Goddess Reference — Cyclopedia Index

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named — Iamanja

Your holy spirit floats

along the cresting waves of the water,

as we walk out upon the sands,

night time closing on the longest day of the year,

and join together in small circles

around the sacred boats

that we shall send you,

each whispering our prayers to a flower

that we lay upon the boat,

for Iamanja, Holy Queen Sea.

Flames set to floating campfire logs

flicker on the mounting flowers,

as our boats of prayers are set afloat

upon the edges of your being,

your gently caressing waves

washing about our bared legs,

cleansing away our sadness and our troubles,

bathing away any wrongs that we have done,

and as we watch the sparks of dancing light

dimming in the growing distance,

we know that you are waiting

for the messages we send,

Iamanja, Holy Queen Sea.

Fire reflections in your gently rocking darkness,

light above, so light below,

chanting chorus keeping time

to the rhythm of your being,

I stand to one side to watch the others

toss their last flower prayers upon the moving boats,

thinking that you have enough to do

without my adding to your work.

But just before the last boat

floats out too far for change of mind,

I too toss my flower upon the others,

with prayers for your health and long years

and that you may always be

just as we have known you,

Iamanja, Holy Queen Sea.

Merlin Stone. AMWv1/96-7.

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named: Inanna

Heaven was hers!

Earth was hers!

She was a warrior.

She was a falcon.

She was a great white cow.

She fought the dragon and slew it.

She seduced the scorpion and tamed it.

The golden lion slept at her side.

She was the singer.

She was desire.

She was the mountain of silver, gold and lapis.

On her hips tall trees grew, and grasses.

From her, waters spouted and savory grains.

Her lap was holy.

Her lips were honey.

Her hand was law.

From her breast poured heavenly rain.

She was the healer.

She was life-giver.

She was the terror, the anger, the hunger.

Fierce winds blew from her heart.

Hers was the thunder, the lightning, the glory.

She was the morning.

She was the evening.

She was the star.

She wore the gown of mystery.

Heaven was hers!

Earth was hers!

Who can argue?

From INANNA'S DESCENT by Janine Canan.

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named: Ishtar

Glad eyed Ishtar of desire,

Goddess of sighing...

Who turns the male to the female

And the female to the male...

Whose song is sweeter

Than honey and wine,

Sweeter than sprouts and herbs,

Even superior to pure cream.

quoted in: The Book of Goddesses and Heroines by Patricia Monaghan.

Good Ishtar, one and only Ishtar,

Whose gift is the growth of plants;

Great Ishtar...

Sublime Ishtar, Governess of lands,

Creatrix of mankind,

Shepherdess of the lands of the universe,

Without out you no river is let flow,

No river dammed, that furthers life.

Babylonian Hymn 20/25.

Horned as the holy heifer of Egypt;

Armed with bow and arrow;

Wearing the tiara crown upon Your head;

Holding the double serpent sceptre;

Holding Your hands beneath Your breasts;

Standing upon the lion;

mushrusshu dragons by Your sides;

Riding Your chariot drawn by seven lions;

Holding a bull by the horns;

Seated upon Your lion throne;

Riding upon the back of a large bird;

Holding the sacred branches in Your hands;

Brandishing sword or scimitar -

You are -

Most sacred eight-pointed star,

Star of Prophesy,

O Shining One,

Her holiness shining in the heavens.

Lioness of the Igigi;

Mother of Deities;

She Who begets all;

Producer of Life;

Creator of People;

Queen of Heaven and Earth;

She Who Guides Humankind;

She Who holds the Reins of Royalty;

She Who possesses the Law of Heavenly Sovereignty;

Guardian of Law and Order;

Mistress of Ordinances;

Ruler of the heavens;

Director of the People;

Light of Heaven;

Shepherdess of the Lands;

Possessor of the Tablets of Life's Records;

Source of the Oracles of Prophesy;

Lady of Battle and Victory;

Lady of Combat Who Carries Quiver and Bow;

Exalted, Glorious, Heroic,

Supreme Queen,

Lady of the Lands.

Ref: AMWv1/106

Queen of Heaven, Goddess of the Universe,

the One who walked in terrible chaos

and brought life by the law of love

and out of chaos brought us harmony

and from chaos She has led us by the hand.

