Back on earth, things weren't going so well. For many moons the rains ceased. All the rivers and lakes disappeared. The insects were confused. The bees quit pollinating. All the crops suffered.
The powers went to Olodumare and asked, "Great Spirit how can we provide for Earth's children when all of nature is so out of balance?" Olodumare thought for a moment and then asked, "Where is Oshun?"
Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and then finally someone said, "Oh, her.... We left her to her mirror. She is not concerned with practical matters."
Olodumare got very serious. "Come closer and listen closely. Without Oshun's Law of Attraction, nothing in nature can work. If you want to prosper, take time out to enjoy the sweetness of life."
So they called for Oshun. On Venus, Oshun pretended not to hear them. They continued to call for her to join them, but Oshun ignored them. In desperation they all got together and created a beautiful place for her and had a celebration in her honor.
When Oshun finally arrived a cosmic sigh of relief was felt by all. She spoke saying, "Yes I will come and the nectars of life will flow once more, but only if you promise to never let this happen again." Some say that what is going on in the world today is that we are allowing Oshun to be forgotten again.
This is why it's so important to respect the fresh waters of the earth, to take time out to celebrate Oshun, to give thanks each time we drink of her, to do whatever is in our power to protect and not pollute her. No one is a stranger to her for without fresh water none of us could survive. As our planet evolves fresh water for all is humanity's future challenge.
Oshun is the Law of Attraction; she is what causes the molecules in atoms to come together. It is said that Oshun can heal with fresh water and honey where doctors fail. Her medicine is that of Love, and she wins her battles with sweetness. She is the mother of divination, with cowrie shells given to her by Obatala. Oshun is also the goddess of wealth, luxury, creativity, sexuality, and sensuality.
Oshun is fond of the arts, music, and beauty. Her altars will often have a jar of honey, a mirror, decorative fans, ornate perfume bottles, peacock feathers, and brass bells. Her number is five, her colors are yellow, gold, orange, pink, and all shades of green. Her herbs include burdock, cinnamon, raspberry, yarrow, chamomile, lotus, uva-ursi, echinacea, and myrrh. Parrots, peacocks, hummingbirds, vultures, salmon, bees, spiders, and butterflies all belong to Oshun. Her offerings include roses, oranges, papayas, and mangoes, pumpkins, sunflowers, champagne, and honey wine. She is akin to Aphrodite, Venus, Hathor, Our Lady of Charity, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
Oshun is the Orisha [a deity in the Yoruba tradition] whom I see most in the Faerie community, She is a mother to many gay children and priests. As a mother to me, Oshun has helped me to stop worrying about what others think, to honor and not fear my Individuality. Oshun reminds me that beauty comes from within, that we each have the ability to create something beautiful and share it with the rest of the world. Oshun also reminds us to stop and smell the flowers, and to bathe in the fresh waters. We cannot heal the planet without healing ourselves. As a friend to the Compound of IIe Orunmila, Oshun's temple here in the Bay Area, I am blessed with the opportunity to spend time with Luisah Teish, author of "Jambalaya" and the founder of this Ile. Teish says "Healing is a process not a product."
Ile Orunmila Oshun is a house of Love and Learning that has become another spiritual community for me. I am drawn to African culture because I am interested in my roots as a human. For me, it is where we all originated and the place here on earth that we all have in common. I look at this as a way to begin to heal some of the fear and prejudice among different ethnicities. In embracing my Afrocentricity I am finding that deeper connection within. I see this change taking place, and am encouraged to continue on this path. To learn to win my battles with sweetness, while fighting for the protection of the planet's ecology and the right of clean, free water for all.
Being involved in the Radical Faeries, along with dancing the Naraya , has helped me find my way to this different kind of community. Like the Naraya, the Yoruba tradition is one of an elder hierarchy. In a spiritual house or compound, each initiated priest has undergone a series of secret rituals designed to clean their aura followed by wearing white and remaining still for a year and 7 days. It is very much like a shamanic death and rebirth. As a part of their seniority, these priests are greeted in order of who was initiated (made Ocha) first.
I would like to see more ways of honoring elders in the Faerie community, along with new ways for them to share what they have learned through their experiences. It makes sense to me to treat elders the way we will one day want to be treated.
So many Faes of my generation thought we would never become elders. I am lucky that one of my Faerie elders sat me down and shared some wisdom with me. My elder, Pinky, asked me one day "Have you decided to become an old person? Because it is a conscious decision one must make, and then one must start affording the changes to make it so." The fact that Pinky thought I would make a good elder was helpful in changing the way I saw myself. I was able to start to envision what I would like my life to be like as an elder. I believe we are an evolving tradition that will birth our own new ways to take care of and learn from one another. This will come about through our deep love for the magic that is Faerie. Oshun makes a great ally on this journey.
