Om Krim Kalikaye Namah

Kali is a wrathful emanation of the great Mother Durga and the consort of Lord Shiva.

Kali is destruction and time. She is representative of the cycles of samsara, specifically birth, death, and rebirth. Despite this association, she is also a symbol of moksha (liberation), as she encourages effort (shakti) and action in one’s life to overcome obstacles and suffering.

Kali is nature and matter, everything that changes in existence. She is that which primordial, unchanging consciousness (Shiva) is thrust into. This duality is the core of what we see in the famous image of Kali dancing on Shiva, as she is the play (dance) of nature and he rests motionless beneath her as the foundation of reality (consciousness/space).

Although Kali seems fearsome, this aspect of the goddess has immense motherly love for her devotees. She gladly removes tribulations and gives boons to her followers as long as they remain strong and diligent. Negative thoughts and emotions are offered to Kali who purifies them instantly. The mantra “Om Krim Kalikaye Namah” is an invocation and homage of the glorious goddess Kali Ma, who chooses carefully her disciples according to their endurance and diligence.

May all negativity and misery be abolished!

Jai Maa Kali!

Image link: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1968.44

“The powerful black Hindu goddess Kali effortlessly slays an eight-armed spotted green demon with an impossibly long trident. His chariot horses and two minions lie incapacitated below. Kali’s tongue lolls out, indicating her ability to catch blood before it touches the ground: one of her demonic enemies has blood that generates another demon every time one drop comes in contact with the earth. The demon is a metaphor for wicked thoughts that give rise to more evil thoughts; Kali aids her followers in eradicating them all.”

Þórr’s Wagon

The cult of Thor generally revolves around the community, fertility, farming, and the daily routine that most humans experience. Because of this, Thor was the most widely worshiped of the ancient gods and was the chief deity observed by the common folk. Thor protects man and the world from chaos, endowing power into our material forms. This force keeps man strong, driven, and determined, acting in accordance with honor, loyalty, and vitality. Thor represents the physical and temporal qualities of human life, things we can build, destroy, and manipulate in accordance with our will. Thor establishes order out of chaos, rhythm out of randomness. He represents the “tempo” of the seasons, symbolized by the wheel (or fylfot), and like the wheel, carries us forward safely through time and space.

May all revere the Thunder god.

“Reid is reins,
Reid is spokes,
Thor’s wagon,
Behind the goats.”

ᚱ : ᚱ : ᚱ : ᚱ

Hailaz

Máni, Hati, and the Procession of Time

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Om Mahakala Hum Phat

Mahakala, black in color and fearsome in appearance, represents spiritual activity beyond our comprehension; the true consciousness that is unseen. His name means “Beyond Time/Great Black One” because he is all pervasive and unmanifested in material form, free of the shackles of tangibility. As a presence beyond matter, he remains untouched by Samsara, residing in the very fabric of space (consciousness) that permeates the entirety of the cosmos. Mahakala, like all Yidam (Ishtadevata) deities, represents the Vajra mind, fixed and indestructible; the primordial state of sentient awareness. Surrounded by the flames of wisdom, he is beyond the reach of times’ destruction. Mahakala is the foundation of conscious reality; a force of gravity that pulls beings towards the practice and service of the Dharma.

“…Such undeluded energy, like a windblown fire, can burn away the dross.
Mahakala has strong legs and Mahakala has sure feet;
They are well able to trample down demonic thoughts and deeds!…”

Interpreting Odin’s Sacrifice on the World Tree

One interpretation of Odin’s world tree ritual is the destruction of his ego: the sacrificing of his lower self to his higher Self. The ritual is a metaphor for replacing our material limitations for the infinite potential of primordial wisdom; exchanging our mundane form for that of the almighty consciousness of Odin. Odin, as the material individual, strives to return to the source, which like Shiva or Buddha, is nothing other than his innate, true nature, beyond constructs and existing within everything. This is why Odin is known as the “Masked God” or “God of Masks,” as his shapeless state allows him to cloak himself in whatever physical form he wants, being able to shift appearances according to his worldly goals.

Names of Odin relating to this are Fjallgeiguðr (Shape God), Fjolnir (The One Who is Many), and Grimnir (Masked One). Odin, in this way, represents all possible expressions of life and exists within all sentient beings. Odin is the great animator of matter, obscured and covered up to varying degrees by the limitations of our ignorance and material attachments. By removing these obstacles one by one, Odin, as the common man, realizes and becomes his true Self; the unchanging reality which can be described as furious, terrifying, and awesome. This is why he is known as “The Terrible” or “Furious One,” as the realization of this state can be deemed nothing other than ferocious and shocking. This is identical to some names of Shiva that relate to this same phenomenon, such as Bhairava (Lord of Terror), Mahakala (Beyond Time), and Rudra (The Howler/Dreadful).

This primordial state, the formless consciousness beyond conceptual and dualistic framework, can be further represented by Odin’s one eye, which sees nothing but the true state of reality: non-dual and single focused. This pure vision shows him all things; the causes and effects of all phenomena; unaffected by time, change, or abstract forms. Odin as the “One-Eyed God” appears in many ways such as Hoárr (One Eyed), Báleygr (Flaming Eye) and Bileygr (Flashing Eye). Odin, the individual, has but one single motive: the search for ultimate wisdom/source. Further evidence for this is reflected in his names Sanngetall (Seeker of Truth), Fjǫlsviðr (Very Wise), and Forni (Ancient One).

This is the eternal Odin within us, the awareness we must all uncover if we want to transcend our worldly limitations. This formless state of being is what remains when the body falls to the wayside, remaining intact for all of eternity. Through his ritual on the world tree, Odin loses attachment to his body/shape/name and realizes his supreme nature; flooded by the ancient wisdom of the cosmos represented by the runes, poetry, and other various magical techniques.

May all sentient beings seek the source of consciousness and realize Odin within themselves.

Hailaz / Namaste