Daughters of Kali

Ordination

Kali Puja Ritual

Calendar

Mantras

Kali Vidya (Online)

Frequently Asked Questions

Sha'can is an authentic lineage tradition given to us through blood-right and initiatory blessing. With origins in the Craft (commonly referred to as Wicca) and the Śākta marga (way or path of Goddess-worshiping Hindu Tantra), we weave together the paths of both the Śākta Tantrick and the Witch. At its core, Sha'can expands Tantrick Mother Worship and sanctifies earth-based embodied spirituality by bringing Kalika Devi to life with relevance for our circumstances today on Western shores. In our tradition, we celebrate the commonalities of thought and practice that bring the marginal to center. From here, we hold that everything is possible.

Sha'can is at once groundbreaking and what has always happened with goddess worshipers in and beyond India--we create what we need, for She can not be ignored! Ours is a Western Tantrick tradition that deeply honors its lineages, carrying the Śākta path from India to the West and revivifying the Old Religion, while at the same time embracing new wisdom as it serves the work of the Divine. Indeed, Śākta Tantra articulated through Sha'can is a rooted category of challenge to the dominant culture in which it is found and from which it comes. The tradition is helping to build self-worth and positive identity frameworks for practitioners; is fostering the development of participatory and engaged spirituality; and is providing tools for the affirmation of śakti in the world. It is a new religion inspired by the old, relevant to the circumstances of today, and grounded in the potentials of tomorrow.

Learn more about our Tantrick roots...and how Shakta Tantra is emerging in the West today.

We at SHARANYA are dedicated to promoting a vision of the world as a global community, alive in its diversity, united in its essential humanity. We recognize the spark we all share no matter what our address, be it New York or Kolkata. We share our work with you and hope that regardless of your personal spiritual path, you will join us in our efforts to celebrate life, create peace, and bridge the worlds of difference no matter where they may exist or how they may manifest.

The way into the Sha'can tradition is through participation in our monthly pujas, community meditation circles, special events or by invitation (click here for our 2009 calendar). Those interested in a deeper engagement with our Śākta Tantra and community may join us for Daughters of Kali, which accepts new members each summer. To learn more about the Daughters of Kali program, visit our Daughters of Kali page.

For those outside the San Francisco Bay Area wishing to join the Sha'can path and SHARANYA community, please be with us through Kali Vidya, our online Mystery School. We look forward to welcoming you to our community! (Stay tuned too for our upcoming publications...more as they become available.)

If you are in the Bay Area, do come join us! All are welcome to attend monthly pujas and celebrate the divine Mother, Goddess Kali. Bring your children, your loved ones, your hopes, and your instigations for fun in Her name. For an introduction to Kali Puja, click here and learn more about what we do. You can also listen to some of the puja celebration and join us in chanting...

Pilgrimage offers those seeking Goddess in Her most powerful forms (through Kali, any of the Mahavidyas, Matrikas, and Yoginis) an opportunity to discover Her mysteries more deeply and sweetly. Each voyage invites the devotee to delve deeper into her or his spiritual path, expand horizons, learn first-hand about living Goddess traditions, and experience the history and culture of the birthplace of Tantra. If you join us, you will access and visit temples and spiritual sites otherwise hard to reach, gaining entrance to a world often off-limits to foreign visitors. Come with us to meet priests, tantricks, women adepts, and spiritual seekers devoted to the Divine Mother!

OUR COVENANT... I. Sa'ham (She I am): I am the Goddess manifest; I recognize Her in all of Creation. II. I remember all that is, was and ever will be. Live the present moment, honor the ancestors, respect the future generations; time is not linear, but travels in a sacred spiral that spans all of existence. III. I provoke, invoke and live the Divine Will. Commit to transforming yourself, your community and the planet by doing the work of spirituality; make your practice that of the awakened mystic in our time. Evam Astu! So mote it be! \

The Sha'can tradition offers many opportunities for the neophyte as well as the initiate on the path to practice, worship, learn, deepen, and cultivate spiritual leadership. At SHARANYA, those seeking an understanding of and way into Sha'can begin with Daughters of Kali. Those who receive initiation are welcomed into the Kaula, or family of initiates. Initiates in the tradition are then able to work in two main chakras or spiritual circles: Yogini Chakra, and Matrika Chakra. You may visit this page to find out more detailed information and requirements for each level of engagement.

For those who wish to delve deeper upon completing a year-and-a-day with Daughters of Kali, initiation is possible. This is a decision come to only after deep personal reflection, commitment, and dedicated work on the path. After initiation, many choose to further deepen study and practice in our ongoing circle of initiates, the Yogini Chakra. Many in our community stay in this circle, becoming mentors and elders in community.

From this place, it is also possible to continue the journey, working toward ordination and recognition as full clergy: the Rashani and Rashana of Sha'can. This path is available to any committed seeker. Visit our ordination information to find out more detailed information and requirements for each level of engagement and commitment in Sha'can.

An overview of Daughters of Kali and the initiate circles follows:

Daughters of Kali

Objective: To develop personal practice within Sha'can and deepen worship of the Dark Goddess; to gain basic techniques and understandings through learning of cosmology, practice, language, and ritual in the tradition that help guide spiritual development.

Some of what you will learn:

• The history and foundation of Sha'can
  
• Cosmology and cosmogony of the tradition
  
• Principles of Tantra and Shakta Tantra
  
• History and context for worship of Kali and other Hindu goddesses
  
• Mantras to ground material and work with deities
  
• Foundations of ritual work (purification, invocations, etc.)
  
• Components of the Kali Puja - I
  
• Foundations of individual practice (grounding and centering, spell work, divination, energy work, creating sacred space, meditation, etc.)