Kali Ma, the divine Mother

She is the manifestation of divine outrage, the final defender of the cosmos and the female counterpart of the Hindu god Shiva. The world is created, destroyed, and re¬created via the catharsis of Kali’s and Shiva’s wild dance, bringing about the ultimate release of spiritual liberation.
Goddess Kali represents the fast track to spiritual advancement as She seeks whatever will be one’s most beneficial outcome from a karmic standpoint forcing an examination of all preconceived notions associated with human nature and the divine.
Ma Kali stands for the essence of all that is the dark side of human nature as hidden in one’s heart are ideas that may not be spoken, but need to be acknowledged, even silently.
The “beast within us” may be tamed but must be addressed.

Om Kreem Maha Kalikaye Namo Namaha

When one invokes Kali Ma through Her mantra Om Kreem Maha Kalikaye Namo Namaha one says, “I want true spiritual advancement by the most powerful and direct route, no matter the consequences to my ego.”
The path will be intense, probably uncomfortable and disruptive to mundane life, but very effective and in a short period of time.
Goddess Kali’s form is meant to evoke fear and revulsion, forcing one to acknowledge the dark and unpleasant aspects of oneself.

Her Symbols

Her color, black, symbolizes all embracing-comprehensive nature and the total absence of color.
Her red tongue symbolizes drinking the demon’s blood and the mocking of Her devotees as She sees through one’s social façades and knows the dark side one wants to hide.

The 51 heads around Her neck represent the 51 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet as Ma Kali is the repository of wisdom and knowledge.

The many hands around Her waist signify action, karma, as She blesses Her devotees by cutting them free from the cycle of karma.

In Her left hand She holds a bloody head, as she destroys one’s demons.

Like A Mother With Her Children

Ma Kali forms a strong bond with Her devotees like a mother with Her children, helping them to attain the truth. She does not protect Her devotees from the way things are, rather She reveals to them their mortality thus releases them to act fully and freely and from the web of “adult” presence, practicality, rationality.
Beneath the mask, beneath the self-¬denial and the self¬-discipline there is a Kali in all of us.