***

Praise the Goddess, the mightiest of deities.

Let us revere the Mistress of People,

More exalted than all other deities;

Praise Ishtar, the mightiest of deities.

Let us revere the Queen of Heaven,

More exalted than all other deities.

***

Woman of women, Goddess who knows no equal,

She who decress the destiny of people,

Highest Ruler of the World,

Sovereign of the Heavens,

Goddess, even of those who live in heaven.

***

All other deities seek Her counsel,

unique is Her position

for Her word is so respected,

it is supreme over them.

She is their Queen.

It is they who carry out Her decrees.

All of them bow down before Her,

receiving their light from Her.

Thus women and men

hold Her in highest reverence.

***

Her lips are sweet,

Life is in Her mouth.

When She appears,

we are filled with rejoicing.

She is glorious beneath Her robes.

Her body is complete beauty.

Her eyes are total brilliance.

Who could be equal to Her greatness

for Her decrees are strong, exalted, perfect.

***

With Ishtar there is counsel and wisdom.

The fate of everything She holds in Her hand.

Joy comes from Her very glance.

She is the power, the magnificence.

She is the deity who protects.

She is the spirit that guides.

Be it maiden or mother,

women remember Her and call Her name.

***

O Ishtar, Sovereign Mistress of all people,

You are the light of heaven and earth;

heaven and earth move because of you.

All people pay homage to you

for you are great, you are exalted.

All humankind recognizes your power,

for you are the bright torch of heaven and earth,

the light of all living,

One who cannot be oppressed,

whirlwind that roars against all that is wrong.

***

O Lady, glorious is Thy omnipotence,

Thy exaltation above all other deities,

Thou art the mighty One, the Lady of Combat,

strong enough to suppress the mountains.

Full judgement and decision are in Thy power

as are the ordinances of heaven and earth.

In Thy chapels, in Thy holy places,

at Thy sacred shrines,

we come to listen to Thee.

***

O Shining One, Lioness of the Igigi,

You stop the anger of all other deities.

You care for the oppressed and the mistreated,

each day offering them your help.

You are the One who gleams brightest

in the midst of all other deities.

You are the holy One of women and of men.

***

It is you who changes destiny

to make what is bad become good.

At your right side is justice,

at your left side is goodness.

From your sides emanate life and well being.

Ishtar, how good it is to pray to you;

there is concern in your glance,

your word is the light.

Please look upon me with affirmation.

Please accept my prayer.

Prayers. Ref: AMWv1.MS/107-8.

She is Ishtar the Queen,

oppressing all that is confused,

holding full powers of judgement and decision.

***

It is Ishtar who renders all decision,

Goddess of all that occurs,

Lady of Heaven and Earth

Who receives our supplication,

Who hears our requests,

Who listens to our prayers.

***

When at a quarrel She is present,

It is She who understands the matter.

***

It is Ishtar who is compassionate

Because She loves righteousness.

***

Mother of the fruitful breast,

When at the front of combat She is seen,

She is a flood of light whose strength is mighty.

Carved inscriptions. Ref: AMWv1.MS/106

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named: Isis

Behold, n.________, I am come;

thy weeping and prayer

hath moved me to succour thee.

I am She

that is the natural mother of all things,

Mistress and Governess of all the elements,

the initial progeny of worlds,

Chief of the powers divine,

Queen of all that are in Hell,

the Principal of them that dwell in Heaven,

manifested alone and under one form

of all the Goddesses and Gods

[deorum dearum-que facies uniformis].

At my will the planets of the sky,

the wholesome winds of the seas,

and the lamentable silences of hell

be disposed;

my name,

my divinity

is adored throughout the world,

in divers manners,

in variable customs,

and by many names...

Behold, I am come to take pity

of thy fortune and turbulation;

Behold I am present to favour and aid thee;

leave off they weeping and lamentation,

put away all thy sorrow,

for behold the healthful day

which is ordained by my providence.

Behold I am come, from Apuleius's "The Golden Ass",

translated by William Adlington, 1566,

quoted by Robert Graves in

The White Goddess p. 70-71.

