KEYWORDS: Fertility, sensuality, love.
As mentioned in the Introduction, this is the first of the two cards deriving from the meanings of the Empress card in traditional decks. This Taurian card represents the perpetually fertile aspect of nature. For this I use the image of Oshun. “She is a Yoruban Goddess, Mother of the River, sister of the Sea (Goddess) Yemonja, and a very important Orisha (goddess) among the Yoruba people. Her archetype is akin to any of the Western Venus / Aphrodite images, as a goddess of love, creativity, and beauty. Oshun is particularly a fertility goddess. Her namesake is the Oshun River in the town of Oshogbo in southwestern Nigeria. Barren women who bathe in her waters and pray to her are said to become fertile.”
She is a goddess of many moods. In Oshogbo, her priestesses practice heightening the healing properties of minerals found in her waters. They also communicate with the Orisha through her messengers and omens. “But even to the uninitiated, she communicates her moods. A walk along her varied edges, passing in and out and around groves inhabited since time began by Oshun herself, as well as by other Orisha–other spirits of earth and its vegetation–discloses some of the richness of her personality.”
Oshun is shown here slender and naked, reclining against a tree in a serpent-like, seductive posture, as if she were awaiting a lover’s caress. She is the moon-snake of eternity, a traditional African symbol of 22 regeneration. Her arms are extended wide to embrace the love of the universe. She is a symbol of sensuality and abundance, the yoni or female genitalia in perpetual arousal.
In her left hand is the honeycomb, her favorite food and a symbol of matriarchal civilizations. On her head she wears the crown of brass, “the metal that transmits the force personified by the river.” The inverted triangle appearing on her crown is the most ancient symbol for woman, as it personifies the female genitals. This triangle in the ancient matriarchal cultures was a symbol as ubiquitous as the cross today in the West. In the Greek sacred alphabet, the letter delta, a triangle, meant the Holy Door or vulva. In the Hebrew Kaballah, the letter ascribed to this card is Daleth or “door.”
The river appears to be pouring forth from Oshun’s genitals, the sacred door to all life. We see women bathing in her waters, much as barren Yoruban women do to this day. Besides being Oshun’s sacred river, the river in the foreground symbolizes the continual flow of energy and sustenance from mother to daughter. The spiritual waters of the preceding trump card flow and become the womb-waters of Fertility.
Oshun’s riverside pools are teeming with potential life forms, still incubating in her dark backwaters and underground caverns.
Between the tall African sedge grasses, a heart and a woman’s symbol adorn two stones; in the tree, doves nest to remind us of Oshun’s astrological connection with the planet Venus, ruler of the sign Taurus. Priestess and author of Jambalaya and Carnival of the Spirits Luisah Teish says, “Oshun provides us with all the things that make life sweet and worth living.” In Jambalaya, Teish has a chart of the Seven African Powers, describing Oshun as follows:
Saint – Lady of Caridad del Cobre, Mother of Charity
Day and Number – Thursday, 5
Country and Owned Places – Cuba, Oshun River, Oshogbo, Nigeria
Cloth and Bead Colors – yellow, green, coral
Favorite Animals and Objects – quail, vulture, parrot, peacock, gold bells, fans, mirrors, scallop shell
I have spent many days and nights honoring Oshun at the sacred Ichetucknee River here in Florida. Imagine 23 women and children of many races dressed in white, winding their way to her turquoise 23 crystalline waters at dawn to honor her with a most spectacular floating offering of oranges, honey, mangos, strawberries, healing stones, cinnamon sticks and beautiful flowers. It took my breath away. After much singing, dancing, drumming and chanting, we offered this tray of goodies to Oshun. It was clear she was pleased when a huge carp leaped into the air to punctuate the moment. Finally, Yoruba Priestesses Oyabi and Omi gave us a luscious lesson on the fine art of honey-dripping. We offered honey to the water, to the fruit, and to each other. A sensuous feast to be sure. Ashé ashé.
To honor Oshun, who inspired creativity, I wrote the following song, (soon available on tape/CD, sung by Flash Silvermoon accompanying herself on keyboard and other instruments):
River Goddess To Oshun with Love – Flash Silvermoon
River Goddess keep on flowing
River Goddess keep on flowing
Bring on the rhythm of the Spirits
Bring on the rhythm of the Spirits
Bring on the rhythm of the Spirits for me
Honey Lady – bring love sweetly
Honey Lady – bring love sweetly
Bring on the rhythm of the Lovers
Bring on the rhythm of the Lovers
Bring on the rhythm of the Lovers for me
Wide hipped dancer – keep on swaying
Wide hipped dancer – keep on swaying
Bring on the rhythm of the River
Bring on the rhythm of the River
Bring on the rhythm of the River for me
(Bridge:) Cool clear water – cool clear water
mystical vision flowin’ with the Spirits
mystical vision comin’ on through me
mystical vision flowin’ with the Spirits
flowin’ like water
flowin’ just like the
River Goddess – keep on rolling
River Goddess – keep on rolling
Bring on the rhythm of the Spirits
Bring on the rhythm of the Lovers
Bring on the rhythm of the River for me.
Receiving Oshun puts you in touch with the fertile aspect of your consciousness. Once this limitless source is tapped and awakened, you become the sower of creative energy. The creative fire and the fire of passion blaze from the same source. It is a time of awakened sexuality and sensuality, of erotic moments of inspiration. You can flow like the honey and her river.
