We are in the midst of the “Nine Nights” Festival in India that honors the Divine Feminine (Oct. 17 – 25, 2020).
The Navratri Festival is celebrated in different ways in different parts of India. Overall, it’s a festival that celebrates the triumph of Good over Evil.
The most commonly told tale at this time is that of the Goddess Durga’s slaying of Mahishasura, the Buffalo Demon — when no one else in the universe could defeat him. Each day of the festival honors one of Durga’s nine incarnations.
(Image above is a sculpture of Durga in the MFA Boston’s collection that I used to share with visitors, along with the legend.)
Since those books flew off my shelf in the middle of the night a few weeks ago (if you don’t know what I’m referring to, click HERE), I’ve enjoyed rediscovering them… several have been with me upwards of 30 years (written inside the front cover of one: “Tokyo 1991” — it’s my habit to note in a book when and where it came into my life). I have walked down memory lane — several of them were gifts to me from friends or family — recalling conversations we’d had about them and related topics. Though I might not count any of these particular books in my “top 10 best books ever read,” I’ve marveled at the enduring relevance of the themes represented here: women, writing, nature, art, physical fitness.
Do you have books so beloved to you that you’ve kept them for decades, through multiple moves?
Do you, like me, write your name, date, and place where you got a book, inside its front cover?
Do you pull them off the shelf every once in a while or let them gather dust?
And/or do they ever just come flying off the shelf at you?
These are the five books that flew off my bookshelf that night:
- Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
- With a Fly’s Eye, Whale’s Wit, and Woman’s Heart: Animals and Women, edited by Theresa Corrigan and Stephanie Hoppe
- Laughter of Aphrodite: Reflections on a Journey to the Goddess, by Carol P. Christ
- I Love Myself When I am Laughing: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader, edited by Alice Walker
- Strong Women Stay Young, by Miriam E. Nelson
And then it struck me: I have a small Navratri Festival right here! A celebration of the divine feminine going on — or rather flying off! — my bookshelves! What perfect timing: just before the rollicking celebrations began in India, these books — by women, about women, for women — started dancing!