The word Kālī has two connotations.
- One myth states that the celestial gods and sages and humans approached the Goddess once, who was Gaurī (literally means the one of fair complexion) and prayed to her that the cosmos was being overtaken by demonic entities who were destroying everything Good. Listening to their plight, she turned to a dark hue with anger and came to be known as Kālī. The word Kāla varna means pitch black color, and her assuming this form is to indicate her power as all consuming (black hole) - while her aspect as Gaurī, the creator and nourisher, is a different side of the same coin.
- Kāla means time, as also death. As her grace helps transcend not only time (and space) but also a limited existence (life spent as a struggle to survive with a fear of death), she comes to be called Kālī.
Just like the color black absorbs everything else in the spectrum, She is what emerges when all duality, forms and names are absorbed into Nothingness.
Her energy is very intense, so some caution is needed when approaching her. Her state is to ascend fast and quick, cutting through obstacles and it is not always a pleasant experience.