Shiva and Shakti

Once upon a time, in a timeless time, long ago- after the death of Sati, Shiva (god of dissolution and regeneration) sat in an unbreakable meditation in a cave, high up in the Himalayas. Brahma (god of creation) started to become very worried again as Shiva is responsible for the cycles of time. All is born of the milky ocean; the substrate of existence from which springs out again and again our limitless reality, and all must disintegrate back into the milky ocean. So Brahma sends Parvati, daughter of the mountain king Himavant, to stir Shiva from his deep stillness. Parvati had admired Shiva from afar and was excited by the opportunity to mingle.

Parvati dressed in her finest adornments, with flowers and fresh fruit in tow, danced at the cave opening trying to get Shiva’s attention. Nothing- He completely ignores her. So she tries again the next day, and the next day, and the next day, persistent in her efforts. Eventually complete annoyance sets in and Parvati decides to beat Shiva at his own game. She goes out into the forest and drops into meditation. On a lotus flower of 1,000 petals, she writes down each of her emotions. While feeling all of her feels- fires begin to emerge, then floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanos erupt, then earthquakes and tsunamis. The pure force of energy stirs Shiva from his meditation. Both impressed and slightly terrified, Shiva seeks the one who has caused such a display. He finds Parvati meditating, takes the lotus flower from her hands, and the storm recedes.

Shiva takes Parvati as his consort, she who is the goddess of divine strength, marriage, harmony, and fertility. Shiva promises that he will hold the container for her, so that at anytime she can experience her full spectrum of emotions. The divine feminine has a thousand names and a thousand moods. Shiva without Parvati (shakti) and the world remains inert, stagnant. Shakti without Shiva and there is no steady ground, no container to hold the world.