Working with Tara: Complete Guide to the Buddhist Goddess of Compassion and Swift Action

Who Is Tara?

Tara is one of the most beloved and most widely worshipped goddesses in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition — the divine embodiment of compassion, swift action, and the enlightened feminine. She is the bodhisattva (enlightened being) who has vowed to remain in the world until all sentient beings are liberated from suffering, who responds instantly to the calls of those in need, who is the mother of all the Buddhas and the embodiment of the wisdom that liberates. She is the goddess who is always ready to help — her name means “Star” or “She Who Saves” in Sanskrit, and she is precisely that: the star that guides through the darkness, the one who saves those who call upon her.

Tara exists in twenty-one primary forms, each with a different color, a different energy, and a different area of activity. The two most important and most widely worshipped are Green Tara and White Tara. Green Tara is the active, swift Tara — the one who acts immediately to remove obstacles and protect those in danger. White Tara is the peaceful, long-life Tara — the one who bestows longevity, healing, and the wisdom of the enlightened mind. Together, they represent the complete spectrum of Tara's compassionate activity: the swift action that removes immediate danger and the peaceful wisdom that sustains long-term wellbeing.

Tara is depicted in her most iconic form (Green Tara) as a young goddess with green skin, seated on a lotus throne with one leg extended in readiness to rise and help, wearing jeweled crown and silk robes, her right hand in the varada mudra (the gesture of giving and blessing) and her left hand holding a blue lotus. She is always ready to act — her extended leg is the sign that she is not in deep meditation but in active readiness, prepared to rise at any moment to help those who call upon her.

Tara's Mythology

The Origin of Tara

The most famous origin story of Tara comes from the Tibetan tradition. In a previous cosmic age, there was a princess named Yeshe Dawa (Moon of Primordial Awareness) who made offerings to the Buddha of that age for millions of years. The monks of that Buddha's court told her that because of her great merit, she should pray to be reborn as a man in order to continue her spiritual practice more effectively. She refused, saying: “In this life there is no such distinction as male or female, neither of self-identity, nor of a person, nor any perception. Attachment to the idea of male or female is quite worthless. Weak-minded worldlings are always deluded by this.” She vowed to always take rebirth in female form until all beings were liberated, and she became Tara — the enlightened feminine who refuses the idea that the female form is spiritually inferior.

This origin story is one of the most radical statements in Buddhist tradition: Tara is the goddess who refused to be reborn as a man, who insisted on the spiritual equality and the spiritual power of the feminine, who vowed to embody enlightenment in female form for the benefit of all beings. She is the divine feminist of the Buddhist tradition — the one who said, in the face of patriarchal religious culture, that the feminine is not a spiritual obstacle but a spiritual vehicle.

The Twenty-One Taras

The twenty-one forms of Tara each govern a different aspect of compassionate activity. The most important include: Green Tara (swift action, protection from the eight fears), White Tara (longevity, healing, wisdom), Red Tara (magnetizing, attracting what is needed), Yellow Tara (abundance and prosperity), Blue Tara (fierce protection, the destruction of obstacles). Each form is invoked for different purposes, and the practice of the Twenty-One Taras — chanting the praises of all twenty-one forms — is one of the most important practices in Tibetan Buddhism.

The Eight Fears

Green Tara is particularly associated with protection from the eight fears: lions (pride), elephants (delusion), fire (anger), snakes (envy), thieves (wrong views), imprisonment (avarice), floods (desire), and demons (doubt). These eight fears are both literal and metaphorical — Tara protects from both the literal dangers and the inner obstacles that these animals and forces represent. She is the goddess who removes both outer and inner obstacles, who protects both the body and the mind.

Tara's Symbols and Correspondences

• Primary symbols: The blue lotus (utpala — her primary symbol, the lotus of enlightened compassion), the varada mudra (the gesture of giving and blessing), the extended leg (readiness to act), the lotus throne (the enlightened ground of her activity)
• Colors: Green (Green Tara — swift action, protection), white (White Tara — longevity, healing), red (Red Tara — magnetizing), yellow (Yellow Tara — abundance)
• Element: All elements — she is the compassionate activity that moves through all elements; water (the lotus she holds), earth (the lotus throne), air (her swift action)
• Sacred day: The 8th and 30th days of the Tibetan lunar month; any day of need or danger
• Archetype: The Swift Compassionate One, the Mother of All Buddhas, the Enlightened Feminine, the Star That Saves
• Offerings: White flowers (particularly white lotus and white chrysanthemum), incense (sandalwood, saffron), water offerings (seven bowls of water on the altar), light offerings (candles or butter lamps), the sincere recitation of her mantra
• Crystals: Green aventurine (Green Tara's compassionate action), white selenite (White Tara's healing wisdom), aquamarine (the blue lotus, compassionate clarity), emerald (the deep green of enlightened compassion), clear quartz (the clarity of the enlightened mind)
• Herbs: Lotus (her primary flower), sandalwood (the sacred incense of Buddhist ritual), saffron (the golden spice of enlightened activity), white chrysanthemum (the flower of White Tara)
• Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha (the primary Tara mantra, one of the most widely chanted mantras in Tibetan Buddhism)
• Tarot: The Star (the star that guides through darkness, the hope of liberation), The High Priestess (the keeper of enlightened wisdom), The World (the completion of the compassionate journey, the liberation of all beings)

