My Oshun Shrine

For months I have felt the call of Oshun...She is the Orisha of the rivers and the sweet waters, and She rules over love, beauty, prosperity, and the things that make life worth living. I have been enchanted by Her dance, heard Her song call to me, and sought Her in visions.

The main reason I did not actively work with Her was a fear of cultural appropriation. Who am I to work with an Orisha who is outside of my "culture" or tradition? Well, if I was putting myself forward as a practitioner of Lucumi/Santeria and as some kind of authority figure, THAT would be appropriation. I am doing neither of those.

I do not intend to work with Oshun in the same way a follower of Lucumi would, because I simply do not share that religion and I am not part of that particular culture. I am a Feri Witch, and this is the paradigm I work in.

Victor Anderson said that all Gods are Feri Gods, and I take this to mean that we can respectfully approach any God we wish to form relationship with. Working with Oshun is not different than working with Ganesha, or Hecate, or Brigid. Most Neo-Pagans would happily work with any of these Gods but not claim to be Hindu or a Greek/Celtic reconstructionist.

Yesterday, I couldn't resist Her call any longer, and I built Her a shrine. I don't know where my work with Oshun will take me, but for now it seems my soul needs something that only She can provide. I hope I am up to the challenge.

(Here is my shrine to Oshun...I have used a veve to Erzulie on a drum to Her. I know, I am mixing Haitian Vodou into the mix here too, but I got a "hit" and ran with it.)