This saturday, October 17 is the beginning of “ Navaratri”.

Last year I celebrated Navaratri in south India , trivandrum where i was studying Kalari.

Waking up every day early morning before the sunrise; Taking our shuttle bus from the beautiful ayurvedic village I was staying at with a group of people who we all joined to take part in a workshop lead by our teacher “Shiva Rea”, toward a temple dedicated to Mother Goddess for everyday Durga mantra puja.

It was so majestic to get flowers for offering and putting the heavenly smelling Jasmine garlands on our hair then sitting and witnessing the ritual for Mother Goddess; Every day decorating the shakti representing statute with colorful fabrics , offering milk, ghee, fruits, rose water which will turn after to the blessed food as mother offerings to people.

As milk, ghee, rose water was poured over the statut there was a sense as it was poured on us to purify ourselves in the blessings of the mother goddess and praying to our own Goddess within. Awakening the Durga within ourselves to face life with an open heart yet strong root and invincible inner power…

I love Navaratri and I found it really powerful and inspiring to call upon Mother shakti and awaken our powerful inner Goddess, so here I am sharing a little insights from this amazing annual festival happening in India and maybe it can also inspire you to sit in meditation for these 9 nights and empower your goddess within…

 

Enjoy! 🙂

 

“ Navaratri “ is a festival of Shakti and dance. The word Navaratri means nine nights in Sanskrit. 

Nava meaning Nine and Ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of shakti or Devi which is “female divinity “ are worshipped.

It is 9nights celebration of “Durga” the mother goddess. It begins on the first new moon in early autumn. 

 

?Durga represents shakti, or female divine energy. It is believed that Durga fought a nine day battle against the demon, Mahishasura, at the end of which she was victorious, symbolizing good over evil. During Navaratri, goddess Durga is honored in her nine forms and each form has a particular mantra for meditation.

The nine nights are dedicated to the three main goddesses other forms of Durga or manifestations of Shakti : 

Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Navaratri is separated into sets of three days. First three days of Navratri are dedicated to Goddess Durga, the Goddess of power and energy. Next three days of Navaratri are dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. The final three days belong to Goddess Saraswati who is worshipped for spiritual knowledge.

 

Goddess Durga: 

 

Durga means  “the Invincible” also known as Devi and Shakti.

 

According to legend, Durga was created for the slaying of the buffalo demon Mahisasura by the TriMurti or three main Gods:  Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva.

She possesses the essence and inner power of the 3 Gods in the form of Shakti. 

She is also greater than any of them. She is a beautiful goddess yet so powerful to conquer the most fierce demons. She is usually shown riding a lion or a tiger with 8 or 10 arms, each holding the special weapon of one of the gods, who gave them to her for her battle against the buffalo demon. 

 

Durga appears in many forms as in Hinduism all the God and Goddesses have multiple incarnations.  Among Durga’s many avatars are : Kali, Bhagvati, Bhavani, Ambika, Lalita, Gauri, Kundalini,Parameshwari,Maheshwari and Rajeswari.

 

Durga is a  mother protector and like her consort Shiva, the goddess Durga is also referred to as Tryambake (the three-eyed goddess). Her left eye represents desire, symbolized by the moon; her right eye represents action, symbolized by the sun; and her middle eye stands for knowledge, symbolized by fire.

 

Enjoy this New moon phase starting from Tomorrow with calling on the fearless Goddess Durga ?????

 

Durga Mantra

“Sarva Mangala Mangalye Shive Sarvartha Sadhike

Saranye Trayambike Gauri Narayani Namostute”

 

In Sanskrit:

सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके ।

शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

 

Meaning : ‘She is the most auspicious one and the one who bestows auspiciousness upon all of the world. She is pure and holy. She protects those who surrender to her and is also called the Mother of the three worlds and is Gauri, daughter of the mountain king. We bow down to Mother Durga again and again.

 

As I am working with colors and I have a passion to use colors in therapy and many other uses in my professional and personal life,  I’d also like to share with you the colors they use for each day of Navratri and what each one represents!

I hope that you enjoy and May this Navaratri ewok the power of Shakti in all of us  to defeat all the demons we are facing in and out of ourselves.

JAY MA! 

 

Colors for each  day of Navaratri : 

 

1-Orange:

It signifies energy and happiness.

 

2-White:

It is the colour of the goddess Brahmacharini. It signifies peace and purity.

 

3-Red:

People wear red on the third day of Navaratri. It signifies beauty and fearlessness.

 

4-Blue:

People wear blue on the fourth day of Navaratri. It is considered good for health and wealth.

 

5-Yellow:

It stands for happiness and brightness.  

 

6-Green:

It signifies new beginnings and growth.

 

7-Grey:

Grey is the colour of the goddess Kalaratri and it stands for the strength of transforming.

 

8-Purple:

 The colour of the day, purple, signifies intuition and peace.

 

9-Peacock Green:

On the last 5day of Navaratri , people wear peacock green as it is believed that it fulfills the desires of devotees.