Nehal Rajvanshi
In the Vedic worldview, the energy of the Moon represents the cosmic feminine force. The Moon is deeply connected with Mahadevi, the Great Goddess. In many cultures, including the Vedic, the Moon is seen as a manifestation of the Goddess herself.
In traditions, rituals, art, and iconography across the subcontinent, the Moon appears as a radiant symbol, and at times as an adornment of various goddesses.
As the Ashwina Amāvasyā (New Moon) brings to a close the Pitru Paksha, the nine sacred nights of the goddess begin. In this edition, we celebrate the connection between the divine feminine and the Moon.
Mahadevi, the Great Goddess, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Moon Phases & the Goddesses
Goddess Parvati, consort of Shiva, is the presiding deity of the Moon. While Shiva is known as Chandrashekhara, the one who wears the Moon, Parvati reflects the nourishing, rhythmic, and cyclical nature of lunar energy.
Different goddesses are linked with different tithis (lunar days) of the Moon. Goddess Sarasvati is connected with the fifth tithi or Panchami – Basant Panchami is dedicated to her worship. Goddess Durga is linked to the eighth tithi or Ashtami, and Kali to the fourteenth tithi of the waning Moon. Each tithi also has its own Shakti, or feminine force.
Shodashi Mata is a radiant form of Goddess Tripura Sundari, one of the ten Mahavidyas. Her name Shodashi means “sixteen,” symbolising the sixteen kalas of the Moon. She represents fullness, harmony, and beauty, much like the Moon at its brightest.
Moon & Adornment
In art and iconography in the subcontinent, the Moon which is often represented in its crescent form, is a divine icon and symbolises purity, radiance, and also the control over time and the mind.
Goddess Chandraghanta, worshipped on the third day of Navratri, takes her name from her most striking ornament – a crescent Moon shaped like a bell on her forehead. It is said that the sound of this divine bell terrifies evil, but as a Goddess wearing the Moon, she exemplifies calm and wellbeing.
Goddess Chandraghanta. Artwork by Jayati Bose
The Goddess Mahagauri, the eighth manifestation of Durga worshipped during Navratri, is called so because of her radiant white complexion, like that of the Moon.
Goddess Kali, in contrast, is linked to the Moon through its absence. She is especially worshipped on the New Moon night or Amāvasyā. The festival of Kali Puja is held on Kārtika Amāvasyā. If the waxing Moon speaks of growth, Kali represents the stillness of endings, the void out of which new beginnings arise. She is also sometimes seen wearing a crescent Moon on her head, and in some descriptions, “the forehead of Kali is seen to be as luminous as the full Moon and eternally giving out ambrosia.”
Goddess Mahakali, National Museum, Delhi
Goddess Lakshmi, who is the goddess of abundance, is honoured on the Full Moon. On the bright Moon night of Sharad Purnimā in the month of Ashwina, devotees stay awake in her worship and prepare offerings under the beautiful autumn moonlight. The cool and abundant light of that night is seen as her blessing of prosperity and grace.
The connection of the Goddess with the Moon is both symbolic and mystical. The Moon measures time and governs the mind, while the Goddess gives that time power and meaning. To see the Goddesses adorned with the Moon is to remember that change and renewal are natural, and that behind every shifting phase of life lies a steady rhythm of protection and grace.