Explorations of the Goddess
The very existence of Śakti in our culture is a testament to the deep reverence held for the feminine within the Indian collective consciousness.
The Ten Mahāvidyā
The Daśa Mahāvidyā are not merely goddesses — they are cosmic forces, stages of awakening, and movements within kuṇḍalinī. From Kālī’s dark womb of transformation to Kamalā’s embodied liberation, this is a journey through consciousness itself.
Word, Breath and Manifestation
From sound before speech to silence before creation, the Mahāvidyā reveal how manifestation unfolds. Through Tārā, Bhairavī, Bagalāmukhī, Mātaṅgī — and the living current of Kāmākhyā, Kālī, and Lalitā — this is a journey from source to expression.
From the Devī Māhātmya:
“I am alone in this world.”
- Durgā
As translated in Encountering the Goddess by Thomas C. Coburn:
“I alone exist here in the world; what second, other than I, is there? O wicked one, behold these many manifestations of power entering back into me.”
All Śaktis — Kālī, the Mātrikās, and countless forms — are understood as expressions of Mahādevī, returning again to one source.
Extract from my work with scholar Tova Olosson.