You are on page 1of 2

The Kaula Ritual Year ((In construction)

(Hindu Month Chaitra/Vaishakha)


Starts New Moon April 29th:
New Year / First Month
Ratro Machendranath Rath Jatra "The Chariot Ride of Red Machendra" (Gorakhnath)
Given the timing with many other festival days internationally, one can but think this is a cosmological conjunctions of some kind. In Oxford it is May eve exactly - when two
dragons, one red and one white battle it out at the crossing point of the river.
There are also red and white machendras. The season suggests a ritual combat when one colour wins out over the other. The chariots are vehicles of gods who are
transported out of their secluded temples to ride on great constructions pulled by thousands of ecstatic devotees.
An almost identical religious activity is noted from ancient Egypt. The chariot is a vehicle of war but gods ride in boats or portable barque shrines. In modern day Luxor they
still drag boats out of the river, place them on trailers at the head of thousands of emotional people,
Perhaps your image of Shiva should be raised this day, go out and fnd crowds if you can. Think also of the Chariot Tarot card and the mystical quest to be a rider in the
chariot.
The Kaula Ritual Year: Savitr/Savitri Puja. Image from Konarak Sun Temple. If you look carefully you will see a sequence of erotic postures. The sun god is only one who
wears boots. His chariot it pulled by seven horses.
Savitr is the sun god, Savitri a solar goddess. Some say the legend of Savitri is similar to the myth of Isis & Osiris:
"The tale of Satyavan and Savitri is recited in the Mahabharata as a story of conjugal love conquering death. But this legend is, as shown by many features of the human
tale, one of the many symbolic myths of the Vedic cycle. Satyavan is the soul carrying the divine truth of being within itself but descended into the grip of death and
ignorance; Savitri is the Divine Word, daughter of the Sun, goddess of the supreme Truth who comes down and is born to save; Aswapati, the Lord of the Horse, her
human father, is the Lord of Tapasya, the concentrated energy of spiritual endeavour that helps us to rise from the mortal to the immortal planes; Dyumatsena, Lord of the
Shining Hosts, father of Satyavan, is the Divine Mind here fallen blind, losing its celestial kingdom of vision, and through that loss its kingdom of glory. Still this is not a
mere allegory, the characters are not personifed qualities, but incarnations or emanations of living and conscious Forces with whom we can enter into concrete touch and
they take human bodies in order to help man and show him the way from his mortal state to a divine consciousness and immortal life."
- summary of tantrik adept Sri Aurobindu epic poem
The Kaula ritual year: Birth of Kumar, Kartikeya from fery "seed" of Shiva. Also as known in Tamil lands as Murugan. Agni interrupts Shiva's lovemaking (which does go on
a long time!) causing him to ejaculate into his begging bowl, He drinks this but cannot keep it down and vomits into the river Ganges - from this union of fre and water is
born Kartikeya.
Kartikeya (Skanda): is the Hindu god of masculinity and warfare - he is the leader of the armies of the gods. His name means "him of the Pleiades".
The drinking & vomiting of "shiva seed" (used elsewhere are a name for a special potion) suggests some sort of plant medicine is involved. Kamil Zvelebil has written
several books about the alchemical mysteries of the Siddhas et al. Each adept prepares his own unique version of the potion, called a "muppu" the exact contents of which
are secret. The whole episode suggests some form of Eucharist magick, preparing something like the "cakes of light".
The sixth day of the lunar month is particularly important as it often is in lunar calendars from other traditions.
"Tankhem" connection: In ancient Egypt this month dedicated to Thoth, whose birth from sublimated semen (of Horus via Seth) is recounted in one of his most important
myths. Thus providing an interesting parallel to the Hindu version - and insight into sexual magick.
Month of "Shravana"
New moon 26th July 2014.
Shravana is the name of a star rising this month. Month is dedicated to Shiva especially the myth of the churning of the ocean of milk, a myth that encodes several
alchemical / body magick secrets. Some practice a partial fast on Mondays (moonday) taking only liquids in daylight hours.
Shravana is one of stars in constellation Makara or Capricorn. Traditional Hindu personal names are determined by which quarter of the lunar mansion at time of birth thus
names would begin with khi khu the or kho. A makara is a fabulous beast very like a Capricorn - Hindu astrology a direct translation of Greek.
The Kaulavalinirnaya (9th section) says Devi should be worshiped on new & full moon then some other days 8th, 14th, and 15th day of the dark half of the lunar month.
[there is a possible redundancy in the text as 15th day of dark half (ie period from full-new moon) would also be the new moon?]. This is the pattern of ritual days or "kalas"
within lunar month.
This is a repeating cycle throughout the lunar-solar year. For those interesting in possible Tankhem connections - the Indian lunar month must also be standardized to 30
days which is same as for Egyptian.
In the Egyptian ritual month - the common ritual days are: New Moon, Day 5 (oferings on the Altar), Day 6, Full Moon, Day 16 (second arrival day) Day 23 second quarter
day.
Or New Moon, Day 2 First Crescent, Day 4 Going fourth of Sem priests, Day 6 & Full moon. (source RYIAE)
[NB: Ganesh Chatur is fourth day of next lunar month 29th August]
Margashirsha (Hindu Lunar Month begins 2nd December)
Rituals culminate at Full Moon. In Nepal they make special sweet cakes called "Yomarhi" for the day (... Amavasya) shaped like Ganesh, animals, fruits etc. There is even a
period of "incubation" for fve days when the cakes are sealed in a special box to "grow".
Marga-Shirsha is the name of the month(?). The special event is the full moon conjunction with constellation Mriga-Shiras. Mriga = "deer", Shirsha/Shiras/Sharas = "head"
ie Orion. For some this is also the frst month of the year. For those interested in crossover with ancient Egyptian events, this month also important astronomically, being
sacred to the star goddess Nuit.
30 January begins holy month of Magh ("The Bountiful") -
also the name of a constellation
5th lunar day devoted to Sarasvati - Hindu goddess of learning.
(Swasthani) Parvati fasted in this month to impress Shiva with her austerities. There is a text to read for this festival
28th of Feb one of the years twilights and known as Mahashiva Ratri
(The long night of Shiva).
[Interestingly the ancient Egyptian calculated the new moon day by observing the waning moon over several nights - on a long night when no crescent is observed the
following day is that of the new moon]
Holi (named after demoness Holika) 17 March (Full Moon)
Famous for its festival of colors - these colored powders should be natural substances like tumeric (haldi), KumKum. They are all herbs from the Ayurvedic medical
pharmacopoeia. Their use is therefore to ward of the diseases of the times, ie to throw of the winter humours.
There doesn't seem to be any specifc liturgy apart from this lord of misrule thing and a festival bon-fre. There are several myths which function as "historiola" for the ritual
act. The demoness Holika is daughter of a very ancient A-sura demon and related to the original seven (demonic?) sages who sung the cosmos into existence. Her father
Hiranya is the Golden eyed demon.
The Kaula Ritual Year: The full moons of the year are called Purnima or Punhi and are all holy days. The full moon in April (Chaitra) is one of the most auspicious, coming
as it does at the beginning of the new year. It is particularly appropriate for the "holy dip",

You might also like