Ancient goddess spotlight: Shakti

May 7, 3:39 PMWomen's Issues ExaminerJuliette Fretté

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  Portrayal of Shiva - Shakti

~Goddess of Sexual Energy~

Shakti (pronounced Shock-tee) is actually a name for the activating force of female energy.  Similarly, the eponymous Hindu goddess herself is considered to be active feminine energy incarnate.  To be precise, she is the activator goddess of sex, as well as the animating force of the universe.  An aspect of great tantric goddess Devi, Shakti's specific function is to awaken the dormant or static energy of the male god Shiva -- who essentially sleeps until his ethereal partner wakes him up for otherworldly intercourse. 

Since union is integral to her activating role, Tantric mystics perceive union with Shakti as the ultimate union, which can only occur for humans after death -- when souls reintegrate with the divine source.

Interesting and contrary to modern perceptions of femininity and masculinity, the feminine shakti energy is considered active while the male energy is considered passive.  Therefore, the woman takes charge in much of Indic mythology.  Yet more generally, shakti can be used to describe any activating female force or deity in antiquity. 

Indeed, every Indic male deity has his own activating consort, or shakti.  This pattern can even be observed in other ancient cultures and civilizations including Greek and Roman pantheons.  For example, the Roman queen of the gods known as Juno is the shakti of Jupiter while her Greek counterpart Hera plays the role of shakti to Zeus.

Similar to other ancient goddesses worldwide, Shakti is associated with a serpent, who in turn represents the embodiment of the snake-like kundalini energy -- another name for the activating force expressed through sexual union.

Sources:
The Goddess Oracle by Amy Sophia Marashinsky (2002)
Whence the Goddesses: A Source Book by Miriam Robbins Dexter (1990)

Other articles of interest:

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Juliette Frette