First, She had a great abundance of hair, flowing and curling, dispersed and scattered about Her divine neck; on the crown of Her head she bare many garlands interlaced with flowers, and in the middle of Her forehead was a plain circlet in fashion of a mirror, or rather resembling the moon by the light it gave forth; and this was borne up on either side by serpents that seemed to rise from the furrows of the earth, and above it were blades of corn set out. Her vestment was of finest linen yielding diverse colors, somewhere white and shining, somewhere yellow like the crocus flower, somewhere rosy red, somewhere flaming; ...Her cloak was utterly dark and obscure covered with shining black, and being wrapped round Her from under Her left arm to Her right shoulder in manner of a shield, part of it fell down, pleated in most subtle fashion, to the skirts of Her garment so that the welts appeared comely. Here and there upon the edge thereof and throughout its surface the stars glimpsed, and in the middle of them was placed the moon in mid-month, which shone like a flame of fire; and round about the whole length of the border of that goodly robe was a crown or garland wreathing unbroken, made with all flowers and all fruits. Things quite diverse did She bear: for in Her right hand She had a sistrum of brass, a flat piece of metal carved in manner of a girdle, wherein passed not many rods through the periphery of it; and when with Her arm She moved these triple chords, they gave forth a shrill and clear sound. In Her left hand She

bare a cup of gold like unto a boat, upon the handle whereof, in the upper part which is best seen, as asp lifted up his head with a wide-swelling throat. Her odiferous feet were covered with shoes interlaced and wrought with victorious palm. Thus, the divine shape, breathing out the pleasant spice of fertile Arabia.

Description of Her Divine semblance, from

Apuleius's "The Golden Ass",

translated by William Adlington, 1566,

quoted by Robert Graves in The White Goddess p. 72.

O blessed Queen of Heaven, whether thou be the Dame Ceres which art the original and motherly source of all fruitful things on the earth, who after the finding of thy daughter Proserpine, through the great joy which thou didst presently conceive, didst utterly take away and abolish the food of them of old time, the acorn, and madest the barren and unfruitful ground of Eleusis to be ploughed and sown, and now givest men a more better and milder food; or whether thou be the celestial Venus, who, at the beginning of the world, didst couple together male and female with an engendered love, and didst so make an eternal propagation of human kind, being now worshipped within the temples of the Isle Paphos; or whether thou be the sister of the God Phoebus, who hast saved so many people by lightening and lessening with thy medicines the pangs of travail and art now adored at the sacred places of Ephesus; or whether thou be called terrible Proserpine by reason of the deadly howlings which thou yieldest, that hast power with triple face to stop and put away the invasion of hags and ghosts which appear unto men, and to keep them down in the closures of the Earth, which dost wander in sundry groves and art worshipped in divers manners; thou, which dost illuminate all

the cities of the earth by thy feminine light; thou, which nourishest all the seeds of the world by thy damp heat, giving thy changing light according to the wanderings, near or far, of the sun: by whatsoever name or fashion or shape it is lawful to call upon thee, I pray thee grant peace and rest, if it please thee, to my adversities.

O Blessed Queen of heaven, from Apuleius's "The Golden Ass",

translated by William Adlington, 1566, quoted by Robert Graves in

The White Goddess p. 71.

You shall live in blessing,

You shall live glorious in my protection;

When you have fulfilled

Your alloted span of life

And descend to the underworld,

There you shall see me,

As you see me now,

Shining...

If you show yourself

Obedient to my divinity...

You will know that I alone

Permit extension of your life

Beyond the time alloted by your destiny...

I will overcome fate.

You shall live in blessing,

quoted by Patricia Monaghan in

The Book of Goddesses and Heroines, p. 156

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named: Izanami

Great-thunder in her head,

Fire-thunder in her breast,

Black-thunder in her belly,

Crack-thunder in her loins,

Young-thunder in her left hand,

Earth-thunder in her right hand,

Sounding-thunder in her left foot,

Reclining-thunder in her right foot.

Quoted in Myths, by Alexander Eliot.

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named: Jagadambika

It is by Thy power only

That Brahma creates, Visnu maintains,

And at the end of things Siva destroys the universe.

Powerless are they for this but by Thy help.

Therefore it is that Thou alone art the Creatrix,

Maintainer, and Destructress of the world.

