Oshun's Sweet Waters: Attracting Clients with Honey, Not Vinegar
By Nicole, Founder of Mystic Ryst
In Yoruba tradition, Oshun (also spelled Ochún or Oxum) is the Orisha—divine spirit—of sweet waters, love, beauty, prosperity, and sensuality. She is the river goddess who flows with honey, adorned in gold, dancing with grace, and attracting all good things through her irresistible sweetness.
There's a famous saying in the Yoruba tradition: "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." This is Oshun's wisdom—attraction through sweetness, not force. Magnetism through beauty, not aggression. Success through flow, not struggle.
For spiritual entrepreneurs exhausted by aggressive marketing, pushy sales tactics, and the "hustle harder" mentality, Oshun offers a radically different approach: attract clients through sweetness, beauty, and genuine care. Build your business like a river flows—naturally, abundantly, irresistibly.
Let's explore Oshun's wisdom for creating a business that attracts rather than chases, that flows rather than forces, that succeeds through sweetness rather than struggle.
Understanding Oshun
Who Is Oshun?
Oshun is one of the most beloved Orishas in the Yoruba religion (originating in West Africa, now practiced worldwide through traditions like Santería, Candomblé, and Vodou).
Oshun governs:
- Sweet waters: Rivers, streams, flowing fresh water
- Love and beauty: Romantic love, self-love, aesthetic beauty
- Prosperity and wealth: Money, abundance, material success
- Fertility and creativity: Birth, creation, artistic expression
- Sensuality and pleasure: Joy, dance, celebration, sweetness
- Diplomacy and charm: Winning through grace, not force
Oshun's Symbols and Sacred Items
Colors: Gold, yellow, amber, honey tones
Numbers: 5 (her sacred number)
Day: Saturday
Element: Fresh water (rivers)
Symbols: Mirrors, fans, peacock feathers, honey, gold jewelry
Offerings: Honey, oranges, pumpkins, champagne, sweets, gold items
Sacred animals: Peacock, vulture (her messenger)
Metals: Gold, brass, copper
Oshun's Archetype
Oshun embodies the divine feminine in her most magnetic form:
- Beautiful and vain (she loves mirrors)
- Sweet but powerful (honey and rivers can both heal and destroy)
- Sensual and joyful (she dances and celebrates)
- Wealthy and abundant (adorned in gold)
- Diplomatic and charming (wins through sweetness)
- Protective and fierce (especially of children and women)
The paradox: Oshun is soft and sweet, yet incredibly powerful. She proves that feminine grace is not weakness—it's magnetic strength.
Oshun's Business Wisdom
1. Attract, Don't Chase
The vinegar approach: Chase clients, push sales, force outcomes, aggressive marketing
Oshun's honey approach: Be so magnetic that clients come to you, create irresistible offers, let your beauty attract
How to apply:
- Focus on being attractive rather than pursuing
- Create content that draws people in
- Build a brand so beautiful people can't look away
- Let your sweetness (genuine care) be your marketing
- Trust that the right people will be drawn to you
2. Sweetness Is Power
The misconception: You have to be aggressive, pushy, or harsh to succeed in business
Oshun's truth: Sweetness, kindness, and grace are incredibly powerful. People are drawn to honey, repelled by vinegar.
How to apply:
- Be genuinely kind in all interactions
- Communicate with warmth and care
- Make your client experience delightful
- Add sweetness to everything you do
- Remember: sweet doesn't mean weak—Oshun is fierce when needed
3. Beauty Matters
Oshun's teaching: Beauty isn't superficial—it's sacred. Oshun adorns herself in gold and loves mirrors because beauty attracts abundance.
How to apply:
- Create a visually beautiful brand
- Make your website, content, and offers aesthetically pleasing
- Invest in good design and imagery
- Present yourself beautifully (not perfectly, but with care)
- Beauty attracts—don't neglect aesthetics
4. Flow Like Water
Oshun is the river: She doesn't force her way—she flows around obstacles, always moving toward the ocean (her goals).
How to apply:
- Don't force what isn't flowing
- Find the path of least resistance
- Be flexible and adaptive like water
- Keep moving forward, even if you have to go around obstacles
- Trust the natural flow of your business
5. Abundance Is Your Birthright
Oshun's message: Prosperity isn't something you have to struggle for—it's your natural state. Like a river flows with water, you can flow with abundance.
How to apply:
- Shift from scarcity to abundance mindset
- Believe you deserve wealth and success
- Adorn yourself and your business (Oshun loves gold)
- Celebrate your wins and abundance
- Give generously (rivers give water freely)
6. Pleasure and Business Can Coexist
Oshun teaches: Business doesn't have to be all work and no play. Joy, pleasure, dance, and celebration are part of success.
How to apply:
- Make your work pleasurable
- Celebrate often
- Infuse joy into your business
- Don't sacrifice all pleasure for success
- Dance, literally or metaphorically
The Honey vs. Vinegar Marketing Strategy
Vinegar Marketing (What NOT to Do)
Characteristics:
- Aggressive, pushy, desperate
- Fear-based messaging ("You'll fail without this")
- Manipulative tactics
- Chasing and convincing
- Harsh, critical tone
- Scarcity and urgency (fake or real)
How it feels: Repellent, off-putting, makes people want to run away
Example: "You're doing it all wrong! Buy my course NOW or you'll never succeed! Only 3 spots left!" (when it's not true)
Honey Marketing (Oshun's Way)
Characteristics:
- Magnetic, attractive, inviting
- Love-based messaging ("Imagine what's possible")
- Authentic and genuine
- Attracting and allowing
- Warm, caring tone
- Abundance and possibility
How it feels: Attractive, inviting, makes people want to come closer
Example: "I've created something beautiful that I think you'll love. It's designed to help you [benefit]. I'd be honored if you joined us."
