What does Oshún represent in Santeria? The Golden Goddess who gives love

Oshún, is one of the Deities of the Yoruba religion most revered within the Cuban cult to The Santeria, fundamentally in syncretism with the considered Catholic patron of Cuba, the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre.

His date The day of celebration is September 8.

Both united in a cult, they are recipients of the promises of love and faith of thousands in Cuba, of prayers that come from inside and outside of this Island.

In any part of the world, a Cuban shows his faith to the Orisha Oshún, to Caridad del Cobre, and asks her to advise and guide him.

And it is that she is Oshún, the queen of the fresh waters of the world, the streams, springs and rivers, she is also the personification of love, wealth and fertility.

Oshún is the goddess who represents sensuality and femininity, through dance, music, elegance and delicacy.

How does the Ashé de Oshún help us?

Oshún is asked for love, health, prosperity, company and happiness.
She goes to her for help in monetary matters and for the solution of love dilemmas of any kind.
She is the goddess who represents women and to whom many come to seek advice and guidance to achieve happiness by accepting their own beauty, their body and their physical, moral and spiritual qualities.
Women who wish to have children also go to Oshún, since she represents fertility.

By her power, and because she is a life giver, her deity helps women in fertility matters, and many implore her to allow them to conceive a child or to help them carry a risky pregnancy to a successful term.

Why is Oshún the Goddess of fertility in the Yoruba religion?

A Yoruba pataki tells that when all the Orishas arrived on earth, they organized meetings in which women were not admitted.

Only male deities could make decisions and judge the future of the world.

For this reason, Oshún felt abhorred at being left out and not being able to participate in all the deliberations.

As a sorceress, the deity possessed incredible powers and decided to use them, as we know that Oshún can be severe and impulsive when enraged.

Thus, he decided to punish the other Orishas and make the women sterile and prevented the activities carried out by the other Gods from reaching favorable results.

Desperate, the other Orishas turned to Olodumare, the supreme god, and explained that things were bad on earth, despite the decisions they made in their assemblies.

Olodumare, who knew about Oshún's annoyance, asked if she participated in the meetings and the male Orishas answered no.

The Supreme then explained to them that, without the presence of the goddess of love and her power over fertility, none of their endeavors could be successful.

This is how the Orishas invited Oshún to participate in their work, to which she finally agreed.

Immediately, the women became fertile again and the chaos in the land ceased, becoming this abundant, and it prospers.

That is why Oshún is called Iyalorde, a title conferred on the person who occupies the most important place among all the women in the city.

Let us venerate the Queen of Rivers and the power of the Waters

Oshún is the Queen of all rivers and exercises her power over fresh water.

It is she who helps life on Earth to take its course, through the ashé and power that she keeps in the stones at the bottom of the Òşhun river, in the jewels, their attributes and energy elements.

In the Santeria or Rule of OshaOshún is received as a tutelary Orisha, that is, the person who "becomes a saint" is crowned.

The ceremonies in the river that are done in his honor are sacred, all the Iyabó (initiated in the religion) before crowning Osha must go to the river to offer Ochinchin and give him Obí (coconut).

So great is her power in Osha that the goddess is credited with having saved the world.

How to properly attend to the deity of love Oshún?

In the Yoruba religion, although there are rules, taboos and ways of proceeding out of respect, in terms of offerings the most important thing is faith, not ostentation or quantity, but the love with which it is given.

For this reason, although we can mention some offerings or adimú that the goddess likes, she receives everything that you give her with humility and especially with rejoicing, because she is very happy.

Let us remember that we can always go looking for the Queen of Love and Rivers, the beautiful Oshún, her natural temple, the river.

There we can pray to him in peace, asking for love and economic abundance and telling him our joys and difficulties like a mother.

Altar and offerings for the golden queen:

Of course, we can also dedicate an altar to Oshún in our house, adorned with yellow and sunflowers, elements that the goddess adores.

Likewise, there we place its attributes that identify it as combs, mirrors, fans, especially those made of peacock feathers (the bird that represents it), crown and golden bell, handkerchiefs, among others.

The goddess is also offered:

His favorite food Ochinchin, made with shrimp, chard, onion, chili, endive, olive oil, dry white wine and eggs,
Gofio levers with honey, honey,
Foods such as lettuce, yellow rice, tamales, cornmeal, olelé with saffron,
Sweets of all kinds, especially those with syrup,
Fruits like orange and flowers like sunflowers and yellow roses.

With this prayer we ask the Orisha Oshún for her protection:

By venerating her we call her with this prayer to protect us and help us face dissimilar situations, as she is inflexible and intolerant of injustices and will protect her children and devotees from all evil.

Oh, Mother Oshún! Orisha of rivers and waterfalls, waters that wash away the evils of the world.
Goddess of love! Your waters hold the feelings that feed hearts with vibrations of peace and forgiveness.
Bella Oshún, owner of Gold, illuminate and open my paths, attend to my needs, pour your gold over my family, may I never suffer hunger, misery, or ruin, and may we not lack your blessing or prosperity in the future.
May your five handkerchiefs serve us to tie the gifts you provide us with, and may we have the path open to health, happiness and prosperity.
Oshún, beautiful and loving, protects our homes, holds our families together, and sheds upon us a wealth of wealth, joy, and material progress. So be it, so be it.