TREASURE MOONS
OCTOBER & NOVEMBER
Completion in the Realization of your Wholeness.
GOLD Journal
Mantra
NEW MOON Navaratri Preparation
Three Nights of Durga
Three Nights of Lakshmi
Three Nights of Saraswati
Full Hunter's Moon
Diwali & The Book of Treasures
GOLD Journal
October Initiation
Celebrating the Nine Nights of the God/dess & Harvesting Gold
READ: OCTOBER GOLD JOURNAL
Mantra
A Navaratri Prayer for You
(Please review your October GOLD JOURNAL for full content.)
Allow the Archetypes of the God/dess to inspire & empower you.
Om Dum Durgayei Namaha
Om Shrīm Mahalakshmiyei Namaha
Om Shrī Saraswatiya Namaha
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.
Salutations to the God/dess archetypes of Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.
And this is my prayer for you:
May you face all your fears and shadows with the courage of a warrior and unconditional compassion of a divine mother.
May you realize the glorious beauty and sacred sweetness of this human experience and delight in every single moment with creative freedom.
May you awaken to the divine wisdom within you, realize balanced wholeness as
a sacred marriage of all opposites in your life, and know your Self as a radiant expression of Infinite Consciousness.
And may you know peace.
Aho.
Om Shrīm Mahalakshmiyei Namaha
Om Shrī Saraswatiya Namaha
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.
Salutations to the God/dess archetypes of Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.
And this is my prayer for you:
May you face all your fears and shadows with the courage of a warrior and unconditional compassion of a divine mother.
May you realize the glorious beauty and sacred sweetness of this human experience and delight in every single moment with creative freedom.
May you awaken to the divine wisdom within you, realize balanced wholeness as
a sacred marriage of all opposites in your life, and know your Self as a radiant expression of Infinite Consciousness.
And may you know peace.
Aho.
NEW MOON Navaratri Preparation
Preparation for Maha Navaratri
(Please review your October Gold Journal for full content.)
MAHA NAVARATRI: SEPTEMBER 26 – OCTOBER 5
It is time to honor your courage, compassion, and creative clarity with a
nine-night celebration.
It is time to honor your courage, compassion, and creative clarity with a
nine-night celebration.
Soul Questions & Action Steps
- How have you grown this year?
- What have you released?
- How are you using your courage, compassion, and creative clarity to step forward as a leader in your community?
- Read a written copy or listen to an audio recording of Devī-Māhātmya. The Devī-Māhātmya both influences and is informed by the Indian epics and Purānic texts. This new God/dess power inspires revisions of the earlier epics with more empowered representations of the feminine principle. This text provides a Goddess revolution that emboldens the non-dual traditions of Hindu Tantra. It forms the foundation of the Navaratri Celebration. The story is recited during the nine nights of celebration and each of the nine goddess images hail from the mythic vision of Devī.
- Decorate your altar with the three images of Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. The first three nights will provide an invocation to the fierce warrior goddess, Durga. Nights four through six will honor Lakshmi, and the final three nights will celebrate Saraswati. You will want to change the images and offerings to reflect the particular invocations of each day.
- Light a candle or small, safe fire. A fire burns continuously for the entire Navaratri celebration. If you can secure a flame to burn SAFELY for all nine nights, this will serve as a beautiful reminder of your awakened consciousness. It also signifies your commitment to tend the fire of your heart with nourishing food, self-care practices, and continued learning.
- Prepare soups and teas. It is traditional to fast during the nine nights of Navaratri. Fasting does not have to mean going completely without food though. Especially during vata season, it is recommended that you keep your body nourished to stay balanced and grounded. Navaratri is a perfect time, however, to enjoy a cleanse from sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and meat. See how amazing—detoxified and hydrated—you feel after nine days of warm vegetable soups and herbal tea.
Three Nights of Durga
Honoring Durga: Nights 1-3
(Please review your October Gold Journal for full content.)
May you face all your fears and shadows with the courage of a warrior and unconditional compassion of a divine mother.
