by Edna Sousa
Lakshimi is the Hindu goddess for prosperity, beauty, good luck and fortune — both materially and spiritually. She is also considered to represent the divine feminine energy or the feminine side of the Devine Being. In the Vedic tracition, she is the counterpart of the Lord Vishnu, who gives balance in sustains the Universe.

The word Lakshmi is derived from the sanscrit Laksya meaning target, aim or objetive. So if you have your goal for this year, Lakshmi is the goddess you need to consult. The Lakshmi goddess is the symbol of youth and beauty. She has four hands representing the four principles of human life: Dharma, Karma, Artha, and Moska. She sometimes appears with jar containing gold and another jar containing Amrita, the elixir of immortality and the sacred fluid of feminine enlightenment.

Sometimes you can see elephants around Lakshmi; these signify the power of royalty, the lotus flower where she is seated is in the middle of the water or even inside the water, reminding us of the eternal and not to be spoiled by our riches. When she is without the lotus flower, Lakshmi sometimes takes the name Apadma.

The festival in India for Lakshmi is called Deepavali or Diwalli (meaning light festival). It takes place at the end of October. During this festival, devotees decorate their houses with flowers and at night, they make a passage way, lighted with the lamps (called deepaks). This shows Lakshmi the way to their homes. During this festival, homes are cleaned and old or broken things are replaced with new ones. Devotees wear their best clothes and exchange sweets.

You can make a little place at your home for Lakshmi, and let the goddess of prosperity and fortune welcome in your house. Lakshmi lovers chant to the goddess in many different ways. This is a simple one I use:

Om Shrim Maha Laksnmiey Namaha
means: “ I welcome the goddess of Beauty, Love and Prosperity.”