Origin: Yoruba religion, Dahomey mythology, Vodun, Santería, Candomblé, Haitian Vodou.
Venerated in: Nigeria, Benin, Latin America, Haiti, Cuba.
Commonly associated with: Fresh and sweet waters, love, purity, prosperity, fertility, beauty, protection, motherhood, healing.
Symbols: Honey, cinnamon, sunflowers, oranges, peacocks, vultures, mirrors, gold, amber.
Oshun, also known as Oxum and Ochún, is a supreme being or Orisha of the Yoruba people – the largest ethnic group of southwestern Nigeria. In the Yoruba religion, she’s also called the river goddess and is commonly associated with fresh and sweet waters, love, purity, prosperity, fertility, harmony, marriage and beauty.
She’s the most prominent and venerated of all the Orishas but is considered to possess some human traits as well, such as perseverance, but also vanity.
In many Yoruba myths and stories, Oshun is described as the savior, protector, mother and nurturer of sweet things and humanity, and the keeper of spiritual balance.
In the Yoruba faith, Oshun has a key role in the creation of life on Earth and humanity. Olodumare, the Yoruba supreme god, sent seventeen Orishas down to Earth to try and populate it. They were all male deities, and failed to complete the task without Oshun. They needed the female deity to help them revive the Earth. She agreed to assist them, and by delivering her powerful, sweet, and fertile waters, she brought life back to our planet, including human beings and other species. Therefore, she’s considered the goddess of fertility and life, and without her, life on Earth wouldn’t exist.
As the Orisha of fresh and sweet waters, such as rivers, the goddess is associated with fertility, prosperity, and healing. It’s believed that she’s a protector of the waters as well as the poor and the sick, bringing them prosperity and health. During the times of extreme poverty and severe droughts, the goddess is sought after to grant rains and make the land fertile. She is considered the mother of the fish of the seas and the birds of the forest.
In West African cultures, Oshun is associated with the power of women and femininity and is particularly significant to women who want children. Those with fertility challenges call upon the goddess and pray for her help.
Similar to Isis, Goddess Oshun brought the profound teachings of mysticism, divination, agriculture, and culture to humans. She is referred to as the queen of the witches, for being a teacher of magic and mysticism.
Oshun is known as Iyalode, the “(explicitly female) chief of the realm.” She is also known as Laketi, she who has ears, because of how quickly and effectively she answers prayers.
The Archetype of Oshun
& the Divine Feminine
Author Luisah Teish on the archetype of Oshun.
Excerpt for the film "Changing of the Gods."
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Beyoncé has incorporated Oshun imagery into her 2016 visual album Lemonade, and she has returned again and again to Oshun iconography in photo essays and videos since then.
In Lemonade, Beyoncé spends a long interlude submerged in a dreamlike state underwater. As “Hold Up” starts playing, she pushes open a set of doors and emerges in a great flood of water, dressed in a flowing yellow gown, and starts to wreak her vengeance on her cheating man. This moment, Africana studies professor Amy Yeboah told PBS in 2016, is “her emergence as an Orisha.” It’s the point where Beyoncé is reborn as Oshun.
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In Black Is King, Beyoncé creates a love letter to the African diaspora. Here, she represents herself specifically and solely as the Yoruba goddess Oshun. She wears Oshun’s yellow and shining beads and cowrie shells; she emerges from the sweet water; she surrounds herself with flowers of fertility; she watches over children. She makes her connection to the goddess as explicit as possible when she sings “I am Oshun, I am the mother". She’s connecting herself to a cosmology that recognizes the divinity of beauty, love and motherhood.
Osunality (derived from Oshun) is an empowering, post-colonial, sex-positive/critical, African-centered paradigm of sexuality. African sexuality and eroticism promotes a non-phallocentric view of sexuality (not focused on the phallus or penis as a symbol of male dominance), that challenges our western ideologies of power and dominance.
Osunality gives agency to the female body and emphasizes feminine pleasure, allowing the feminine to hold power in the realm of sexuality. It challenges the western narrative of 'The masculine body conquers the feminine', which typically orients around male pleasure and power.
How might we decolonize our understanding of sexuality? How might we revive non-western narratives around sexuality that seek to empower all people?
