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Frequently Asked Questions

Menstrual blood has been important to Tantric practice for hundreds of years, and in the Tantras is regarded as an offering to the goddess. The rituals of Tantra are earlier than the texts of Tantra, certainly, and may derive from folk rituals meant to encourage the fecundity of nature and humanity.[21] Similarly, although modern witchcraft is a new phenomenon, certain rituals and practices may be traced historically to early folk customs meant for a similar purpose. The purpose of noting this is not to dismiss these traditions as simplistic fertility cults, but rather to note that early tribal cultures expressed their spirituality in ways that related directly to issues of physical survival, and that the idea of divinity as immanent was reflected in rituals that involved the body in intimate ways, and honored sacred substances that came from the body. Sexual union (called "the Great Rite" in witchcraft, and maithuna in Tantra) is one such ritual that has become taboo in cultures that believe in a transcendent deity, emphasized by ascetic purity. Hinduism and Christianity are prime examples of such religious beliefs that have deeply affected Eastern and Western culture.

Kālī is often depicted standing atop her reclining husband Śiva, who at times has an erect penis, symbolizing their sacred sexual union. The symbol of two interlocking triangles, one pointing up and one pointing down, is another symbol of divine sexual union, and is in and of itself an image of the divine. This symbol is in the West known as the Jewish star of David, and although there are some schools of Jewish mysticism that have similar cosmological images of the union of the divine masculine and feminine, it is a symbol that is generally not at all sexualized. In fact, Judeo-Christian culture remains strictly anti-sexual, except in cases where a husband and wife must engage in sexual union to procreate. Vedanta is no different, which is why tantric rituals are so taboo.

In Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine (1997), David Kinsley notes that the ten great goddesses, the Mahāvidyās (of which Kālī is one), are independent of their male consorts. In fact, in many images, the goddess is shown as dominant over the corresponding god. Throughout the literature on this subject, it is clear that this imagery has been used in both positive and negative ways in terms of how women are viewed outside and inside the culture - in the West, the images connote women as independent and powerful beings, and in the East, the importance of male domination over women, lest they become uncontrollable and dangerous, threatening the social order.

In The Sword and Flute (2000), Kinsley continues his deconstruction of Kālī as goddess and unique carrier of Hindu tradition as a popular goddess in her own right, contrasting the devotional and cultural interpretations of the darkness of Kālī with that of Kŗşņa, and defends her against appropriation by those who would characterize her as simply one part of a single, overarching world goddess, definable simply by her gender. "Kālī can be shown to have an identity of her own, quite distinct from all other deities in the tradition, and this identity may not be reduced to her sex," he says, implying distaste for the co-optive tendencies of some feminist archaeomythologists.[22]

Kālī is by nature subaltern, historically speaking, and her worship takes place in those areas considered impure or unclean, namely cremation grounds. She represents all that which is outside the orderly Hindu system, and is the goddess of chaos, threatening the order of dharma. But despite her threatening nature, she is central to the devotional (bhakta) practice of several groups, as the Great Mother of Bengal, and as the primary goddess of Śākta Tantra. In the case of the latter, Kālī represents all that is forbidden, and thus as holding the key to enlightenment.[23]

In The History of the Śākta Religion (1996), Narendra Nath Bhattacharyya follows the historical and cultural developments relating specifically to Śākta Tantra from the pre-Vedic age, through the formation and development of Śākta, to modern practices and philosophies. According to Bhattacharyya, śakti as a symbol of the empowerment of the oppressed is not new, and in fact was an important component of Hindu resistance to Islamic mughals in seventeenth and eighteenth century India. The Śākta tradition played a vital role in this context, but the nineteenth century brought British occupation and European (primarily Christian) influence, pushing Hindu traditions to the margins and increasing the potency of orthodoxy amongst the people - though śakti resurfaced in Indian nationalism through reference to the country as the Great Mother.

In terms of philosophy, Bhattacharyya states that the goddess "unfolds herself into the world and again withdraws the world into herself. The purpose of her worship is to attain unity with her forms, and this is the experience of liberation - a state of great bliss."[24] This is a literal unity, as Tantra is an embodied spirituality. This is important in our comparison of Śākta Tantra with Western witchcraft, as a core element of many canonical rituals involves calling the goddess into one's self, a state of trance possession that ultimately leads to wisdom and bliss. This is called "drawing down the moon," or "drawing down the goddess," and is a process that Western witches use to connect with the divine. The significance in this practice is its purpose - not to unite with some outside transcendent deity, but rather to consciously realize the divinity within the self. It can be compared to the tantric concept of raising kundalini energy in the body. This experience of immanence is integral to feminist spirituality because it reminds the individual that she is divine, and thus, should not be controlled or oppressed by patriarchal structures. In addition, realization of that divine power enables the individual to find her voice to speak against those oppressive structures. It is a realization of the aforementioned "power-from-within" of Starhawk's spiritual feminist politics.

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[21] N. N. Bhattacharrya, The Indian Mother Goddess (New Dehli: 1999), 10

[22] Kinsley, The Sword and the Flute, 84

[23] See also Svoboda, Aghora, 171-80. Tantrics believe that desire can only be annihilated through fulfillment, which leads to control of the body, mind and senses.

[24] Bhattacharyya, The History of the Śākta Religion, 216