Lessons from the Goddess Yemoya

Yemoya (also spelled Yemaya, Yemoja, and many other ways) is one of the principal goddesses of the West African Yoruba people. She began as a river goddess, giving birth to the world when her great waters broke. She followed her people across the ocean during the slave trade, becoming a source of comfort and protection for them, taking root in Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad, Haiti, and the US, where she is also understood as a sea goddess. One of her gifts to humanity was the seashell, in which we can always hear her voice—the voice of the ocean.

Often depicted as a mermaid, Yemoya’s name means “Mother of All the Fishes.” She is an orisha, which doesn’t quite mean goddess, but something more like elemental deity or divine spirit, worshiped in the Ifá, Santería, and Candomblé spiritual traditions. As a figure who traveled with the people during a major transition in human history, she shifted and adapted as the people needed her, and in some cases her stories and worship integrated into other religions as her people crossed the world in their suffering.

In her journeys across the ocean, Yemoya has come to be associated with the Virgin Mary and the Black Madonna. As has often happened throughout Christianity’s history, certain deities and traditions from all over the world have been incorporated into Christian culture rather than completely eradicated. Both Yemoya and Mary are associated with the colors blue and white. In Cuba, she is celebrated as the Virgin of Regla with an annual Catholic procession where some adherents wear both beaded Yemoya necklaces and Catholic crucifixes.

Fierce Motherhood

Yemoya is a mother, deeply and consistently loving, but is also fierce when she needs to be. She will love and protect not only her own children, but others as well; she has been known to happily foster children from other orishas.

She especially protects pregnant women and children and is sometimes said to be able to cure infertility. Her waters are healing and magical—and, if you get on her wrong side, can manifest as giant destructive tsunamis.

Divine Femininity

In the Tarot of the Divine deck by Yoshi Yoshitani, the Queen of Cups is depicted as Yemoya, a beautiful mermaid with dark skin holding a golden cup. Cups represent the element of water in the Tarot and are especially associated with emotions and matters of the heart.

The Queen can be interpreted as someone who has learned all the lessons of her suit—in this case, the suit of cups. She knows the difference between intuition and fear. She knows how to let her emotions flow, to be channeled into power rather than fearing or avoiding those deep feelings. The Queen is, of course, feminine; as wise as the King but in a different way. As Yemoya, she reveals the secrets of divine femininity, mysterious powers, and the magic of the depth of our emotions, including love, care, suffering, pain, and the ocean of tears that can come with deep grief.

Balancing Ebb and Flow

The mermaid is half human and half fish, bridging the gap between land and water, seen and unseen, known and unknown. She is willing to guide us to those difficult places in our hearts where we fear to tread alone. She can swim along with us, helping us navigate those deep dark waters.

Some think of Yemoya as a moon goddess, as the tides flow with the pull of the moon. When we connect with Yemoya’s wisdom, we may consider the ebb and flow of life; times of fertility, movement, and action balancing with times of rest, quiet, and stillness. Yemoya reflects other ancient goddesses who also knew how to hold dark and light, life and death, day and night, and the expanse of who we are—especially as her children.

Lean into divine feminine energy with a goddess ritual to fall in love with yourself.