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.blackswantemple.org