Triune Puja I: Dancing Warrior Battles Demons in the Dark

In the starkness of the blade
there is nowhere to hide.
In the painful surety of the fighter’s dance
worlds within decay.
The warrior makes puja standing at the mouth of hell,
eating fire while demons flee.
There is no other way for her.
She knows only one song.
Dancing upon the bones of her predecessors,
everything is clear:
The rhythm of steel is too compelling to ignore.
It counterpoints the voice of God.

Triune Puja II: Kalika Bows Low Before Her Goddess

Kali has summoned Her child.
She has set the rhythm of the dance
and Her visage is terrible to behold.
She summons Her warrior to dance in fire.
She grants no quarter. She shows no mercy.
Stripping Her dancing warrior bare, She purifies
as only the Mother of Destruction can.
She will strike down Her frenzied daughter,
and gnash the broken body between Her teeth.
It is the only way to forge a weapon
worthy enough to be held
in the hands of Kali Ma
as She dances.

Triune Puja III: Paying Homage to the Dead

The dancing ground has spewn forth its supplicant.
Ma has worn her skin,
making her the dressing gown of God.
She has learned a new song of praise
in the temple of devastation.
Steel is born in the blood, the ancestors say,
infecting mind and heart and spirit with its cold, unyielding strength.
But she who has danced in the anteroom of hell knows better.
It is not the birthing that makes a weapon of the warrior.
A weapon’s strength lies in its forging and the forging of the will that wields it.
This is her offering to Kali Ma
this, her homage to the dead:
that in this knowing, she continues to move
and in moving through the patterns of her broken life
on the knife-edge epicenter of rot and rebirth
she has tasted of the breath of God.
And when she dances,
She destroys and remakes the world
with every step.

[Galina Krasskova is an ardent devotee of Odin and has been a priest since 1995. She is a Northern Tradition Shaman, whose primary focus is encouraging and developing a tradition of Heathen devotional work. She is the author of several books including Exploring the Northern Tradition; The Whisperings of Woden; and Sigyn: Our Lady of the Staying Power. Krasskova is currently at work on a devotional for Kali (she owes Her a debt). She holds a diploma in interfaith ministry, a Masters degree in religious studies and lectures frequently throughout the US. She may be reached at Krasskova@gmail.com.]