Explore Osunality through the work of Nigerian philosopher and historian Nkiru Nzegwu (Osunality, or African Eroticism, in African Sexualities), and Jamaican anti-colonial sexuality educator Dr. Zelaika Clarke (Osunality: African Eroticism and Non-Phallocentric Sex)
“She rests fully in self-awareness and self-love, glowing in the silver light of the moon, symbol of the feminine principle.” —Asungi
What can we learn from Oshun? How might we embody her energy when we need it?
Oshun carries so many valuable lessons for us. She invites us to tap into our passion and life force, to embody the feminine principle of flow and fluidity. She invites us to tap into our sensuality, and to embody our most seductive, flirtatious self—not only to seduce others, but to seduce ourselves and all the parts of our life, to seduce our dreams, our passions, our work, our creativity.
Oshun invites us to fully embody and own our pleasure, our joy, our laughter and the sweetness of life. She teaches us to embrace the fullness of our love, in both its lightness and darkness.
Oshun invites us to embrace our dualities, imperfections and ironies. Even though she is one of the most powerful, abundant and effervescent Orishas, she also deals with poverty, devastation and heartbreak. As such, she invites us to face our challenges wholeheartedly and with vulnerability, to embrace our darkness, and not forget our own power. She also teaches us to connect with mysticism, magic and the divine, and to embrace the power of transformation and transmutation of pain.
Oshun teaches us to use softness, sensuality and laughter to soften the world. She shows us the true power of sensuality, seduction and feminine energy. She is the definition of soft power, and invites us to broaden our understanding of what power looks and feels like.
“When you can get others to admire your ideals and to want what you want, you do not have to spend as much on sticks and carrots to move them in your direction. Seduction is always more effective than coercion” —Joseph S. Nye Jr., Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics.
Oshun wants us to deeply connect with the element of water, with its fluidity and power. She invites us to protect the water, to protect women and sacred sexuality, to protect animals and the planet.
Here, you will find simple practices, prompts and rituals that will help you connect with the energy Oshun, and embody her qualities.
In ancient Greek and Hindu mythology, the Nectar is the sacred elixir that contains infinite healing powers. This potent substance can awaken our souls and breathe aliveness into our bodies. The image of the Nectar invites us to fully savor every moment. To fully taste the Nectar of life, we need to slow down and relish in the spaces in between moments. The Nectar invites us to surrender and soften into the moment, to taste its soulful nourishment.
Meditate on the image of the Nectar. Close your eyes, and sense the Nectar within you, dripping from the crown of your head, slowly down your spine, like sweet honey. Throughout your day, embody the energy of the Nectar, in the simplest of daily activities. Fully savor the scents and flavors of your food, sense the sun touching every inch of your skin, slow down as you hug and kiss your loved ones, feel the delicious intricacy of the gentle spaces in between the moments.
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Oshun wants us to deeply connect with the element of water, with its fluidity and power. For centuries, baths have been favored for their therapeutic benefits, and their ability to assist soulful transformation. Ritualistic bathing involves the use of water to immerse or anoint a person's body, and make use of water's purifying powers. Treat this space and time like a ceremony. Oshun loves bright colors, so light bright colored candles around your bath, specially yellow. Play relaxing music, and light incense if you'd like. You can use bath salts, herbal bath teas, and nourishing flowers in your bath. Allow the herbs and salts to soak for at least 20 minutes to maximize the bath’s healing benefits. Prepare a tea that you can drink while bathing. Get into your bath, slow down and relax. More than a self-care ritual, this practice can help you release tension and energy blockages, and connect with the flow of water. Meditate, breathe, be fully present. Allow yourself to be held and nurtured by water. Allow any feelings, sensations and thoughts to arise, let them transmute and flow like gentle, fluid water.
When taking your bath, consider the current phase of the moon. We can feel so much grounded peace by connecting with nature through our baths, and aligning ourselves with the energy of the moon. The full moon is a great time for reflections, revelations and surrender in your bath, while the new moon is a great time for dreams and intentions.
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Read this passage from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu, on the philosophy of flow and water.
“The best [people] are like water,
For water benefits all things and does not compete with them.
It provides for all people
It stays in lowly places that others reject.
This is why it is so similar to the Tao (the Way).
Live in accordance with the nature of things:
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
Stand by your word.
Govern with equity.
Be timely in choosing the right moment.
