Red Tara(s)

My friend Mish saw the gold and green Taras and asked if I could make her red, or black, or white. Those are her other colors, you see, in some of her 21 aspects. So, I started thinking, Hmmmmm.... I guess I took it as a challenge, to see if I, as a Photoshop beginner, so to speak, could figure out how to manifest these color changes. Here are some of my attempts at Red Tara. It's a lot harder than it seems like it would be- you can't just push the color bar over to red (darn!). Can I do black or white? We'll see...

Two Taras

Gold Tara
Green Tara
Tara is the primary goddess-form in Tibetan Buddhism, and is considered to be the embodiment of compassion. She is the ancient nature goddess, coming from the indigenous animist religion of pre-Buddhist Tibet, called Bon. She manifests in 21 different aspects, from gentle mother to fierce destroyer of evil, pain, and suffering. Here are a few verses of the traditional Tibetan prayer, "Praises to the 21 Taras":

Homage to Tara swift and fearless
With eyes like a flash of lightning
Lotus-born in an ocean of tears
Of Chenresig, three worlds' protector.

Homage to you whose face is like
One hundred autumn moons gathered
And blazes with the dazzling light
Of a thousand constellations.

Homage to you born from a gold-blue lotus
Hands adorned with lotus flowers
Essence of giving, effort and ethics,
Patience, concentration and wisdom.

Homage to you who crown all Buddhas
Whose action subdues without limit
Attained to every perfection
On you the bodhisattvas rely.

OM TA-RE TU-TA-RE TU-RE SO-HA (Tara's Mantra)