Songs & Bones with R.R. Shakti

R.R. Shakti, PhD

Songs & Bones explores the stories that shape us. Hosted by mythologist, writer and teacher R.R. Shakti, the podcast moves between two ongoing series: Applied Mythology—stories, symbol and archetype in lived experience—and From the Journal—readings, artists and visionary voices from Soul Artist Journal.

Episodes

  1. Oct 20 ·  Bonus

    Nine Nights | Night Nine — Siddhidātrī: Integrated Power

    On the ninth and final night of Navarātri, Goddess appears as Siddhidātrī—the giver of siddhis, extraordinary capacities associated with yogic practice. Traditionally, these powers include the ability to become exceedingly small or vast, light or heavy, to reach what seems unreachable, to bring intention into realization, and to exercise mastery. In this contemplation, those siddhis become practical images of human possibility: to become small enough to listen, vast enough to hold contradiction, light enough to put something down, grounded enough to stand where you are, and clear enough to bring action into alignment with intention. The final movement of the episode returns to the Devī Māhātmya. After Niśumbha is slain, Śumbha accuses the Goddess of relying upon the strength of others. In response, she gathers her many forms back into herself before facing him alone. The many powers were never separate. And that becomes the final invitation of Nine Nights: not to acquire more power, but to recognize, differentiate, cultivate, and finally integrate the capacities already present within you. Contemplation What power becomes available when I am no longer divided against myself? Mantra ॐ देवी सिद्धिदात्र्यै नमः॥ Om Devī Siddhidātryai Namaḥ This episode concludes Nine Nights, a contemplative Applied Mythology series exploring image, story, symbol, practice, and the many faces of Goddess.

    Nine Nights | Night Nine — Siddhidātrī: Integrated Power

  2. Oct 18 ·  Bonus

    NINE NIGHTS | Night Eight — Mahāgaurī : Luminous Fullness

    On Night Eight, Goddess appears as Mahāgaurī—the radiant one, her face shining white-gold like the full moon. Where Kālarātrī evokes the darkness and emptiness of the new moon, Mahāgaurī offers the image of fullness: the awareness that life can be abundant even when it is imperfect.  This night is an invitation into gratitude—not as spiritual bypassing or denial. Not as an unrealistic demand to be happy, but as a practice of noticing what is already here …and beautiful. Joy, in this contemplation, is something deeper than circumstance. Emotions may shift. Life changes. Through it all you can retain some freedom in how you meet what comes, and gratitude can become a way of cultivating a steadier sense of joy beneath all those fluctuations.  The meditation begins with three things: three sources of joy, three things for which you are grateful. Through breath and gentle retention, the practice becomes an embodied image of fullness—receiving, expanding, softening and allowing yourself to celebrate your life.  Contemplation What is already full in my life? Mantra ॐ देवी महागौर्यै नमः॥ Om Devī Mahāgauryai Namaḥ

    NINE NIGHTS | Night Eight — Mahāgaurī : Luminous Fullness

  3. Oct 17 ·  Bonus

    NINE NIGHTS | Night Seven—Kālarātri: Unwavering Courage

    Tonight we meet Kālarātri, the fierce, dark aspect of the Goddess who invites you to confront your fears and recognize the wholeness of your being. Through the myth of Kālī and the demon Raktabīja, we explore how our unacknowledged fears, grief, and resentment can multiply within the unconscious mind—and how wisdom and self-compassion allow us to reclaim what has been hidden. Our practice concludes with a four-part breath meditation, elemental mudrās and a contemplation of the living cycles of creation, dissolution and renewal. May you meet every part of yourself with unwavering courage and unconditional compassion.