The first three nights of Navaratri are dedicated to the God/dess archetype of Durga. Durga, "the invincible" is known as a powerful warrior who slays all ego delusion and Self-doubt. One of the most dramatic moments of her triumphs depicts a gruesome battle with the demon Raktabija, when each drop of his spilled blood grows into a clone of himself. Kālī rises forth from Durga's third eye, sticks out her giant tongue and laps up all the blood so that the clone army may be defeated. Therefore, sometimes Kālī is honored during the first three nights.
In this story, as in all mythology, the characters are all aspects of your own psyche. The legions of demons symbolize the numerous ways we sabotage our own growth along the spiritual path. Sometimes they arrive as ego delusion—self-aggrandizing, attachment to success or judgement of others. At other times they may appear as Self-defeating thoughts, doubts, aversions, and insecurities. And often, like little demon clones, one ego trip will give rise to another.
These monsters always grow from suppressed shadows. But they can be defeated when we face each one with courage, shedding light in the dark spaces and allowing ourselves to experience unconditional compassion.
With courage and compassion, you recognize yourself as lovable and perfect, even with your flaws and scars. You can see clearly the ways in which you have grown and you can embrace the exciting changes on the horizon.
With courage and compassion you can also fully love others, recognize our interconnections, and truly become a catalyst for healing the heart of the world.
Shadow work—Running Your Wolves—is an ongoing process. Use these first three nights of Navaratri to revisit the work of your Kālī, Visionary, and Spring Journals:
In this story, as in all mythology, the characters are all aspects of your own psyche. The legions of demons symbolize the numerous ways we sabotage our own growth along the spiritual path. Sometimes they arrive as ego delusion—self-aggrandizing, attachment to success or judgement of others. At other times they may appear as Self-defeating thoughts, doubts, aversions, and insecurities. And often, like little demon clones, one ego trip will give rise to another.
These monsters always grow from suppressed shadows. But they can be defeated when we face each one with courage, shedding light in the dark spaces and allowing ourselves to experience unconditional compassion.
With courage and compassion, you recognize yourself as lovable and perfect, even with your flaws and scars. You can see clearly the ways in which you have grown and you can embrace the exciting changes on the horizon.
With courage and compassion you can also fully love others, recognize our interconnections, and truly become a catalyst for healing the heart of the world.
Shadow work—Running Your Wolves—is an ongoing process. Use these first three nights of Navaratri to revisit the work of your Kālī, Visionary, and Spring Journals:
Soul Questions & Action Steps
- What are the bones and songs that you have been weaving lately?
- Has your ego been clinging too tightly to one particular personality trait? If so what is it? Can you recognize and embrace the shadow looming beneath it?
- What has been coming up recently in your dream images? Have you been paying attention to your insights and gut level urges?
- Have you been creating positive sacred boundaries and speaking your truth with love?
- Recommit to cultivating Maitri so that you may have deep compassion for yourself and others.
- Practice Tonglen Meditation for someone who needs your compassion and Ho'oponopono Meditation for someone who needs your forgiveness.
- Honor your courage, strength, and inner power. Write down the self-defeating qualities or limiting habits you wish to transform. Use a grain of rice to represent each quality or habit you wish to release. Throw each grain of rice into your Navaratri fire*, one by one, as you commit to letting go of your limiting habits.
Three Nights of Lakshmi
Honoring Lakshmi Nights 4-6
(Please review your October Gold Journal for full content.)
May you realize the glorious beauty and sacred sweetness of this human experience and delight in every single moment with creative freedom.
Nights four through six of Navaratri are dedicated to the God/dess archetype of Shrī Lakshmi, who bestows the gifts of abundance, beauty, and deep Self-love.
We invoke her regal grace in the form of integrity, patience, and loving-kindness.
In the Vedic hymns, the term shrī suggests beauty, luster, power, glory, riches, fertility, abundance, advantageous skills, and high rank. Kinsley notes, “the term is especially used in later Vedic literature to refer to the ruling power, dominion, and majesty of kings” (Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses 19). Shrī provides a king with the authority to rule.
