Greetings everyone and welcome to September! Can you believe it’s 
almost Mabon!?! The last few days have been exhausting for me and I had to take a little time for myself to rest, which ended up consisting of a lot of sleeping, much to my surprise. Today I’m feeling pretty good and decided that a little Goddess Guidance would be great for us all today. Once again I’m working with the The Goddess Oracle
Durga
Boundaries
(from the book)
When threatened by demons
I fiercely protect myself
with all that I am
with all that I have
from deep within
I call forth all that I need
I am the “Inaccessible”
for I place myself beyond the reach of all that would destroy me
all that would annihilate me
all that tries to wound me
I am the “Unapproachable”
for nothing can get at me that I do not willingly let in
I dance my dance of oneness
only with what supports me
nurtures me
loves me
For all that does not
I say: approach at your own risk!
Durga is a very powerful form of the Divine found in the Hindu tradition. Her name is pronounced “der’gah” and means “the invincible”. There are several different stories about how Durga came to be, but ultimately she was born out of a need to protect the Gods from evil demons that threatened their very existence. Each of the Gods extended some form of energy to help create Durga, giving her power and weapons in order to help defend them and defeat the great demon Mahishasur. In the Hindu tradition Durga is also sometimes known as Devi which means Divine. Some versions of her story talk about her name originally being Devi and she takes on the name Durga after the slaying of the demon (which in those stories has the name Durga) in order to never forget the battle that she won. She is often seen riding a tiger, which represents her strength and determination, and has multiple arms (typically 10 but I’ve also seen images of her with only 8 arms) which carry the implements given to her at her creation to defeat the demon. These include a trident given to her by Shiva and the third eye chakra for vision given by Vishnu. She also carries a lotus in one hand which isn’t fully in bloom and is said to represent the certainty of success but that is hasn’t been fully realized as of yet.
Durga’s representation here and her message goes back to her work to protect the Gods by telling the demon “No, you cannot have power here.” Sometimes we forget to take power over our own demons or other things that intrude on our happy and healthy lives. Durga comes to us to remind us that we need to create boundaries in order to maintain balance, peace and health in our lives and that there is nothing wrong with doing this! We sometime feel like we have to say yes to all the demands put on us and we forget that we need to stop and care for ourselves just as much as we care for those around us. If we don’t keep our boundaries in tact, if we don’t stop and say “today is not a day for you, but a day for me” we can easily become run down and open to attack by those looking to feed off our energy and our weak state.
Today take a moment to evaluate your own shield and boundary that you carry. Keep in mind that creating a boundary isn’t just about keeping things out, but filtering what comes in as well. Does it seem strong and firm? Does it even exist anymore? Are you in need of recreating your boundaries in certain situations or with certain people? It’s a great idea to take this time to reevaluate your energetic and mental shields on a regular basis because they often crack and weaken when we least expect and when we don’t realize. We get too caught up in the “go go go” of modern life, saying “yes, I’m right on that” and not thinking that we’re doing any harm to ourselves in the process. If you’re feeling sick, rundown, out of balance and out of sorts, it’s quite likely that this is where you’re able to do some work to fix that. Learn that “no” isn’t a bad word.
Today’s Affirmation
“I create boundaries to keep myself safe and healthy.”
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