    NINE NIGHTS | Night Seven—Kālarātri: Unwavering Courage

  4. Oct 16 ·  Bonus

    NINE NIGHTS | Night Six — Kātyāyanī : Discerning Clarity

    On Night Six, Goddess appears as Kātyāyanī—Durga, the impenetrable one. Her story is the defeat of Mahishāsura, the shapeshifting demon whose power lies in his ability to remain elusive. Every time the gods begin to corner him, he changes form. Their frustration gathers into a single radiant force, and from that unified fire, Goddess emerges.  The gods offer her their weapons and gifts. Shiva gives her the trident. Vishnu gives the discus. Agni gives the sword. With the trident, she pins the demon down so he can no longer shift form. With the sword, she cuts away what is not in service to love.  Psychologically, this is the work of discernment: identifying what is actually limiting you, becoming honest about what supports your deepest intentions, and clarifying your yes from your no. Sometimes what limits us most is not what we have rejected, but what we have agreed to—commitments, stories, relationships or patterns that no longer serve the life we are trying to create.  Kātyāyanī also reminds you that strength is collaborative. She arises from the combined power of the gods, inviting you to ask for help, draw upon community, and remember that you do not always have to take the heroic journey alone.  Tonight’s contemplations What in my life needs to be named clearly?Where have I said yes when my deeper truth was no? …and when did I say no when my heart was shouting “yes!” What am I ready to cut away?Where might collaboration make me stronger? The meditation works with the image of a river: one bank holding what you are ready to create and offer, the other what you are ready to receive. Between them, the current becomes a place of equanimity, discernment and inner guidance.  This episode is part of Nine Nights, a Living Mythology series exploring myth, image, archetype and symbol through the nine forms of Goddess celebrated during Navarātri. Mantra ॐ देवी कात्यायन्यै नमः॥ Om Devī Kātyāyanyai Namaḥ

    NINE NIGHTS | Night Six — Kātyāyanī : Discerning Clarity

  5. Oct 15 ·  Bonus

    NINE NIGHTS | Night Five—Skandamātā: Abundant Heart

    The fifth night of Navarātri welcomes Skandamātā, the mother of Skanda. Born of the fiery union of Śiva and Śakti, Skanda is carried by the sacred Gaṅgā and nourished by the six sister stars, the Kṛttikās. When Pārvatī embraces her son, she honors the many mothers who helped bring him into being. Through the mythology of Skandamātā, we explore the generosity of the abundant heart, the power of sisterhood, and the creative possibilities that emerge through collaboration. Our contemplative practice uses breath, gentle pauses, and the experience of fullness to awaken gratitude, compassion and creative clarity.

    NINE NIGHTS | Night Five—Skandamātā: Abundant Heart

  6. Oct 14 ·  Bonus

    NINE NIGHTS| Night Four— Kushmāṇḍā: Creative Radiance

    On Night Four, the image of Goddess expands. We move beyond her image as daughter, ascetic, wife and earth mother and encounter her as a cosmic power of creation—the primordial egg filled with heat, light and vibration.  Kushmāṇḍā is said to be so radiant that she dwells within the Sun itself. Her smile ignites manifestation. Her heat becomes the fierce creative force of Kāli; her light opens into the abundance and beauty of Lakṣmī; her vibration becomes Sarasvatī—the pulse of song, language, knowledge and creative expression.  Her story reminds you that creation does not end with the cosmos. You are it. Your experiences—joy and grief, triumph and defeat, beauty and difficulty—ask to be transformed through your own particular expression. Kushmāṇḍā invites you to notice where that creative current is moving freely, and where you may have been holding it back.  Tonight’s contemplations How am I sharing my creative gifts? Where have I been stifling my creative power? What wants to move through me now? How will I shine? The practice for Night Four is trāṭaka, candle gazing: allowing the outer flame to become an image of the inner fire at the heart—the light of awareness and creative energy as an expression of universal creative power.  This episode is part of Nine Nights, a Living Mythology series exploring myth, image, archetype and symbol through the nine forms of Goddess celebrated during Navarātri. Mantra For the written page, I would use the Sanskrit form you’ve already established: ॐ देवी कूष्माण्डायै नमः॥ Om Devī Kūṣmāṇḍāyai Namaḥ

    NINE NIGHTS| Night Four— Kushmāṇḍā: Creative Radiance

  7. Oct 13 ·  Bonus

    NINE NIGHTS | Night Three — Candraghaṇṭā: Sacred Union

    On the third night of Navarātri, we meet Candraghaṇṭā, the radiant Goddess who embodies the sacred marriage of opposites. As Śiva arrives for his wedding accompanied by an unruly procession of ghosts, demons, and creatures of the cremation grounds, Pārvatī’s mother is horrified. But Pārvatī recognizes her beloved in his wildness, and her love transforms her into the magnificent, ten-armed Goddess riding a tiger. Through the story of Kalyāṇasundara, we contemplate the union of consciousness and creative power, destruction and renewal, and the wholeness that holds all opposites. Tonight’s practice is Tonglen, a meditation of compassion in which we breathe with the intention of transforming suffering into love. Mantra: Oṃ Devī Candraghaṇṭāyai Namaḥ.

