Just as the water reflects the stars and the moon, the body reflects the mind and the soul. – Rumi
Stand with me in the waters. Feel it swirl and pool and eddy around you. Admire the froth that bubbles from the depths. Watch water meet earth, teasing, as if to overwhelm and then recede again. See waves rise up and know the power of the inundation. Water is in constant movement. It may only be restrained for a time before its force, its impetus, must be released. Sacred waters of the outer world are reflected in our bodies, our womb waters, our tears, our blood. Our inner and outer worlds flow with emotional and physical waters.
Water purifies, consecrates, carries, contains, enlivens, sustains. Our very survival is dependent on it. As we are born from water, in the end we return to water (symbolically) – the Gate to the Otherworld is in the West which is ruled by water. Many myths also speak of the rivers that carry souls into the Underworld and through it.
I am so delighted to bring some Mothers of the Sacred Waters to our week! This is a very special Sacred Waters Week as it contains the Feast Days for the Orisha Goddesses Yemaya (9/7) and Oshun (9/7). Yemaya is a Goddess of Oceans and Oshun is the Goddess of the Fresh Waters, Rivers.
To further celebrate this week, I am offering a discount to my Mermaid Magick: 30 Days of Water Spirits class! Regular price is $44 and this week is it $33 – click here to read more and register!
I will be sharing more about the Mothers of the Sacred Waters in the MotherHouse Facebook Group this week! Come and join us!
Wishing you FLOW of your inner and outer Sacred Waters! Sync to those waters and allow it to carry you and consecrate you!
xo Kimberly
Join me in September:
9/12/20 Goddess Oracle Circle – Live Readings – Receive a Goddess for Autumn! (Only 2 spots left!)
9/13/20 Priestess: Ancient Myth & Modern Practice Online Course begins – Intro to Practical Priestessing
9/19/20 The Mourning of Demeter – Free Autumn Equinox Goddess Meditation Circle
WATER GODDESSES (and really just a few!)
Aida Wedo, Amphitrite, Anahita, Anuket, Aphrodite, Arianrhod, Benzaiten, Chalchiuhtlicue, Circe, Coventina, Danu, Erzulie, Ganga, Gyhldeptis, Hathor, Iris, Isis, Ix Chel, Kuan Yin, Lakshmi, Madre de Agua, Mami Wata, Maya, Mnemosyne, Morrigu, Nammu, Nana Buruku, Nepthys, Oshun, Saraswati, Styx, Sulis, Tiamat, Venus, Yamuna Devi, Yemaya
YEMAYA
This week celebrates the Feast of Yemaya as Our Lady of Regla on September 7!
Yemaya is the All Mother Orisha who birthed all of the other Orishas, as well as the Sun and Moon. She is the nurturing Mother that listens to our troubles and washes away our sorrow and she is also the Mother with her hands on her hips that can bring us to proper behavior with a look.
“She is judgement and reason, but she can also be inflexible when she punishes. Majestic Queen of the Oceans, she is presumptuous and haughty. She protects her children in her skirt, feeds them, and raises them with absolute motherly rigor.” (Creole Religions of the Caribbean)
In Africa, her name comes from the Yoruban phrase “Yeye omo eja” that means “Mother whose children are like fish”. Yemaya is the owner of the Ogun River and a lake that is named for her. Her “hidden” aspect, Olokun, is considered to be the owner of Oceans (and in some traditions, Olokun is a separate Orisha from Yemaya). As the African diaspora occurred and Yemaya traveled west with her children to the Americas and Caribbean, the Mother of Waters became more known as Mother of Oceans. Olokun is resides in the deepest depths of the ocean, guarding the source of life and a sacred shrine to the Ancestors. I have always experienced Olokun as a sister of Yemaya, much like Isis and Nepthys, but understand that is my personal opinion and there are many stories that are different, although as an Aborisha in Lukumi, I have received the Orisha Olokun.
Orishas have very specific likes (and dislikes in some cases) and Yemaya is no exception. Her favorite colors are blue and white and she is frequently depicted as a mermaid. In Santeria, she is syncretized to Our Lady of Regla and she is the guardian of the Bay of Cuba in that form. Saturday is her day of the week and her number is 7. If you are near the ocean, take 7 copper pennies to leave as an offering for Yemaya, particularly if you take something from the beach like rocks or seashells. Any type of rock or seashell that you find on the beach is a wonderful addition to an altar for the Mother of Oceans.
Yemaya loves watermelons, as well as other tropical fruits, and molasses. Her feast day is September 7 and there are massive ceremonies and celebrations around the world in her honor. Herbs and plants that she favors are marjoram, cilantro, watercress, parsley, lettuce, aloe vera, ferns, lotuses, violets, and vervain. Taking a bath with watercress is said to bring a blessing of health from Yemaya and a bath with parsley invites a blessing of money.
