Today is Chinnamastā Jayanti and last week we had Bagalāmukhī Jayanti.Since both of these are fierce and very esoteric forms of Kālī, I thought I would take this occasion to discuss some of the "darker" aspects of our Tantrik heritage since both of these deities, as well as many of the other Daśamahāvidyās are associated with magical practices of um, let's say, a less than savory nature according to the views of some more right-leaning practitioners. And Bagalā Devī especially has a strong association to cults that practice black magic with the purpose of binding, stunning and confounding enemies.What's all that about?In this talk, I want to make a case for why we should accept those aspects of our tradition but also strongly suggest a more devotional reading of these mantras and these forms of the Goddess. We do this by discussing Bagalāmukhī's dhyāna-ślokas (her meditation mantras), her origin story as per some śakta upa-puranas, the practices associated to her cult of worship and most importantly a story from the life of Sārada Devī where she actually manifested her Bagalā aspect to smite Harish, a devotee who had gone crazy because of his wife's black magic! This lecture is part of a series on the daśamahāvidyās which you can watch hereLater today, Mā willing, I'll upload a lecture called "The Dark Side of Tantra" exploring this idea more fully but here is my first swipe at it! Jai Mā! Jai Pītāmbara-Devī Ki Jai!Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectures. It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrMIf you'd like to support us, you can do so here:https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jaimakaliSupport the Show.