    NINE NIGHTS | Night Three — Candraghaṇṭā: Sacred Union

  8. Oct 12 ·  Bonus

    Nine Nights | Night Two — Brahmacāriṇī: The Wisdom of Letting Go

    On the second night of Navarātri, we honor the fertile darkness of the new moon—a place of emptying, surrender and fresh possibility. The story continues with Parvatī, the Daughter of the Mountain, and her longing to be reunited with Śiva. In devotion to that desire, she takes up the path of Brahmacāriṇī: simplicity, discipline and renunciation. She releases comfort, possession and excess, remaining steadfast until what is essential becomes unmistakable.  Her story invites you to notice what you are carrying that may no longer belongs to you. To celebrate what becomes possible when you create a little more space. This second night includes story, contemplation, meditation and mantra. Tonight’s contemplations: What am I holding onto that has already completed its purpose?Where has excess begun to crowd out what really matters?What might I be willing to release in order to make room for something more fulfilling?What does devotion look like when it becomes a way of life?The meditation follows the exhalation as a gesture of surrender—emptying, letting go, and allowing the next breath to provide nourishment.  This episode is part of Nine Nights, a Living Mythology series exploring image, story, archetype and symbol through the nine forms of the Goddess celebrated during Navarātri.

    Nine Nights | Night Two — Brahmacāriṇī: The Wisdom of Letting Go

  9. Oct 11 ·  Bonus

    Nine Nights | Night One — Śailaputrī : Daughter of the Mountain

    Śailaputrī — Daughter of the Mountain Before she is Śailaputrī, she is Satī. Her story is one of rupture, death and return. Reborn as the Daughter of the Mountain, she brings us back to Earth—to body, animal, stone, soil, and the elemental conditions of being human. This first night of Navarātri includes story, reflection, meditation and mantra. Tonight’s contemplations: Where in my life have I been striving for unrealistic transcendence? Can I give myself permission to come home to my body, my relationships—to my humanity? What would it mean to stop trying to transcend my life—and actually live it? How can I embrace Nature—my human nature and all of Nature—as sacred?  This episode is part of Nine Nights, a Living Mythology series exploring image, story, archetype and symbol through the nine forms of the Goddess celebrated during Navarātri.

    Nine Nights | Night One — Śailaputrī : Daughter of the Mountain

  10. Jul 16

    The Snake & the Jewel

    To become whole, Carl Jung taught, we must recognize that we are more than the small, familiar self we call the ego. Beneath the surface of awareness lives a vast interior world that shapes our choices, relationships, longings and fears. The work of individuation begins when we turn toward what we have neglected, rejected or hidden. Whatever remains unconscious continues to influence our lives from the shadows. But when you shed light on your shadows, they lose their power. When you stop hiding your wounds, they begin to heal. When you pay attention to the emotions, desires and urges that wait in the roots of your psyche, you begin to awaken your creative freedom. To honor the full landscape of your psyche is to welcome both ego and soul, strength and vulnerability, darkness and light. The very places you have learned to avoid often conceal the greatest possibility for transformation. The treasures of this Soul Story Treasure the wisdom of your unconscious.Recognize the limiting power of the shadow.Honor your entire being—ego and soul.Confront what prevents creative freedom.Tend to your wounds with compassion.Shed light on your shadows.Courageously follow the path of mystic wisdom toward personal transformation.

    The Snake & the Jewel

  11. Jul 16

    Songs & Bones

    La Loba: The Wolf Woman invites you into one of the most enduring stories in the mythic imagination. Deep in the wilderness of Pueblo country lives an old woman known as La Loba—the Wolf Woman. Bent with age and weathered by sun, she wanders mesas and canyon floors searching for bones. She is a bone collector, gathering what has been scattered, forgotten and left behind. Myth is more than an old story. It is a way of making meaning. Your personal myth is the story you tell about your life—the experiences that have shaped you, the conclusions you’ve drawn and the identity you’ve come to inhabit. The “bones” of your life are the events themselves: the undeniable facts of your experience. They cannot be changed. The songs you sing about those bones, however—the meanings you give them—can. Like La Loba, each of us is a collector of bones. In archetypal stories, every character, landscape and symbol reflects something within the psyche. They speak in the language of the soul, inviting us to see ourselves more clearly. La Loba asks us a simple but transformative question: Which parts of your story are bones, and which parts are songs? When we learn to distinguish between the two, we reclaim the freedom to rewrite the stories that have confined us while honoring the truths that have shaped us. In this Soul Story, you’ll explore: The myth of La Loba, the Wolf WomanWhat it means to live from a personal mythHow archetypal stories reveal the deeper patterns of your lifeThe difference between the unchangeable bones of experience and the meanings you assign to themHow to begin reshaping the stories that no longer serve you

    Songs & Bones
  • 11 Episodes

About

Songs & Bones explores the stories that shape us. Hosted by mythologist, writer and teacher R.R. Shakti, the podcast moves between two ongoing series: Applied Mythology—stories, symbol and archetype in lived experience—and From the Journal—readings, artists and visionary voices from Soul Artist Journal.

Information