Navratri - Nine Nights of the Goddess

October is the month of Navratri - the festival takes place over 9 nights and worships the different incarnations of the Goddess Shakti (Mother Goddess).

For the first three days the warrior goddess Durga, also known as Kali, is worshipped.  Durga is a spiritual force that destroys all our impurities.  For the second three days Lakshmi is worshipped.  Lakshmi is the bringer of spiritual wealth, as well as material wealth.  The final three days are spent worshipping the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, Saraswati.

Day 3 - Yellow

For Navratri there are also different colours for each day - women wear clothes in these colours and some women also fast or just eat vegetarian food.  The nine Navratri colors for 2012 are:

Day 1 - Pratipada - Red 

Day 2 - Dwitiya - Sky Blue 

Day 3 - Tritiya / Chaturthi -Yellow

Day 4 - Panchami - Green

Day 5 - Sashti - Grey 

Day 6 - Saptami  - Orange 

Day 7 - Ashtami - White

Day 8 - Navami - Pink

Day 9 - Vijayadasami - Blue

During the Navratri festivities Lex and I have been out to the local streets and joined in with the celebrations.  This has involved looking at the various shrines that have been set up and watching the dancing.  Last night we went to a neighbourhood where people were dancing with sticks.