Receiving wishes and blessings from Kali

Kali Blog Series

It was a delight creating the Kali Oracle and equally a relish to share it with the world. Many of you have loved connecting with Kali, the pure and ever-watchful goddess of supreme spiritual protection, through this oracle deck. Some of you had questions about the deck, so we opened a Q&A on my social media channels and the response was overwhelming. We have decided to evolve this into a larger blog series around Kali, so you can dig even deeper into your practice and dance, revel and rejoice in the presence of the Great Mother.

Does Kali fulfil wishes?

Yes, she is known for this. And this gets very interesting, as Bhadrakali – ‘Bhadra’ meaning fortunate, auspicious, blessed in Sanskrit – is a boon-giving Kali and she is also considered extremely fierce. That apparent paradox helps us experience the mystery of Our Dark Mother: if she is fierce, how can she also be giving? It can only really be that way if the ferocity is towards the obstacles, that which would obstruct the flow of grace.

How can you receive a blessing?

The best way to receive a blessing from Kali is to be as open and pure of heart as possible. Just show up as a child to its mother with complete trust and expectation that what is needed will be given generously without you having to know in advance what that will be or how it will look. Be open.

Sincerely ask for what you want and, if you can, ask that it be granted in such a way that all beings receive spiritual benefit. Then you need to trust. Faith is what activates the miraculous and generous nature of the Universe in our lives. This is taught in every spiritual, religious, shamanic and folk tradition that I have encountered thus far.

How does Kali show up in our lives?

Kali showing up in our lives is about two things: karmic connection and divine timing.

Karmic Connection

In this context, a karmic connection is a positive thing. A karmic connection with the deity means that you have a spiritual relationship with that being. That connection may have started many lifetimes ago. The soul remembers the connection at a deeper level of consciousness; even if you do not recognise the connection immediately at an intellectual level, it can be there nonetheless. At the right time, the relationship becomes known to you once more. Reconnecting with the deity in this lifetime is like picking up the thread of an ongoing conversation between the divine one and your soul. Do you have a friend that you can talk to like you had seen them only last week, when in fact it’s been several years since you connected? The divine relationship has such resilience and enduring affection too.

Such a karmic connection is established in various ways. One way is that you are born into a family or culture that honours the deity, or you have a meaningful experience while travelling in a culture where that deity has arisen strongly. There are countless stories about the divine mother showing up in different forms depending on where you travel – from a Frenchman praying to Mother Mary while travelling in China and seeing an apparition of Kuan Yin in response, to my own experience of White Tara appearing while I was taking Tibetan initiations in South India, and her feeling rather like my beloved Mother Mary who appears to me when I am in the West. Of course, Kuan Yin has appeared when I was in Seattle for work, and so on – this is not a hard and fast rule, but rather just noteworthy that in the same way that local plants tend to be hardier and more abundant, the deity in natural cultural habitat has a strong presence. They can become present elsewhere – anywhere there are devotees – but the source lands are often particularly potent. I wrote a book about the oneness of these forms of the Divine Mother – including Kali Ma – called The Kuan Yin Transmission™ if want to learn more about this.

You may also become aware of signs of a karmic connection. Maybe you feel an interest in the deity without knowing why. Maybe your interest is sparked through seeing a picture or hearing someone talk about the divine being. Something in you has a response to that – it could be a pleasant response or an uncomfortable response, but if there is a response, the connection is there.

Divine Timing

Then it is a matter of divine timing. The rhythm of the soul aligns with divine timing. The soul evokes or attracts certain beings at certain times. You may have a karmic connection with Kali, yet it lies dormant within your consciousness. You don’t realise your connection until certain events take place and suddenly your relationship with her can become significant.

That is why I encourage you to trust when you are attracted to working with Kali. Your soul and Kali will be having a conversation of their own about what’s happening and why she is needed in your life. It could be that you are working through a pronounced form of negativity – transforming rejecting maternal energies, working through an autoimmune condition, learning not to take on projections from other people, or perhaps she is manifesting to help you step into your power and embrace your life in a more authentic way. There are countless reasons as to why she shows up and the way that she manifests – in circumstances, in teachings, in dreams or meditative vision, in a deep belly knowing and so on. Kali Blog Series

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