Her tools and symbols include a sword, a fan, a half moon, an anchor, and a silver or white metal sun.
Yemaya is a potent All Mother Goddess and for those in need of nurturing, blessings, healing, and cleansing, she is available.
Maferefun YEMAYA!
Yemaya Portal Page for more info and resources
OSHUN
This week celebrates the Goddess Oshun as Caridad del Cobre on September 8!
Oshun’s presence makes everything brighter, more beautiful, more wondrous, and Her laughter is intoxicating as She invites us to dance to Her sacred drums and surrender to all the pleasures of life well-lived.
She is very near and dear to my heart as I am a Lukumi Aborisha (initiate) and Daughter of Oshun. She is my Guardian Orisha and when I make my initiation as a Lukumi Priestess, my life will be dedicated to Her.
Oshun’s name means “source” – She is the source of the river, of the people, of children, of life, of the very blood of life itself. As the youngest Orisha, Oshun quickly demonstrated that She was intrinsically linked with all life. If Oshun withdraws from our world, life is over – Her elemental power as the source of Sweet Waters on Earth (the fresh waters) makes life possible and preserves life for creation. Oshun is specifically the source of feminine power and the source of women’s intrinsic creative power. All that we are in the embodiment to create, sustain, and bring forth life falls under Oshun’s purvey.
For all humans, She spreads Her golden magic throughout all that gives us life, love, bliss, and union – She is the sweetness of life. Oshun is beauty in body, word, and action. Her power begins as the source of all reproductive energy in waters of the womb and manifests as the enlivening energy that fires our blood and passions. Oshun has a capricious nature and for as strongly as She loves and protects, She can also bring the power of Her anger or Her determination to teach a lesson. She is the only Orisha that is associated with witchcraft and this means to help and hex. Like a river, She is unpredictable and restless.
Oshun is enchanting, magical, clever, elemental, and known for Her laughter. She is the Goddess of Honey, but make sure you taste it first before you offer it to Her! Her number is 5 and some of Oshun’s areas of influence include:
- Fresh Waters and Rivers
- Womb to Tomb for Women
- Love and Romance
- Fertility, Pregnancy (She births children but gives them to Yemaya to raise!)
- Flow, Wealth, Abundance
- Wishes!
- Healing
- Witchcraft and spells
- Within the body – Blood
Oshun Correspondences:
Her favorite colors are yellow, green, and gold, but my Oshun likes orange too. Offer Her amber, intoxicating perfumes, jewelry (She likes gold and brass the best!), all flowers but particularly sunflowers, mirrors, combs, fans, red roses, items collected at the river. Interestingly, brass is made of copper and zinc, so copper also is one of Her offerings. Some of Her sacred animals are bees, peacocks, vultures, butterflies, parrots, crocodiles. Thursday is Her day of the week and September 8th is when Her annual Feast Day is celebrated.
Goddess crystals for Oshun include River Quartz Seer Stones, Amber, Yellow and Green Calcite and Citrine.
Oshun is known for Her powers of divination, ability for witchcraft, and knowledge of healing which extends to the power of curing disease, especially those that are blood-borne. She is also approached (and known to) send children to women who are thought to be barren, further confirmation of Her power over reproduction.
Did I mention that Oshun rules the kitchen? She loves sweet potatoes, pumpkins, lemons, squash, cinnamon, and kitchen implements. I will be including some of my recipes for you to celebrate Oshun in your kitchen.
An interesting note, in Lukumi, Oshun is also represented on altars as the Chinese Goddess Kuan Yin. A huge synchronicity for me as I have seven Kuan Yin’s throughout my home! As other avatars, Oshun is Tara, Shakti, Mami Wata, and Aphrodite.
MAFEREFUN OSHUN! Ori Yeye OOOOOO!
Oshun Portal Page for more info and resources
ANAHITA
The Persian Goddess Anahita is also called The Lady of the Waters and thehas a chariot that is pulled by four horses named wind, rain, clouds and sleet.
Aredevi Sura Anahita– “life increasing, herd increasing, fold increasing who makes prosperity for all countries”
She is Freedom, Liberation, Warrior, Protectress, Life Increasing, and All Mother.
Anahita is a Water Goddess, a Fertility Goddess, and a Protector of Women. She also had fire temples in some regions. Later, she is syncretized with Ishtar and becomes associated with the planet Venus and war. Anahita is often seen as a young woman in a golden mantle with a crown surmounted by eight rays and one hundred stars and was called the “Golden Mother”. She carries a water pot and a pomegranate blossom.