Thou art fame, mind, remembrance,

And our refuge, the mountain-born,

Companion, kindness, faith, and patience,

Earth, Kamala, health, the arts, and victory,

Contentment, ever victorious, Uma, Rama,

True knowledge, and the highest buddhi.

Science, forgiveness, beauty, retentiveness art Thou,

Who art Known in the three worlds as all in all.

Who is there that unaided by Thee can do ought?

Thou art the abode wherein all men dwell.

Thou art the upholder.

Were Thou not so, how could the tortoise and serpent uphold the Earth?

Thou art the Earth itself {Herself}.

Were this not so, how could this weighty world rest on Ether?

Those who through Thy maya pray to Devas,

Such as the four-headed One, Visnu, Rudra, Fire,

The White-rayed One, Yama, Vayu, and Ganesa

Are indeed ignorant,

For can these do anything without Thy power?

O Mother! those who do homage, with ghee on fire,

With great ceremony in the name of the Devas,

Are of but small intelligence.

If Thou art not svaha, then how can they make sacrifice?

Do they not worship Thee?

If not they are ignorant.

In this world Thou art the giver of enjoyment

To things which move and are still.

Thou givest life to all things being as they are parts of Thee.

O Mother! as Thou nourisheth all Thy Suras,

So also dost Thou nourish others.

O Mother! as men who are of good heart,

Never for the mere pleasure thereof

Cut down leafless and bitter (fruited) trees

Which have sprung up in the forest.

Therefore Thou dost even greatly protect the Daityas.

Though Thou slayest in the battlefield with Thy arrows the enemies,

Knowing their desire for amorous play with celestial women,

Yet such is Thy nature that even then Thou showest kindness to them,

For Thou so slayest them

That in another body they may obtain fulfillment of their desires.

Most wonderful it is that thou hast assumed body

For the destruction of the Danavas, famed for their power,

When Thou mightest have slain them by Thy mere will.

The cause of this is Thy play, and nothing else.

Alas! of a verity unhappy are they

Who when the Kali age, the worst of ages, has come,

Do not worship Thee.

Men cunning and skilled in the Puranas

Have made the people devoted to the worship of Hari and S'ankara,

Who are but Thy creatures.

Those who worship with devotion Devas,

Though they know that they are distressed, harassed by Asuras, and

subject to Thy control,

Are of a surety like unto a man

Who with, the light of a clear lamp in his hands,

Yet falls into some waterless and terrible well.

O Mother! Thou art the remover of the pains which arise from birth,

And art known by those desirous of liberation

As the giver of happiness when Thou art vidya,

And of unhappiness when Though art avidya,

Surely it is only the ignorant who do not worship thee,

Such as are attached to enjoyment without wisdom.

Even Brahma, Hara, and Hari, as all other Suras,

Ever worship Thy lotus feet, which are our refuge.

But those who are of small intelligence and beset with error

Do not worship Thee.

And so ever repeatedly fall into the ocean of the world.

O Candi! it is most surely by the favor of the dust on thy lotus feet

That Brahma in the beginning of things creates,

Shauri protects, and Hara destroys the whole world.

He is indeed unfortunate

Who in this world does not worship Thee.

O Devi! thou art the Devata of speech of both Suras and Asuras.

Without power of speech are even the foremost of Devas

When Thou abidest not in them.

If men do speak, it is because they are not deprived of Thee.

Hari, when cursed by the greatly angered Bhrigu,

Became Fish, Tortoise, Boar, and Man-lion, and Dwarf.

How can those who worship Him

Escape the fire of death?

As is well-known, the linga of S'ambhu in the forest

Fell on earth in like manner by the curse of Bhrigu.

How can those, O Mother! who on earth worship Him who holds a skull

Attain to happiness either in this world or the next?

They who worship the elephant-faced Lord of Ganas,

Who was born of Mahesa,

With Him in vain take shelter.

They know Thee not, O Devi! Mother of the Universe,

Who art easy of worship and the giver of the fruit of all desires.

Wonderful it is that through Thy compassion

Even the multitude of enemies slain by Thy sharpened arrows

Have thus been made to reach Heaven.

For had they not been so slain

Calamities and the most painful of painful states would they have suffered

In that hell which is the result of their (evil) karma.

Even Brahma, Hara, and Hari

from pride known not Thy power.

