Rebirth Through Oya Spell: Yoruba/Santeria Feast Day of Oya-2/2

Oya is the Orisha of death and rebirth and spring is the season of moving from the death of winter to rebirth. She is the Keeper of the Cemetery, her home is the graveyard and the spirits of the dead are her subjects. Oya has a relationship with Iku; the Spirit of Death whom she precedes, accompanies and carries with her on occasion. When death strikes, Oya is the last breath taken along with the spirit Iku.

On a much lighter note, Oya is also the river goddess of Yoruba as well as the deity in charge of wind, lightening, storms and thunder. As Guardian of the River Niger, her river symbolism is polished stones. Lightening came from her consort Shango.

Shango took Oya from Ogun. She was originally Ogun’s wife and she stole his tools which were weapons of war from him. The tools became part of her altar and when Ogun confronted her, she replaced the tools with farm implements. Shango had a gourd of medicine which enabled him to split lightening and one day Oya dipped her finger in it and after tasting the medicine she shot fire out of her mouth when she spoke. From then on she used her forked lightening to help Shango fight his battles.

Oya is seen as a strong woman who because of the war became fearless and courageous in the face of danger. She is a proud, self-willed woman whose wrath is so terrible that it must be avoided at all costs. Oya is represented by two swords that reflect her fighting ability.

Another symbol of Oya is horns. Her sacred animal is the wild buffalo which she turns herself into. Her color in the New World is purple but reddish-brown in Yoruba. She is also known as the “Mother of Nine” as she had nine children.

The Spell

SUPPLIES: Purple candle, offering of shell corn, sword (or Athame)

Light the purple candle and call to Oya:

“I call to Oya

Of death, rivers and storm;

And on Your Feast Day

I ask to be reborn.”

Place the offering upon the altar and calls to the Buffalo totem:

“Sacred Buffalo Woman

Chief of the animals upon Earth

I give to you this offering

And ask for my rebirth.

Grant to me survival skills,

Prosperity and courage,

Fertility and abundance

And fill me now with knowledge.”

Holds the sword up high and say:

“Oya, I ask for the death

Of my old life.

Please cut away what holds me back

And free me now from strife.

I wish today to be reborn

And ride upon Your wind.

Oya, grant to me the change

Let my new life begin.”

Take a moment to visualize the negatives being cut away and the void being filled by the positives that you yearn for. When the visualization is complete, say:

“So mote it be!”

Make sure to place the offering outside for the animals and nature spirits!

Guardian Statue Household Protector Spell
by Rev. Merrie Hutchins (Boudicca Andarta)

The Roman festival of Compitalia honored the Lares for their help. The Lares are household hearth deities said to reside with each family as a type of protection. The story began with two children born from a liaison between the god Mercury and a mute Naiad named Laura, whose tongue had been cut out by the god Jupiter. The Lares became widely revered by Romans as house guardians and were depicted as monkeys covered in dog skins with a barking dog at their feet.

Another Roman deity associated with the hearth and fire is the goddess Vesta. She too, became a popular household guardian, depicted as a woman of great beauty holding a lighted torch and a votive bowl. Her mortal attendants were the Vestal Virgins, who were selected for office of guardians of the sacred flame from the age of six for a minimum of 30 years, during which they were expected to maintain a vow of chastity on penalty of live burial. The Vestals dressed in white gowns trimmed in purple and were highly respected members of roman society, enjoying many privileges. During the Vestalia festivals, donkeys were decked with wreaths. Vesta worship was abolished by Emperor Theodosius in 380 AD.

SUPPLIES: Guardian statue (or symbol) to become your household protector, incense, candle, water, salt, wand

First, clean the statue from any dust or dirt. Light the incense; pass the statue through the smoke three times (or if the statue is too large to lift, pass the smoke three times around the statue) and say:

“By the power of Air and incense,

My Lare guardian statue is blessed.”

Light the candle and pass the statue three times through the flame and say:

“By the power of Fire and flame,

My Lare guardian protects me from maim.”

Sprinkle the statue with three drops of water and say:

“By the power of Water and Sea,

Of danger my Lare will warn me.”

Finally, sprinkle your statue with three grains of salt and say:

“By the power of salt and Earth,

My Lare guardian now is birthed!”

