Mo juba awo Oshun.
Iwo ni Orisha Obinrin Odo.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Ilaju.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Ife.
Iwo ni Orisha Julo Ewa.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Oyin.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Eya Abo Ati Ako, ati Ibare.
I humble myself before the mysteries of Oshun.
You are the Goddess of the River.
You are the Owner of the Mysteries of Civilization.
You are the Owner of the Mysteries of Love.
You are the Most Beautiful Orisha.
You are the Owner of the Mysteries of Honey.
You are the Owner of the Mysteries of Sex, and Intimacy.
Although Orisha Obatala is the Lord of the Mysteries of Balance and
Equality, and the Owner of the Mysteries of the Feminine and Masculine
Principles, it is Orisha Oshun who is the Owner of the
Forces of Attraction, Ibadana (Affinity), between the male and
the female. Although Yemoja is the Owner of the Mysteries of Motherhood,
it is Oshun who manipulates the sexual nature not only
of the ‘godseekers’, but of all creatures and creations. As
the river’s journey is ultimately towards the ocean, the affinity
between male and female creations is ultimately towards reproduction.
The entire abdominal area is sacred to Oshun, and for that reason women
who wish to bear children propitiate the orisha to help them achieve
their desires. But childbearing is only one of Oshun’s concerns.
The orisha is also responsible for all abdominal illnesses and operations.
Although Oshun is very concerned with ‘reproduction’,
she is equally if not more concerned with the overwhelming forces
and provocative
pleasures that unlock the creative potentials of the Feminine and Masculine
Principles. Orisha Oshun is Oluwa Awo Inu Didun Ipilese
(the Owner of the Mysteries of the Pleasure Principle). Oshun is the
orisha of unconditional love, receptivity and diplomacy. Oshun is associated
with honey because it (honey) is both pleasing to the senses and has
great powers of healing.
Orisa Oshun embodies all aspects of the sexual nature
of the female. She is Iwa Wundia (Virginity); the fruit ripening
on the vine - approaching its readiness to satisfy the hunger and the
senses of the one who is so fortunate as to taste her sweetness. She
is Iwa Obinrin (Womanhood); emboding all of the Feminine and
Masculine attributes of a mature sentient being, and providing the
only
canvas upon which the male can outline his accomplishments as a man;
she is the ‘mirror’ that reflects the male to himself. If
the male fails to respect, nurture, elevate, support, and protect the
woman and the fruit of her womb, he has succeeded only in diminishing
himself. Oshun is also Pansaga Obirin (the Temptress, Prostitute)
- who through her pleasures, can tempt man to risk the throne that he
has, or inspire him to seize the throne of another. When the Ase became
self-aware and gave birth to Olodumare, and when Olodumare experienced
the first emotion, Love - the aspect of the Ase that is Orisha
Oshun was ‘born’.
One of Oshun’s symbols is the mirror, but this should not mislead
you into thinking that Oshun represents only external beauty. As Mason
and Edwards point out, “Oshun is that quality in a woman which
emanates beauty in such a way that vision is not necessary in order
to appreciate it.” She is “...the idea of excellence as reflected
by refinement, taste and delicacy.”