How, then, are others able to know it,

Bewildered as they are by Thy (three) gunas of incomparable power?

Even Munis suffer, who, being ignorant (of Thee),

Do not adore Thy thought-transcending lotus feet,

And are set upon the worship of sun and fire.

By them, even though they read hundreds of S'ruti,

The Supreme object of desire is not known, which is the essence of all

Vedas.

Methinks it is Thy (three) gunas,

The power of which is so famed on earth,

Which makes men turn away from devotion (to Thee),

And attaches them to Visnu, Isa, Bhaskara, Ganesa,

By (the teaching of) various Agamas of their own devising.

O Ambika! (so great is Thy mercy)

That Thou art not angry with,

But showest kindness to, and maketh greatly prosperous

Even those who, skilful in the mantra of delusion,

Make the best of men turn away from Thy feet

By Agamas made by themselves,

Teaching of devotion to Hari and Hara.

In the satya age the sattva guna was very powerful,

therefore there were no Asadagamas.

But in the Kali age learned folk conceal Thee (from the people).

And adore those Devas imagined by them (to be objects of worship).

Munis, in whom the sattva guna is very pure,

Meditate upon thee,

Who art the giver on earth of the fruit of liberation,

Who art perfect in yoga, and the supreme knowledge.

Such never again suffer pain in the womb of a mother.

They are only praiseworthy who are absorbed in Thee.

Citsakti is in Paramatma,

Therefore also it is manifested in the world,

Wherein it is known as the cause of its creation, maintenance, and destruction.

Who else in this world without Thee and of his own power

Is able to create, move and destroy?

O Mother of the world!

Can the Tattvas, deprived of Cit, create the world?

They are lifeless things.

O Devi! can the indriyas with their objects and functions,

Bear fruit without Thee?

O Mother! had you not as Svaha been the cause thereof,

Even the Devas could not have obtained their enjoined own portion,

Offered in sacrificial rites by Munis.

Therefore thou maintainest the whole world.

By Thee all this universe was in the beginning of things created;

Thou protecteth the Regents of the Quarters among whom Hari and Hara are foremost.

At the dissolution of things Thou devourest the whole universe.

That which has been done by Thee from the creation

Even Devas know not.

What, then, shall we say of unfortunate men?

O Mother! Thou hast by slaying the greatly formidable Asura,

Who assumed the form of a buffalo,

Protected the Devas.

Even the Vedas know Thee not as Thou really art.

Small of intellect as we are how can we praise Thee?

O Mother! Thou hast accomplished a great work

In destroying this wicked foe of ours,

A thorn painful beyond all thought

(In the side of) the whole world.

Thy fame will spread throughout the whole universe.

Do Thou, whose power is known to be incomparable,

By Thy mercy protect us.

The hymn concluding, Devibhagavata continues, Vyasa said: "Devi, thus

praised, said in soft, sweet voice, `Oh, best of Devas, tell Me what other

thing most difficult and hard to accomplish you would have Me do?'"

from the Devibhgavata Purana

quoted by Sir John Woodroffe in

"Hymns to the Goddess and Hymn to Kali" p 135-149

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named: Joie-de-Vivre

Goddess -

Thanks to You

(So I say at four 0'clock)

On Your day

Joie-de-vivre's Day,

Thanks.

(We have signed papers)

You helped me through

Joie-de-vivre,

Thanks to You.

And thanks to You

(I and my consort now Own a house)

I am blest from this Day forth.

F.W. 24th. September 1984

Mantra to Joie-de-Vivre

joie-de-vivre

life-joy

wonder of wonders

joy's life

world magic

maya,

illusion's sister

earth's daughter

joy in life

Note: Joie-de-Vivre: in early days of Her Cycle of Transformations I had not yet found any Goddess the pronunciation of Whose name begins with the phone g. Joie-de-Vivre was at that time “crystalized from the Matrix” by Holladay Paganism to fulfill the need. Since then I've learned the name of Chinese Goddess Chih-Nu is pronounced gE-NW, and I've added g6N-$6N, Jen-Shen, Who though not strictly a Goddess seems Goddesslike enought to include for the sake of Her initial phone.

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named: Kali

O Kali, Granter of liberation, Thou art beauteous with the

beauty of a dark rain cloud.

