The Pull Your Sox Up Goddess
I sometimes call Durga the “pull your sox up” Goddess.
Not especially elegant, perhaps.
But accurate.
Durga is really the reason for Navaratri.
Her story begins when things have gone seriously off course. The gods and celestial beings have tried everything they know, but nothing is working. Finally, they come together and call upon the great feminine power for help.
And Durga shimmers into being.
Magnificent. Powerful. Riding her lion, exquisitely adorned and, of course, ravishingly beautiful — even with ten arms carrying an impressive collection of weapons and fabulous jewllery adornng each arm:).
But I love what happens next.
Durga makes it quite clear that she is not at everyone's beck and call.
She comes on her terms.
When humanity genuinely needs her, when the call is sincere, she will come.
And perhaps that's where this ancient story becomes interesting for us.
Because Durga still “shows up”.
She shows up as the courage to finally have the conversation we've been avoiding.
As the clarity that says, this isn't right.
As the strength to set a boundary.
As the determination to finish something we've been procrastinating over.
As that mysterious reserve of resilience that appears when life suddenly asks more of us than we thought we could give.
This is where Durga stops being a distant Goddess and becomes a mirror.
Where do I need to gather my strength?
What difficult situation have I been quietly avoiding?
Where do I need to speak up?
What needs one final push to get it over the line?
The obstacles in our own lives may look like fear, self-doubt, old assumptions, procrastination or those familiar habits that quietly keep us playing small.
Durga doesn't ask us to judge any of this.
Simply to see it.
Because we cannot change what we cannot see.
Through the Navaratri tradition I experienced with the Johari family, I came to know the Nine Faces of Durga — each revealing a different quality of this extraordinary feminine power and a different lesson for our own lives.
Each day becomes an invitation to pause.
To notice what is working.
To notice what isn't.
To recognise what may be getting in the way.
And then to call forward the particular quality we need to do something about it.
The Goddesses don't magically change us.
They become mirrors.
And Durga reflects back the courage, strength, clarity and resilience we may have forgotten we possess.
During this year's Navaratri retreat, we'll journey with the Nine Faces of Durga through story, reflection, mantra, meditation, creativity and journalling.
Nine days.
Nine faces.
Nine opportunities to look at our lives a little differently — and perhaps change something that is ready to change.
One day at a time.
You can learn more about the retreat here:
And in the meantime...
Where in your life could you use a little of Durga's “pull your sox up” energy right now?
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