Sedna, Mother of the Sea
Sedna, Mother of the Sea, An Inuit Myth
As we move into November, the mythic contemplation I invite in for us the Inuit myth of Sedna.
While there are many versions of this myth, I will share one of the most popular versions, translated by Lawrence Millman.
The Myth
In the earliest time of our forefathers there lived a woman. Some say she was handsome, others beautiful. She had long dark hair and fat hands, much admired by men.
One day, when she was out picking berries, a sea bird, a fulmar, cried out to her, “Marry me.”
This did not suit her and she laughed replying, “Sea birds are not to my taste.”
However, the fulmar was not deterred and so he went away to disguise himself as a man. He donned a garment of the richest sealskin, a colorful tunic, and walrus tusk spectacles. He came back and asked her again to be his wife. Upon seeing him the woman exclaimed, “you’re a fine piece of man,” and despite her parents’ objections, she left with him to be his wife and live with him in a little rock hut at the end of the sea.
They were happily married; each day he would bring her back a fresh seal to sate her love of blubber and sing to her as they made love, for she was fond of singing.
Then one day the fulmar’s spectacles slipped and the woman saw his eyes. She said, “you’re just an ugly fellow like the others.”
It just so happened that her parents had been paddling, searching for all this time. They would call out to her at every cove and they searched the shore all the way to the inland ice. Finally, they arrived at the little rock hut at the end of the sea. They asked her to come back with them and she agreed, not able to be with her husband and his eyes.
The fulmar was now set upon searching for the woman. He couldn’t find her until he put on his walrus tusk spectacles and saw the little boat out on the sea below. He began to flap his wings wildly creating a tremendous storm. The boat looked as though it might capsize.
Despite her parents' desire to bring the woman home, they feared for their lives on the little boat. The woman’s parents told her to get off the boat for the storm was her fault after all and they did not want to drown.
The woman said that no, the storm was her husband’s fault. But her pleading was for naught as her parents tossed her overboard. But before she was swept away she got hold of the gunwale and clung to it.
Her father took out his knife and cut off a few of her fingers. When she still didn’t let go he severed both her hands. She slipped beneath the waves no longer able to hold on to the boat with stubs for hands.
Once she was gone the water quieted and her parents were able to paddle home.
The woman sank to the bottom of the sea and became Sedna, Mother of the Sea. Her chopped off fingers came back to her as fish, whales, seals, and walruses, all making their homes in her hair.
However, she was no longer able to comb her hair as she had only stumps for hands. She could only wait and watch as her hair got more tattered and filthy.
And so, it falls to the Angakok, the shamans, who must swim down to the depths and comb Sedna’s hair for her. In exchange, Sedna offers humankind all the creatures of the sea. The bounty in her long spreading hair is endless.
The Cosmic Connection
Each myth will speak to us in our own language. My invitation is always to sit with the elements that speak to you regardless of what I feel is particularly meaningful. This is meant to help spark a conversation between you and the symbols that are supportive of your process.
November arrives as the threshold month — when Scorpio’s dark waters pull us under, and Sagittarius’s fire flickers on the far horizon. At the threshold, Sedna awaits.
The planets, particularly the Sun in Scorpio, invite us to submerge ourselves deeper into the waters of the unconscious to deepen our understanding of the Self. What will become of us as we sink to the depths is unknown. If we follow Sedna, we most likely will be confronted with the pain and grief of seeing how we have betrayed ourselves in service to false identities or perceptions about who have to be.
One of the major players this month (at least for me) is Mercury as it goes retrograde into Scorpio bringing with it a healthy dose of trickster energy. Mercury in retrograde may prompt us to adopt different modes of communication or confront us with how we communicate with the secretive, Scorpionic aspects of ourselves. Like the fulmar imposter in the myth, whose spectacles conceal his true nature, we may be asked to question what illusions we have been married to and what happens when we finally see through the con.
We shouldn’t forget about the fact that Neptune and Saturn are retrograde in Pisces, and Jupiter will begin its retrograde in Cancer. These outer planets are all in water signs, and their retrograde may bring about a sense of unstructuredness or deconstruction. With Neptune in Pisces, we can be easily seduced by the illusions of our world, or we can be supported by creativity and the depths of the imaginal realm.
Saturn in Pisces challenges our status quo, particularly when it comes to our spiritual identity, but in so doing, and much like Sedna’s father, this challenge may feel like an amputation. While this loss can engender a deep grief, it offers us a chance to reimagine and reconnect to a more resonant truth through the Neptunian waters and we have Jupiter’s support in asking us to nurture our faith, even when it is challenged by the stormy weather.
Venus will also move into Scorpio for much of the month, inviting the muses into our exploration. We are being asked to see ourselves in the light of the underworld. Like Senda, we are forced to reconcile that our beauty may not, or even cannot, be relegated to what we present on the surface (persona, physical appearance). Maimed and dirty at the bottom of our own ocean, we are asked to see what life-giving, creative force grows from this place within us.
And while all of this may feel like a lot to shoulder this month, it’s important to understand that this is part of the natural cycle and that after submerging ourselves in the depths we are supported to rise and expand as the Sun enters Sagittarius. Here we have support to grow the gifts that we uncovered in the depths of ourselves. Like Sedna, we are given the opportunity to transform our pain and dismemberment into a perspective that nourishes us and others. While this process cannot be forced (and most likely will not conclude at the end of the month), the Sun’s Sagittarian energy will provide us support in trusting that who we are at our core is worth bringing back to the surface.
In meeting this myth within you, I offer this for contemplation. What illusions of mine have betrayed me?
As we move into the month, I encourage you to sit with any themes, symbols, characters, or ideas that resonated with you from the myth. As you sit with them, you will undoubtedly be brought into alchemical connection with the astrological events. You don’t need to know anything about your own chart to navigate the current transits but of course, if you would like to know more about your own chart and how it relates to these times, I encourage you to contact me!
Some ideas for engaging with this myth:
Write, draw, sing, dance, or otherwise create the creatures that would be born from your amputated hands
Invert yourself. What does life look like from other perspectives
Pick an image from the myth that spoke to you and spend time contemplating it, speaking with it, daydreaming about it, or even asking AI about it
Write about a time or times you felt betrayed by someone, or you betrayed someone
As always, write any dreams, even fragments of dreams, and sit with any images or symbols that feel particularly poignant
Until next month! Happy dreaming.