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| Once there was a beautiful woman by the name of Ye-ma-ya, who looked into the waters of the ocean. There She saw Her own reflection and asked, "Who is that beautiful woman? I thought I was the prettiest thing that the World had ever seen!" And as She looked on that woman there came a rumbling in Her belly and it grew and it grew until it exploded and covered the land with lakes, rivers, and streams. Yemaya looked into the water of the river and there again She saw that woman and asked, "Who is that beautiful woman? I thought that I was the prettiest thing that the World had ever seen!" And again Her belly grew and it grew and grew till it exploded and sprinkled the heavens with stars and a full moon. Yemaya looked in the full moon, and again she asked, "Who is that beautiful woman? I thought I was the prettiest thing that the world had ever seen!" And again Her belly grew, and it grew and it grew until it exploded! And before Her stood thousands of beautiful woman. Yemaya asked, "Who are you beautiful women? I thought that I was the prettiest thing the world had ever seen!" The women looked deep into the Eyes of Yemaya and there they saw their own reflections. So the women said to Yemaya, "You are! We're just you!" Yemaya is a Santerian African-Caribbean Goddess of the sea, who gave birth to fourteen orishas, or spirits. She rules the sea and owns all that is within it. Her colors are blue and white; and the cowrie shell is her symbol. Yemaya helps us to know that we can endure the hardships of life. She teaches us the ebb and flow of the changes in our lives. Yemaya's Wisdom: I nurture, heal, touch, bless, comfort and make whole that which is incomplete. I am within you and you need only look inside yourself to find my eternal presence. Although Yemaya's myth is a short one it has a profound lesson for women. Yemaya teaches us women are beautiful, no matter what shape, size or color they come in. We are the very reflection of the Goddess herself. When women begin to accept themselves just as they are and love who they are, they will realize this concept. Women for many centuries have been labeled by our society, but it has come a time for women to shed these labels and discover who we really are - looking within to uncover our uniqueness and beauty. Our inner voice tells us not to compromise ourselves, but we continue to ignore that voice at all cost. Sometimes it is because of fear of being truly known by others and some times it's for fear of truly knowing ourselves. By not listening to our inner voice we deny ourselves. |
| Connecting With The Goddess The Tale of Yemaya By: Linda Reichert |
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