Quick Specs
- Author: Raven Morgaine
- Publisher: Weiser Books
- Type: Softcover book, 208 pages
- Best for: Practitioners of African diaspora traditions, devotees of Yemaya, students of Santeria and Candomble
Yemaya: Orisha of the Ocean in Diaspora Traditions
Yemaya originated among the Yoruba people of present-day Nigeria, where she was a river deity and mother figure in the Ifa religious system. During the Middle Passage, she traveled with enslaved Yoruba to the Caribbean and South America, taking root in Cuba as a central orisha of Lucumi (Regla de Ocha, commonly called Santeria), in Brazil as Iemanja of Candomble and Umbanda, and in Trinidad Orisha practice. Through syncretism with the Virgin Mary, devotion to Yemaya spread throughout Latin America and eventually reached urban communities across North America and Europe.
Raven Morgaine, a priest of Yemaya for more than three decades and a practitioner of Candomble, New Orleans Voodoo, and Santeria, wrote what is described as the first full-length English-language book on Yemaya accessible to general readers. The book is simultaneously a celebration and a practical guide: it explores her mythology, her roles as mother, lover, healer, warrior, and mermaid, and her multiple paths or caminos, each with distinct temperament and ritual requirements. Morgaine draws from decades of lived practice, not just academic sources.
Yemaya’s Iconography and What This Book Offers Practitioners
Yemaya’s iconography is consistent across her traditions: blue and white are her colors, the crescent moon and ocean waves are her symbols, seven is her sacred number, and fish, seashells, and sea grasses appear on her altars throughout the Afro-Caribbean world. In Santeria, she is one of the major orishas receiving regular ceremony and is considered the mother of most other orishas. This book respects those boundaries, clearly distinguishing what the uninitiated may appropriately practice from what belongs within initiatory ceremony. That distinction is rare in general-audience spiritual books and reflects Morgaine’s genuine standing in the tradition. For more on the broader Afro-Cuban and Hoodoo context, explore my Voodoo, Hoodoo, and Santeria books collection.
The book includes spells and rituals appropriate for those not yet initiated, detailed altar-building instructions, botanical and flower correspondences, recipes offered to Yemaya, and prayers for invoking her. It also covers her role in the LGBTQ community, where she has long been a patron figure. Whether a reader is studying the tradition academically, deepening an existing devotional practice, or approaching Yemaya for the first time, Morgaine provides honest, experiential guidance that is difficult to find elsewhere in English.
How to Use Yemaya, Orisha, Goddess, and Queen of the Sea
A respectful, practical approach to beginning work with Yemaya using Morgaine's guidance.
- Learn the Symbols and Correspondences
Learn Yemaya's primary symbols before working with her. Her colors are blue and white, her domain is the ocean, and her number is seven. These correspondences help you select appropriate offerings, altar items, and timing for your practice.
- Build Your Altar
Build an altar using chapters eight and nine. Morgaine specifies appropriate flowers, shells, and botanicals. Blue and white cloth, a bowl of salt water, and sea-related objects form the foundation, and the book explains each element's significance.
- Start with Uninitiated-Appropriate Practice
Begin with uninitiated-appropriate spells in chapter eleven rather than initiatory rites. Morgaine clearly marks what requires priesthood and what is open to devotees. Starting within those boundaries matters deeply in diaspora religion practice.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock this book because it’s the only full-length English title devoted to Yemaya written by a practitioner with genuine standing in the tradition. Most orisha content available to English-language audiences is either brief, secondhand, or omits the crucial distinction between what the uninitiated may do and what belongs to the initiated. Morgaine’s book gets this right. It’s also distinctive among the titles I carry in the African diaspora category because it focuses entirely on a single orisha with depth, rather than surveying the pantheon at a surface level. Readers interested in broader spiritual altarwork will find complementary resources in my altar supplies collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yemaya is the orisha of the ocean, motherhood, and female power. She originated among the Yoruba of Nigeria and traveled with enslaved Africans to the Caribbean, where she remains central to Santeria, Candomble, and Umbanda practice worldwide.
The book covers Yemaya's mythology, her paths and aspects, spells for the uninitiated, altar and shrine guidance, proper offering protocols, recipes, and botanicals associated with her. Morgaine has served as her priest for over thirty years.
Yemaya's colors are blue and white, representing sea and foam. Her symbols include the crescent moon, fish, seashells, and waves. Her number is seven. These correspondences appear consistently across Santeria, Candomble, and Umbanda traditions.
Morgaine's book is the first full-length English guide accessible to general readers. He distinguishes practices open to the uninitiated from those requiring initiation, letting readers explore respectfully without formal orisha priesthood.
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