New Moon and the start of Navaratri - Celebrate Shakti in all her forms!

Today is the start of Navaratri, a ten day festival to celebrate the feminine, Shakti and the forms of her wisdom and virtue in our lives.  It starts with the goddess Durga which can be seen as a form of Kali who destroys impurities and things that no longer serve us.
For the first three days you can meditate on this or perform pujas connected to Durga.  She is often seen as fierce and has weapons like  bow and arrow and spear riding on a tiger to ruthlessly seek out what is not serving us any longer.




For the second part of the festival the goddess is Lakshmi who is seen as the Mother and is often seen as connected to spiritual wealth.  She is often depicted on a fountain of milk holding symbols of wealth and abundance. Much more serene than Durga!



For the last part the goddess is Saraswati who represents wisdom and knowledge. She is generally shown playing a rudra vina a stringed instrument as she is connected to music and the arts.

On the tenth day all forms are worshipped and in some areas pubescent girls are particularly revered as beginning to embody the virtuous qualities of the goddesses, who are companions of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma.

So, find a woman, and the goddess inside yourself (men and women) and revere her. If you know a young woman; next week particularly celebrate her femininity.