Yemoja

Yemoja's History

Every river must have its beginning, and that beginning is Yemoja. The Goddess of the Ogun River is mother to the Yoruba pantheon, and from her floodwaters sprang the first mortals. She is the mistress of all rivers and the eternal guardian of the ancient mysteries of life itself. Fishermen and sailors seek her blessings, for she is the protector of all who travel on water. Mothers-to-be ask for her aid, for she is the patron spirit of women and governs everything pertaining to the feminine – especially childbirth. After all, who better than the mother of all life to oversee its continuation?

As such, she considers herself the caretaker of all that lives. She cares deeply for all of her children, be they mortal or god, comforting them and cleansing them of their sorrows. At Yemoja's blessed touch, wounds are healed and sickness is cured.

But even her kindness has its limits and should she be roused to anger, she becomes as violent and as destructive as the most turbulent of floodwaters. All who would dare stand against her are swept aside by her roaring fury. To challenge Yemoja is to challenge the river itself. But like the rivers, Yemoja has ever followed her own course.

She keeps to her spheres of influence and attends only those who seek out her blessings. Content in her solitude, she has maintained her distance from the affairs of the gods, for war does not interest her and she has power enough to suit her. But the advent of Olorun has changed things and even rivers must turn with the will of the heavens.

And now, as her children cry out for aid, the river rises and Yemoja rises with it.