Off With Their Heads! An Exploration of the Queen of Swords & Kālī

It's tough to find a deity as terrifying, yet awe-inspiring as the Hindu goddess Kali. Her name is derived from the Sanskrit word kala, which can be taken as kālá (time) or kāla (black), and thus she is considered to be both the ruler of time and the dark, or black goddess. This is certainly fitting upon first glance, as she is often looked upon as a goddess of death and destruction, brandishing a sword and holding a severed head by the hair as she flicks her bloody tongue and shows off her signature necklace of human skulls and her girdle of human arms. To others, however, she is the Great Mother, who watches over and cares for her children, shielding them from the inevitable pains that arise from life in this temporal realm.