The mother who ferries you across by taking the fear
Warning
She does not promise the crossing will be gentle
Resonance
Those in fear those crossing a death or a cremation ground
Symbols
Blue lotusBoatSwordSkull cupStar
Mythology Summary
Tara is the second of the ten Mahavidyas in the tantric lists, and her name is glossed as Tarini, 'she who carries across' the ocean of samsara, though the ordinary Sanskrit word tara means 'star'. Her great living seat is Tarapith in Birbhum, Bengal, where the tantric saint Bamakhepa worshipped her and where meat, fish and alcohol are offered to this day. The Devi Mahatmya does not know the Mahavidyas as a set; their lists are tantric, and the tale of their emergence from Sati at Daksha's sacrifice is told in the Mahabhagavata and Brihaddharma Puranas.
Modern Practice
Tara is approached for protection, for a safe crossing, and in the Bengali Tantric lineages at Tarapith, where her worship has its own rules of offering and initiation. Western devotees often arrive through Kali practice; the tradition's own etiquette - what may be offered, by whom, and after what initiation - belongs to the lineage, not to the individual.