Shivaratri marks the night when Lord Shiva performed the Tandava with Ma Parvati. The Tandava refers to the dance that is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation, and dissolution. Shivaratri, in some traditions, also marks the night of Shiva’s marriage to Parvati.

To celebrate this sacred occasion, devotees typically fast and keep vigil all night, intoning Shiva’s 1,008 names, fasting, and offering fruits, flowers, and bel leaves to Shiva. Aside from cleaning one’s home thoroughly and bathing in cold water to purify oneself, devotees are also instructed to strive for both inner and outer harmony through meditation and service in the larger community. Pilgrimages to sacred places are also encouraged.

Shivaratri is often referred to as the “day and night of the yogi,” in which we appeal to the awake spirit that already dwells in total perfection within us. The gift of the festival is the promise of higher consciousness and universal self-realization. In a passage from the Vedas, Shiva is referred to as the ultimate liberator: “The Lord, God, all-pervading and omnipresent, dwells in the heart of all beings. Full of grace, He ultimately gives liberation to all creatures by turning their faces toward Himself.”

At SHARANYA's puja this Sunday (details below), we will be honoring Shiva with special invocations, prayers and offerings. Do join us!

A sliding scale donation of $15-21 is suggested to cover the cost of the space, puja supplies and prasad (blessed food); however, no one is ever turned away for lack of funds, and any donation is graciously accepted--we appreciate so much the offerings you make to support our work and the community.

Note: Pujas are preceded by our teaching circle, Daughters of Kali.

An R.S.V.P. is requested if you would like to participate. All Kali Puja ceremonies begin at 5:30 p.m. No one is admitted after 5:45pm. Worship usually ends at 8:00pm and is followed by community time and sharing of prasad. Children are welcome, but no childcare is provided. Cushions and chairs are available (arrangements can be made for wheelchair access - kindly let us know in advance).

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Use this mantra in your daily practice to liberate spaces in your inner and outer landscapes of awareness from any of the tyrannies or injustices that keep you from your true nature, or that keep the world in which you engage from its greatest potential.

• Pronounce the alphabet correctly
• Pronounce your favorite mantras correctly
• Read simple mantras and slokas
• Write simple mantras and slokas properly
• Transliterate basic text
  
• Understand basic meanings of offered devotional prayers

Originally dedicated to the goddess Brigid (and later, St. Brigid, in the Christian conversion period), Imbolc was celebrated on the basis of weather prognostications, such as serpents or badgers emerging from their winter dens. Among agrarian people, the festival was typically associated with the onset of ewes lactating. (“Imbolc” means “in the belly,” but it also translates to “ewe’s milk” with a slight variation on the pronunciation). While Imbolc is never mentioned in non-Gaelic Celtic traditions, the Carmina Gaelica of the early Celts describes the celebration of an early version of Groundhog Day on Imbolc, but with a serpent:

Thig an nathair as an toll
(The serpent will come from the hole)
la donn Bride
(on the brown day of Bride (Brighid)
Ged robh tri traighean dh’an
(though there may be three feet of snow)
Air leachd an lair
(On the surface of the ground.)

Fire and purification were important aspects of Imbolc ritual, as the Gaelic goddess Brigid was the deity of the home and hearth, and is associated with sacred flames (candles are crucial to the festivities). Brigid is also the goddess associated with sacred flames, poetry, healing, and the power of the sun. She is one of the Celtic triune goddesses (one and three simultaneously) and is viewed as the maiden aspect of the maiden/mother/crone cycle.

In ancient times, Imbolc celebrated the lengthening of the days with the preparation of special foods, divination and watching vigilantly for omens, and honoring the goddess Brigid in all women. In folk traditions, girls and young unmarried women would make a corn dolly that represented the goddess, and adorn it with ribbons, baubles, and other trinkets. They would then make a bed for the corn dolly and gather together on St. Brigid’s Eve to stay up all night with her. Later that night, they would be visited by young men in the community, who would pay respect to both the women and the corn dolly. The following day, the girls and young women would carry the corn dolly from house to house, and adult women would stay home to welcome the procession. Brigid was said to walk the earth on Imbolc Eve, so before going to bed, members of each household would leave out a piece of clothing for the goddess to bless.

The time of year marked by Imbolc is recognized as a potent one in cultures throughout the world, but it was particularly revered among the ancients. In Rome, it was known as Lupercalia, a time for purification in which goats were sacrificed and thong-clad men ran through the city and hit people with bits of hide (if you were one of the people who was hit, it was considered highly auspicious). The celebration didn’t focus on one deity, however, and was instead dedicated to the founding of the city of Rome. Among the ancient Egyptians, February 2 celebrated the Feast of Nut. Nut was the goddess of the sky and mother of the sun god Ra, and like Brigid, also represented the birth of new life and light.

Imbolc was particularly important to the ancient inhabitants of Ireland; the significance of the festival can be seen in a variety of Megalithic and Neolithic sites, in which the inner chambers of passage tombs aligned with the rising suns of both Imbolc and Samhain. Astrologically, Imbolc represents an important time. Wiccans also celebrate a variation of Imbolc, as one of four fire festivals that comprise half of the eight sabbats, or wheel of the year. Imbolc represents the precise astrological midpoint in the northern hemisphere when the sun reaches 15 degrees of Aquarius. Imbolc typically lasts for about a week and is a crucial window for healing and purification. This year, the healing process was helped along by the conjunction of the sun with Chiron and Neptune, and the full moon on February 9, offering an optimal moment for physical and spiritual cleansing. (Some astrologers indicate that on a global level, we’ll also see inefficient parts of the economy drop off, as well as a gradual return to simplicity.)