What Tara Governs

• Swift compassionate action — She responds instantly to calls for help; she governs the immediate, practical expression of compassion
• Protection from danger — She protects from the eight fears; she governs protection from both outer and inner obstacles
• Healing and longevity — White Tara; she governs healing, long life, and the restoration of health
• The enlightened feminine — She refused to be reborn as a man; she governs the spiritual power and dignity of the feminine
• Liberation from suffering — She is the bodhisattva of liberation; she governs the path from suffering to freedom
• Compassion in action — She is not a passive compassion but an active one; she governs the translation of compassionate feeling into compassionate action
• Removing obstacles — She clears the path; she governs the removal of obstacles on the spiritual path and in daily life

How to Build a Tara Altar

• A statue or image of Green Tara — ideally showing her with one leg extended, in her readiness posture
• Seven bowls of water — the traditional water offering of Tibetan Buddhism
• White and green flowers — lotus if available
• Green and white candles or butter lamps
• Green aventurine or white selenite crystals
• Sandalwood or saffron incense
• A mala for mantra recitation — Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha
• A blue lotus image — her primary symbol

Tara Rituals and Practices

The Tara Mantra Practice

The most important and most accessible Tara practice is the recitation of her mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha. This mantra is one of the most widely chanted in Tibetan Buddhism and is considered extremely powerful for protection, healing, and the removal of obstacles.

• Chant Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha 108 times daily on a mala
• Chant it whenever you feel afraid, in danger, or in need of help
• Chant it for others who are suffering or in danger
• The mantra can be chanted silently or aloud; both are effective
• The meaning: Om (the sacred syllable), Tare (Tara, she who liberates from samsara), Tuttare (she who liberates from the eight fears), Ture (she who liberates from disease and suffering), Svaha (so be it, may it be established)

The Emergency Invocation

Tara is the goddess of swift action — she responds immediately to sincere calls for help. In any moment of danger, fear, or urgent need:

“Tara, swift one, I call upon you now. [Describe the danger or need.] Come swiftly. Remove this obstacle. Protect me (or name the person who needs protection). I trust your compassion. I trust your swift action. Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha.”

Then chant the mantra as many times as possible. Tara's response is said to be immediate — she is always ready, her leg always extended, always prepared to rise and help.

The Twenty-One Taras Praise

The traditional practice of praising the Twenty-One Taras is one of the most important Tara practices in Tibetan Buddhism. The text of the Twenty-One Taras Praise is widely available and can be chanted daily. It invokes all twenty-one forms of Tara and is considered extremely powerful for protection, healing, and the accumulation of merit.

The Compassion in Action Practice

Tara is the goddess of compassion in action — not passive sympathy but active help. The most powerful Tara practice is the practice of being Tara for others:

“Tara, help me to embody your compassion in action. As you respond instantly to the calls of those in need, help me to respond to the needs of those around me. Let me be your hands, your voice, your swift action in the world. Let my compassion not remain in my heart but move through my hands into the world. Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha.”

Then take one concrete action to help someone who needs help. This is the most direct form of Tara practice: becoming the compassionate action you are invoking.

Tara in Modern Practice

Tara is the goddess for those who need help — who are in danger, in difficulty, in the grip of fear or obstacle or suffering. She is the divine assurance that you are not alone, that compassionate help is available, that the star that guides through darkness is always there, always ready, always willing to respond to a sincere call.

She is also the goddess for those who want to help — who feel the suffering of others and want to respond but don't know how. Tara's model of compassion is not the passive compassion of feeling sorry but the active compassion of doing something. Her leg is always extended. She is always ready to rise. The question is not whether she will help but whether we will call upon her — and whether we will allow ourselves to be her hands in the world.

Her origin story is her most radical teaching: she refused to be reborn as a man. In the face of a religious culture that told her the female form was spiritually inferior, she said no — and vowed to embody enlightenment in female form for the benefit of all beings. This is the teaching that Tara offers to every woman, every person who has been told that their nature is a spiritual obstacle: your nature is not an obstacle. It is a vehicle. The feminine is not less than the masculine in the spiritual life — it is different, and its difference is its gift. Tara's green skin, her extended leg, her blue lotus, her instant response to calls for help — all of this is the enlightened feminine in its most complete expression. This is what liberation looks like when it takes female form.

For those drawn to the swift, compassionate energy of Tara and the enlightened feminine, the Sacred Space Cleanse helps clear obstacles from your environment, while the 13 New Moon Rituals align your intentions with the lunar cycles she embodies. The Emotional Filter Ritual Kit offers a practice for releasing fears and doubts, much like her removal of the eight fears. The Cosmic Alignment Ritual Kit deepens your connection to the celestial flow she governs, and the Shadow Work Tarot supports the inner journey of transforming obstacles into wisdom, a path she illuminates with her star-like presence.