Goddess Practices for Abundance and Prosperity: Lesson One

Goddess Practices for Abundance and Prosperity: Lesson One

 

There’s a discomfort that arises when spiritual people begin to talk about money. Somewhere along humanity’s history the idea arose that all spiritual people, regardless of culture, lineage, belief, or sect, should turn away from pleasure and money to seek a ‘higher purpose.’ 

Every spirituality has an established system of beliefs when it comes to prosperity and material wealth. We estimate the value of something by what we are willing to give for it: our money, our labor, our commitment, our care. But many tend to think of money as dirty, or corrupt, or the doorway to sin, when it is simply a tool, a shiny item to exchange in order to create the life you want.

The most commonly heard adage is the misquoted Bible verse “money is the root of all evil.” But if we were to actually pick up the book and check 1 Timothy 6:10, we would see the full proverb is actually: “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” (NLT

Buddhist philosophy tells of how prosperity and plenty can lead to craving and attachment, but also includes the study of the four kinds of happiness the Buddha said can be found from wealth.  

Just within these two examples we can see it is the misalignment, misuse, and misunderstanding of the purpose of money that causes conflict. When we align to the base understanding of what abundance and prosperity truly are (having more than we need so it can be shared), and we use our funds in the right way, money reveals its sacred qualities. It’s the gift of a charitable offering, the value of safety and security, or simply brings the joy you deserve.

Turning our attention to Goddess mythology and practice, we see that the idea of living a life of plenty is an ancient one, an aspiration that is most often attributed to the power of the Divine Feminine. Rituals and celebrations solely designed to call in prosperity were, and continue to be, enacted regularly. Goddesses of abundance, luck, and wealth were habitually worshiped and adored to provide people with what they needed to live fruitfully, and what they wanted to live happily.  And as our world is predominately a capitalist one, based on the idea of exchange, money is an important part of manifesting these desires.

 

Goddess is the Source

For me, getting my mind and energy right when it came to abundance, prosperity, and wealth was an active process, filled with techniques, ideas, and practices from various spiritualities and schools of thought. I journaled, chanted and cast spells, participated in all kinds of therapy and counseling. I practiced divination, meditated, and worked within sacred sensual/sexual structures. (I’ll be covering my methods and steps in future blog posts.) I had to put forth conscious effort to transform my thinking and to change my energetic alignment, not only with money but with all the things I wanted money to attain for me.

But the first real step on my abundance journey was understanding that Goddess, not the world, is the source. The truth of my Self were things the world told me would be hinderances to my success: being African American, a woman, having an odd career choice, coming from a low-income household. But within the light of Goddess and channeling Her wisdom I saw these things as facts, not decrees of my worth or capabilities. Too often we think of facts as the end of the sentence, period, a conclusion. We let the ideas of others and their baseless judgments of who we are define us. Within Goddess I realized my facts were my foundations and my blessings. Who I am and the class system I come from were simply launching pads for a deeper understanding of gratitude, of compassion, of generosity. The patriarchal, capitalist worldview may not think much of me, but that opinion doesn’t hold much weight when measured against the omnipotence of Goddess.

Goddess taught me that Her bounty is infinite, there is more than enough to go around, and I am entitled to love, abundance, and prosperity by birthright. I realized that money, like everything else in this world of tangibility and emotion, is an energy. A vibe, a flow. And that flow is a symbiosis of Her power and mine. She is the source of wealth, not whoever was signing my paycheck that week. It was remembering that Goddess manifests through people, and situations, and opportunities. And it was time I started depending on the source instead of the tool.

It’s the difference between “I hope I make enough money this month” and “Goddess has and will continue to supply all my needs and wants.”

So, I set about discovering different ways – spiritual ways, Goddess-led ways – to change my relationship to money.  I wanted to stop defining myself by what I didn’t have and start seeing the beauty in what I did. I had to move from a poverty mindset into an abundance mentality. My first lesson in this came from the Goddess Yellow Tara.

 

The Bodhisattva Goddess Tara

The Goddess Tara is worshiped in many forms throughout Eurasia and in the Tibetan, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions. Her depiction as a Goddess or a bodhisattva differs between practices, lineages, and cultures. In Hinduism She is known as the “Star”; in the varying sects of Buddhism Tara is the “swift one”, “the female Buddha”, and the “Mother of Liberation.”  In Goddess spirituality Tara is the Star and the Mother, a Divine Feminine figure of peace, generosity, and spiritual progression.

