Raising Children In Orisha...Increasing the Ashe Of Conception-Fertility

As my Sistah Goddess says in her piece "Why Won't She Leave?"..."perception is such a funny thing"

Perception is funny and powerful

How we perceive life and our place in it determines how free we feel to live our lives

Being a devotee of the Orisha requires a return to an ancient way of perceiving...or regaining the perspective of our Ancestors

Throughout the day I ask myself "how would my Ancestors have viewed this ?"...it helps me to be aware of the magick in my life, the presence of the Orisha all around me and to keep life simple yet luxurious and blissful

It is always helpful to delve deeply into your Ancestral psyche and allow it to guide you through the awo of life...the mysteries

Fertility...according to our Ancestors is the greatest mystery...the deepest awo

I remember reading Tell My Horse...the first book I ever read on the Orisha tradition...the illustrious Ancestress Zora spoke of a ritual dance in which a priest continually asked a priestess "what is life?" and her answer every time was to lift her skirt and reveal her yoni...Zora concluded that there is no mystery greater than the mystery of life itself

Fertility is a state of openness, of oneness, of surrender to the Universe, of recognizing that you are not a caretaker of the Earth but a child of the Earth, a part of it, a mammal, an animal, another living creature

A state of realizing that as part of the Earth you operate according to the natural laws of the Earth

You cannot sidestep them or ignore them or attempt to change them without doing egregious harm to yourself, your body, your spirit and the Earth Herself

Fertility is a state of what our ancestors call suuru...a coolness, a calmness, a patience, the ability to wait for life to take place, the sureness that you are fulfilling your destiny

When you are seeking fertility, seek this mindset

Living with a knowledge that you are part of the Earth, grants you an overstanding that everything else that springs forth from the Earth is your kith and kin and like any real family stands ready and willing to help you in manifesting your Divine Destiny

Some of our Earth Siblings that help us to become fertile are

Ewe-Leaves, Herbs

Otan-Stones

Omi-waters

Particular ewe and otan possess the ashe, the divine power of fertility, using them draws this ashe to us

Before listing the ewe and otan most useful in becoming fertile...I feel it necessary to STRESS that "No orisha blesses you without the consent of your Ori" according to the odu, the scriptural oral history of our Yoruba ancestors

Meaning, no herb, no sacred stone, no yogic position, no fertility procedure will be successful if you are not open and willing to receive it...attaining a cool, calm, peaceful open mindset of surrender is key. My personal mantra is "life is always right"...what life chooses to do, be it simple or difficult, is pushing me towards my destiny...knowing this and teaching it to myself on a day to day basis helps me to maintain and attain suuru

Okay...*claps hands together*...that being said

Useful ewe includes :

Red raspberry leaf-tones the womb, assists with menstrual cramps, regulates menses, decreases nausea in early pregnancy, shortens labor

Dandelion root-purifies blood, helps calcium retention and therefore boosts iron levels in blood, increases energy and positive outlook

Damiana-increases libido, tonic for all sexual organs

Red clover- purfiies blood, overall tonic for entire body

Kasimu Herbals-Healing Earth Life Products sells a wonderful pregnancy tea, created by mother/midwife/doula healer Naimah that includes these elements and many more...

Use ewe by pouring boiling water over a tablespoon of the dried herb and making a tea or infusion or by rubbing the fresh herb in between your hands while cool water is poured over them making omiyero. Tea or omiyero should be made fresh and consumed once a day. Drink at least two cups of this infusion for the best effect. Tea of course, must be allowed to steep to obtain a strong brew.

Useful otan include:

Moonstone: regulates menses, tones womb, calms womb and heals all womb issues, Yemonja's stone

Rose Quartz: ultimate female stone, increases self love, increases self esteem, heightens sense of self worth, Oshun's stone

Clear Quartz: brings clarity, heightens communication with Ori(Highest Self) and ancestors and orisha, Yemonja' stone

Lapis Lazuli: attracts mothering, nurturing, caregiving energy, Yemonja/Olokun stone

Use otan by wearing them as amulets in any type of jewelry including waistbeads, rings, earrings, noserings, toerings, bracelets, armlets and anklets. Carry a stone in your bag or pocket at all times. Place stones upon your Ori shrine, your shrine to your highest self.

Jewelry made using sacred stones is created by Sistah Goddess Selewa

and Dawta Goddess Nailah

Omi is used to attrack the Ashe of fertility by using it in the preparation of teas and or omiyero and by making sure that you are drinking lots and lots of it daily...at least a gallon of distilled is best yall. I know it seems like a whole lot but once you do it you will feel soo uplifted and at peace and well that you will KNOW it is just the right amount.

Omi is also used to bathe, an act which removes not only physical dirt from our bodies, but which allows us to remove negativity from ourselves as well.

Remove physical and spiritual toxins by bathing daily in epsom or sea salt.

Those who live by the sea should bath in the sea daily.

Bathing is best done in early morning, in the darkness, by candle light, or the light of the rising sun. Remember that we all emerge from the watery abyss of the womb and we have the option of returning to it daily reminding ourselves that each day is a rebirth, an opportunity to do it all over again and make it better than yesterday.

Fresh water is also sacred to the Yoruba Goddess of fertility Oshun. Oshun is the one who blesses the barren woman with children and makes her body swell like juicy palm fruit, according to our Ancestors. While bathing in fresh (not salted) water, ask Oshun to grant you children.

Salt water is sacred to the Yoruba Goddess of motherhood, Yemonja. Yemonja is the owner of the oceans and seas and is the consumate mother. While bathing and purifying yourself in salt water ask Yemonja to imbue you with the ashe of motherhood.

And finally, creating a family is a state of being "wide enough" called Ife by our Ancestors and often translated as the English love. A more accurate translation of the term however comes from the voices of our Ancestors themselves. When Obatala poured the sand onto the primordial waters to be spread about and create land he asked the chameleon to walk upon them to tell if they were wide enough for life yet. When the chameleon returned he uttered "ife", it is wide enough and so the place where life began is Ile Ife.

Therefore, when seeking to create a family we must make ourselves wide enough to hold them. We must make room for them ,create mental, emotional and psychic space for them. We must increase our generosity, our patience and our ability to share and be open to the vibrations of another in our space and in our lives. We must be open and ready for much sacrifice and full of love.