By: Julie Evonne Third Eye Goddess
ASASE YAA, is a West African term for Mother Earth. Conceptually, the reason that I chose the name ASASE YAA for the article.
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The Autumn Equinox.This is the time of the Dark Mother, the Crone aspect of the triple goddess. The goddess is bearing this time not a basket of flowers, but of pumpkins, honey and spices. She is prepared to reap what has been sown.
The earth dies a little each day, and we must embrace this slow descent into dark before we can truly appreciate the light that will return in a few months.
The Archetype of the Asase Yaa "Dark Mother".
This ritual welcomes the archetype of the Asase Yaa (Dark Mother), and celebrates that aspect of the Goddess which we may not always find comforting or appealing, but which we must always be willing to acknowledge. Many magical traditions honor a goddess associated with darkness and shadows, and they are sometimes called upon in ritual to help a practitioner heal from trauma or fear.
These are my experiences with Oshun aka , Asase Yaa. I view, "Her"/ mantras as a cleansing and balancing tool clearing your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies of fear or sadness or of outside influences treading on your vibe... Her mantra is a powerful potent protection formula as well a blessing for success, creativity, self-love ,self-confidence and an uprising of joy."
In commemorating Asase Yaa Dark Mother Earth in a couple of different ways. I think that these times we're living in show us an appreciation of the Earth. It’s about seeing the Earth as our home and loving and caring for it. I particularly wanted to focus on the concept of the woman as Earth, especially the symbol of the black woman as Mother Earth. I want us to uplift her and discuss what it is to be a black woman in America. You have to know where you’re from to know where you’re going. So the entire life for each of us is a journey of us returning, as African-Americans who are here as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, to retrieve things that we’ve lost and things that we’ve been deprived of. It’s about becoming whole again.They say Oshun is an extremely beautiful woman dressed in gold, covered in jewels with a pot of honey around her waist (pun intended). Her traditional colors are yellow, gold, coral, amber, and she associated with the number five. Oshun often carries a mirror so that she can admire her beauty. She loves honey, sunflowers, oranges, cinnamon, and pumpkin. The peacock and the vulture are her favorite birds.
Whether you celebrate her as Oshun, Demeter, Hecate, Kali, or any of the other similar goddesses, it's important to show her that you respect her. This ritual is written with Oshun, as the focus, if there's another Dark Mother type of goddess that resonates you, feel free to change the wording as needed.
How to Hold Your Ritual
Here are some of my favorite rituals to invoke the Dark Mother Goddess.
(Please note: the more specific you are with your wishes, the better. If you don’t have an altar with some of Oshun’s favorite things as I mentioned above, make sure you have at least one representation of her, i.e., a holy card, photo, or sculpture. Feel free to be flamboyant with your rituals. Oshun loves to be adored.)
You’ll need: 5 sunflowers, 1 white candle, 1 bowl, a representation of the goddess, honey, cinnamon, and your favorite perfume
Directions: Light the white candle in front of a sculpture or image of Oshun for five days. (Make sure you put the candle in a safe place. If you plan on leaving it unattended, blow it out, but light it again as soon as you return.) Tell her your wishes, preferably out loud so she can hear you. After lighting the candle, remove all the sunflower petals and put them inside your bowl. Sprinkle cinnamon over the petals, then add a drizzle of honey and a few drops of perfume. After you take a shower, put some water into the bowl, together with the ingredients, and pour it over yourself from the neck down. Close your eyes and ask Oshun to bring love into your life.
RITUAL OFFERING FOR FERTILITY
You’ll need: 1 pumpkin, 1 yellow candle, 1 pencil, 1 brown paper bag, honey, and a representation of the goddess
Directions: Light the yellow candle in front of a sculpture or image Oshun for five days. (Make sure you put the candle in a safe place. If you plan on leaving it unattended, blow it out, but light it again as soon as you return.) Tell her your wishes, preferably out loud so she can hear you. After lighting the candle, make a round opening on top of your pumpkin. Write the same wishes you told Oshun on a piece of brown paper bag with a pencil. Put it inside the pumpkin and seal the top with candle wax. Place the pumpkin over your stomach and ask Oshun to help you conceive. Afterwards, take your pumpkin to the nearest river as an offering. Let your candle burn itself out. You may also, hold your arms out in the Goddess position(open wide), and take a moment to reflect on the darker aspects of the human
experience. Think of all the goddesses who evoke the night, and call out:
Demeter, Inanna, Kali, Tiamet, Hecate, Nemesis, Morrighan.
Bringers of destruction and darkness,
I embrace you tonight.
Without rage, we cannot feel love,
Without pain, we cannot feel happiness,
Without the night, there is no day,
Without death, there is no life.
Great goddesses of the night, I thank you.
Take a few moments to meditate on the darker aspects of your own soul. Is there a pain you've been longing to get rid of? Is there anger and frustration that you've been unable to move past? Is there someone who's hurt you, but you haven't told them how you feel? Now is the time to take this energy and turn it to your own purposes. Take any pain inside you, and reverse it so that it becomes a positive experience. If you're not suffering from anything hurtful, count your blessings, and reflect on a time in your life when you weren't so fortunate.
When you are ready, end the ritual.
You may wish to tie this rite into a celebration of this time of Harvest .
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