Hinduism is a source of inspiration in myriad Western spiritual communities, with practitioners offering devotions to Hindu deities on their home altars as readily as they supplicate resurrected and reconstructed divinities from other pantheons. Combine this trend with a confluence of feminism, goddess-focused spiritualities, and a growing Indian-American population that has Hindu diasporic roots and bi-cultural sensibilities, and we witness the birthing of new, culturally relevant and accessible Hinduisms.

Know that we recognize Spirit as the lantern, which, perhaps for reasons unknown, calls to you. Should the soft hearth-glow beckon and you acknowledge, we invite you to come! For it is not only the light that will beckon. It is the night and all that resides within and beyond that will welcome you in with graceful spirit.

As you approach, learn and practice that which is true to Her heart, to your heart. Let the strong black arms of Kali Maa wrap snugly around you, offering guidance and protection. As this happens, know too that as all earth-bound spirits cast shadows, there will be a time you must confront your own…your own Shadow. A shadow, that which is neither light or dark, that which veils, that which can be deceiving, changing shape so constantly that it becomes nearly impossible to tell where the source actually originates.