The Order of the White Moon Goddess Gallery Presents

 

Goddess Yemaya

http://shaktiwomyn.com/singing-to-the-mother-of-oceans-goddess-and-orisha-yemaya/

by Sandi Santiago

A Level I Initiate of The Sacred Three Goddess School

 

(2018. All original material in this Final Project is under copyright protection and is the intellectual property of the author.)

 

During my devotions and weekly studies, I came across the Goddess Yemaya. She sparked interest in me so I chose her for my Final Project. The more I studied Her the more I loved Her.

 

Origin

Yemaya originates from the Yoruba religion from Nigeria and areas that make up the West African pantheon. She is the Goddess of the Ocean, Rivers and Waters and the Mother of Fishes. She is the equivalent of the Great Mother, Mother of Dreams, Roman god Neptune, Sea goddess Juno, Greek god Poseidon and Sea goddess Hera. Her mother was Oddudua.  She gave birth to the Sun, Moon, Stars and all the Waters and Orishas. When the slave traders came to Nigeria and other regions of Africa, Yemaya traveled aboard slave ships and became the Goddess of the ocean. 

 

She goes by many different names such as, Yemaya, Ymoga, Imango, Balienne, Yemoja, Yemayah, Lemanga, La Diaosa Del Mar, Sirena, Lemanja, Janaina, Mami Watta and Ymowo. She is known as the equivalent of Poseidon, the Virgin Mary, Stella Maris and Our Lady of Regla. She traveled with African slaves to other parts of the world where they continued to worship Her.  She is still worshipped in Brazil, Benin, Nigeria, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and in the United States of America.

http://pinterest.com/pin/425027283554899214/

                                                

Influences and Worship

Yemalla is a goddess of the Hoodoo, Voodoo and Santeria religions and is celebrated during the Summer. She is seen as a beautiful dark-skinned woman with a large waist, or a mermaid.

 

People go to the ocean and rivers during the crescent moon. They wear 7 skirts of white and layers of blue and white and release gifts into the waters. Many rituals include fertility rituals. Yemalla loves sea shells, pearls, silver, fish, white flowers and the colors blue and white. Her stones are Turquoise, light blue and clear crystals, Mother of Pearl, Moonstones, Pearls and Coral. Yemaya's festival days are February 2nd, the Summer Solstice and September 7th.

 

She brings life, is the protector of Her people, and brings change. She brings comfort and love to Her children and will protect them when She needs to. She represents life's change, death and rebirth, like the ebb and the flow of the tides. 

 

Women offer gifts in quantities of 7.  Some offerings include white flowers, pearls, sea shells, silver pieces fish and more.  They have feasts of rooster, sweet mashed name with coconut, and offerings of watermelon. Her symbols include: seashells, the moon, the 7 seas, the 5-pointed Star of Isis and everything sea-related.

 

Yemaya's realm is the top layer of the ocean where life is born. She is viewed as the ultimate female power. Her male counterpart, Olukun, rules the deep sea. Her full name is Yey Omo Eja which translates to "mother whose children are the fish". Yemaja is the patron of pregnant women and is the spiritual mother to those that are lost and lonely. She is often invoked by fishermen that pray to Her for full nets to feed their families and prayed to by their wives for their safe return. Women looking to conceive go to the water during full or crescent moon offering gifts and ask for a child. Yemaya helps women conceive and watches over the children from the womb until the child hits puberty.

 

      Ritual

          I found this ritual online and really loved everything about it.

 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/561964859733402328/

 

Ritual tools:

1.   Peppermint

2.   Sea Kelp and Passion Flower herbs

3.   Moonstone

4.   Eucalyptus essential oil

5.   Blue and White candles

 

Boil water and steep one teaspoon of peppermint and passionflower. Run bath and add 1/8 cup of ground Sea Kelp and ½ tsp of eucalyptus essential oil. Add Moonstone and fix a cup of the peppermint passionflower tea and set beside the tub.

Light blue and white candles and get in the tub. Go under the water and hold breath as long as possible and think about the divine generosity of Yemaya. Come up for air and repeat seven more times. Once finished place Moonstone on belly and recite " Praise be to Yemaya, Sustainer of life". Follow with relaxation and the cup of tea. Spell date Monday march 7th 2005, by Stephanie Rose Bird. https://llewellyn.com/spell.php?spell_id=2016-Author

 

Yemaya Invocation for Healing and Nurturing: by Nina CryingWolf

"I come before the goddess Yemaya on this full moon, I ask you mother Yemaya to bless me
 with your healing waters, to nurture me and share your motherly love with me. Guide me to a
 place of healing and growth. Thank you, goddess, Blessed Be."

http://thegoddesstree.com/GoddessGallery/Yemaya-Olokun.html

 

Art Piece

I painted my art piece while suffering from and anxiety attack. I invoked Yemaya and sat down and felt calm and peace as I painted it. I chose a lagoon color for the back-drop color to represent the water of the lagoon. I chose glass marbles of light blue, green and clear and shattered them. I painted a crescent moon instead of a full moon because this is the time to perform rituals to her. I glued sea shells for her and used 7 silver sea stars which represent the connection of the moon and the sea.

 

 

 

References

http://www.thegoddesstree.com/

http://santeriachurch.org/the-orishas/yemaya/

http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/yemaya-goddess.htm

http://www.llewllyn.com

http://www.blackswantemple.org 

 

 

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