Durga, the Goddess of Protection.

Durga is the ultimate Mother, she wards off danger with her multitude of weapons, protecting us as only a mother can. Invoke Durga to channel your compassionate warrior self.(description by Sarah Tomlinson)

For a few years I've wanted to put together a collection of mandalas. Up until now all mandalas I've made have been custom and made to order but each time I always think that by making a collection for customers to choose from, the purchase price could be lower, more marketing avenues would be possible and this would also allow more freedom in my creative development process.

our yantra drawings get xeroxed many times during the making process

My new collection is coming together and I've been posting in process shots so you may have seen sneak peaks over the past 2 months. Today, Rob and I finished the first one which is a DURGA Yantra.

here after the bisque firing, awaiting glaze

Durga is the Goddess of Protection and is the ultimate Mother. She embodies a radiant power that is the unified force of all the divine energies. She appears when there is the need to establish balance and harmony, peace and prosperity within the self, within the world. As is the self, so is the world. She destroys, she triumphs compassionately, ultimately she is the mother of all.

A yantra is a type of mandala, and in Sanskrit literally means a tool for self-realization. A yantra is a kind of map of the self, and of the universe. The Durga yantra is visually the most powerful yantra after the Sri Yantra. If you would like more information about yantras and the Sri Yantra, see my post from last fall.

we used many textures of glaze especially with the various whites and ivories and are pleased with the effect

One doesn't have to be religious to enjoy, appreciate and benefit from a mandala or a yantra. One doesn't even have to be religious to make them. There are in depth Hindu practices that include yantras and take these geometries to a new level, but these is great power inherent in a yantra that transcends religion or particular practices.

To give you a sense of how I approached yantra making, here is a bit of background. In 2012, I developed an interest in making yantras and received an ancient Tantric initiation that opened up quite a few doors for me and continues to do so. Teachers shared information that they otherwise wouldn't have which has been invaluable. I've always been fundamentally allergic to religion but insatiably interested in spiritual engagement. It was explained to me that although this Tantra has it's roots in Hinduism, this particular type of Tantra is a kind of shamanism. And as you may know, I've studied, practiced and integrated Core Shamanism fully into my world view so this enabled me to move forward with the initiation. Shamanism has never seemed like a religion to me either, more of a wholistic view of life that is so natural and innate.

If you like this one check my blog regularly as over the next few weeks as each mandala is complete, I'll be posting in here on Steemit first.