Yemaya, Goddess Of Change
Just like the oceans, life is always changing, often unpredictable, and Yemaya, Goddess of the Ocean, encourages us to learn through acceptance of this change, to surf the waves of life.
Yemaya is a Nigerian Goddess of providence, blessing and luck depicted as a mermaid or a fish Goddess… Cross the ocean to Brazil and South America and again you find Yemaya… she travelled with the peoples of Nigeria as they were transplanted across the ocean. She gave them hope.
For the Yoruba people of Nigeria, she is the Goddess of Flowing Water and her name literally means ‘fish mother.' In Creation myths she gave birth to the sun, the moon and the waters, so she is also celebrated as a Goddess of fertility.
In Brazil, Cuba, Haiti and Trinidad we find an incarnation of the same Goddess - Imanja - Goddess of the Sea.
"When time untwirled under Sky Keeper and clouds sang over the heat of your waters, You, Yemaya, floated and continued. When we were the ones who wanted to die, Your waters carried to us new arrivals from our homes, new ones for us to care for and comfort, new ones with old stories of You in words that were lullabies in our ears and sweet home fruits in our mouths. When we would curse You and forget You, You continued, Lady of Compassion, You continued." (Carolyn McVickar Edwards - The Storyteller Goddess.)
Yemaya gave hope to people taken as slaves from Nigeria to foreign lands. She was seen as a compassionate Goddess who embraced change and persevered when times were tough.
In Cuba and Brazil, the slaves were not allowed to worship their own African deities so they found Catholic saints which embodied similar characteristics. And as African and Catholic religions fused, new practices were formed so you find Santeria in Cuba and Candomble in Brazil and they all find solace in the seas of Imanja.
How Yemaya Is Celebrated
On New Year's Eve in Brazil, people dress in white and go to the beach. They give offerings to the sea and light floating candles and send them out to the ocean for blessings for the year ahead. They wash away the impurities of the old year in the waters of Imanja/Yemaya. Brazilians offer candles, food, champagne, perfume and flowers to the Great Sea Mother. They are showing gratitude for the mother who protects them and supports them. They dance and sing and celebrate her power.
For the peoples of Brazil, Cuba and parts of South America, Yemaya reminds them of their birthland, their spiritual and cultural heritage, the practices at the roots of their being.
So a good way to celebrate Yemaya for yourself is to acknowledge your ancestral line, the people and the stories that make you who you are.
In the Vedas, sacred texts of India, it is believed that "none of us exists as an independent being; we are all linked to the universe through our ancestry." It is good to visit the lands of your ancestors, retell stories of their lives, look at photographs, acknowledge your ancestral make-up.
Taking Responsibility For Yourself
Yemaya is also celebrated as a supporter of women. She gives courage when times are tough. She is also acknowledged as a Goddess of fertility, childbirth and motherhood so often women make offerings to her at turning points in their lives. She reminds women to take time out for themselves, to acknowledge their own needs, nourish their souls and to honour their place in the universe.
Yemaya asks you to take responsibility for yourself. You can work with the following affirmations to help you accept yourself as you are right here and now:
• I voice my needs
• Freedom is a birthright I enjoy
• It is easy to articulate my feelings
• I am freed through communication
• I release my anger, I embrace joy
• Others recognise my needs and honour them
• I connect with my needs, and let them be known
"The Goddess, like nature, loves diversity. Oneness is attained not through losing the self, but through realizing it fully. Honour the Goddess in yourself, celebrate your self, and you will see that Self is everywhere," says Faery priest Victor Anderson.
Rituals To Honour Who You Are: Self Acceptance
You can also honour Yemaya and celebrate the dynamic and constant change of the universe by mirroring the New Year's celebrations of Brazil and making offerings of flowers or perfume to the sea. Kuan Yin is a similar archetype - a Goddess of Compassion - in China. Kuan Yin embodies the masculine and feminine within us and again is very much about self acceptance. You can acknowledge these aspects within yourself by floating a white flower in a bowl of water.
You can adorn yourself with blue crystals and stones of the sea like Lapis lazuli, aquamarine, pearl, coral and mother-of-pearl. And you can anoint yourself with oils to promote self confidence. For women, blend ten drops of carnation with five of amber and elderberry. For men, again use ten drops of carnation but with five drops of heliotrope and bergamot and two drops of cinnamon and elderberry. You can burn these oils in a burner or put them into a carrier oil like sesame or grapeseed for massage.
Sacred Intention
Celebrating the Goddess is a deep part of Earth-based spirituality. Author and shaman, Starhawk, talks of aligning our energies and our actions so that we honour our true selves. She talks of a Sacred Intention.
"Ask yourself, What is Sacred to me? What do I care about so strongly that I can't bear to see it compromised or destroyed? What would I take a stand for? Consider for a moment what the world would be like if our social, political and economic systems all cherished what is most sacred to you…
Affirm your Sacred Intention: ‘It is my Sacred Intention to create a world that cherishes ____________.'"
This beautiful practice of self enquiry comes from Starhawk's book Earth Path: Grounding Your Rhythms in the Spirit of Nature.
"Each time we act in service of our Sacred Intention, each time we align our energies with what we most truly love, we gain in personal power and ability," says Starhawk. "The path before us becomes clearer, and the help and allies we need come to us."