Chinnamastika

When Shakti gets SO mad with Shiva
she not only cuts off her nose to spite her face,
she cuts the whole damn head off!
Now that is the anger of love.

The Mother is both Being and Becoming.
When the child is in the womb, she is about Being.
But from the moment of the child’s birth,
she pushes him outwards.

I speak of children, but of course,
I really speak for men.

The Mother is the mother of both Being and Becoming.
The Son begs to return to her womb again and again,
and sometimes, in most secret fashion, she responds to his prayer.
Only to push him out again, into the world.

The Mother loves the oneness with the child.
When he gestates, when he suckles her breast.
In his tantrums and testiness.
But with every growing day, the push outward is stronger,
like the particles of star matter that burst into infinity
at such tremendous speed it seems they are standing still.

The Mother becomes the lover.
She envelopes the loved one in her womb.
She protects and nurtures him there.
And then she pushes him out into the world.

She gives her Being,
but only to remind him that Becoming is just a play.
And when the labor pains within her force him out into the world,
she withdraws her Being.
And that is painful in every way for the Mother,
to cut the threads and say, “Be on your own.”
So painful to withdraw her Being, but it must be done.

And so she makes her sacrifice: Being is exchanged for Becoming.