I will be eternally grateful for your great gift of taking in to the fullest extent what it is that I
have to offer, living it, and then reflecting it back in terms of the potential experience of others.
You have given words to a process that defies words. And you’re constantly in a position to help
me continue to hone that, deeper and deeper and more and more resonantly, who I am and what I offer,
which is truly invaluable. — Jon Hansen, 
What you’ve sent me is so darn perfect it hurts! It’s a sheer pleasure to work with someone
who writes as beautifully as you do — and in “my” voice. — Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D,
You have a real gift for words. You’re really, really good at it. — Sherry Essig,
Ask Grace: What’s “Svaha,” anyway?
Almost every time I talk about my business, I’m asked about the name: Svaha. It’s a great icebreaker at networking events. People squint at my nametag and start by trying to pronounce it (sss-vaaah-ha), and the conversation naturally leads to what it means and what I do.
Many years ago, I read a book by Charles de Lint called Svaha. At the time, I was still deep in my corporate career. But I loved the book (I enjoy all of de Lint’s work) and the word, and I knew I’d use it for something important someday.
When I came to start my business, it was a no-brainer. There are times – such as when I’m trying to give someone my email address over the phone – when I wish I’d engaged a few more brain cells. On the other hand, people do tend to remember it, especially when I tell them what it means.
So what does it mean?
According to de Lint, it’s a Native American word for the time between seeing lightning and hearing the thunder.
Unfortunately, as Matt Baya (who hosts websites at svaha.com) discovered in his research, even de Lint isn’t sure what Native American tribe it comes from. (De Lint’s response was that he’d thrown out his notes, which baffles me, but there you are.)
I cling to the word and the meaning with determination, however, because of its sense of wide-open horizons. In that moment when your eyes are still dazzled by the flash, you hold your breath. Anything can happen. You don’t know what will happen. It feels slightly dangerous and exciting. The possibilities are suddenly endless.
In a beautiful, five-letter nutshell, Svaha represents so much of what I bring to my clients:
- Power of not knowing
- Beauty of curiosity
- Boundless potential
- Risk, excitement, exploration
So that’s Svaha.
Just for fun, it also has several other very cool meanings:
In Russian, it means matchmaker.
It’s a minor Hindu fire goddess.
And in some practices, it’s used to close a meditation.
What more could I ask?
An Ask Grace post, in which I answer readers’ questions. Got a question? Send it to me or write a comment.
Posted: February 6th, 2009 under Ask Grace.
Comments
Comment from
Grace
Time February 20, 2009 at 9:12 am
Douglas – Hey, thank you. This is a great explanation of several meanings of Svaha that I’ve come across, but never seen described in such detail!
Comment from Douglas Buchanan
Time February 16, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Dear Lady,
I’ve just joined your Twitter clutch and looked at your blogsite.
I have chanted ’svaha’ thousands of times and was intrigued to see it as a site title.
In Sanskrit it is a common ending phrase meaning “so be it”, “may itendure”, or “may good arise from this!” Rather like the meaning of Ameyn in Aramaic…it’s a signature on the spiritual contract.
Svaha is the Sanskrit word for homage or proclamation
Usually svaha indicates s a kind of seal. If the mantra starts with Om,then Om aside from any textual meaning generates a formless field of power, to be shaped by the mantra clauses that follow, the svaha seals it and completes it.
Like Ameyn it signifies that whatever the rules before Ameyn, now they are to be the ones in the new contract, often a prayer.
The Shatapatha Brahmana (I.1), states that Svaha is the feminine form of Agni, or more correctly the opposite polarity in the Vedic ritual. This is why all Vedic fire rituals often contain the word svaha as the offering is being made. This is certainly true with the Agni hotra
ceremony. Svaha personified is the wife of Agni, the fire ritual cannot be complete without this male/female polarity being present. She also represents the spoken offering as well as the ashes, the transformed matter at the end of the fire ceremony. Again she is shakti of Agni on the inner and the outer level of our being.
I the Hindu pantheons the goddess is the Shakti, the creative energy of the god. Shakti dances the universes into being for the entertainment of the passive Shiva.
The word svaha comes from two words: 1) ‘su’ which can mean to move or go, to press out, but literally means to enliven, energize, impel, or generate. 2) ‘aha’ meaning to say, speak. Together they enliven speech, generate through speech, or are using speech to impel. It can also mean to press out through speech. What is important is that the Tantric concept of male/female energies is present.
Svaha. “Hail” (greeting or honoring).
Great title for a blog that empowers women.
Svaha!
Douglas (met you on Twitter through Havi and Selma)