In all of Her depictions Tara is said to arrive quickly for those in need, and Her blessings are long-lasting and miraculous. She is considered a deity of great compassion who answers all prayers for the benefit of all beings.  Tara has a variety of emanations known as the 21 Taras (deriving from Tibetan Buddhism). Each of the 21 Taras are a different color and rule a separate path of magick, mysticism, and enlightenment. Whether whole or faceted, She is a principal Divine Feminine figure throughout the world.

Most practitioners are familiar with the Green Tara and the White Tara, as Their energy is of peace and enlightenment, much in the vein of Goddesses Kuan Yin, Sophia, and Saraswati. Others have more experience with the Red or Black Tara, whose energies are similar to Goddesses like Kali Ma, Sekhmet, and Oya.

The Yellow or Golden Tara (11th of 21) rules wealth and abundance in both the spiritual and the physical worlds.  She provides prosperity and abundance of all types to humanity, intent on destroying poverty and ignorance.  She is the energy of positive increase, liberating the practitioner from the hardships and sufferings of impoverishment. While Her power includes tangible manifestations of abundance, the Yellow Tara’s greatest gift to humanity is the ability to shift our mindset from the poverty of ignorance into the wealth of wisdom.

 

“The light of the syllable HUNG radiates from her body, speech, and mind, showering down all the wealth and glory of gods, nagas, and humans."
taramandala.org

 

As with any Goddess, my work with Yellow Tara started with intention. Not only did I want to attract and maintain prosperity, but I wanted to align myself with abundant thinking. Chanting the Tara mantra with specific aim became the focus of my practice. The daily ritual of connecting, communing, and meditating with Goddess raised my personal vibration, and opened the door to a permanent shift in my prosperity energy.

 

The Mantra Practice

Mantras, or sacred utterances, are transformative and potent ways to speak, sing, and chant. A mantra can be seen as a spirituality-based affirmation that transforms your life, while also inviting deities into your heart and soul. They were created by ancient sages (rishis) as paths to awareness, using the power of particular sounds to create specific energy responses.

Mantras remain in the original Sanskrit, which has been chanted repeatedly for centuries, continually infusing the sacred words and syllables over and over. Simply listening to a mantra may influence you emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Traditionally, a mantra is spoken 108 times in a single sitting, for a span of 40 days. Mala beads or counting stones are used to keep track of the repetitions during chanting sessions.

The universal mantra for any manifestation of Tara is Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha (Tibetan). You may also see this mantra written as Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha (Sanskrit).

Phonetic Breakdown: Ohm Tah-ray Too-tah-ray Too-ray So-ha

This mantra is usually attributed to the Green Tara, but it is appropriate for use with any of the Taras. The key is your intention; focus on the Yellow Tara and your personal objective while chanting. I find it also helps to have an image of the Yellow Tara to gaze upon during practice.

Here’s a breakdown of the meaning of the Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha mantra.

And here is a wonderful video to chant along with Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha 

 

If the above mantra is a little too wordy for you, you can chant Yellow Tara’s seed syllable HUM (Sanskrit) or HUNG (Tibetan).

 Homage to you, Tara, who are able to invoke
The entire assembly of local protectors,
Whose wrathful expression fiercely shakes,
Rescuing the impoverished through the letter HUM.
 - The 21 Praises of Tara

 

To connect with the Goddess Yellow Tara and invite Her blessings into your life, make the dedication to chant the Goddess’ mantra or seed syllable at least once a day for the next 40 days. Whichever mantra you choose, and depending upon your rhythm, the repetition along with your opening prayers should take no more than 15 minutes per day.

If you miss a day, don’t worry. Just say the mantra when you remember, perhaps completing 2 repetitions that day. Or you can add another day to the end of your 40-day cycle. However, if you miss more than 3 days, I do suggest you start your 40-day cycle from the beginning.

In your own words, call to the Goddess Yellow Tara before you begin your round of chanting. State your intention to be free of poverty and ignorance, and your goal of alignment with prosperity, abundance, and wisdom. Perhaps even express a desire to remember Goddess is your source. When your round of chanting is complete, spend a few moments in silence, breathing evenly, giving the energy you raised an opportunity to settle in your mind, body, and heart. Then, in your own words, thank Yellow Tara for Her attention and blessing.

