In Shaktism, the rhythm of the year is shaped above all by festivals that honor the Divine Mother in her many manifestations, with Navaratri standing at the center. Celebrated twice annually in spring and autumn, Navaratri unfolds over nine nights as a sustained contemplation of the Goddess as power, prosperity, and wisdom, most commonly through forms such as Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. These days are marked by fasting, recitation of sacred texts like the Devi Mahatmya, and communal worship that often includes music, dance, and elaborate home or temple rituals. Within this period, the time known as Devi Paksha is regarded as especially auspicious for Shakta practice, and specific observances such as Lalita Panchami may focus attention on Lalita Tripurasundari as a central, gracious form of Shakti. In different regions, Navaratri takes on distinctive cultural expressions, yet the underlying intention remains the same: to recognize the Goddess as the living, dynamic presence that pervades and sanctifies everyday life.

Closely linked to Navaratri is Durga Puja, particularly prominent in Bengal, Assam, Odisha, and neighboring regions, where the Goddess is revered as Mahishasuramardini, the slayer of the buffalo demon. Over several days, large images of Durga are installed in temporary shrines, daily worship is offered, and communities gather for cultural programs and shared feasts. The narrative of Durga’s victory over Mahishasura is not merely mythic spectacle; it is experienced as a celebration of the Mother’s power to overcome inner and outer forces of chaos. In some areas, related festivals such as Jagaddhatri Puja echo this theme of the Goddess as the supporter and protector of the world, with their own distinct iconography and local customs. Together, these observances affirm a vision of the Divine Mother as both fierce guardian and compassionate refuge.

Another powerful current within Shakta observance flows through the worship of Kali, Lakshmi, and Saraswati in their own dedicated festivals. Kali Puja, often coinciding with the new moon of Kartik and associated in many places with the wider Diwali season, venerates Kali as the supreme Mother whose fierce grace cuts through ignorance and fear. On the same broad festive canvas, Lakshmi Puja honors the Goddess of abundance and auspiciousness, while Vasant Panchami and other Saraswati celebrations turn attention to learning, the arts, and the refinement of speech and intellect under the Mother’s guidance. These occasions reveal how Shaktism does not separate worldly prosperity, aesthetic culture, and spiritual wisdom, but sees them as different rays of one Shakti.

Certain festivals highlight the more esoteric and regional dimensions of Shakta devotion, especially where the Goddess is understood in explicitly tantric or localized forms. The Ambubachi Mela at the Kamakhya Temple in Assam, for example, venerates the annual menstruation of the Goddess as a direct symbol of cosmic fertility and creative power, drawing both orthodox devotees and tantric practitioners. Meenakshi Kalyanam in Tamil Nadu celebrates the divine marriage of Goddess Meenakshi, expressing the harmony of power and order through temple processions and ritual drama. Pilgrimages and local festivals dedicated to forms such as Vaishno Devi, as well as numerous village goddess celebrations, extend this pattern across the landscape, each community recognizing in its own way that the earth itself is the body of the Mother. In all these observances, the festivals of Shaktism function not merely as cultural events but as recurring opportunities to reorient life around the presence of the Divine Feminine.