A Little temple in the woods

Here we go. This entry represents the beginning of Northwoods Shakta. It is August, 2022, and soon we’ll be preparing for upcoming events and holidays. We started Northwoods Shakta with several goals in mind, but most of all community. To create community that may come together around faith, the love and devotion to the Divine Mother, as well as the principles of ecological and social justice, service work, dialogue, or just to be in a safe space where we are welcome in our full authenticity.

In the coming months Northwoods Shakta will make our first public appearance at the Duluth PRIDE festival. We’ll have a booth to say hi, hang out, and share some Indian music appreciation. Then, we’ll observe the transition of the autumn equinox. At that time, we’ll explore the themes of death, rest, and reflection through teachings and celebration that connect us with the Divine Mother, especially in Her form as Maa Kali. To us, death is a part of the cycle that gives rise to birth, and so death is respected. At this time of year, we explore what is “dying” both outside and within us. For example, through activities like citizen science, the belief that we can’t participate in ecological restoration efforts through such projects “dies” as we realize the impact we can have. How does that “death” help us grow, and what does it lead us to explore within ourselves? Perhaps what comes to mind is that it is often our belief in our powerlessness that prevents us from realizing how much we can really do, and what is truly possible. This will prepare us for winter, when we follow the call of silence and stillness to look inward. This winter we plan on starting a group self-compassion project. Such work helps us release fear and the false identities of our ego, awakening us to our True Nature. This will be explored more starting with the winter solstice. After the autumn equinox, we’ll begin our Navaratri celebration. Starting on September 26th, we’ll observe sadhana, praxis, each of the nine nights of the Goddess. Each night we’ll read a section of our core text, the Devi Mahatmyam, together before engaging in mantra and meditation, sharing food, and celebrating our love for Maa with music, art, and dance. We are, after all, bhaktas - practitioners of loving devotion, and just as Maa dances with wild abandon, so too our love joyously deconstructs the illusory barriers between the child and the Mother. I look forward to sharing pictures and reflections from those events and projects in this blog.

Northwoods Shakta is committed to creating and holding space for loving community. We welcome our cousins of all kinds, each a beautiful expression of the Divine Mother, and welcome dialogue toward the flourishing of us all.