Fire & Water, Oshun & Babalon

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“Babalon, let me tell you about Babalon, I was just looking at my diary from a while back, fire and water, that’s her, like Oshun, Orisha of the rivers and sweet waters. Here’s how she found me. I’ve been invited to take part in a ceremony of a different tribe, they share the same path of the Serpent and the Panther, but the practice is different. My tribe like to dive into the pool of the void, through its darkest tunnels and halls until it turns into light.

The other tribe practice the way in great light and celebration, even at the darkest moments somehow they find a way to celebrate with a beautiful practice. I thought that it is the perfect space to evoke Babalon. I needed to get some answers from her, so I put on my red dress and made a little tobacco offering to the fire. Then I waited for her to give me a sign; when it comes it is like the rhythm of the ayahuasca dream state of mind:

The serpent is awake,

Is coiling in my tummy and heart,

It is moving and winding, its scales are bright red,

It is getting ready to move up toward my neck,

I’m terrified it is going to swallow me,

It changes into a serpent-like flower,

Changing its colour from red to yellow,

More and more serpent-like flowers are popping around me.

I can hear the Oshun song from the distance,

I am singing it,

I can hear Babalon whispering in my ears,

To understand me, go with Oshun.

I get it…

At first, the Scarlet Lady and Oshun look like they have nothing in common. Oshun is the Yellow Lady of the rivers … but to embody the will and the passion to create magic and change, you need to move in a wavelike motion, to be fluid like water.

Babalon rides the flames of the ever-burning fire. If you look closely at the flames, you can see that they have a strange fluidity. Fire, like water, always has to move, expand and never standstill. So both ladies share the same qualities. Oshun is the watery aspect of Babalon, and Babalon is the fiery aspect of Oshun. You cannot create magic from still water that lacks fluidity.

You cannot create magic from still and tamed fire, which will soon burn out and die.

In the morning after the ceremony closed, I stood by the fire talking to the shaman, when something caught my eye. At the side of the fire was a statue of Shiva holding the Trishula 1 trident, and next to it two further Trishula, made from iron. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’d dreamt of that very Trishula the month before!

 

When I asked the shaman what he uses them for, he said what I have always known: at the ceremony the Trishula helps destroy the three worlds that we find so hard to let go of. After the ceremony, we arrived at the here and now, with joy, beauty and bliss in our hearts. Who said that dreams can’t come true??

Om Namaha Shivaya

Viva Oshun

Hail Babalon.”

  • From NakedTantra by Miryamdevi & Minanath

Fire & water

Last night Oshun and Red Goddess came to visit me in my dream. 

All through the dream Oshun song has played and I woke up with the tune still in my head.

Just before I woke up, I could hear the Red Goddess whispering in my ear “ They are too scared to look into the mirror because they can’t see what’s behind it”…

The dream reminded me of a little story Miryamdevi told me a long time ago. 

The story of fire and water, the story of Oshun and Babalon.

“Let me tell you about Babalon, fire and water, that’s her, like Oshun, the orisha of rivers and sweet waters.

I’d been invited to a ceremony, a celebration of the great queen serpent, I thought it would be the perfect space to evoke Babalon, I needed to get some answers from her, The Scarlet Woman.

So I put on my red dress and made a little tobacco offering to put in the fire. 

I waited for a sign and when it came, it was like a rhythm of an ayahuasca dream.

The serpent is awake,

Is coiling in my tummy and heart,

It is moving and winding, its scales are bright red,

It is getting ready to move up toward my neck,

I’m terrified it is going to swallow me,

It changes into a serpent-like flower,

Changing its colour from red to yellow,

More and more serpent-like flowers are popping around me.

I can hear the Oshun song from the distance,

I am singing it,

I can hear Babalon whispering in my ears, 

To understand me, go with Oshun.

At first, Babalon and Oshun look like they have nothing in common. Oshun is the Yellow Lady of the river and sweet waters, to embody the will and the passion to create magic and change, you need to move in a wavelike motion, to be fluid like water. 

Babalon rides the flames of the ever-burning fire. If you look closely at the flames, you can see that they have a strange fluidity.

Fire, like water, always has to move, to expand, never standing still. 

So both ladies share the same qualities:  Oshun, the watery aspect of Babalon, Babalon the fiery aspect of Oshun.

You cannot create magic from still water that lacks fluidity.

You cannot create magic from tamed fire, which will soon burn out and die.

You can read the full story of Fire and Water in NakedTantra by Miryamdevi & Minanath