One who lives in accordance with nature does not go against the Way of things.
He moves in harmony with the present moment, always knowing the truth of just what to do.”
Lao Tzu liked to compare different parts of nature to different virtues. Each part of nature can remind us of a quality we admire and should cultivate ourselves—the strength of the mountains, the resilience of trees, the cheerfulness of flowers. What can you learn from nature? What virtues from nature would you like to embody? Journal or meditate on these ideas.
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• How can I be more like water?
• What can I learn from water? What wisdom lives in different bodies and forms of water?
• How do I fully embody my own pleasure? How can I invite others to embody their pleasure?
• How can I create more joy for others?
• How can I love others more?
• What in my life do I fiercely protect? What is most sacred to me?
• What parts of myself need softening?
• What shadows in others are hardest to accept? What can I love about these shadows? How can I compassionately love what feels hardest to love?
• What is my philosophy around power? What is true power to me? When do I feel most powerful?
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Sit in silence and watch the sunset while visualizing Oshun's loving energy. Imagine the warm presence of a mother, imagine her comforting sweet embrace. Let go of your worries and fears in the safety of this embrace. Imagine Oshun or this motherly figure smiling. Imagine her laughing. Connect with her joy, and with the Sun's joy. Remember you are always supported and embraced by Nature.
The next time a loved one needs a hug, embody the loving warmth of Oshun, of the Mother or the Sun, and shower your friend with this sweet warmth. You do not need to fix anything. Simply create a safe, quiet, nurturing space for them to just be.
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Read this passage by Margaret Atwood:
“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”
How do you feel? What do these words mean to you? What can you learn from water? How can you embody water in your daily life? Journal or meditate about it. You can listen to soothing water soundscapes while reflecting.
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More than anything, Oshun wants you to love yourself and connect with your infinite, exquisite, divine nature.
In front of your mirror, speak gently and kindly to yourself. You can experiment with mantras, like the ancient Hindu mantras So Ham (“I am that”, identifying oneself with the universe or ultimate reality), and Sat Nam (“I am truth”/“Truth is my essence”). Do whatever you wish with your own reflection that helps you fortify your love and confidence. Dance, adorn yourself, massage yourself with luxurious nourishing oils, be playful, seduce yourself, send gratitude to your body that carries you through life.
Invoke the energy of sensuality, love, beauty, prosperity, seduction, pleasure and fertility by placing some of Oshun’s favorite things on your altar.
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Dive deeper into the world of Oshun, Osunality, and the Divine Feminine in African spirituality with these resources including thought-provoking podcasts, videos, books and articles.
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✴ Podcast
‘Oshun, Sensuality, & Decolonizing Black Femme Sexuality’
by Sensual Self -
✎ Book
‘Orishas, Goddesses, and Voodoo Queens: The Divine Feminine in the African Religious Traditions’
by Lilith Dorsey -
✎ Book
‘The Ancient Orishas: Yoruba Tradition, Sacred Rituals, The Divine Feminine, and Spiritual Enlightenment of African Culture and Wisdom’
by Jade Asikiwe -
✎ Book
‘Seven African Powers: The Orishas (African Spirituality Beliefs and Practices)’
by Monique Joiner Siedlak -
✦ Article
‘The Death and Resurrection of Oshun in Beyoncé's Lemonade: Subverting the Institutionalized Borders of Western Christian Thought in American Popular Culture’
by Nahum Welang -
✎ Book
‘The Oshun Diaries: Encounters with an African Goddess’
by Diane Esguerra -
✦ Article
‘How to Invoke Oshun, the Yoruba Goddess of Sensuality and Prosperity’
by Valerie Mesa -
✦ Article
‘The Mystery Of The Osun-Oshogbo Grove: Romance Between Nature And Culture’,
by Oludamola Adebowale -
✎ Book
‘Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind, and Spirit’
by Queen Afua -
✎ Book
‘The Orishas: A Complete Guide to the Divine Feminine in African Religious Tradition, Yoiruba, Santeria and Hoodoo’
by Aisha Smith -
☾ Webinar
‘Osunality: African Eroticism and Non-Phallocentric Sex’
by Zelaika S. Hepworth Clarke Ph.D. -
☆ Youtube Video
Lessons From Oshun
by Ayesha K. Faines