Pick up your wand and circle above the top of the statue three times and say:

“By the power of Spirit and light,

Negative entities my Lare will fight.”

Now ask for the blessings from the goddess Vesta. Hold you statue up and say:

“Vesta of the Hearth and Fire

Your blessings now I acquire

Of my Lare Guardian

Let not negativity in.

Beautiful Vesta with Your torch,

Negativity can’t make it past my porch.

Lares and Vesta, please protect me,

As my will, so mote it be!”

Place the guardian statue in a place perfect to keep you property or house protected.

By Rev. Merrie Hutchins

Sarasvati, whose name means “flowing water”, is the Hindu Mother Goddess of wisdom, learning, writing and account books. She is also known as Brahmi, Vagdevi (Goddess of Speech) and Bharati. In later Puranic literature she as Brahmi became the first consort of the creator god Brahma. Other texts connect her with Laksmi as the consort of Visnu.

As a river goddess, she pours forth a flood of energy. The actual river Sarasvati has since disappeared, but she may also be linked with the Indus Sarasvati’s source of strength is the primeval water so she is inexhaustible and is also the bringer of fertility and bountiful harvests. By inference, she produces prosperity, which explains the possible connection to Laksmi. Her waves are said to smash mountains and her voice is the voice of torrent.

As patron of the arts, Sarasvati rules the arts of civilization including music, mathematics, the alphabet, calendars, magick, the Vedas and all branches of learning. As “Mother of the Vedas”, her inspiration, she is credited with inventing Sanskrit and is also the patron of students. Schoolchildren during Sarasvati’s festivals will offer her books, pencils, and pens before they begin class. Her image often appears on the portals of school gates.

Sarasvati is depicted as a beautiful woman dressed in white (her color) with a crescent moon on her forehead. Sometimes she has four arms, but usually two and sometime she is shown with three heads. She is shown either riding a peacock or swan or seated upon a lotus; with a lute, bell, book and water jar.

Sarasvati’s presence purifies, as she is the one who slew the demonic god of chaos Vrtra. Her festival began by cleaning the inkstands and pens. Today we can replicate this by cleaning our computer desks and filing our papers. The Indian ritual consists of sounds, rhythms, gestures, flowers, light, incense, and offerings; all designed to draw awareness from the physical into the spiritual.

SUPPLIES: offering of sugar (cane if possible) or flowers (preferably lotus), peacock or swan feathers, bell, Indian music CD, candle, incense, paper, pen, Sarasvati statue or picture, cauldron or thurible....

Place the Sarasvati statue upon the altar and play the Indian music. At the East, place the feathers in front of the statue and say:

“By feathers of the Air,

Sarasvati please enter here.”

At the South, place the candle in front of the statue, light it and say:

“Sarasvati, by the light of fire

Your presence please I require.”

At West, sprinkle the statue with droplets of water and say:

“As Your river flows to the sea

Enter my circle please, Sarasvati.”

At the North, place the flowers upon the altar and say:

Sarasvati, sugar sweet,

I place these flowers at your feet.”

Now at the altar, ring the bell towards the four quadrants, above, below and center; and say:

The bell rings, Sarasvati sings,

Let’s see what the future brings.”

Lights the incense and get out the pen and paper. Writes down what you want help with from Sarasvati concerning the creative arts, science, music, poetry, learning and teaching. Sarasvati will bestow inspiration, diligence, knowledge and all necessary ingredients for success.

Place the petitions in front of the Sarasvati statue and settle down to meditate upon your requests. See your goal firmly in your mind taking form and shape and coming into being.

When done, light the petitions one by one from the candle flame and burn them in the thurible while chanting:

“Sarasvati gowned in white

With a crescent on Your brow

Guide me with Your splendid light

And bring to me success now.”

Thank Sarasvati by saying:

“By feather, fire, flowers and sea,

Farewell and thanks, Sarasvati.”

The ashes are scattered to the wind.

