Goddess of the week: OYA SUGGESTED MANTRA: STRENGTH African goddess Oya is a Goddess of Storms. She represents feminine leadership - invoke Oya when you are in need of strength in your quest for leadership and authority. SUGGESTED AFFIRMATIONS: ~ I am awake to my life's calling ~ I trust the Universe to provide ~ It's OK to release my juicy anger ~ There are rainbows in every rainfall ~ My new life path reveals itself to me ~ I say goodbye to destructive influences ~ I welcome Oya's strength & recuperative power Related gemstones: Garnet, bloodstone, tourmaline, smoky quartz (red stones) African deities (orishas) are usually represented by flowing, swirling images of colour and movement, depicting the elemental energies rather than an anthropomorphised image. Oya, goddess of storms, tempests and rain, dances in spirals representing tornadoes and wind - the winds of change, sweeping away the old in order to prepare for the new. She wreaks destruction in order to find and prepare for underlying calm. She was the wife of Shango , Lord of Thunder and Fertility, and together they fight side by side creating thunder, lightning and destruction. She is goddess of the marketplace, bringing fortune to her patrons. And she is the only African orisha brave enough to confront death - she is goddess of funeral processions and cemeteries (cemeteries being known as "Oya's Garden"). HER MODERN ENERGY Oya embodies the fiery passion that is buried in the feminine psyche.  Unleashed, she is warrior woman, armed and helmeted fighting injustice and forging victories. If you invoke Oya, be prepared to deal with the consequences! Or, if she is presenting herself to you in your life, be prepared to be tossed in her storms but be comforted in the knowledge that she is here to teach you about personal will and sense of purpose. Mother of transformation, patron of feminine leadership, trust Oya to travel with you through this time of change. Welcome her lessons she is here to teach you, for without the rain we don't get rainbows (another symbol of Oya). Oya is related to our root chakra, home of the kundalini energy. When our root chakra is in balance, we feel secure, alert, stable - our lives are full of active and positive energy. If you are not feeling like this, it is no wonder Oya is speaking to you today. DO THIS Make a shrine to Oya with red foods such as plums, grapes and red wine, and on the next dark moon honour her in a meditation. Sit on the floor, close your eyes, and while nurturing a related gemstone, feel your spine grow and take root in the earth. Feel the strength of the earth energise your spine and your body. Reach up high and stretch for that rainbow that is formed over your head, arching over your body radiating love, calm, and protection. You are indestructable! You are strong! Go Warrior Woman!! Love and light, ~ Anita ~ source