Nine Colours of Navaratri as jewellery

Navaratri, the nine night (and 10 day) festival is here once again. Filled with colour and splendour the festival is a cultural integration of sorts emphasising the victory of good over evil and the unity of people. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and their female counterparts Saraswati, Lakshmi and Durga are the supreme Gods according to Hinduism. Hence the culmination of their power creates something that is more powerful than them i.e. Shakti. She is the Mother Goddess – the personification of all life. During Navaratri we offer prayers for strength, prosperity, and knowledge, all of which are granted by feminine power. Also, a specific colour is worn on each of days to channel the vibrations of the various forms of the Goddess. While the set of colours remain the same, the order changes every year depending on which day of the week the festival begins. This is important as Hindu festivals are celebrated based on the location of stars at sunrise and not based on date. So this year, as Navaratri comes to a close, I wanted to write a bit about wearing the Nine Colours of Navaratri as jewellery.

Navaratri Golu

The tradition, in my home is to keep golu – an arrangement of dolls. It resembles the royal durbar of Shakti prior to the slaying of the demon Mahishasura. It is also believed that the Gods bestowed their powers to co-create a beautiful goddess with ten arms, each carrying their most lethal weapon and in the process became powerless themselves and stood rooted to their spots like dolls until the 10th day when Shakti’s victory over all evil brought them life once again. Please do look up my previous posts on Navaratri to learn more about how I celebrate this festival every year.

Nine Colours of Navaratri as jewellery

The Nine colours of Navaratri are Orange, white, red, royal blue, yellow, green, gray, purple, and pink. Some people also add peacock green to the mix extending the list to 10 colours. When you dress up in these colours to visit a temple or houses to see Navaratri golu, you need to be dressed to the T. Since festive attire is incomplete without coordinating jewellery, here are some pieces from the Banjaran dreams collection that will go fantastically well with festive garb. In order to avoid the matching-matching feeling, I have picked out such pieces that have other colours as accents to create a more interesting look.

Orange

Orange is the colour of exuberance and positivity. Wearing the colour gives you courage and energy to face the world. The bib necklace below in black and orange with red accents is designed for a woman who likes to channel a warrior princes. The arrowhead bails offer the reinforcement of the same idea making this necklace a metaphor of courage.

Red

Red is the colour of passion, of prosperity and female power. Hence, it is the preferred colour of Shakti. Red is worn ask for strength in the matters of home and country. The Red mandala necklace above is inspired by those worn in the Himalayan regions. With accents of turquoise and gold, this red necklace has recurring motifs of mandalas to establish a greater connection with the divine.

Blue

Royal blue represents tranquility and order among chaos. The vividness of the hue adds panache to those who wear it. The Paras necklace that you see above is in maroon and royal blue. I have used the Paras or the Paraspet border of Ilkal saree of Karanataka in this piece. The woven triangles in the border look like stars from a distance giving it the name – Chikki Paras border. The silver tone Ganesha charms, the crocheted strand of beads and the millefiori beads in the necklace, add to the ethnic flavour of the piece.

Yellow

Yellow is the colour of cheer, joy, and warmth. It fills the mind with positive thoughts and optimism. It is used to worship Skandamatha (the form of Shakti who is a mother of a young child). In bright Yellow, I have a choker with embroidered pendant and cowrie shells which is sold.

Green

Green represents fertility, growth, tranquility, and new beginnings in life. You can read more about the psychology of the colour green and its significance in Navaratri here. Here Topaz and Emerald necklace which layers of fabric as the pendant. The center of the pendant has a green and yellow traditional border called Mayil Kann – peacock’s eye, which is commonly found in sarong like dhotis that men wear. This piece with its blue stone focal and a bead dangle, is the grandest piece of the collection.

Purple and Peacock Green

The colour Purple denotes riches, mysticism, grandeur and nobility. Peacock green signifies compassion, beauty and uniqueness. Wearing the  two colours together can help channel both beauty and grandeur. Show here is the peacock totem necklace with mirrors. With Lambadi embroidery, pompoms and coins this is quite the eclectic piece.

White and Gray

As Banjaran Dreams is a festive and as people rarely wear white for festivities in India, I did not make an all white piece. Instead, I want to show the splendour of gold necklace. It is in white- gray fabric accented with brown and gold. While the gray pendant and the wooden focal bring elegance to the piece, I believe that the yellow gold adds festive charm. what do you think?

Pink

Last but not the least, in this post on Wearing Colours of Navaratri as jewellery, I have a gorgeous neck piece in pink and green. Pink symbolises love, sympathy, harmony, and femininity. With a pink brocade fabric pendant and emerald green focal, this necklace is quite the stunner. There are several other pink pieces in my collection, which can be seen in the shop page here.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the psychology of different colours and their religious significance. While these colours are given priority during Navaratri, they can worn at all times throughout the year. Colours can be used to attract and channel positive vibrations. By using colours mindfully we can make our lives better.

Excepting those pieces in yellow and purple, the rest are available for sale. Please email me to buy.