For aeons, Shakti — the universal feminine force — has been worshipped as the eternal energy behind creation, sustenance and destruction. She is life itself, the principle that births the cosmos, the force that drives all its motions. Shakti is worshipped in many cultures, myths, and spiritual traditions as the ultimate archetype of power, intelligence, and infinite possibilities.

This divine force behind the genesis and sustenance of all things is the Shakti: The origin of the universe — the radiance behind Shakti: Origin of the Universe. These stories of the divine feminine are held in poetry and prose, as we recount her origins in mythology, matrilineal history in nature, and our own hearts in this anthology. The works contained in these pages each strive to honor the primal force that gives life, illuminating the nature of Shakti in the universal and individual levels.

In the very act of reading this collection, may you sense creation breathing, transformation dancing, and the unwavering force of the divine feminine. As the Shakti in all of us awakens, may these words be a reminder that we are in fact an everlasting cycle of power, balance and renewal.