The Honey Marketing Formula
- Be genuinely sweet: Care about your audience, show warmth
- Create beauty: Make everything visually and energetically beautiful
- Offer value freely: Give like a river gives water
- Invite, don't push: Make offers as invitations, not demands
- Celebrate your clients: Honor those who say yes
- Stay in abundance: Trust there's enough for everyone
Oshun's Client Attraction Rituals
The Honey Jar Ritual
A traditional Oshun practice for attracting what you desire:
- Get a jar of honey
- Write your intention: "I attract ideal clients who value my work"
- Place paper in honey jar
- Add 5 coins (Oshun's number)
- Seal the jar
- Place on your altar or workspace
- Each day, hold the jar and visualize clients coming to you
The energy: Sweet attraction, magnetic pull, abundance flowing to you
The Mirror Practice
Oshun loves mirrors—they represent self-love and seeing your own beauty.
- Stand before a mirror
- Look into your own eyes
- Say: "I am beautiful, I am abundant, I am magnetic. Clients are drawn to me like bees to honey."
- Repeat daily
Why it works: When you see your own beauty and worth, others do too.
The Saturday Oshun Practice
Saturday is Oshun's day. Use it for client attraction work:
- Wear gold or yellow
- Eat something sweet (honey, oranges)
- Create beautiful content
- Make offers from a place of abundance
- Dance and celebrate
- Give thanks for clients (current and coming)
The Offering Practice
Make offerings to Oshun to honor her and invite her blessings:
Oshun's favorite offerings:
- Honey (her essence)
- Oranges, pumpkins, yellow fruits
- Champagne or sweet wine
- Gold jewelry or coins
- Yellow flowers
- Sweets and desserts
- Beautiful things (she loves beauty)
How to offer:
- Create a small altar or sacred space
- Place offerings with intention
- Speak your request: "Oshun, sweet mother, I ask for your blessings in attracting ideal clients"
- Leave offerings for at least 5 days
- Dispose respectfully (river, nature, or trash with gratitude)
Embodying Oshun in Business
Oshun's Qualities to Cultivate
1. Sweetness
Be genuinely kind, warm, and caring in all business interactions.
2. Beauty
Create and surround yourself with beauty. Invest in aesthetics.
3. Sensuality
Engage the senses—make your brand feel good, look good, sound good.
4. Abundance
Operate from overflow, not scarcity. Give generously.
5. Joy
Bring pleasure and celebration into your work.
6. Flow
Move like water—flexible, persistent, always flowing forward.
7. Self-love
Love yourself first (Oshun's mirrors). Your self-worth attracts abundance.
The Oshun Business Audit
Rate yourself 1-10:
- How sweet am I in my marketing? (Kind vs. harsh) ___
- How beautiful is my brand? (Aesthetics) ___
- How much do I attract vs. chase? (Magnetic vs. pushy) ___
- How abundant do I feel? (Overflow vs. scarcity) ___
- How much joy is in my work? (Pleasure vs. drudgery) ___
- How well do I flow? (Ease vs. force) ___
- How much do I love myself? (Self-worth) ___
Where you scored low: That's where to invoke Oshun's energy.
When to Call on Oshun
Call on Oshun When:
- You need to attract clients
- You're struggling with self-worth
- Your marketing feels too aggressive
- You need more abundance and prosperity
- You want to add beauty to your brand
- You're forcing instead of flowing
- You need to remember your magnetism
Oshun's Prayer for Entrepreneurs
"Oshun, sweet mother of the rivers,
Goddess of honey and gold,
I call upon your sweetness and your power.
Help me attract ideal clients with ease.
Let my business flow like your rivers.
Adorn my work with beauty and abundance.
Remind me that I am magnetic, worthy, and blessed.
May I succeed through sweetness, not struggle.
Ase." (Ase = So be it, amen)
Oshun's Warnings
Don't Confuse Sweet with Weak
Oshun is sweet, but she's also fierce. She can flood rivers and destroy when disrespected. Sweetness doesn't mean being a doormat.
The balance: Be sweet AND boundaried. Kind AND strong. Flowing AND fierce when needed.
Don't Neglect Your Worth
Oshun loves gold because she knows her worth. Don't undercharge or undervalue yourself in the name of being "sweet."
The balance: Be generous AND charge what you're worth. Give freely AND receive abundantly.
Don't Forget to Flow
Even Oshun's rivers can become stagnant if they don't keep moving. Keep your business flowing—don't get stuck.
The balance: Flow around obstacles, don't stop moving, trust the current.
The Promise of Oshun
When you embody Oshun's energy in your business:
- Clients are attracted to you naturally
- Money flows like honey
- Your work feels joyful and pleasurable
- Beauty surrounds you
- You succeed through sweetness, not struggle
- Abundance is your natural state
This is Oshun's gift: magnetic attraction, sweet success, abundant flow.
The Invitation
Oshun invites you to stop chasing, stop forcing, stop using vinegar when honey works so much better.
Be sweet. Be beautiful. Be magnetic.
Flow like a river. Attract like honey. Shine like gold.
Build your business the Oshun way—through grace, beauty, and irresistible sweetness.
And watch clients flow to you like water flows to the ocean.
Ase, Oshun. May your sweet waters bless our businesses.
How do you embody Oshun's sweetness in your business? I'd love to hear your honey marketing stories.
