Overheard on my blog:
>>>I honestly don´t understand why people would like God to be "Nothingness" or "Nothing", not even metaphorically speaking. I mean, dude, wazza point? And why *that* particular metaphor? Rather than, say, the metaphor of a mysterious person hiding in the endless night...
So I asked Gemini to make a picture of an Ascended Master approaching the One of Neoplatonism. A propos the previous blog post...
Both ChatGPT and Gemini told me (after the usual tedious prompts et cetera) that my "religious" ideas are fairly close to Neoplatonism and Theosophy. Which seems to be more or less correct. So I suppose the Machine understands me better than the ridiculous quizzes which constantly make me Unitarian Universalist!
Or maybe not, since further conversations made ChatGPT pair me with Kashmir Shaivism (it does that all the time), while Gemini proposed that I sound like a synthesis between Gaudiya Vaishnavism (think Hare Krishna) and Aurobindo´s Integral Yoga?!
Ahem...
Back to square one?
Det här är som bekant inte en skvallerblogg. Utom när det faktiskt är det. Nu är det väl officiellt? Vår ofrivilliga grannbloggare *måste* helt enkelt vara autistisk!
Lyssna här: "En gång i tiden sökte jag själv jobb på just Riddarhuset när Riddarhuset genealogtjänst utlystes (jag fick dock aldrig tjänsten ifråga) och när jag gick i mellanstadiet och högstadiet var jag närmast besatt av Europas olika suveräna furstehus (och antagligen för att jag är adopterad) och jag ritade därför upp stamtavlorna över flertalet av desamma i ett dussintal s k kollegieblock som jag fortfarande har sparat i någon flyttkartong."
End it already, we need a new cosmology pronto! Yes, this makes science (or certain branches thereof) a laughing stock...
A short video from Dr Robert (!) about yoginis, the quasi-divine fairy folk of Hindu-Buddhist folklore. IF THAT´S WHAT IT IS, MU HA HA HA!
So is Durga associated with witches and various paranormal entities? Gemini and ChatGPT have somewhat different takes on the matter. Or maybe not.
[Gemini version] Is Durga associated with witches, dakinis or yoginis?
Yes, Goddess Durga is intimately, fundamentally tied to yoginis, dakinis, and what Western cultures would categorize as witches.
In the complex landscape of Tantra and Shaktism, these figures are not separate from Durga; they are her shadow forms, her battlefield commanders, and the raw, wild, un-domesticated expressions of her own cosmic power (Shakti).
The connection shifts seamlessly across folklore, classical scripture, and advanced Tantra:
In classical Hindu texts like the Devi Mahatmyam and the Puranas, yoginis are explicitly described as manifestations, attendants, or emanations of Durga herself.
The Battlefield Strategy: During Durga’s cataclysmic cosmic wars against demons like Shumbha, Nishumbha, and Raktabija, she manifests specialized female forces from her own body. When the demon Raktabija threatened to duplicate himself every time a drop of his blood hit the earth, Durga multiplied her energy into the 64 Yoginis (and the Matrikas, or Mother Goddesses). The yoginis leaped into action, forming a circular formation to catch and drink his blood before it touched the ground.
The Mandala of Power: Over time, these entities evolved into the famous Chausath (64) Yogini Cults of medieval India. Unlike standard Hindu deities housed in enclosed, dark shrines, the 64 Yoginis were worshipped in unique, hypaethral temples—completely circular and open to the sky. Durga (often in her form as Mahamaya or Chandi) sits at the exact center of this circle as the high commander, while the 64 yoginis face inward around her, representing different facets of her sovereign power.
The term Dakini undergoes an extraordinary evolution that bridges Hindu Tantra, folk belief, and Tantric Buddhism, always keeping a tether to Durga.
The Wrathful Attendants: In early Hindu puranic literature, Dakinis are depicted alongside Yoginis as the fierce, terrifying, and blood-drinking attendants of Durga or Kali on the charnel grounds. They represent the untamed, destructive aspect of nature that devours the human ego.
