05/21/2026
Part 2 The love the Orisha brought me
At my most recent initiation, while receiving strict taboos regarding relationships from a Nigerian Babalawo who has a polygamous relationship structure, I was told I could only be monogamous and could not be with anyone who’s promiscuous. During that conversation, Leah told me that even if there were ever a taboo against us being together romantically, she would still remain my companion in life and would never be with anyone else in any way so that I would never be alone.
What she said moved me deeply, and I will never forget that kind of unconditional love, devotion, and respect for my initiations, spiritual obligations, and taboos. I’m deeply grateful for her, and for Oshun, who brought Leah into my life.
Leah loves me in the ways I’ve always needed to be loved. She’s devoted to her healing, our initiations, and the work we do together. We attend ACA (Adult Children of Alcoholics) meetings together and are deeply committed to building healthy relationship dynamics that nurture, support, and elevate one another.
My life has transformed through my spirits and true love. Every day I become a more elevated person through the guidance of my spirits and Leah’s support. One of the greatest gifts my spirits have given me is a partner willing to do the difficult work beside me—healing trauma, patterns, addictions, avoidance, compulsions, and anything else that prevents deep intimacy and authenticity.
So many of us create identities, systems, coping mechanisms, and lifestyles simply to survive pain. But we do not have to remain the person we became in survival mode. Healing reveals who we truly are underneath the trauma and coping strategies.
Last year, I stepped back from relationship responsibilities for a period of deep spiritual processing, emotional healing, and personal growth. I probably grew more in that single year than in any other period. During that time, Leah secretly kept a journal reflecting how much she still loved me and wanted to keep the flame of our love alive while I focused on healing. Reading those pages still causes me to cry.
I’m grateful for her patience, emotional safety, and unwavering devotion, especially as I heal myself. One of my therapists told me I had experienced more trauma than any client she had worked with. Ifá said that what I survived would have broken most people. Leah gave me the greatest gift possible: love without pressure, patience without resentment, and space to heal without abandoning me.
She remained true to me the entire time I worked on myself.
For Leah—I’m endlessly grateful for you.
“You have given me the greatest possible happiness. You have been in every way all that anyone could be. I don’t think two people could have been happier…What I want to say is I owe all the happiness of my life to you. You have been entirely patient with me and incredibly good. I want to say that—everybody knows it.”
— Virginia Woolf
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serpentinespiritualarts.com
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