Hello!
I thought that I would quickly state that you can easily take advantage of the “after Christmas clearance sales” going on right now to protect your house and yourself from negative energy.
Just keep an eye out for bells. In years past, I have bought “Christmas Bells” that are meant to be hung on the doorknob. Each and every time the door is opened and closed, the bells ring, thereby dispelling any negatively. If you are not able to find the bells that are designed to hang on a door knob, you can use any of the sleigh-like bells and attach a colored ribbon to them and simply hang them on your doorknobs throughout the house.
If you don’t feel like having them on EVERY doorknob in the house, then make sure that there are bells on the doors that are used to enter the house. That is the most important because the ringing of the bells (higher vibration) breaks up any negative energy (lower vibration) that might be entering your home. This negative energy could be riding piggyback on a person that enters the house or even through the mail that you bring in form the mailbox!
Using bells on your front door is nothing new. This is where the idea of the doorbell came from. In shops of old, there were bells that would tinkle every time a customer entered and exited the store. Shopkeepers adopted this idea from the magickal concept of keeping a bell on your door to ward off negatively because they didn’t want anything to harm there prosperity (sales).
So, as you are out-and-about, make sure to peruse the clearance section. I’m sure you’ll be able to find some bell and ribbon for next to nothing and you will be able to protect yourself all year long!

Category: Religion and Philosophy

Inanna is a Sumerian goddess who is “Princess of the Earth” as well as the ‘Queen of Heaven” (the translation of her name). This love goddess is also associated with Isis, Aphrodite, Asarte, Ishtar and Cybele. January 2nd is her birthday, born to either the god An or the Moon god Nanna. She is also sister of Utu, Iskur and the older Ereskigal. Inanna is the consort of the vegetation god Dumuzi and handmaiden of An, the “God of Heaven”. Her attendant is the minor goddess Ninsubur and her champion is the mythical hero Gilgemes. Both a goddess of fertility and war, Inanna is a tutelary deity of the Southern Mesopotamian city of Unug(Uruk) where her sanctuary is the Eanna Temple. She is depicted as winged, wearing a horned headdress, a tired skirt and weapon cases on her shoulders. Her symbol began as a bundle of reeds tied in three places with streamers, but later in the Sardonic period it changed to a star or a rose. Inanna’s totem is a Lion or a lion cub, and she stands atop a mountain. She may be embodied in the Sacred Tree of Mesopotamia which evolved into a stylized totem made of wood and decorated with precious stones and bands of metal.

With her connections to fertility and vegetation, she is also the goddess of date palms (as Dumuzi was a god of the date harvest), a rain goddess and goddess of both the Morning and Evening Star (Venus). Inanna was worshipped at dawn with offerings and in the evening when she became the patron of temple prostitutes, when the Evening Star was seen as a harlot soliciting in the night skies.

Inanna was a deity of duality as well. She was the goddess of lightening and extinguishing fires, the goddess of fears and rejoicing, enmity and fair dealing, as well as other conflicting principles.

As a warrior goddess, she is one of the three deities involved in the primordial battle between good and evil (the dragon Kur). There is also a yearly conflict that she must endure involving her consort Dumuzi with her older sister Ereskigal. Inanna descends into the Underworld to challenge Ereskigal and finds herself stripped naked and tried before the seven underworld judges, the Anunnaki. She is sentenced and left for dead for three days and nights before being restored at the behest of Enki, the God of Wisdom, who creates two beings; Kur-gar-ra and Gala-tur-a, to secure her release and revive her by sprinkling her with the food and water of life.

NATIVITY OF INANNA MINI-RITUAL

SUPPLIES: Cat food, dates, a star or rose.

Places the Inanna symbol (star or rose) on the altar and speak to her:

“Queen of Heaven, Inanna,

With Your horns and Your wings;

Standing with Your lion,

Next to the sacred tree.

On top of Your sacred mountain,

Looking up to the starry sky,

Rain droplets caress Your face,

And lightening rides high.”

Places the cat food upon the altar and implore the lion totem:

“Lion of strength, courage and energy;

Warrior-king of a fierce deity,

Protect me from evil forces

And lead me to abundant sources.”

Places the dates upon the altar and say:

“I gather on Your birthday

And give You offerings of dates,

To give You strength against Your judges

And save You from certain fate.

Inanna, Queen of Heaven,

And Princess of the Earth,

Tonight I honor You

And celebrate Your birth!”

*Don’t forget to places the offerings outside for the animals!