Say A Little Prayer — The Nine Nights of The Goddess

Lighten your load, October 17 to 26, 2020

Over the nine nights of October 17 to 26, a ritual celebration will occur throughout India. The ritual, known as the Navaratri (‘nav’ is nine and ‘rātri’ is night), aims to remove the darkness that obscures the light from our lives.

Navaratri is a religious festival for Hindus, but just as the Mexican festival, Day of the Dead is for all people who have experienced the death of a loved one, the Navratri Festival is for all people who wish to lighten the burdens of life.

The Navaratri celebrates three Goddesses:

Durga — the reliever of difficulties.

Lakshmi — the goddess of prosperity.

Saraswati — the goddess of knowledge.

Whether you are religious or not, and whether you relate to the Goddesses form, or not, you can use this time to open the door to their energies. You can use the time to seek relief from suffering, to pursue prosperity, and access knowledge.

Mass consciousness carries power and influence. Right now, we are all hooked into the mass confusion and grief of our troubled times. For these nine nights (and beyond, if you choose) join with the millions of people who will have something different and more uplifting on their minds; the blessings of the Goddess.

Hitch A Ride on Navaratri Light — A Simple Ritual.

A 10 to 15-minute night ritual.

Nights 1 to 3. Contemplation

1. Sit in a private place in front of a lit candle.
2. Spend 5 to 10 minutes contemplating the difficulties of your life.
3. Choose one difficulty that you most wish to be relieved.
4. Go into your heart and touch the pain.
5. Invite your deity, the universe, or your own spirit to witness this difficulty and the pain you are enduring. Allow your suffering to be seen.
6. In your own words, pray for relief, while fully trusting that you will be helped.

Nights 4 to 6. Prosperity

1. Sitting quietly in front of your lit candle.
2. Contemplate “prosperity”. Originally, prosperity, prosperus, meant “agreeable to one’s wishes.” What do you wish for, from your heart? (Don’t rush this. It may take the 3 nights to really know what your heart wants or longer.)
3. Whether you settle on something or not, ask your deity, the universe, or your spirit to witness your wish, or you not knowing. Allow yourself to be seen wanting or not knowing what you want.
4. In your own heartfelt words pray that your wish is granted, or that you get clarity on what you want.

Nights 7 to 9. Knowledge

1. Sit quietly in front of your lit candle.
2. Think of something you would like to learn that you feel would improve your life. It could be related to a career, your inner life, or an art form.
3. Keep going. Where are the gaps in your knowledge? Where do you feel ignorant? And which of those areas most trouble you? This gap in your knowledge could relate to ambition or a dream that feels old but which you can’t forget, or simply a missing element in your formal education.
4. Have humility here. Ask your deity or your own spirit for clarity around what you need to learn.
5. In your own words, pray for the opportunity to learn what you need to know — what will make the biggest difference in your life.

Finally, and importantly make an offering to your deity or to your own spirit. The offering could be of flowers or sweets or something symbolic.

The best gift is your promise to commit to using the light of this time — the illuminations that arose during these nine nights — to the best possible use, for yourself, for those you love, and for the world.

Happy Navaratri and all blessings to you, dear one!

Jayne Stevenson is a writer, dreamworker, and mentor at JayneStevenson.com and co-founder at BigShakti.com (Est. 2004) — online learning in psychology, higher-yoga, and therapeutic meditation.

© Jayne Stevenson 2020