She is also called “Immaculate One” – She is Mother and Warrior. Anahita originated in Babylonia, appeared in Egypt armed and mounted as a Warrior Goddess, and Her worship spread further to the East. The Armenians honored Anahita with green branches and white heifers and there is some indication of sacred sexuality being practiced at Her temples. Her worship was extensive throughout the Persian Empire, although Zoroaster did his very best to ignore her.
May Anahita rain down blessings upon you!
See Anahita Portal Page for Resources
MAMI WATA
Mami Wata is called Ogbuide, Mommy Waters, La Sirene, and also Santa Marta, La Dominadora (the Dominator). She syncretizes with the Orisha Goddesses Yemaya, Oshun, and Olokun. Depictions in art and statuary are as a mermaid with a fish tail and also as a woman with a serpent balanced in both hands over her head.
Mami is primal, source, and rules over coastal areas, ocean waters, rivers, lakes, and lagoons. In some regions Mami Wata is a title and she is fused and meshed with multiple water spirits. Most agree that West Africa (Igbo, Benin, Togo, Ghana) is the likely area of origin, but with the diaspora, Mami moved across her sacred waters, bringing her worshipers and devotees to the Americas and the Caribbean.
She has a dual nature, as is common in most water spirit and mermaid myths. Her waters can be calm or turbulent; delivering travelers safely to their destinations or sending them to the bottom of her oceans. If she is not offered “proper” devotion, Mami can bring destruction and a run of bad luck. She is a powerful Goddess of the crossroads as the transition points of life and death. She also heals and can bring us respite and peace in emotionally chaotic times.
Gifts and offerings include a mirror (she loves to have her beauty admired!), perfumes, combs (for her gorgeous hair), items from her beloved waters like shells, and Mami also likes coca-cola. Offer her some french pastries or cream filled donuts. Take some white or yellow flowers to the ocean or briny water as an offering! She brings messages on the roll of the waves and through her animal totems, the python, the crocodile, and the turtle.
MAY MAMI WATA KEEP YOU AND BLESS YOU!
CORRESPONDENCES OF WATER
Positive Qualities: adaptability, changeabilty, emotions, empathy, love, healing, mutable states, nurturing, rebirth, sadness, serenity, sexual energy, sympathy, transformation, trust
Ritual/Ceremonial Use: Death, Dreams, Messages from the unconscious, Journey into the Otherworld/Underworld, Psychic abilities, Channeling and Mediumship, Divination, Meditation, Journeywork, Mantra, Scrying, Healing, Consecration, Cleansing, Purification, Creating Sacred Water/Holy Water
Magickal Creatures: Mermaids, Nymphs, Sirens
Astrological Signs: Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio
Planets: Jupiter, Moon, Neptune, Venus
Magickal Tool: Cup, Chalice, Mirror, Cauldron, Bowl
Crystals/Gemstones: Amazonite, amber, ammonite, angelite, apatite, aquamarine, bloodstone, blue aragonite, azurite, blue calcite, blue chalcedony, blue topaz, celestite, chrysoprase, clear quartz, elestial quartz, emerald, fluorite, kyanite, howlite, labradorite, larimar, lepidolite, moldavite, mookaite jasper, moonstone, ocean jasper, opal, optical calcite, record keeper quartz, rhodochrosite, rose quartz, rutilated quartz, scolecite, selenite, silver topaz, stilbite, turquoise
Metals: Mercury, copper, silver
Herbs/Plants/Flowers: water lily, seaweed, apple, Balm of Gilead, buckthorn, burdock, belladona, coltsfoot, bulrush, lobelia, lotus, periwinkle, reed, spearmint, turtlehead, aloe vera
Oils/Resins: Chamomile, Eucalyptus, Jasmine, Lemon, Myrrh, Sandalwood, Spearmint, Ylang-Ylang
SACRED WATERS RESOURCES
Books:
How to Create Sacred Water by Kathryn Ravenwood
Sea Priestess by Dion Fortune
The Wisdom of the Elements by Margie McArthur
The Other Side of the River: Stories of Women, Water, and the World by Eila Carrico
From a Drop of Water – A Collection of Magickal Reflections on the Nature, Creatures,Uses, and Symbolism of Water by Sorita d’Este and John Canard
Diving Deep & Surfacing: Women Writers on Spiritual Quest by Carol Christ
GODDESS VENDORS WE LOVE!
- DaughtersOfIsis.com with Gwen Barry – Magical Essential Oil Blends & Incense
- GailJessenDesigns.com with Gail Jessen – Sacred Jewelry Design
- MurphysEssentials.com with Kim Murphy – Healing & Magical Essential Oil Blends & CBD
- Red Priestess with Brandi Auset – Goddess Sprays and Crystals
- SacredWell.com with Yeshe Matthews – Crystal and Treasure Shop
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