Oshun is the deity of river waters and is also seen as the embodiment of love and sexuality. She represents the joy of life and is, in many ways, what makes life worth living. Oshun is the patron of gold and all wealth is hers to give. She also rules marriage and is the giver of fertility. Her influence is gentle and loving and she teaches humanity that the secret of life is love.

In a dark world where all hope seems lost, Oshun's book of mirrors reveals the true definition of beauty.

Ã’sun is a brilliant deity whose imagery and worldwide devotion demand broad and deep scholarly reflection. Contributors to the ground-breaking Africa's Ogun, edited by Sandra Barnes (Indiana University Press, 1997), explored the complex nature of Ogun, the orisa who transforms life through iron and technology. Ã’sun across the Waters continues this exploration of Yoruba religion by documenting Ã’sun religion. Ã’sun presents a dynamic example of the resilience and renewed importance of traditional Yoruba images in negotiating spiritual experience, social identity, and political power in contemporary Africa and the African diaspora. The 17 contributors to Ã’sun across the Waters delineate the special dimensions of Ã’sun religion as it appears through multiple disciplines in multiple cultural contexts. Tracing the extent of Ã’sun traditions takes us across the waters and back again. Ã’sun traditions continue to grow and change as they flow and return from their sources in Africa and the Americas.

Examines the ways in which the inclusion of African diasporic religious practices serves as a transgressive tool in narrative discourses in the Americas. Oshun’s Daughters examines representations of African diasporic religions from novels and poems written by women in the United States, the Spanish Caribbean, and Brazil. In spite of differences in age, language, and nationality, these women writers all turn to variations of traditional Yoruba religion (Santería/Regla de Ocha and Candomblé) as a source of inspiration for creating portraits of womanhood. Within these religious systems, binaries that dominate European thought—man/woman, mind/body, light/dark, good/evil—do not function in the same way, as the emphasis is not on extremes but on balancing or reconciling these radical differences. Involvement with these African diasporic religions thus provides alternative models of womanhood that differ substantially from those found in dominant Western patriarchal culture, namely, that of virgin, asexual wife/mother, and whore. Instead we find images of the sexual woman, who enjoys her body without any sense of shame; the mother, who nurtures her children without sacrificing herself; and the warrior woman, who actively resists demands that she conform to one-dimensional stereotypes of womanhood.

High priestesses are few and far between, white ones in Africa even more so. When Diane Esguerra hears of a mysterious Austrian woman worshipping the Ifa river goddess Oshun in Nigeria, her curiosity is aroused. It is the start of an extraordinary friendship that sustains Diane through the death of her son and leads to a quest to take part in Oshun rituals. Prevented by Boko Haram from returning to Nigeria, she finds herself at Ifa shrines in Florida amid vultures, snakes, goats' heads, machetes, a hurricane and a cigar-smoking god. Her quest steps up a gear when Beyoncé channels Oshun at the Grammys and the goddess goes global. Mystifying, harrowing and funny, The Oshun Diaries explores the lure of Africa, the life of a remarkable woman and the appeal of the goddess as a symbol of female empowerment.

Goddess Oshun: Beauty, Love and Prosperity Journal-Notebook - Record your Spiritual Journey, Thoughts and Personal Development. * 120 pages - Blank + Lined* 6" x 9" Paperback notebook, soft matte cover * Perfect for gel pen, ink or pencils* Great Gift Item

Divining the Self weaves elements of personal narrative, myth, history, and interpretive analysis into a vibrant tapestry that reflects the textured, embodied, and performative nature of scripture and scripturalizing practices. Velma Love examines the Odu—the Yoruba sacred scriptures—along with the accompanying mythology, philosophy, and ritual technologies engaged by African Americans. Drawing from the personal narratives of African American Ifa practitioners along with additional ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Oyotunji African Village, South Carolina, and New York City, Love’s work explores the ways in which an ancient worldview survives in modern times. Divining the Self also takes up the challenge of determining what it means for the scholar of religion to study scripture as both text and performance. This work provides an excellent case study of the sociocultural phenomenon of scripturalizing practices.

The history of Oshun and the expansion of her worship to Cuba.

Autographed paperback copies are available at the author's website: ifeoshun.com. Get yours now "Blood to Blood is exactly what you want in a young adult novel." - San Francisco Book Review "Blood to Blood by If Oshun is an extraordinary book for teens." - Portland Book Review "Oshun has created a world all its own; one that is intricate, compelling, and woven together seamlessly." - Indie Reader "I read the whole thing in a couple days because I couldn't put it down. - Goodreads "The twists that occur in the plot... are] fabulous - completely unexpected." - The Ramblings of a Toddler's Mom "It's the perfect mix of Twilight and The Immortal Rules and I completely devoured it " - Queen of Contemporary Reviews ..".I was drawn in - Angelika and her world is interesting and extremely unique." - Fangs for the Fantasy Reviews "It is definitely MUCH better than Twilight, just to put that out there. The romance is actually believable here." - Goodreads Clean YA Fantasy Sexual content - Low to none Violence - Moderate to low Language - Clean Angel's got a voice to die for. Literally. Her vocals are so powerful, everyone who hears them is in danger of immediately dropping dead. Ironically, singing is her one, and only, passion. Enter the world of Bostonian teen Angelica Brown: budding pop star and descendant of an immortal race of sun-loving blood drinkers known as Shimshana (the ancient ancestors of vampires). Defying her parents' traditions of higher education, Angel plans to ditch high school so she can sign a record deal and make a Top 10 pop tune with her BFFs. She's got a shot at superstardom, but she's also maturing into a full-grown Shimshana complete with fearsome power and insatiable bloodlust. That puts her girl group, their mysterious producer and her hunky new blood donor all in danger of becoming Angel's unwitting victims. To top it off, she must prove her worthiness to live by passing the tests in her Mah --the mandatory coming-out-party for new-born immortals. It is there that the ancient and powerful Council may decide she's too dangerous to be allowed to exist, at which point any Council member--including her mom--will be assigned to destroy her. Presenting a new spin on the vampire genre, Blood To Blood skillfully delivers plot twists that beg the questions: Will Angel quickly learn to control her new abilities and survive her Mah ? Or will her killer instincts bring her promising career, and her life, to an end? Order your copy of Blood To Blood now

A Fairytale for grownups, here, Oshun, the Yoruba Goddess of Love, gives cosmetics queen Alix Morton a gift that can rock the industry. Here, mere mortals meet up with Oshun and her fellow deities - Eleggua, Chango and Oya - and, African magic mixes with the fast-paced world of fashion, glamour and image making.