Blog and photos by Katherine Lily Mae Harris
When I left on foot with a Walker and #spine/spinal cord injury to fly out of #Maine in 2023, I brought my #Saraswati and #Ganesha with me.
I first ‘found’ Saraswati in #Thailand in 2013. I was on vacation and separated from the few ladies I was traveling with. I ended up in a marketplace and a man gave me a jade dragon, some honey and I believe my Saraswati statue that I was drawn to. Then go research that led me to the google. I then found more info on Saraswati. I immediately felt a #kinship with her and felt connected to her. A #Goddess who studies and promotes focus of #divine feminine #energy. While
On this specific trip, which was vacation, I purchased the #deity of her and a poster of Ganesha. (Both pictured).
Featured on the Ganesha is also the much misunderstood and debated #swastika. Not the swastika of Germany and Nazis, but the swastika of #India. The swastika that has deep meaning and foundational roots in divine tradition, not the one that was stolen and has now tarnished a piece of India, once sacred. That word is also used to describe a dance movement in #Odissi and could never be mistaken for the Nazis swastika. Another warning to the west, before you fully understand something, don’t judge. Making the swastika bad because of the lack of understanding of the meaning, is exactly what gets people targeted and tormented unnecessarily.
I also met my first #Elephant, her name was #Fa, in Thailand that year. It was amazing. She inspired me to work with elephants the following year.
When I traveled to Thailand in 2014 January and February, to study my first 200hr yoga teacher training and work with elephants and a mahout for 3 weeks, I also brought this Ganesha tapestry and Saraswati. They stayed with me during my studies and while working with Kampien and Boonmi. (The name of the two elephants I spent time with over those three amazing weeks of my life. )
Ganesha, the misunderstood,
Memory like an elephant, generally good natured deity, gave me peace and Saraswati gave me strength.
Saraswati who was said to be loved and the consort of the four faced creator God. Perhaps that’s why it’s best for the understanding of the creator and force to be not as human, for how heartbreaking that #lovers aren’t together due to misunderstanding. That was the only aspect of Saraswati I didn’t like, when I learned about the Hindu pantheon. I was fortunate to visit some #temples and connect to the deities even more. Since I was practicing #celibacy then as well, I was also in tune to devoting my energy to study. The #tiger temple in 2013 was where I felt most at peace. Sitting atop that mountain temple was #Magick. On the way down, I sang, ‘Girl on Fire’ by Alicia Keys.
2015 brought me to India. I knew I would feel connected to that country. #Yoga made me feel at peace, which I began in the year 2008/09 and my ‘style’ part of the year, evidently resembled India’s. I had such a #divine experience while there. While studying #Ayurveda I was able to learn more about the Hindu deities and connect deeper. When I was in Rishikesh studying my second 200 hour yoga teacher training, I was at the #ganga. Very in tune with that #river and could sense an ancient #ancestor with me as well. It was very #peaceful. #Magickal. I was processing a lot of emotions and went to the Ganga regularly to speak to #Shiva.
Through my Magickal practice and other #devotions I continued to incorporate what flowed into my life, but that, perhaps is for a blog focused on Magickal exploration.
I do not interpret ‘idol worship’ the same as many religions do. I see ‘idol worship’ meaning idealizing a human being and worshiping them. I don’t believe it is indicative of the gods/goddesses depicted in religions. Or the statues representing them. I accept them all and see them as the #force and #source of #creation. The many aspects of the one god/creator of all.
That same year 2015 being able to study Odissi was very powerful and I had purchased my #nataraja statue in Rishikesh. Embodying the gods and goddesses through dance was very #powerful, but had always been my #nature. I was fortunate to experience the same with the #Orishas, both in the past years, 2013 as well as in the future to come, while attempting to heal this spine injury.
When I traveled to #Peru #Lima San Isidro in 2023 I set my Saraswati in the #fountain at the hotel apartments (pictured) there she is still on this day, unless removed by other hands. Such a #lovely little piece of #heaven. The #sun, the #sea, the #flowers, the #bees, the #hummingbirds, the #fruit, I finally met a #baobab tree too. Ancestry connection is strong. I felt so fortunate to be there, someday I look forward to going back on an actual vacation instead of medical refuge.
Below are photos of that time period. Peru 2023.