The Transmutation: In standard folk tradition, the word dakini was often used with fear to describe forest spirits or consumer entities. However, in Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism, the Dakini was elevated to the highest spiritual status: the "Sky Dancer" (Khandroma). Here, she is the embodiment of fluid, sharp, liberating wisdom. The Buddhist deity Vajrayogini (a supreme dakini) directly inherits her aesthetic—dancing on corpses, holding a skull cup and a flaying knife—straight from the wrathful matrix of Durga/Kali.
When Western researchers first encountered the texts and temples of the Yoginis and Dakinis, they almost universally translated the terms as "witches," "sorceresses," or "goblins." While those words carry a Judeo-Christian stigma of evil, the indigenous reality is much more complex:
The Linguistic Root: In modern northern India, the derogatory slang for a witch is Dayan or Dankuni. This word is a direct, corrupted linguistic evolution of Dakini.
The Human-Divine Blur: In Tantric Kaula lineages, the boundary between a goddess and a human woman is completely fluid. A highly realized female practitioner who mastered esoteric herbs, energy manipulation, and shape-shifting was believed to literally embody a Yogini.
The Counter-Culture: Like historical Western witches, the yogini/dakini cults operated completely outside mainstream, puritanical patriarchal norms. They practiced in secret, remote places (cremation grounds, deep forests, waterfalls), worked with taboo materials, and subverted social hierarchies.
If Durga is the supreme queen who protects cosmic order (Dharma) on a macro level, the Yoginis and Dakinis are her subterranean special forces.
They are the parts of the Divine Feminine that refuse to be neat, gentle, or safely domesticated. They represent the terrifying, ecstatic, and magical undercurrent of existence. To worship Durga in her deepest, most esoteric capacity is to inherently step into the circle of her yoginis—acknowledging that true spiritual liberation requires facing the wild, untamed, and "witchy" shadows of our own consciousness.
For a deeper exploration into the architectural marvels, hidden rituals, and history of these open-air esoteric temples, you can explore this documentary on
[ChatGPT version] Is Durga associated with witches, dakinis and so on?
Yes, but with important nuances. Durgā is not usually a “witch goddess” in the sense of a deity of sorcery or occult beings, but she has strong connections with themes that overlap with what, in other cultures, might be called witches, wild women, magical beings, and liminal feminine powers.
A few layers:
Durgā is the supreme warrior form of Devī in many Śākta traditions. She commands the mātṛkās (Mother goddesses) and other fierce divine forces.
Her circle includes beings such as:
These beings are not simply “witches”; they are often understood as manifestations of awakened or cosmic feminine energy.
This is probably the strongest link.
The Yogini tradition is closely associated with Śākta Tantra.
Yoginīs are portrayed as:
Durgā as Devī is often understood as their source or ruler.
This gives her a “mistress of magical feminine forces” aspect.
In the Devi Mahatmya, Durgā fights demons and releases various fierce powers.
She is surrounded by:
Her battlefield is not only physical — symbolically it is the realm where:
The word ḍākinī is especially prominent in Vajrayāna Buddhism.
A ḍākinī can mean:
The closest Hindu parallels are often:
Durgā is not usually called a ḍākinī, but the fierce, transformative, sky-roaming feminine energy overlaps.
A useful symbolic contrast:
So if Saraswati is the wisdom that illuminates, Durgā is the power that clears away what prevents illumination.
Given your earlier questions about mystery, prophecy, deception, Varuṇa, and dakinis, you might find a particularly interesting connection in Durgā as the power who rules the dangerous thresholds: the spaces between ordinary consciousness and the hidden world. She is not the witch herself; she is the sovereign power over the forces that witches, yogis, and tantric practitioners seek to understand or awaken.
Det här är faktiskt sjukt. Observera dödssiffrorna: 300 000 - 500 000 på den ryska sidan, 100 000 på den ukrainska. Fast egentligen är det ju ingen som vet säkert...
Idag har kriget i Ukraina pågått längre än första världskriget
