Kali

===Mother Nature===
The name Kali means [[Kāla (time)|Kala]] or force of time. When there were neither the creation, nor the sun, the moon, the planets, and the earth, there was only darkness and everything was created from the darkness. The Dark appearance of Kali represents the darkness from which everything was born.<ref name="Harding" /> Her complexion is black. As she is also the goddess of Preservation, Kali is worshipped as the preserver of [[nature]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Kali is standing calm on [[Shiva]], her appearance represents the preservation of mother nature.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Her free, long and black hair represents nature's freedom from [[civilization]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Under the third eye of kali, the signs of both sun, moon, and fire are visible which represent the driving forces of nature.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Kali is not always thought of as a Dark Goddess.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Despite Kali's origins in battle, she evolved to a full-fledged symbol of Mother Nature in her creative, nurturing and devouring aspects.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

There are several interpretations of the symbolism behind the commonly represented image of Kali standing on Shiva's supine form. A common interpretation is that Shiva symbolizes ''[[purusha]]'', the universal unchanging aspect of reality, or pure consciousness. Kali represents ''[[Prakriti]]'', nature or matter, sometimes seen as having a feminine quality of creation of life. The merging of these two qualities represent ultimate reality.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|88}}

A tantric interpretation sees Shiva as consciousness and Kali as power or energy. Consciousness and energy are dependent upon each other, since Shiva depends on Shakti, or energy, in order to fulfill his role in creation, preservation, and destruction. In this view, without Shakti, Shiva is a corpse—unable to act.<ref name="Dold2003"/>{{rp|53}}