Goddess Oshun: Love, Sweetness, Healing & Abundance
Oshun — The Sweet Waters of Creation, the River of Gold, and the Goddess Who Teaches Women to Love Themselves Into Power
Some goddesses roar like thunder.
Some shake the ground beneath your feet.
Some arrive in fire, storm, or judgment.
Oshun arrives differently.
She comes as honey, river water, sunlight on skin, laughter that heals wounds, sweetness that melts hardness, confidence that does not shout but still fills a room.
Oshun is the Yoruba òrìṣà of love, rivers, fertility, beauty, sensuality, prosperity, art, diplomacy, sweetness, and emotional healing. She is the bright river that nourishes the world, the golden thread woven through joy and creativity, and the sacred embodiment of life’s sweetest gifts.
In West African spiritual traditions — as well as Brazilian Candomblé, Cuban Lukumí, and other African diasporic religions — Oshun is revered, honored, adored. She is not a mythic idea; she is a living spiritual presence, approached with respect, care, and devotion.
Oshun is elegance with depth.
Softness with intelligence.
Sensuality with wisdom.
Sweetness with strength.
She is not the goddess of naïve charm—
she is the goddess who uses softness as strategy, beauty as confidence, honey as medicine, and joy as devotion.
And for women seeking empowerment, confidence, radiance, and emotional healing, Oshun is not merely inspiration — she is initiation.
She whispers:
“You are allowed to glow.
You are allowed to receive.
You are allowed to be adored.
You are allowed to want more.”
Who Is Oshun?
A Beginner-Friendly Introduction
If someone has never heard of Oshun, the most important thing to know is:
Oshun is the Yoruba òrìṣà of fresh waters and sweetness — the embodiment of love, beauty, fertility, sensual radiance, and prosperity.
In Yoruba cosmology, she is one of the primordial forces present at the creation of the world. She is not a minor goddess. She is essential, sacred, powerful.
Without Oshun, life cannot flourish.
Fresh water is necessary for all creation —
and Oshun is the spirit of that water.
You will know Oshun by her symbols:
✨ Rivers and flowing freshwater
✨ Mirrors and adornments
✨ Honey
✨ Sunflowers
✨ Gold, amber, copper
✨ Fans, bells, and gourds
✨ The peacock and the vulture (each with powerful stories)
Oshun is beauty, but she is also depth.
She is sweetness, but also strategic and intelligent.
She is sensuality, but also spiritual authority.
Oshun teaches that pleasure and purpose do not oppose each other —
they feed each other.
Origins of Oshun — The River That Births Creation
In Yoruba creation stories, when the world was being formed, all the other òrìṣà tried to shape land, forests, and life — but everything failed. Nothing grew. Nothing lived. Nothing moved.
Why?
Because Oshun was not included.
She had been dismissed, underestimated, pushed aside.
The world tried to build itself without sweetness, without water, without feminine flow, without pleasure — and the result was barren.
But when the other òrìṣà realized their mistake and called Oshun forward:
✨ Rivers flowed
✨ Plants grew
✨ Humans thrived
✨ The world came alive
This story is not only myth. It is teaching:
Nothing flourishes without nourishment.
Nothing grows without sweetness.
Nothing survives without flow.
Oshun is not optional.
She is essential.
The Story of Oshun — Sacred Sweetness With Unshakable Power
While Oshun is often associated with love and beauty, her stories reveal a deeper, wider range of power — political, emotional, mystical, and strategic.
✨ Oshun and the Honey
One of the most famous stories tells of the time Oshun saved the world with her honey.
When the male òrìṣà went to fight a great battle, they were confident — perhaps too confident. They dismissed Oshun’s wisdom and her warnings.
But the battle turned against them, and they were left weakened and nearly defeated. Only Oshun had the medicine that could restore their strength — her honey, the sweetness of life.
She brought it to them and healed them, showing that:
- sweetness is not weakness
- gentleness is not passivity
- nourishment is strategy
- healing is power
The honey of Oshun is honey with intention —
honey that can soothe, heal, seduce, renew, or destroy when necessary.
✨ Oshun and the Vulture — When She Saved the World Again
In another story, the world fell into drought.
No rivers.
No rain.
No growth.
Oshun was sent to plead with the Supreme Being, Olodumare, but she was ignored — dismissed once more. So she transformed into a vulture, flying high into the heavens, refusing to leave until the world was restored.
This was not gentle.
This was not soft.
This was not passive.
This was determination, leadership, and divine authority.
Because of her persistence, the rains returned.
Oshun teaches:
“Do not confuse softness with smallness.”
✨ Oshun and the Mirror
Oshun carries a mirror — not for vanity, but for remembrance.
In her mirror, she sees:
- her beauty
- her purpose
- her value
- her power
- her sacred identity
For women today, her mirror is a symbol of reclaiming your reflection — not through society’s eyes, but through your own.
What Oshun Means for Modern Women
Oshun is the goddess for women seeking:
✨ empowerment
✨ sensuality
✨ confidence
✨ beauty (inner and outer)
✨ joy
✨ emotional healing
✨ abundance
✨ self-worth
✨ magnetism
She teaches that pleasure is sacred.
That joy is spiritual.
That sensuality is power.
That radiance is a birthright.
Oshun is not simply about being loved —
she is about being loved by yourself first.
1. Oshun Teaches Self-Worth Through Pleasure
A woman who believes she does not deserve pleasure
will settle for crumbs in every area of life.
