Annihilating Darkness—Durga & the Spiritual Fire🔥

The element of fire is the most vital in its spiritual significance and transformative potential. Many of us grew up worshipping heavy metal and punk, because we were exalted by the fiery intensity, inspired by the creative/sexual vigor and most importantly—emboldened by how this voltaic cyclone of burning fuel churned our spirit. We instinctively knew that to completely “modify” any aspect of life, it could not be done cosmetically or superficially. To delve to the depths and transform the inner-workings (esoteric) in a sustainable sense, the method must be heated, penetrative, and astringent. It is a simple matter of physics. In order to generate enough force to supersede momentum created by our actions and thought forms of however long—weeks, months, years, lifetimes—we need to act powerfully “to drive out the stagnate darkness” within our own psyches and subtle bodies. An abscessed tooth will poison the mouth and an overgrown garden will eventually eclipse the health and luminosity of the entire patch. It follows that the Sādhaka conducts a rigorous spiritual program to incinerate internal impurities, uses heated mantras, etc. –to prepare to immerse in darkness and keep the flame aglow, so darkness does not “consume” the life force.

In our own lives, we decide when stillness becomes stagnation, and skillfully elect how much pressure and force to apply to change our circumstances. Tantrics and Ceremonial Magicians stoke the subtle fire so brightly, it obliterates internal blockages and leaves room for radiant things to flourish and spread. Whatever we choose becomes “our practice,” as long as we are consistent, intense and sincere. Emerging from Scorpio season, we can tap into these fierce aspects of the Goddess to keep bold, focused, and patient with our vision, stoking the Fire to burn more brightly than ever before. The fierce aspects of the Goddess—Durga, Kālī, Tara, Chinnamasta—can guide our primal intensity and help us harness the wilderness within, and apply it wherever we choose.

Thank you to the following inspirational sources for guiding my attitudes and perspectives, I am extremely grateful and do my best to pass on this spiritual knowledge through my own creative lens.

Works Cited:

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DiCara, V. (n.d.). From Anger to Joy- youtube. Retrieved November 29, 2018, From Anger to Joy - The Life Lesson of Purva Bhadrapada Nakshatra - YouTube

FEUERSTEIN, G. E. O. R. G. (2016). Encyclopedia of yoga and tantra. SHAMBHALA.

Kinsley, D. R. (2000). The sword and the flute: Kali and Krsna - Dark Visions of the Terrible and Sublime in Hindu Mythology. University of California Press.

Nakti, C. (n.d.). Purva Bhadrapada Nakshatra in the Modern World- youtube. Purva Bhadrapada Nakshatra in the Modern World . Retrieved August 7, 2020, from Purva Bhadrapada Nakshatra in the Modern World 🔥 The Dark Night of the Soul - YouTube

Svoboda, R. (2007). Aghora, at the left hand of god. Brotherhood of Life, Inc.

Woodroffe, J. G. (1916). Principles of tantra. part Ii. the tantrattva of Shriyukta Shiva Chandra Vidyârnava bhattachâryya mahodaya. Luzac.

Zanderigo, G., & Harris, C. (2016). Yoginī: The shady side of devī. DK Printworld.