Today’s Goddess Message

At this point you’ve probably noticed a little bit of a slow down of things here on the blog and things being a little later than usual.  I’m working hard right now on finalizing everything for both the online “In The Cards” class which will begin in a few weeks as well as an in-person intro to tarot class I’ll be teaching locally in October.   So it’s been a busy couple of weeks so far and will likely continue to be until at least the end of October.  So if things seem to come late, go slow, and so on, know that it’s just because I have so many other great things in the works and not a matter of neglect (really).  So with that, let’s look at today’s message from the Goddess through The Goddess Oracle .

Yemaya
Surrender

(from the book)

Come with your cares
come with your woes
come when life is joyful
come when life weighs you down
come when you take on too much
come when you are spread too thin
come when you are danced out
come when you seek renewal
all I ask when you come
is that you surrender to me
mother ocean
my watery womb waits to hold you
nurture you
birth you anew
when you let go and give over all to me

I have to admit that it makes me excited to see Yemaya here in today’s Goddess message since she is one of my favorite Goddesses.  And seeing the message shown in the book, I know that for me, today’s message certainly carries some weight and gives me something to think about.

In the card in the deck, Yemaya is depicted as a dark skinned mermaid (one of the forms she often takes in myth), deep in sea, with a crown of shells, holding a scepter of shells with a start in the center in one hand and another shell in the other.  A sea turtle swims past her in the background and water lilies cascade around the back of her.  It’s a little different from the usual images that you see of her but it’s clear from this image that she is very much the Mother Ocean, Queen of the Sea that she is known to be.

Yemaya’s name is a shortened version of Yey Omo Eja which means “Mother whose children are the fish”.  This represents both her rule over the ocean waters but especially speaks to her position of Great Mother in Yoruba, indicating that her children and many and uncountable.  She is an Orisha within Yourban and Santerian practices; the Orishas are spirits or deities that reflect one of the manifestations of God and are often seen through some sort of representation of the natural world, such as Yemaya and her connection to the ocean.  She is a Goddess of renewal and a patron to pregnant women.  She is especially called on by women when in need of “motherly” aid, such as help with the family, the home, children, and so on.  While she has this motherly side, she is a fierce protector of those who she cares for and over the domain that she rules.  This makes her a wonderful protectress to call for when children need someone to watch over them, especially daughters.  Yemaya can be found in one of many forms in most of the African religions and is known by different names in different parts of the world.  She can also be seen sometimes mixed in with other deities such as Mary Star of the Sea and Mermaid Goddess of the Sea.

The message with Yemaya today is one that carries both a need for renewal through surrender but also a need to protect ourselves from the dangers of doing too much.  If you’re working on too much right now and feel that you’re coming into a place of not being able to control what is going on around you, it’s time to surrender some of those things to Yemaya and take a bit of a break.  Sometimes we forget that surrender doesn’t mean giving in or giving up but it means asking for help.  Whether that assistance is going to come in the form of another person helping to get a task done or asking for the Goddess to come into our lives and give us some sort of spiritual relief, we need to not be afraid, or even ashamed, to surrender when the time for that comes.  We all know when we have hit that wall and it’s easier to ask someone to help lift you up over it than to try and run through it.

Today take a moment to reflect on what you might be carrying too much of and make the call to Yemaya for assistance by offering to surrender.  This is very much an act of sacrifice; you can’t ask for help and then do nothing to change yourself and not allow her energy to come in and work with you.  When you make the offer to surrender in exchange for spiritual assistance, be willing to let her do what she needs to for you and step aside.  You’ll be amazed at what can happen if you’re willing to let go of some things that otherwise you hold on to so tightly. Surrender is also about trust so trust that the Goddess knows how to best help you in this situation and let her work her magick.

Today’s Affirmation
“I surrender to the Goddess and place my trust in her.”