Oshun, Voodoo Goddess of Love

In Yoruba mythology, Oshun is an Orisha (spirit goddess) of love, intimacy, beauty, wealth and diplomacy.

According to the Yoruba elders, Osun is the "unseen mother present at every gathering", because Oshun is the Yoruba understanding of the cosmological forces of water, moisture, and attraction. Therefore she is omnipresent and omnipotent. Her power is represented in another Yoruba scripture which reminds us that "no one is an enemy to water" and therefore everyone has need of and should respect and revere Oshun, as well as her followers.

Oshun is the force of harmony. Harmony we see as beauty, feel as love, and experience as ecstasy. Osun according to the ancients was the only female Irunmole amongst the 401 sent from the spirit realm to create the world. As such, she is revered as "YeYe" - the sweet mother of us all. When the male Irunmole attempted to subjugate Oshun due to her femaleness she removed her divine energy, called ache by the Yoruba, from the project of creating the world and all subsequent efforts at creation were in vain. It was not until visiting with the Supreme Being, Olodumare, and begging Oshun pardon under the advice of Olodumare that the world could continue to be created. BUT not before Oshun had given birth to a son. This son became Elegba, the great conduit of ache in the Universe and also the eternal and infernal trickster.

Oshun is known as Yalode- the mother of things outside the home, due to her business acumen. She is also known as Laketi, she who has ears, because of how quickly and effectively she answers prayers. When she possesses her followers she dances, flirts and then weeps- because no one can love her enough and the world is not as beautiful as she knows it could be.

Oshun is beneficent and generous, and very kind. She does, however, have a horrific temper, though it is difficult to anger her. She is married to Shàngó, god of fire, thunder, and power, and is his favorite wife because of her excellent cooking skills. One of his other wives, Oba, was her rival. They are the goddesses of the Oshun and Oba rivers, which meet in a turbulent place with difficult rapids.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxum
Image by Sarah Elise Stauffer

____________________________________________________


Osun in Colours: Pictorial History of the River Goddess,Osun
Osun in colours is a compendium on one of the most significant traditional deity in Africa, the Caribbean Islands and the Americas. It is a searchlight to the diversified stories of the river goddess through its more than three hundred pictorial analysis and illustrations from Igede to Osogbo where the goddess groves. The book traces the biographical origin of the goddess from her humble beginning at Igede Ekiti and goes further to exhibit the exact source of her waters - the popular river Osun in Yorubaland till the point she crossed the Atlantic. Among other things, the book highlights Osun grove and its festival celebrations in selected Yoruba towns, discusses her relationship with other Yoruba pantheons and shows its readers the location where the two great rivers in Yorubaland, namely, river Oba and river Osun met. It goes further again, to discuss some ingredients peculiar to her worship, sacrifice and initiation. Two chapters are on her sojourn overseas and her beautiful songs across the waters. Osun in colours is extremely useful for Orisa worshippers in diaspora, valuable for tourists' and a reference point for researchers' and students' of religion worldwide. Intending readers and buyers should note that the book has scored so many 'FIRSTS'.The book is the first powerful book to trace the SOURCE of Osun waters.The first to highlight in pictorial form how it meanders through thick forests from Ekiti land through Ijesaland, Osogbo,Ibadan,Abeokuta and many other Yoruba communities until the point she crossed the Atlantic! The first to research into Osun's votary maids in Yoruba communities.The first to make a distinction between the Osun the divinity and the Osun the deity.....and lots more! Finally, the book is full of information and insight and it is a good source for continuous research, debate, seminars and discussion for any doubtful issue or issues that may be considered otherwise by any individual or group of persons.

_____________________________________________________

Look below to get this design on a tshirt, mug, poster, greeting cards and more at Cafe Press!

Oshun, (Ochún or Ochun) is an Orisha of love, maternity and marriage. She has been syncretized with Cuba's patron saint, Our Lady of Charity (La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre). She is associated with the color yellow, metals gold and copper, peacock feathers, mirrors, and anything of beauty.

Like many women, Oshun went through difficult times. According to legend, she had to become a prostitute to feed her children and the other Orishas removed her children from her home. Oshun went insane from grief and wore the same white dress every day. It was the only dress she had at the time and so she went to the river to wash it every day. Eventually, it turned yellow. Aje'-Shaluga, another Orisha who lived in the river, fell in love with her while she was washing her dress. He offered her cowries, money, and jewels which he collected from the bottom of the river. She accepted this act of love and they were married and she was subsequently reunited with her children.