Her personified form, Lakshmī, is described and worshiped in the Shrī Shukta, a supplement to the Rig Veda (Wangu 36). In that hymn, Shrī Lakshmī is associated with symbols of prosperity, and represents agricultural abundance. As an “earth-bound” goddess she is united with the “sky-god” Vishnu (171). In some texts, she is the consort of Indra (the king of the gods) (Kinsley, Hindu 23). At other times she brings ruling power to demons, such as the demon King, Bali, who is both victorious and virtuous under her influence (23-25). When she moves from one ruler to another, she brings righteousness and fertility with her to the next kingdom.
By the Gupta period (300-700 CE), when the Vedic and folk goddesses become full-fledged Puranic goddesses, Lakshmī finally settles down as the consistent and faithful consort of Vishnu (who is the deity of sustenance and fruition). In the Bhāgavata Purāna and Kūrma Purāna for instance, Mahālaksmī (great Lakshmī) is equated with Vishnu’s supreme shakti (power).
In the “Devī Māhātmya” in the Markandeya Purāna and in the Lakshmī Tantra (the main text of the Pāncharātra school of Vaishnavism), Lakshmi is honored as the ultimate creative power and supreme universal grace.
Meditating on the principles of beauty and abundance, you can become awakened to new layers of gratitude and realize the sacredness of life. You are invited to care for your Self with nourishing and nurturing practices. You are invited to attune with Nature's rhythms and honor the divinity within this earthly experience. You may create of your life a masterpiece of sensation, relationship, and joy.
Learning to LOVE your SELF unconditionally—is an ongoing process. Use these next three nights of Navaratri to revisit the work of your April-June journals.
We invoke her regal grace in the form of integrity, patience, and loving-kindness.
In the Vedic hymns, the term shrī suggests beauty, luster, power, glory, riches, fertility, abundance, advantageous skills, and high rank. Kinsley notes, “the term is especially used in later Vedic literature to refer to the ruling power, dominion, and majesty of kings” (Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses 19). Shrī provides a king with the authority to rule.
Her personified form, Lakshmī, is described and worshiped in the Shrī Shukta, a supplement to the Rig Veda (Wangu 36). In that hymn, Shrī Lakshmī is associated with symbols of prosperity, and represents agricultural abundance. As an “earth-bound” goddess she is united with the “sky-god” Vishnu (171). In some texts, she is the consort of Indra (the king of the gods) (Kinsley, Hindu 23). At other times she brings ruling power to demons, such as the demon King, Bali, who is both victorious and virtuous under her influence (23-25). When she moves from one ruler to another, she brings righteousness and fertility with her to the next kingdom.
By the Gupta period (300-700 CE), when the Vedic and folk goddesses become full-fledged Puranic goddesses, Lakshmī finally settles down as the consistent and faithful consort of Vishnu (who is the deity of sustenance and fruition). In the Bhāgavata Purāna and Kūrma Purāna for instance, Mahālaksmī (great Lakshmī) is equated with Vishnu’s supreme shakti (power).
In the “Devī Māhātmya” in the Markandeya Purāna and in the Lakshmī Tantra (the main text of the Pāncharātra school of Vaishnavism), Lakshmi is honored as the ultimate creative power and supreme universal grace.
Meditating on the principles of beauty and abundance, you can become awakened to new layers of gratitude and realize the sacredness of life. You are invited to care for your Self with nourishing and nurturing practices. You are invited to attune with Nature's rhythms and honor the divinity within this earthly experience. You may create of your life a masterpiece of sensation, relationship, and joy.
Learning to LOVE your SELF unconditionally—is an ongoing process. Use these next three nights of Navaratri to revisit the work of your April-June journals.
Soul Questions & Action Steps
- What 10 things do you do to sustain the Earth's resources?
- What 10 things could you do better to be a true environmental Peace Warrior in everyday life
- List 5 things that you find beautiful about your physical appearance. List 5 things that you love about your personality and 10 things you love about your life.
