What is Mā Kālī's Vibe? | Distinctive Features of Kālī Pūjā

I'm just so thrilled about all the new Kālī content we've been putting out this past month, in the days leading up to Śyåma Kālī Pūjā, and the weeks after:

First, in How To Get Possesed By Kālī we carefully explained what it is to be a paśu or anu, a discreet unit of consciousness (i.e an embodied soul or jīva) and then carefully pointed out why the ānavopaya is so suited for most of us, despite our pretense at high-flying non-dual philosophies! The ānavopaya assumes duality, individuality and the separate, external existence of God that can be invoked, evoked and experienced in the vigraha (image). We discussed how the goal of ānavopaya is a kind of immersion in the Goddess through worship and other techniques that can very well be understood as a kind of "possession" (aveśa) experience.

Then, having explained all of that, we presented you with How To Get Started With Kālī Worship and also Who Is Kali? | & A Ritual to Invoke Her to kickstart your practice and for more seasoned practitioners, we even went over a A Left Hand Path Ritual for Kālī having given some nuance and context for it in Introducing The Left Hand Worship of Kālī

And for whatever reason if you're somehow not convinced about the power and importance of ritual worship in your spiritual life (because you're attached to some notion of non-duality or something, for instance), we make a case for it in The Essence of Tantra | & Why You Should Learn Pūjā. I think it's neat also that you can watch a demo of the whole pūjā (in an albeit abbreviated form) in Śyāmā Kālī Pūjā 2025.

Of course, lectures like How To Say Grounded & Reasonable In Kālī Pūjā and The Two Extremes of Kālī Worshipadd further theoretical nuance to the very practice-oriented, anavopaya-esque discussions aforementioned and I am particularly fond of this year's Hallowe'en special Vampires, Kali and Christ | A Hallowe'en Special which was about yoginīs and what not but also touched upon some pretty deep themes regarding free will vs determinism ("my" will vs. "God's" will that is and if they can even be distinguished!).

Anyway, in this class, I point out some distinctive features in Kālī pūjā like the ghost worship, jackal worship, cremation ground sacrifices, the transgressive offerings and animal/human sacrifice that give this pūjā and the Deity to whom it is offered its unique flavor! 

Jai Śrī Rādha-Rānī Ki Jai!