Tara

Tara (Sanskrit: तारा, “star” or “she who ferries across”) is a supreme goddess in both Hindu and Buddhist traditions — the divine feminine who guides beings across the ocean of samsara to liberation. Unlike remote creator deities, Tara acts directly as the active, compassionate bodily manifestation of the divine feminine deliberately operating within the manifest world. In Tibetan Buddhism, she is the most popular meditational deity, manifesting in 21 forms, most famously Green Tara (swift compassion) and White Tara (healing longevity).

Tara is the Buddhist equivalent of Sophia: the feminine wisdom-principle who rescues beings from ignorance. Where Shakti is cosmic creative power, Tara is cosmic compassion — the Mother who hears every cry and responds immediately.

See Also

• Shakti — the Hindu divine feminine principle Tara parallels
• Gnostic_Sophia — the Western esoteric feminine wisdom parallel
• Buddhism — the tradition in which Tara is most widely worshipped
• Hinduism — the tradition in which Tara also appears
• Mother_Archetype — the archetypal pattern Tara embodies
• Anima_and_Animus — Tara as a supreme Anima figure