Upon Thy head, O auspicious Kalika, Thou bearest the crescent

moon in Thy dishevelled hair; Thou holdest in Thy upper lotus-

like left hand a sword; and in Thy Lower left hand a severed

head; with Thy upper right hand Thou maketh the fear dispelling

gesture, and with Thy lower right hand that which grants boons.

They, O Black-One with devouring mouth, who recite Thy name,

and contemplate Thy true form, become themselves as beautiful as

the petals of the lotus which Laksmi holds in Her playful

dance.

O Devi of full breasts, Who art very youthful, three-eyed

Creatrix of the three worlds, Whose throat is adorned with a

garland of heads, Whose waist is beautiful with a girdle of

dead men's arms, even a dullard becomes a poet who meditates

upon Thee, rainmented with space.

O Kali-Ma, Thou art Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether. Thou

art all. Thou art one and beneficent. O Mother, Thou givest

birth to and protectest the world, and at the time of

dissolution dost withdraw to Thyself the earth and all things.

Thou art revered by all and in all places, O Dark One.

O Mahakali, Primordial Power, O Mother with gently smiling

face, O Dark One, wondrous and excelling in every way, those

who truly meditate upon, and worship, Thy two lotus feet, even

their random talk becomes the nectar juice of poetry.

Ah me! how shall I praise Thy greatness? I, of my own

uncontrollable desire approach Thee, of Thy mercy show favor

towards me and by Thy grace may I never be reborn.

adapted by FW from Hymn to Kali trans. Sir John Woodroffe.

To the Goddess named: Kali

‑The stars‑ are blotted out,

Clouds are covering clouds,

It is darkness, vibrant, sonant.

In the roaring whirling wind

Are the souls of a million lunatics,

But loosed from the prison house,

Wrenching trees by the roots,

Sweeping all from the path.

The sea has joined the fray,

And swirls up mountain-waves,

To reach the pitchy sky.

Scattering plagues and sorrows,

Dancing mad with joy,

Come, Mother, Come!

For Terror is thy name,

Death is in Thy breath,

And every shaking step

Destroys a world for ever.

Thou ‘Time’, the All-Destroyer!

Then come, O Mother, Come!

Who can misery love,

Dance in destruction’s dance,

And hug the form of Death,

To him the Mother Comes.

By Swami Vivekananda (1863)

as quoted in Kali, the Mother, p 111

by Sister Nivedita (Margaret Noble).

To the Goddess named: Kali

—Arise, My child—, and go forth a man! Bear manfully what is

thy lot to bear; that which comes to thy hand to be done, do

with full strength and fear not. Forget not that I, the giver

of manhood, the giver of womanhood, the holder of victory, am

thy Mother.

Think not life is serious! What is destiny but thy Mother’s

play? Come, be My playfellow awhile, —meet all happenings

merrily.

Murmurest thou of need of purpose? Think’st thou the ball is

purposeless, with which the Mother plays? Know’st thou not that

Her toy is a thunder-bolt, charged with power to shatter the

worlds, at the turn of Her wrist? Ask not of plans. Needs the

arrow any plan when it is loosed from the bow? Such art thou.

When the life is lived, the plan will stand revealed. Till

then, O child of time know nothing!

My sport is unerring. For that alone set forth on the day’s

journey. Think it was for My pleasure thou camest forth into

the world, and for that again, when night falls, and My desire

is accomplished, I shall withdraw thee to My rest. Ask nothing.

Seek nothing. Plan nothing. Let My will flow through thee, as

the ocean through an empty shell.

But this thing understand. Not one movement shall be in vain.

Not one effort shall fail at last. The dream shall be less, not

greater, than the deed. Thou shalt go here or there for some

petty reason, and thy going shall subserve great ends. Thou

shalt meet and speak with many, but some few shall be Mine from

the beginning. With these thou shall exchange a secret sign,

and they shall follow with thee.

And that sign?

Deep in the heart of hearts of Mine own flashes the

sacrificial knife of Kali. Worshippers of the Mother are they

from their birth in Her incarnation of the sword. Lovers of

death are they, — not lovers of life — and of storm and

stress.

Such shall come to thee with torch unlit for fire. My voice

cries out over the teeming earth for lives, for the lives and

blood of the crowned kings of men. Remember that I Who cry have

shown also the way to answer. For of every kind has the Mother

been the first, for protection of Her flock, to leap to death.

