Yemanja

'Yemanja', by Karisma

Ocean Mother of the Yoruban pantheon of gods is a West African creator deity who also gave birth to all the waters and all that lives in them. Yemanja accompanied her human children when they came to be sold as slaves in North America, Brazil, Haiti, Cuba and the Caribbean, hence the different spellings of her name.

Although Yemanja is considered a maternal goddess, answering prayers for fertility, pregnancy and childbirth, she loves to help out in affairs of the heart. She is also fantastic with anything requiring abundance, and is the mermaid goddess contacted by those who make a living from the sea. It is wise to ask permission before taking anything from Her kingdom, as she can be wrathful to those who take her other children, the fish, out of her waters. Her colours are blue, white and silver and she is associated with the number seven. Her days of worship include June 22, September 7 and 9, October 26, December 31, January 1 and February 2. She loves offerings of flowers.

Yemanja appeared as Herself in a supporting role in the movie Woman on Top (2000) about a Brazilian chef, played by Penelope Cruz, who finds, loses and finds her love again with the help of Yemanja. The filmmakers did a wonderful job of evoking Her energy.

Yemanja is a very alive and active mermaid Goddess, and is worshipped yearly on February 2, in Salvador da Bahia, northeastern Brazil, with a huge ceremony-festival of hundreds of people dressed in white, singing, dancing, making music and processing with their offerings to where the sand meets the sea. This is the time of year when Yemanja is thanked for her bounty and appealed to for further abundance for the next year.

Excerpt from Mermaid Magic by Amy Sophia Marashinsky (HarperElement, 2005)