Here’s an intriguing item I picked up last year but have never posted: the recovered remains of a Santerian offering to the Orisha Olokun, the goddess of the deep ocean. Part of her portfolio is that of a fertility goddess, and in her hands she holds (or, in this case, once held) the symbols of life and death, one being the mask, and the missing one being the snake. Practitioners acquire sacrificial kits of these cast metal figures relatively cheaply, for use in ritual offering to the goddess, and the figures are often kept in water in a believer’s home. They come with other metal charms reprinting different aspects of the goddess’s sphere of influence, including oars, a ship's wheel, life preserver, anchor, and others. This one was found on the shore, meaning it was likely ritually discarded when its owner renewed their home shrine, or itself used as an offering to the sea. Olokun’s acceptance as an orisha is debated among different sect of practitioners, and the Babalawos define this santeros aspect of as a "road" of the ocean mother Yemaya, and name her "Mayeleo.” #orisha #olokun #goddess #androgynous #santeria #mayeleo #religion #occult #ritual #snake #mask #ocean #sea https://www.instagram.com/p/B8RCxLVFfTU/?igshid=1qmrdf081gsb7