She, Like Many Women, Was Forced To Choose Between Work And Family
"Let her work bring her praise at the city gate." - Proverbs 31:31. Her job was to guide spirits through Death’s gates, but doing so was killing her other dreams – literally. She needed to find a solution, because she wouldn’t survive if she had to bury another child!
Oya, the Yoruba Orisha of wind and storms, also guided souls to the afterlife. She valued this work, but it interfered with other dreams.
She’d been pregnant 9 times, but the dead’s energy impacted her womb, and the babies were stillborn. Oya was terrified – she was pregnant again. Would one finally survive?
One day, she brought 9 colorful fabrics to the graveyard where her children were buried and sewed these into a skirt.
The colors honored her lost children, and she vowed to never wear black again if the skirt’s magic protected the fetus inside her. The only way to test it was to walk through Death’s Gates.
Entering the afterlife, Oya prayed for a sign. Feeling a tug on her skirt, she looked down and saw 9 spirit children. This was it!
Riding the wind back to the mortal realm, she felt the fetus kick. Over time, she birthed 9 babies! Her skirt protects her as she guides the dead into the afterlife, but also, as she guides newborns into this life!
Many Black women struggle to create a healthy work/life balance, which can lead to stress and health issues – like complicated pregnancies.
Like Oya, we must create practices that honor our care needs and protect our energy. This will improve quality of life, including how we engage with our faith!
We have a quick favor to ask...
We hope you're enjoying PushBlack Spirit! Spreading the truth about Black spiritual practices and history is just as important to you as it is to us.
And as a small non-profit, we need your support to keep spreading these important stories.
With as little as $5 a month, you will support our tech and writing costs, so we can reach even more people like you. It only takes a minue, so will you please donate now?