Religion, called by whatever name, has been ever the love of

death. But today the flame of renunciation shall be lighted in

My lands and consume men with a passion beyond control of

thought. Then shall My people thirst for self-sacrifice as

others for enjoyment. Then shall labor and suffering and

service be counted sweet instead of bitter. For this age is

great in time, and I, even I, Kali, am the Mother of the

nations.

Shrink not from defeat, embrace despair. Pain is not

different from pleasure, if I will both. Rejoice therefore,

when thou comest to the place of tears, and see Me smile. At

such spots do I keep My tryst with men, and fold them deep into

My heart.

Uproot every interest that would conflict with Mine. Neither

love, nor friendship, nor comfort, nor home, may make its voice

heard when I speak. Pass from a palace to plunge into the ocean

of terror, —from the chamber of ease to stand guard in a

burning city. Know that as the one is unreal, so also is the

other. Meet fate with a smile.

Look for no mercy for thyself, and I shall make thee bearer

of great vessels of mercy to others. Accept bravely thine own

darkness and thy lamp shall cheer many. Fulfill gladly the

meanest service, and leave high places unsought.

Be steadfast in the toil I set thee. Weave well the warp into

the woof. Shrink from no demand that the task makes on thee.

Feel no responsibility. Ask for no reward.

Strong, fearless, resolute, —when the sun sets, and the

game is done, thou shalt know well, little one, that I, Kali,

the giver of manhood, the giver of womanhood, and the

withholder of victory, am thy Mother.

The Voice of the Mother from Kali The Mother by Sister Nivedita (1897)

published by Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati Pithoragarh, Himalayas.

Second edition 1983.

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named: Core

‑Kore, Caro mia‑,

Daughter darling,

Elder's Younger,

Demeter's dear

earth essence,

bright bloom,

Fresh fruit,

beauty's best,

fragrant blossom,

Fairest flower,

sweet girl,

chaste child, snatched -

Snatched suddenly away.

Didst desert,

down-doomed,

dwindled,

dis-appeared,

deathward

dispersed.

Left us

desolate, dread-full,

groaning, grieving,

Hopeless, hungering.

Ah! but -

Vanquished, vanished,

there in hiding:

Secret swelling.

One pip, one pit,

one nut, one bean,

one pea, One grain,

one seed, one only, oh!

Wondrous womb-work -

Earth enriched, earth enriching,

recurrent respringing re-generation.

Again arise, arise again,

One

Matrix mystery made into many.

Kore, Caro mia, one maid into many.

FW 06/20/84

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named: Kuan-Shih-Yin

‑No lover‑ of fair visions

Born of mind and caught

By the painter's brush

Or carver’s hand

Can well resist

Kuan Yin’s enchantment.

No follower of the Way

Beyond the Hidden Gate

But longs to read the secret

Reflected in Her eyes,

To know what lies behind

Her enigmatic smile.

Whence rose that shining being,

Divine embodiment

Of pure compassion?

Whence came such faith

In Kuan Yin’s power

To ferry sentient beings

Across samsara’s ocean?

Where did She first appear

And how acquire

Her mellifluous name

- Kuan Shih Yin,

Hearer-of-Cries?

The Enigma

Anonymous (but probably by John Blofeld)

from Bodhisattva of Compassion, The Mystical Tradition of Kuan Yin

by John Blofeld

Goddess Reference — Cyclopedia Index

Invocations, Pleas, Poems, praise, prayers, Hymns and Other Homage to HER:

the Goddess named: Kuan-Shih-Yin

World-Honoured Lord and Perfect One,

I pray thee now declare

Wherefore this holy Bodhisat

Is known as Kuan Shih Yin?

To this the Perfect One replied

By uttering this song:

‑The echoes‑ of Her holy deeds

Resound throughout the world.

So vast and deep the vows She made

When, after countless aeons

Of serving hosts of Perfect Ones,

She voiced Her pure desire

(To liberate afflicted beings).

Now hearken to what came of it -

To hear Her name or see Her form,

Or fervently recite Her name

Delivers beings from every woe.

Were you with murderous intent

Thrust within a fiery furnace,