vishnu, the preserving principle, Lakshmi also signifies love and grace.

Krishna
Krishna is usually regarded as the eight incarnation of Lord Vishnu and was born in the Dvarpara Yuga as ‘the dark one’. Lord Krishna is the embodiment of love and divine joy, that destroys all pain and sin. He is the protector of sacred utterances and cows. Krishna is an instigator of all forms of knowledge and born to establish the religion of love.

Maya
The literal meaning of the word Maya is illusion. Anything which is added to the reality is illusion or Maya, and this veiling power of illusion is able to create the difference between ‘me’ and ‘mine’ or ‘thee’ and ‘thine’. Maya creates the ignorance of the individual self.
So Maya Shakti is the divine power which brings out the evolution of this present world.

Tansy
x



For more detailed information take a look at this website Sanatan Society