- Commit to adopting a life of pleasure positivity and sensual freedom.
- Pay loving attention to how your money flows—both income and spending.
- Focus on your blessings. What are you grateful for in this very moment? Write down all the things you tend to lament about your life. Use a grain of rice to represent each complaint. Throw each grain of rice into your Navaratri fire*, one by one to be burned up and destroyed. Commit to turning your attention toward creating beauty, embracing grace, and cultivating gratitude.
- What will you create with your one unique and precious life?
Three Nights of Saraswati
Saraswati Wisdom: Nights 7-9
(Please review your October Gold Journal for full content.)
Your most empowered Self IS *authentically* who you really ARE!
The final three nights of Navaratri are dedicated to the Goddess Archetype Saraswatī.
Saraswatī is the symbol of creativity, learning, and wisdom. The Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "of the Self." Thus Saraswati means "the essence of the Self." Saraswatī is also called Vāc Devi, the creative power of speech.
Saraswatī is generally depicted with four arms, wearing a white sari, which is the color of pure knowledge, and seated on a lotus, signifying that she is rooted in supreme truth. In her hands she holds the scriptures of the Veda which stands for knowledge through learning and a rosary or mala, which signifies wisdom from meditation. She also holds her vīna (musical instrument) because sound vibration is the vehicle of all creation.
Saraswatī is considered to be the mother of the Veda. The "Saraswatī Vandanā" (Invocation of Saraswatī) often begins and ends Vedic lessons. Therefore, she is called upon to illuminate the path for deeper understanding.
The worship of Saraswatī may have begun with the honoring of an ancient Indian river. The Saraswatī River was a huge and sacred source of power for the Indus Valley before it shifted course several times and, eventually, dried up completely. What was once fertile land around the river, became “inhospitable desert."
A population exodus from the Saraswatī region to the banks of the Ganges River is evinced in both archeological records and the Rig Veda, the earliest Vedic text.
Through it all, the waters of India reflect the face of the divine feminine. She is sought to enrich the earth with irrigation, bestowing both purity and fertility and providing sacred space for ritual.
In the Brāhmanas (Indian texts) Saraswatī is conflated with the feminine principle, Vāc. Vāc is the creative power of speech expressed in word, which confirms and animates life. Throughout the Vedic texts, Vāc is associated with the primordial waters. As such, her all-encompassing powers forever flow with energy, nourishment, and creativity.
Saraswatī-Vāc is, therefore, invoked for creative clarity and for success in your endeavors as an action-taker and positive leader. She embodies the marriage of the masculine and feminine principles so that there may be a new birth—a new incarnation of your Self.
Developing your Self is an ongoing process. Once you realize that all archetypes are within you—all principles, personality traits, and characteristics are a part of your own psyche—you realize that you can choose who you want to be.
The advise to "BE YOURSELF" is met with the very plausible question: "Which aspect of my Self?" You can be courageous, compassionate, creative, beautiful, strong, successful... All you have to do is get to KNOW those aspects of your Self. Realize they are already a part of you are.
You can change your perspective, your roles, and your stories when they no longer serve you. You are the embodiment of infinite potential, therefore changing your tune does not make you inauthentic. You can never be a "phony" or a "faker." That limited thinking is just completely false and Self-defeating. It strips you of your creative power.
You are a Soul Artist, creating a masterpiece of your life. With this knowledge your life can be completely transformed.
Use these next three nights of Navaratri to review the summer's Eleven Moons content (July, August, and September). Focus on the wisdom and creative guru within you.
Reflect on this fact:
Your most empowered Self IS *authentically* who you really ARE!
Saraswatī is the symbol of creativity, learning, and wisdom. The Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "of the Self." Thus Saraswati means "the essence of the Self." Saraswatī is also called Vāc Devi, the creative power of speech.
