Cultural Appropriation and the Goddess

A talk about the three Hindu goddesses, Kali, Durga and Lakshmi

Happy New Year!

I hope 2023 is an auspicious year for each and everyone of you.

As a little New Year’s gift, I’m sending you a video from my teacher Freedom Cole called “Kālī, Durgā, Lakshmī: Connecting without appropriation.” In his talk, he says many insight things about cultural appropriation, how it should be defined (and why this is important) and how it applies to Vedic philosophy and astrology.

He then goes on to talk about three major goddesses, including who could most benefit in working with them from a psychological standpoint. Definitely worth a watch – enjoy!

My own thoughts and experience with these three goddesses

Kālī

Photo by Sonika Agarwal on Unsplash

Kālī is perhaps one of the most famous – but also the most misunderstood – of all Hindu goddesses. That’s perhaps largely due to her images, which usually depict her wearing a garland of skulls and a skirt made of severed arms with a severed head dripping blood in one of her many arms.

However, Kālī is actually a mother goddess, a fiercer version of the mother goddess Durgā. She is a slayer of demons, yes, but that means our own inner demons and negativity, which she cuts away with the a lightening-quick flash of her sword, allowing us to wake up to our higher nature.

In his video, Freedom focuses on the psychological reasons why Kālī may be the right choice for someone to work with. In astrological terms, she is the goddess of the new/waning moon and Moon/Saturn combinations.

Although it’s not a one-to-one fit, Kālī does have some similarities with the Greek goddess Hecate, who is also a goddess of the dark moon. I have personally felt drawn to work with both in the past, and found their no-nonsense, cut-away-the-bullshit-and-get-to-the-root-of-the-matter energy quite similar, although Kālī was by far the fiercer and dramatically powerful of the two.

I found a comparison of their similarities on this forum that was so beautifully put, I thought I’d share it here:

Fascinating comparison between two seemingly different yet similiar godesses! While it is difficult to graze more than the mere surface unless able to describe both of their origins and stories in depth (I recommend if interested in this topic), Hecate, most often linked with the dark of the moon and presides over magic, ritual, prophetic vision, childbirth, death, the underworld, and the secrets of regeneration. She guards the depths of our unconscious and the way to the collective conscious. Symobolized by many things but commonly as the maiden, mother and crone she is the mistress of the crossroads, dwells in caves, walks the highways at night, makes love on the vast seas, and is the force that moves the moon. Kali the destroyer of demons is commonly depicted as a fierce multi armed goddess (compare to Hecate multi faced/body depiction) wearing the skulls of demons around her neck and a long tounge said to catch the demon Raktabija’s blood before it hit the ground in their battle to stop new demons from forming. I think it is important to note however Kali develops in her stories in what could be interpreted as the maiden, the mother and the crone. Additionally while both goddesses certainly maintain their individual representations Kali is essentially a symbol of Mother Nature herself. Primordial, creative, nurturing and devouring in turn, but ultimately loving and benevolent. In this aspect of goodness she is referred to as Kali Ma, Mother Kali, or Divine Mother. A representation of the cycle of destruction and rebirth both Kali and Hecate depict and in a way guard the secrets of rebirth and death. Just as Kali is representative of time and is said to be old as time, Hecate’s origins place her near the onset of creation. I promise the deeper you look into and try to understand the origins and essence of these two goddesses, truly the more alike they become. - C_Tomten

Kālī is an extremely powerful goddess and definitely not one a person should work with simply out of curiosity or on a lark. Like Freedom said in his video, if you feel drawn to her, seek out knowledgable sources to find out how to properly work with her (i.e., not a random Google search). That said, a basic name mantra like this one is generally considered safe to chant if approached with devotion.

Durgā

I’ve been fascinated by mythology since I was a kid and have felt drawn to the Hindu pantheon since my teens. When my daughters were little, we used to watch cartoons about Krishna and Ganesha on YouTube together – there are a lot of really great ones there. I wish I had also shown them this cartoon about the Goddess Durga. They would have definitely been impressed by all her weapons and the lion she rides.

As the video shows, Durga is a powerful goddess with the strength of all the gods combined. She is also a protective mother goddess who is the remover of difficulties and bad ways. Astrologically speaking, she represents the waxing moon, but not the full moon, which is represented by Lakshmi. Durga worship is helpful for Moon/Rahu conjunctions and Rahu issues in general. In her gentler forms, she has a similar energy to the Virgin Mary.

Durga’s mantra is Om Dum Durgaye Namaha, which can be translated as “Greetings to Durga, the Divine Mother who protects from all negative influences.”

Out of these three goddesses, I’ve worked with Durgā the least, although I plan to start working with her soon to help out with my Moon/Rahu and the obstacles in the Rahu dasha (time period) I’m currently in.

Lakshmī

What’s not to love about Lakshmī, the goddess of wealth, abundance, prosperity, luck, joy and beauty? In other words, much of the good stuff in life.

Lakshmī is connected to Venus and, like her Greek counterpart, she also emerged from the ocean and is therefore sometimes referred to as the “daughter of the sea of milk.” Simply repeating her beej (seed) mantra Shreem feels like a drink of cool water on a warm summer’s day.

Astrologically speaking, Lakshmī is most often the go-to goddess for Venus afflictions, which can cause problems with relationships, self-love, sexuality and the ability to experience joy. She is also a great goddess to work with for women’s health, including fertility, gynaecological issues and menopause.

Like I mentioned above, her beej mantra is Shreem, which is beautiful all on its own, although it’s more commonly incorporated into name mantras such as Om Shreem Maha Lakshmiyei Namah.

I have an altar to Lakshmī and work with her almost daily. After chanting her mantra, I always feel refreshed and joyful, a great way to start the day for sure.