Pictured is an Oshun Voodoo art doll, available exclusively from The Mystic Voodoo.
____________________________________________________


Osun Across the Waters : A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas

Book Description

Contributors to this lively volume explore Yoruba religion by delving into the cult of Osun, a brilliant deity with a world-wide devotional base. Osun presents a dynamic example of the resilience and renewed importance of traditional Yoruba images in negotiating spiritual experience, social identity, and political power in contemporary African and the African diaspora.

Oshun has been syncretized with Cuba's Patron Saint, Our Lady of Charity.

LA Virgen De LA Caridad Del Cobre: Simbolo De Cubania

Oshun is worshiped in Brazilian Candomblé Ketu, with the name spelled Oxum. Oxum is the feminine Orixá of rivers, of gold, the cowrie shell game, and love.

Candomblé Ketu' is the largest and most influential sect of the widely practiced religion of Candomblé. Ketu deities are essentially those of Yoruba mythology. Olorun (Olorum) is the supreme God, who created hundreds of spirits or Orishas. The hundreds of orixás still worshiped in Africa were reduced to 16, of which only twelve are invoked in ceremonies. Oxum is one of the twelve surviving deities.


Sacred Leaves of Candomblé: African Magic, Medicine, and Religion in BrazilCandomblé, an African religious and healing tradition that spread to Brazil during the slave trade, relies heavily on the use of plants in its spiritual and medicinal practices. When its African adherents were forcibly transplanted to the New World, they faced the challenge not only of maintaining their culture and beliefs in the face of European domination but also of finding plants with similar properties to the ones they had used in Africa.

This book traces the origin, diffusion, medicinal use, and meaning of Candomblé's healing pharmacopoeia-the sacred leaves. Robert Voeks examines such topics as the biogeography of Africa and Brazil, the transference-and transformation-of Candomblé as its adherents encountered both native South American belief systems and European Christianity, and the African system of medicinal plant classification that allowed Candomblé to survive and even thrive in the New World. This research casts new light on topics ranging from the creation of African American cultures to tropical rain forest healing floras.


Magic From Brazil: Recipes, Spells & Rituals

To construct an altar for Oshun, use a gold altar cloth. Place 5 peacock feathers in a crystal vase, and a bowl of river water on the altar. Arrange five cowrie shells on the surface along with five pieces of amber. A single yellow candle can be placed towards the back. You can also make a special jar for her that contains honey, five cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and a handful of pumpkin seeds. Any prayers you wish Oshun to answer should be repeated for 5 nights. But first, you will need to ask Papa Legba to open the gates to the spirit world so that you can ask Oshun for a favor. To do so, recite the following three times:

Odu Legba, Papa Legba, open the door, Your children are waiting. Papa Legba, open the door, your children await.

You can now use your Voodoo doll as a focusing tool for creating the change you seek. Oshun Voodoo dolls are particularly useful for improving love, happiness, and emotional strength.

Oshun is particularly fond of cinnamon, honey, oranges, pumpkins, gold, mirrors, and French pastries. Her favorite colors are yellow, green, and coral, her favorite day is Thursday, and her favorite number is the number 5.

Place Oshun in your kitchen or in the bedroom as these are the best places in the home for her.

Unravel the mystery and sacredness of Orisa Osun with hundreds of pictures. This book also highlights all the Sacred Places and Sacred People attached to the benevolent living river goddess. It is a scholarly treatise on one of the most significant traditional deities in South Western Nigeria, namely,Osun Osogbo who has won for herself the appellation "A Lady of 10,000 names" - across the waters! The theme of the book portends a departure from all the available ones, which till date ,are mainly based and focused on fanciful myths of Osun and in most cases her annual festival at Osogbo.



Osun Osogbo: Sacred Places and Sacred People
by AFOLABI KAYODE
List Price: $19.99
Availability: In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Make Your Own Page Like This and Earn $$$

You cannot re-publish this content elsewhere without crediting me (Voodoomama aka Denise Alvarado) as the owner and originator. The content is mine, written by me, and I own it.





This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.