Saraswatī is generally depicted with four arms, wearing a white sari, which is the color of pure knowledge, and seated on a lotus, signifying that she is rooted in supreme truth. In her hands she holds the scriptures of the Veda which stands for knowledge through learning and a rosary or mala, which signifies wisdom from meditation. She also holds her vīna (musical instrument) because sound vibration is the vehicle of all creation.
Saraswatī is considered to be the mother of the Veda. The "Saraswatī Vandanā" (Invocation of Saraswatī) often begins and ends Vedic lessons. Therefore, she is called upon to illuminate the path for deeper understanding.
The worship of Saraswatī may have begun with the honoring of an ancient Indian river. The Saraswatī River was a huge and sacred source of power for the Indus Valley before it shifted course several times and, eventually, dried up completely. What was once fertile land around the river, became “inhospitable desert."
A population exodus from the Saraswatī region to the banks of the Ganges River is evinced in both archeological records and the Rig Veda, the earliest Vedic text.
Through it all, the waters of India reflect the face of the divine feminine. She is sought to enrich the earth with irrigation, bestowing both purity and fertility and providing sacred space for ritual.
In the Brāhmanas (Indian texts) Saraswatī is conflated with the feminine principle, Vāc. Vāc is the creative power of speech expressed in word, which confirms and animates life. Throughout the Vedic texts, Vāc is associated with the primordial waters. As such, her all-encompassing powers forever flow with energy, nourishment, and creativity.
Saraswatī-Vāc is, therefore, invoked for creative clarity and for success in your endeavors as an action-taker and positive leader. She embodies the marriage of the masculine and feminine principles so that there may be a new birth—a new incarnation of your Self.
Developing your Self is an ongoing process. Once you realize that all archetypes are within you—all principles, personality traits, and characteristics are a part of your own psyche—you realize that you can choose who you want to be.
The advise to "BE YOURSELF" is met with the very plausible question: "Which aspect of my Self?" You can be courageous, compassionate, creative, beautiful, strong, successful... All you have to do is get to KNOW those aspects of your Self. Realize they are already a part of you are.
You can change your perspective, your roles, and your stories when they no longer serve you. You are the embodiment of infinite potential, therefore changing your tune does not make you inauthentic. You can never be a "phony" or a "faker." That limited thinking is just completely false and Self-defeating. It strips you of your creative power.
You are a Soul Artist, creating a masterpiece of your life. With this knowledge your life can be completely transformed.
Use these next three nights of Navaratri to review the summer's Eleven Moons content (July, August, and September). Focus on the wisdom and creative guru within you.
Reflect on this fact:
Your most empowered Self IS *authentically* who you really ARE!
SOUL QUESTIONS & ACTION STEPS
- Write down three spiritual teachings you wish to learn or better understand. Pick one and read an inspiring book or article about it.
- Turn inward and reflect: What is the biggest thing you have learned about your Self during the course of this Eleven Moons journey?
- How can you use your new-found wisdom to contribute to your world in a richer, more soul-satisfying way?
- How are you honoring the solar forces within you?—those that inspire you to turn your dreams into an action plan, and bring your radiant voice into the world. What is your next action step?
- How are you honoring the lunar forces within you?—those that remind you to rejuvenate your body and mind with self care and nourishment. Have you created sacred boundaries with those who do not support your vision? What can you say "no" to, today, that will give you more space to say "yes" to what you really want to create
- In your journal, create a concrete vision of who you want to be—and realize that vision is exactly who you really ARE. Write out the qualities you wish to embody—physically, mentally, and socially. List all your special skills. Write one or two sentences (first thought, best thought) answering the question: What are you creating?
- Now, speak it! The Saraswatī-Vāc power lies in moving energy with vibration. That means you must find your voice and, in your own beautiful way, share your vision with the world.
Full Hunter's Moon
FULL HUNTER MOON
Artemis & Nourishment
(Please review your October Gold Journal for full content.)
A Hunter knows where to find nourishment to keep her satisfied—warm and fed—through the autumn and winter.
I love Artemis.
