Since its conception back in 2008, some 17 years ago now, this annual beach side rite is held around the first full moon of each calendar year in honour of Yemaya, the Orisha of the Seas and Oceans.

In 2025, the first full moon of the year will fall on Tuesday, 14 January at 8:56am. Therefore, the 2025 Yemaya Blessing of the Waters will be taking place the evening before, on Monday, 13 January 2025.

The meeting place is the northern end of the grassed area closest to the public conveniences at Grange Beach, Adelaide, around 7.40pm. We will be heading to the foreshore around 7:50pm in order to prepare to an informal rite that honours Yemaya’s blessings for all the world’s waterways and all creatures that live within those waterways, as well as her protection over women and children.

Participants are asked to bring an ecologically friendly offering to Yemaya (i.e., flower, sea shell crystal, pebble, etc) that will be thrown into the ocean as an exchange for a wish being granted
by Yemaya.

The wearing of white or blue clothing is encouraged.

Children are welcome however they are the sole responsibility of their parents
and /or guardians and need to show respect to other attendees.

Cost: Gold coin or loose change charitable donation.

History of this Event
Having already established public full moon gatherings in a central city park as part of supporting the local community, I felt a rising need to offer something down at the water’s edge.  After all, there is something extremely hypnotic about the ebb and flow of the waves that gently lap the shore.

During my research, I came across the annual rites that take place on 1 January in Rio de Janeiro to the Orisha, Iemanjá (Yemaya), as well as a three day event that takes place a month later in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.  As water is such an essential, yet often neglected, resource, performing a rite in honour of this much beloved Orisha seemed appropriate.

Originally from West Africa where her name means "Mother whose children are like fish”, Yemaya is the owner of the Ogun River and a lake named for her.  As the African diaspora occurred, Yemaya traveled with her children to the Americas and Caribbean, where the Mother of Waters became known as Mother of Oceans. 

I write more about the inaugural Yemaya Blessing of the Waters in my book, In Her Sacred Names: Writings on the Divine Feminine which is available through LunaNoire Creations or Lulu Publishing or Amazon outlets.