Oshun dissolves this.
She teaches:
✨ “You deserve sweetness.”
✨ “You deserve joy.”
✨ “You deserve beauty in your life.”
✨ “You deserve pleasure without apology.”
Pleasure is nourishment.
Pleasure is resilience.
Pleasure is prayer.
2. Oshun Teaches Confidence Without Harshness
Oshun does not raise her voice.
She does not intimidate.
She does not dominate.
Her power is honey —
slow, mesmerizing, irresistible.
She teaches women:
- charm can be strategy
- softness can be armor
- radiance can influence
- confidence can glow, not shout
Oshun’s confidence comes from knowing her value, not proving it.
3. Oshun Heals Emotional Wounds
Fresh water cleanses.
Fresh water renews.
Fresh water restores.
Oshun’s river is a metaphor for emotional flow.
She helps women release:
- heartbreak
- betrayal
- abandonment wounds
- shame
- stored sadness
She teaches how to feel without drowning.
4. Oshun Teaches Abundance Consciousness
Oshun’s presence shifts scarcity into flow.
She teaches:
✨ abundance is natural
✨ prosperity is a river
✨ generosity attracts generosity
✨ worthiness creates opportunity
Her golden river is always moving — and she invites you to step into it.
5. Oshun Awakens Sensuality and Embodiment
Not sexuality — sensuality.
The ability to feel beauty, pleasure, softness, warmth, touch, desire, and confidence within your own body.
Oshun teaches women:
✨ to love their skin
✨ to celebrate their curves
✨ to adorn themselves
✨ to dance
✨ to glow
✨ to move with grace
The body is not something to hide —
it is something to honor.
6. Oshun Teaches That Sweetness Is Strength
Being kind does not make you weak.
Being soft does not make you fragile.
Being loving does not make you naïve.
Oshun knows when to heal
and when to withdraw her waters.
She knows when to soothe
and when to demand respect.
She knows when to give
and when to protect herself.
Her sweetness is a choice, not a default.
Correspondences of Oshun
Element:
Water (rivers, flow, emotions)
Colors:
Gold, yellow, amber, copper, orange
Crystals:
Citrine, amber, carnelian, honey calcite, rose quartz
Herbs & Offerings:
Honey, cinnamon, oranges, basil, hibiscus, champagne, sunflowers
Symbols:
Rivers, mirrors, fans, honey pots, gold jewelry, peacocks, vulture
Animals:
Peacock, vulture, river fish, deer
Plants & Flowers:
Sunflowers, marigolds, roses, cinnamon bark, orange blossoms
A Ritual to Invoke Oshun — Sweetness, Magnetism & Emotional Healing
This ritual is designed to help you step into Oshun’s flow of radiance, attraction, joy, and emotional nourishment.
You Will Need:
- A gold or yellow candle
- A bowl of water
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- A piece of gold jewelry or a coin
- A mirror (handheld or small)
- A sunflower or yellow flower
1. Prepare Your Space
Dim the lights.
Place the bowl of water before you.
Say:
“Oshun, River of Gold and Sweetness,
Enter my life with your flowing grace.”
2. Light the Candle — Calling Radiance
As the flame rises, visualize a warm golden light filling your body.
Say:
“Let sweetness return to my path.”
3. Add Honey to the Water
Let the honey swirl into the water.
Say:
“What was bitter, let it be healed.
What was heavy, let it be light.”
4. Hold the Mirror — Seeing Yourself Through Oshun’s Eyes
Look into the mirror gently.
Do not search for flaws or compare yourself to anything.
Instead, whisper:
“I am worthy of beauty.
I am worthy of joy.
I am worthy of being adored.”
This is self-love as devotion.
5. Consecrate the Jewelry or Coin
Dip the jewelry or coin into the honey water.
Say:
“Oshun, bless this with attraction, charm, and flow.”
Wear it or carry it for 21 days.
6. Close the Ritual
Place the flower beside the candle.
Say:
“Oshun, keep my heart flowing.
Keep my life glowing.
Keep my path open.”
Let the candle burn safely until it extinguishes.
A Chant for Oshun — “Sweet River, Make Me Shine”
Oshun, bright and golden stream,
Fill my life with joy and gleam.
Sweet river flow, let blessings shine—
Oshun, let your radiance be mine.
Repeat 5, 7, or 21 times.
Walking With Oshun — Becoming the Woman Who Glows From Within
Oshun is not a goddess of superficial beauty or temporary sweetness.
She is the goddess of:
✨ radical self-love
✨ joyful embodiment
✨ sensual confidence
✨ emotional healing
✨ prosperity and flow
✨ strategic softness
✨ magnetic energy
✨ divine nourishment
She teaches women:
✔ to stop apologizing
✔ to stop dimming their light
✔ to stop shrinking to fit others
✔ to stop accepting crumbs
✔ to stop carrying emotional burdens alone
She teaches you that pleasure is not indulgence.
Pleasure is medicine.
Joy is not frivolous.
Joy is resistance.
Beauty is not vanity.
Beauty is remembrance of your divine origin.
Oshun walks with the woman who is ready to:
✨ glow
✨ heal
✨ rise
✨ attract
✨ soften
✨ expand
✨ receive
✨ radiate
She whispers:
“You are gold.
You are honey.
You are river.
You are joy.
Do not dim.
Shine.”
And under her guidance, you become the woman who knows her worth so deeply that the world cannot help but respond.
Last Updated on December 12, 2025 by Abigail Adams
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