Tantric Kali: Practices and Rituals

According to the traditions of Kashmiri Shaivism, which date back to pre-Vedic times, Kali emerged from the third eye of the Goddess Durga as a destructive and terrifying manifestation of feminine power, sent to vanquish the forces of evil. To this day, Kali is worshipped throughout India as the destroyer of bondage, capable of liberating her devotees from all rules and subjugation.

In "Tantric Kali," Daniel Odier presents the mythology, practices, and rituals of Kali worship within the Tantric Kaula tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism. He reveals the practices of Vamachara, commonly known as the Left-hand Path, but more accurately translated as the Path of Shakti. In this tradition, the body itself is Kali's temple, and it is unnecessary to reject or deny the body to attain union with the divine. Nothing is regarded as pure or impure, and there is complete freedom from rules.

Focused on working directly with forbidden emotions and behaviors, this path allows the seeker to transcend obstacles to liberation through sexual union. According to the Kaula Upanishad, "In your behavior do the opposite to what the norms dictate but remain in consciousness." This is the essence of Tantra. Kali is absolute reality, manifested as a woman intoxicated by desire, and she frees the tantric practitioner from all desire except union with the divine.

The author includes an evocative ritual from the Nirrutara Tantra, never before translated into any Western language, containing devotions to the 64 yoginis according to Matsyendranath, the founder of the Kaula path. Offering devotional chants, meditations, and mudras specific to the Tantric worship of Kali, this empowering book provides practices and teachings for those on the Tantric path to liberation.

The mythology, rituals, meditations, and practices used in the Tantric worship of the goddess Kali in the tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism are the focus of this work. The author reveals the practices of Vamachara, commonly known as the Left-hand Path but more accurately translated as the Path of Shakti. In this tradition, the body itself is Kali's temple, and it is unnecessary to reject or deny the body to attain union with the divine. Nothing is regarded as pure or impure, and there is complete freedom from rules.

Focused on working directly with forbidden emotions and behaviors, this path allows the seeker to transcend obstacles to liberation through sexual union. Kali is absolute reality, manifested as a woman intoxicated by desire, and she frees the tantric practitioner from all desire except union with the divine. The author includes an evocative ritual from the Nirrutara Tantra, never before translated into any Western language, containing devotions to the 64 yoginis according to Matsyendranath, the founder of the Kaula path. Offering devotional chants, meditations, and mudras specific to the Tantric worship of Kali, this empowering book provides practices and teachings for those on the Tantric path to liberation.

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