The Blessings of Yemaya

Yemaya is the Goddess of water and healing, and is honored throughout West Africa and the Caribbean as the mother of the sea and the moon.  She is the keeper of the female mysteries and a guardian of women.  She aids in the conception of children and their birth, protecting and blessing infants until they hit puberty.  She is a healing goddess, showing compassion and kindness to those in need.  Yemaya is the personification of rivers and bodies of water, and is often depicted as a mermaid and as both African and Caucasian.

While She can be honored at any time of year, Spring is a powerful time to ask for Yemaya’s aid. Spring is about new beginnings, healing and love – all things Yemaya rules over. I have written an invocation to Yemaya, as well as the reply of the Goddess. These two verses can be used in circle, or in solitary rituals and prayer.

YEMAYA INVOCATION:

Goddess who is Mother of All,

Queen of the Deep Sea,

Protectress of women –

Allow your presence to be known throughout this sacred space.

We who call upon you as Yemaya

Our Mother, Our Womb of Creation,

ask that your love rolls and washes over us as the waves of the ocean,

as the rivers from your breasts.

Yemaya, Mother Whose Children are Fish

You who are comfort, inspiration, and forgiveness

We call you forth to enter our hearts.

YEMAYA’S WISDOM:

I am the force that swirls beneath the surface,

She who connects Sea and Sky,

the Infinite Mother who reclaims you.

Feel the sand beneath your feet, hold the conch to your ear,

gaze upon My Blue,

and you know Me.

Submit your troubles upon Me,

cast your cares into the heart of the ocean that is Me.

I will nurture you,

wipe your tears,

soothe the anger,

and shelter you from the coming storms.

In your surrender, I become your voice.

In the giving over, I become your freedom.

Daughter, come home, and allow Me

to make whole

that which is incomplete.