 

The Journal Practice

Keep track in your journal of how chanting this mantra makes you feel, and the different shifts that happen in your life and thinking over the next 40 days. Also, be sure to explore the roots of your relationship with money in order to get the full benefit and wisdom of this journey. Here are few journal questions to ponder in your writing and practice:

  • What is your relationship with money? Do you fear discussing it, do you covet it, etc?
  • Yellow Tara not only relieves the suffering of monetary lack, but of mental scarcity. Where can your knowledge be expanded? Is there something you’ve been curious about learning but haven’t taken the leap?
  • How has Goddess supplied your spiritual and physical needs in the past month? The past year? The past ten years?
  • Write an abundance themed affirmation you can repeat to yourself when things get dicey.

 

Transformations and Manifestations

This Yellow Tara practice transformed my life, my relationships, and expanded my threshold for hope and joy. Speaking my grand intentions to the Goddess called my attention to how I was speaking to myself and others.

I started paying attention to how I spoke about money, and I realized I was always talking or thinking about how much I didn’t have. During the course of my 40-days I began the conscious work to break that negative habit in my thoughts and speech. I’m broke became I have money on the way. I can’t afford that became that’s not in my budget right now. Fuck her for being able to afford those shoes became I’m so excited that soon I’ll be able to walk into any store and buy what I want, when I want.

It sounds silly, I know  but it really did work. That simple shift in speech became a huge change in my attitude and belief system, and I started believing I would be soon flush with cash. The desperation I felt became excitement for the future. I inadvertently stopped dealing in envy and jealousy. I didn’t know where my money flow was coming from, but I knew it was coming. I started gathering information on money management and accounting, so I would know what to do with it when it showed up.

And that hope, that faith, became the energy I offered to the world.

I still had to work, to create and grasp opportunities. I still had to occasionally hustle and struggle. But Goddess, operating through the world, reflected that hopeful and faithful energy back to me. Abundance and prosperity began to manifest themselves in my life – in both miraculous and everyday ways. I still had to consciously work to keep my mind and energy right, but I quickly began to see and live the results in practical and magickal ways.

We are powerful beings, and we attract what we think about. It’s like the Universe hears us, sees us, then works to prove us right. We call things into existence; this is the basics of affirmations, witchcraft, and energy work. And if your mind is set on the negative, the anxiety, the I-don’t-have-I-can’t-have, then that’s the vibe you’re calling forth. Poverty consciousness is a learned trait, not a birthed one. You can unlearn and retrain your mind, your energy, and your heart to align with abundance. And through the grace of Yellow Tara, and a willingness to have more/do more/be more, I was able to see that there truly is enough for everyone, including me.

 

Correspondences for Yellow Tara

Energy: wealth, abundance, prosperity, treasures, wish-granting, generosity, fertility, happiness, enlightenment, wisdom, knowledge, liberation, satisfaction, longevity, relief from suffering

Visage: yellow in color, sometimes described as golden-red

Colors: yellow, gold, white, saffron

Fragrances: lotus, oakwood, patchouli, nag champa, sandalwood, green tea, eucalyptus, cinnamon, citrus scents

Crystals: honey calcite, clear quartz, peridot, garnet, green aventurine, grossular garnet, mookaite jasper, yellow jade, green jade, emerald, citrine, gold

Symbols: the number 5, the number 11, malas, vase, triple staff, lotus flower, full moon

Resources:

Malas and Mantra Stones

Money Honey! Drawing Oil

 

The Complete Works of Florence Scovel Shinn

Shakti Mantras: Tapping into the Great Goddess Energy Within  by Thomas Ashley-Farrand

Shakti Rising: Embracing Shadow and Light on the Goddess Path to Wholeness by Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan MD 

Tara’s Enlightened Activity by Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal

Tara: The Feminine Divine by Bokar Rinpoche

Tara: The Liberating Power of the Female Buddha by Rachael Wooten Ph.D.

 

Mt. Shasta Goddess Temple

 

Deva Premal – Om Tare 

Drukmo Gyal -  Tara Mantra  

HUM Mantra Chanting Meditation  

 

 

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