Navratri is Coming!

So tomorrow is the beginning of Navratri, the Nine Day festival worshiping some of the many different aspects of Shakti, the divine Mother Goddess. The first three days are devoted to aspects of Durga, the strong spiritual force who destroys our impurities when we worship her. The second three days are devoted to manifestations of Laksmi, who gives her devotees inexhaustable spiritual wealth. For the final three days devotion is given to the forms of Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and the giver of all-around success in life. It is believed that all three are equally important in order to have a happy life, though certain days are more important in different regions, with cultural influences dictating which devotional festival day is the biggest.

I really like Navratri, for I feel it is a festival which is very empowering to women, as Divine Femininity is seen as key for happiness in one's lives and is therefore exonerated in one of Hinduism's most important festivals. When you take into account that this nine day festival is not held once, but often twice a year (once in spring, once again in autumn), the great importance that devotion to the feminine holds is more evident. In a society that has become increasingly patriarchal as a result of Imperial British influence and then again by Westernization, it is refreshing to see that at least some of the traditions that give importance to the power of femininity still remain today. We cannot let ourselves forget how inspirationally powerful these aspects of the Divine Female Energy can be, and how their power resides in every one of us, ready to be used to fight our own demons as needed.


Who doesn't love seeing THIS aspect of the power of women? I know I do!!