Oshún: the sweetness of the current and the honey of poison

Gold beneath fresh water

Oshún is the murmur of the river winding between the rocks, the gleam of the sun reflected in a clear current, and the jingling of the gold that adorns the necks of queens. She embodies everything that makes life worth living: love, sensuality, art, fertility, and wealth. Her presence is heralded by the scent of sandalwood and wild honey, and her laughter is a melody so crystalline that it can cure madness or disarm the bloodiest warrior. But beneath her golden surface and her yellow silk dresses, flows an underground current of lethal coldness.

She is the owner of the fresh waters, the blood vessels of the earth without which the fields would turn into deserts and the throats of men into dust. Her beauty is her most lethal weapon. No one, neither mortal nor Orisha, can resist the spell of her almond eyes and the movement of her hips, which mimics the constant flow of river tides. However, her sweetness must not be confused with weakness. Oshún is an implacable strategist who knows that honey attracts more victims than iron.

The day the earth dried up

There was a time when the male Orishas decided they could rule the world and organize creation without the intervention of female deities. Oshún was excluded from their assemblies, and her advice was ignored with disdain. In silence, without raising her voice or drawing a weapon, she withdrew to her sacred springs and crossed her arms. With her withdrawal, the *Ashé* of fertility left the earth.

The rivers stagnated and rotted; women became sterile, and crops withered in the fields before bearing fruit. The world began to die of starvation and melancholy. Desperate, the gods ascended to Orun to plead with Olodumare to intervene. The creator, looking at the devastation, revealed their mistake to them: without the energy of sweetness, love, and creation that only Oshún possessed, the universe could not sustain itself. The Orishas had to descend on their knees to the riverbank, offering her gold, pumpkins filled with honey, and pleas for forgiveness. Only when she smiled again did the rain fall once more and life regain its color.

The diplomat of the heavens and the bird of redemption

When the earth was on the brink of total destruction due to the droughts caused by the wars between the gods, the sun burned so fiercely that no winged creature could fly high enough to beg the creator for clemency. It was Oshún who volunteered for the task. She transformed herself into a vulture with black plumage and flew toward the firmament. As she ascended, the heat of the sun burned her feathers and flayed her head, but she did not stop until she reached the gates of Olodumare's palace.

Moved by her sacrifice and her temporary ugliness for the sake of the world's salvation, the creator restored her springs and granted her the title of messenger of divination. That is why, behind her apparent fragility, lies the only force capable of appeasing the wrath of Shangó and calming the violence of Ogún. She heals with her waters, but when she is offended, her tears turn into floods that sweep away entire villages, and her honey, sweet on the lips of her enemies, transforms into a poison that paralyzes the heart.