Artemis is a God/dess archetype who truly embodies the sacred marriage of masculine and feminine principles: “as masculine as the dispatched arrow, as fertile as the crescent moon.” She is known as the Huntress, the Goddess of the moon. As such she provides the perfect invocation and celebration for the Hunter Moon.
Although a Greek Olympian, she wears a crescent in her hair, just like Shiva.
That sliver of moon is a symbol of the new light dawning within you—the ongoing cycles of rebirth. Artemis invites you to understand the source of your nourishment and to ask for what you want/need for regeneration. She conveys the inspirational message: “Clarify your intention, ask for what you need, and always speak your truth.”
When brought to her father, Zeus, on Mount Olympus, three-year-old Artemis spoke.
Although just a babe, she was already completely steady in her power as she asked for the following gifts:
1. a bow and arrows
2. a pack of hounds to help her hunt
3. a posse of nymphs to always accompany her, providing loyal friendship
4. a tunic short enough to run in
5. mountains and wilderness as her designated living area
6. and eternal chastity
These are the requests of a girl who clearly knows what she wants.
They also provide insight regarding her symbolic qualities and exactly what an Artemis invocation provides. Review your October Gold Journal for the meaningful symbolism of each request to nourish your creativity.
When you feel depleted, discouraged, or defeated…what brings you back to full nourishment?
For the final Eleven Moons Tribal Call, let’s gather to share our secrets for maintaining warmth and satiety—to remind each other we are worth it.
Artemis is a God/dess archetype who truly embodies the sacred marriage of masculine and feminine principles: “as masculine as the dispatched arrow, as fertile as the crescent moon.” She is known as the Huntress, the Goddess of the moon. As such she provides the perfect invocation and celebration for the Hunter Moon.
Although a Greek Olympian, she wears a crescent in her hair, just like Shiva.
That sliver of moon is a symbol of the new light dawning within you—the ongoing cycles of rebirth. Artemis invites you to understand the source of your nourishment and to ask for what you want/need for regeneration. She conveys the inspirational message: “Clarify your intention, ask for what you need, and always speak your truth.”
When brought to her father, Zeus, on Mount Olympus, three-year-old Artemis spoke.
Although just a babe, she was already completely steady in her power as she asked for the following gifts:
1. a bow and arrows
2. a pack of hounds to help her hunt
3. a posse of nymphs to always accompany her, providing loyal friendship
4. a tunic short enough to run in
5. mountains and wilderness as her designated living area
6. and eternal chastity
These are the requests of a girl who clearly knows what she wants.
They also provide insight regarding her symbolic qualities and exactly what an Artemis invocation provides. Review your October Gold Journal for the meaningful symbolism of each request to nourish your creativity.
When you feel depleted, discouraged, or defeated…what brings you back to full nourishment?
For the final Eleven Moons Tribal Call, let’s gather to share our secrets for maintaining warmth and satiety—to remind each other we are worth it.
Diwali & The Book of Treasures
Diwali & the Book of Treasures
Happy Diwali!
This five day celebration honors the archetypal form of God/dess that is Lakshmi, in her full abundance and radiant light. It signifies the victory of light over darkness and awakening from ignorance and Self-doubt.
Enjoy thirty-three days of spiritual treasures to examine, contemplate, and assimilate into your life. Allow them to provide inspiration between Diwali and the Twelfth Moon!
The end it just the beginning.
Until the Soulstice!
In the meantime, I hope to see you at the Twelfth Moon Retreat!
In love and Radiant Light,
R.R. Shakti, PhD
This five day celebration honors the archetypal form of God/dess that is Lakshmi, in her full abundance and radiant light. It signifies the victory of light over darkness and awakening from ignorance and Self-doubt.
Enjoy thirty-three days of spiritual treasures to examine, contemplate, and assimilate into your life. Allow them to provide inspiration between Diwali and the Twelfth Moon!
The end it just the beginning.
Until the Soulstice!
In the meantime, I hope to see you at the Twelfth Moon Retreat!
In love and Radiant Light,
R.R. Shakti, PhD
