Lakshmi, Dhumavati, and Lilith

Lakshmi in this aspect.

Today, my Tantric friend Ekabhumi gifted me with a statue of a form of Lakshmi he was given in India- carved by people that he met while there, studying devotional art. (The picture at left is not mine- but it is similar.) I was drawn to the statue because it reminded me of my patroness- this particular Lakshmi rides an owl and holds a vessel of blessings.

Though her devotees pray to Lakshmi for wealth, her gifts are also of spiritual truth and purity, achieved through continual effort. This idea is represented by the lotus which, although it grows from the mud, remains pure and perfect, suggesting that the aim of her worshippers should be a spiritual state which transcends the material world.

Bejeweled and riding a crow.

My patroness has asked me to place offerings of suffering into a very similar vessel- and she transforms them into blessings to me and the person that I am healing. So my friend gave the statue to me, carefully explaining her attributes and how the Tantrics work with her. He also told me of Lakshmi's shadow, a goddess called Dhumavati. As someone who works with a few dark goddesses, I was riveted by the descriptions and did some more research.

Note the crows.

I believe the statue called to me for a reason, drawing me in to both Lakshmi (who bestows wealth and blessings, which are always needed!) and her shadow, with whom I also have much in common. Ooh, I love this set of twins, and see them- functioning as a unit- as manifestations of Lilith in Tantric culture. (In a similar fashion, I did a research paper for school about Lilith being the shadow of the Shekhina in Jewish mysticism recently, and the idea of a further twinning of the aspects of my patroness is intriguing.)

Thinking about Lilith in this way helps me work with different aspects of Her and allows me to explore her in a way that I have not done before. Not that working with her is an intellectual exercise, because it is not. Nor is it just in my head. But appealing to a part of a goddess is similar to appealing to an aspect of a human's personality. And just as we are multi-facted, they are even more so. So I am excited to work with both Lakshmi and Dhumavati in some way.

Yantra for Dhumavati

Dhumavati is the Divine Mother at the time of the deluge, when the Earth is under water. While being ugly and fearsome, she is blessing with her right hand those who can still see the Divine Mother in her. The black crow on her flag is the symbol of dark forces and black magic.

Dhumavati is one of the ten Mahavidyas - the others are Kali, Tara, Shodashi, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta and Matangi, Kamala and Bagla Mukhi. The Mahavidyas represent some or other incarnation or manifestation of the Divine Mother. They are in this sense also to be regarded as Vidyas or different approaches to (tantric) knowledge.

Sadhana of Dhumavati as unorganised divine energy (she is the void) leads to total awareness. Worship of Dhumavati is done in a completely naked state, in a crematorium or in a lonely spot on the darkest night in the descending moon cycle.

Dhumavati is described as a giver of siddhis (supernatural powers), a rescuer from all troubles, and a granter of all desires and rewards, including ultimate knowledge and moksha (salvation). Her worship is also prescribed for those who wish to defeat their foes. Dhumavati's worship is considered ideal for unpaired members of society, such as bachelors, widows, and world renouncers as well as Tantrikas. In her Varanasi temple, however, she transcends her inauspiciousness and acquires the status of a local protective deity. There, even married couples worship her. Although she has very few dedicated temples, her worship by Tantric ritual continues in private in secluded places like cremation grounds and forests....She dwells in the "wounds of the world", deserts, ruined houses, poverty, tatters, hunger, thirst, quarrels, mourning of children, in wild and other uncivilized, dangerous places. Widows in general are considered inauspicious, dangerous, and susceptible to possession by evil spirits. As a divine widow, Dhumavati is to be feared.^[21] Dhumavati is described as a hag or witch, crafty and quarrelsome...

You can see why I am drawn, right?

Tangible Witchcraft: Devotional Mask Making (Part Two)

Ishtar is coming together.

If you are just joining us, this is part two of this blog post. In part one, I go through most of the beginning steps on how to make a devotional mask and the hows and whys of my particular mask (of Lilith). I learned this craft so that I could then help others make theirs at the F(a)eri(e) Magic(k) Gathering, which I helped to organize this Labor Day weekend. (see related posts about that!)

Jared is making a jawless mask.

So after creating the outside of the mask and the wings, what was left? Well, for starters, I needed to attach the heavy wings somehow, and be sure that they created a veil that went all the way around my head (I wanted to be completely enclosed by Her energy in the mask). I also wanted to do some work on the inside of the mask- for the benefit of the wearer.

California Mugwort

So I started by taking some wildcrafted mugwort and steeping a strong infusion of it to paint on the inside of the mask. Mugwort is a strong plant ally in trance and dreaming work. Mugwort, also known as Motherwort, is sacred to moon goddesses (it is an emmenagogue, after all), and what is the moon but Lilith's Lantern?

Melisseus is painting his.

After that tea dried, I could embellish the inside of the mask as well. I blackened the inside so that I removed all distractions keeping me from engaging in the mask's purpose. Then I added the sigil that She gave me (it is on her sacred objects that I have made for Her before) to the forehead of the mask, on the inside, so that it covers my "third eye" when I wear the mask.

Three mask makers start the
embellishment process

Then I attached the wings with leather cord (I created 4 holes with an exacto knife in each wing, then laced them so make the stress point of attachment more diffuse, then attached each wing at two parts of the mask, tying the leather lace inside. I then reinforced the knot with some hot glue.

Then I needed to attach a cord to make the mask stay on, hands-free. I used a jacket cord (you know, the kind with a plastic slider on it?) instead of an elastic band. This is so my mask can get years of use without having to replace stretched out cord.

My mask is not yet complete in the pictures below, as the veil has not been attached and the wing edges were not covered - but this gives you an idea of the effect. Finally, after trying out the mask, Lilith told me that she wanted eye holes, as she wanted to move while talking and be able to approach people of her choosing. So I created some.

Just the right amount of fright

A profile look.

We used the masks in ritual that night, invoking who we worked with into the circle. I plan on using my mask in a more quiet way, as an aid in oracular work and to sit with Her in quiet moments, mainly.