| Farinade Olokun

Posted on November 3, 2016February 10, 2024 by farinade — 3 Comments

‘Fake Ifa priests are taking over America’

Unedited version of http://tribuneonlineng.com/fake-ifa-priests-taking-america/

Nigerian Tribune Nov. 3, 2016

Yeye Ekundayo Adele Ifamuregun practices the Ifa religion in the United States of America, and as a priestess of the African Traditional Religion (ATR), she has used her calling to assist people with spiritual problems. However, in this interview with ADEWALE OSHODI, the priestess laments the large number of fakes currently parading themselves as priests in the US, while also highlighting how she has found her way towards practicing her faith in a country that is not known for understanding African culture and traditions.

For how long have you been practising professionally as a priestess in America, and how does the average American see you as having a solution to their problems?

I’ve been working as a priestess inside the United States since coming here in 2001, and before that, working in Brazil. When you speak of an “average” American, one must understand that the portion of the population who follow Diasporic African Traditional Religions (ATRs), is very small, percentage wise, and true IFA is even less.

The “average” American as a whole is simply unaware of IFA and how it works, but people are very willing and open to anything that will pull them out of their issues. Some people are called towards the path of IFA and the orisa (irunmole), others just want help. It can be through divination, ewe oogun, sacrifices, works – whatever is needed. The Western Mind in general approaches things differently, which can take a lot of patience and guidance from my side to get people to a place of understanding.

The Ifa practice comes with placing sacrifices, which I understand, may not be permitted in the American society; so how do you go about offering your sacrifices?

Actually, people in the United States have already gone to the Supreme Court to fight for their right to conduct ritual blood sacrifice within their own shrines and temples, and won in every case, so while this is something that one must be sensitive to in terms of community and your neighbors, there is already a precedent set within the court system protecting the rights of orisa worshipers to practice their rituals in certain localities under certain constraints.

Discretion is needed, along with creativity and sensitivity. I happen to live in the countryside, with many streams, rivers, isolated roads and forests, the ocean is nearby, so this is not really a problem. I can rest items on my own property and in my own shrine so there is no issue. In Brazil, however, there are now environmental laws put into place by Evangelical politicians, and also laws which control where you buy the animals needed and where you can then keep them until the time of sacrifice; their own bid to stamp out freedom of religion and the African tradition of Ifa and orisa that took root there with the slave trade.
One big problem that we have in Nigeria is the issue of fake priests, and with the growing popularity of Ifa in America, do you also have this problem?

Absolutely, YES! Of the people who come to me, a large majority have made contact with unscrupulous or simply ignorant “Ifa” practitioners here inside of the US, though some have also been bamboozled in Nigeria. Many clients come to me spiritually, emotionally, mentally and financially bankrupt, after passing through the hands of “IFA” organizations, in the US, as well as passing though the hands of various independent priests – you name it, I have heard it, and dealt with every kind of ridiculous story there is.

This is a huge problem, I cannot stress it enough, and it has pained me for many years as I feel I am rowing against a tide of outright charlatanism, well-meaning or willful ignorance, or, in some cases, very dangerous injustices.

Just yesterday I divined for an American initiated into IFA in Nigeria, a so-called IFA priest with his own shrine having issues. He is having trouble with a certain energy and had been offering something ridiculous to them, and it was his Nigerian Awo who had told him this was a proper offering. He didn’t even know that one must throw cowries or obi after making an offering to check if the offerings have been accepted! So this US man, with no authority in IFA – not a real Babalawo, just an initiate – opened up a shrine and is teaching people IFA in the US. It is ridiculously insane what is going on out here in terms of IFA, and it needs to stop.

I work closely with my family in Nigeria and most of our work consists of sweeping up the pieces of peoples’ lives who have gotten involved with these “priests” and “priestesses” who simply have no authority or knowledge to be working in the capacity as a priest or priestess, or, they might have some working knowledge but are morally and ethically not capable of turning the practice into something other than a moneymaking tradition, or, they simply do not have the deeper understanding of Ifa and neglect to set their clients/initiates up with the fundamentals they need to know.

Although you don’t have the power to tackle the rise in the number of fake priests; is there a way you are sensitising the public so that they won’t fall victims?

I discussed this with a very prominent person involved in IFA in Nigeria a few years back, how IFA is being taken over, modified, diluted, exploited and appropriated by cut and paste priests and those who make a quick trip to Nigeria for an initiation (or have one within the US), then think that gives them the right to practice as a Babalawo, start divining and open up shop. Some of these people are churning out books about IFA (after spending all of 3 weeks total in Nigeria), which are absolute nonsense, they open moneymaking IFA mills and churn out initiates, hold workshops geared towards Western “New Age” “healing” in the name of IFA, but people in the Diaspora have no idea they are nonsense books, invalid initiations with no odu calabash present nor truly linked priests, workshops that have nothing to do with true IFA. They are helpless like babies in the face of this – earnest in seeking – but cannot distinguish what is true IFA, as they don’t know the difference. It is happening all over, with disastrous results. This is not just a “US – IFA problem” but a Yorbaland problem as well, as there is some blame to lay there.

The best I can do is write extensive blog posts and articles on my website farinadeolokun.com, talking about what IFA is and isn’t, what to look for, what to watch out for, give people some basic solid knowledge and pray that Orunmila guides them, or brings me those who have been broken in trust and faith so we can set things straight and get them up and walking forward in life.

There is no one in the Diaspora who can offer initiations into IFA or under any orisa unless they somehow transplant at least a good handful of high level, wise, ethical and LEARNED priests and priestesses from Nigeria, with all of the animals needed, all of the items needed, a complete correct shrine, an igbodu with the most important item of all, the sacred Odu calabash. It simply cannot be done, unless all of the above are present. It is better for a person in the Diaspora to receive an initiation via proxy in Nigeria thru ethical and learned elders – if they cannot travel in person – than to risk their ori and destiny in the hands of someone they have not fully researched in the Diaspora. I’m sure there are people who will shake and shout over those words but that is my position after years of experience dealing with the fallout from these Diaspora “initiations” and some Yorubaland initiations.

Can you share an instance when you’ve had to rescue a victim who had had his ‘hands burnt’ by a fake priest?

There are simply too many instances to narrate. And I am speaking of both fake priests within Diaspora ATRs and also within IFA, both US and in Nigeria. I’ve had everything from someone getting actual serious burns on their body from gunpowder during a “ritual” to “banish negative spirits”, women being sexually molested, clients being told to sell off millions of dollars worth of their properties and “give the money to IFA” (leaving them destitute), IFA initiations being done with no 4 footed sacrifice, no odu calabash, or at times even no blood sacrifice at all (which is possible with certain orisa but not within IFA initiation).

I’m currently dealing with the aftermath an American IFA priest has left behind in his “omos”, who was initiated by others who have “title” and initiation in Nigeria. They are well known on the East Coast and have been initiating people into IFA inside the US for years, giving out a “hand of Ifa” with ikin of three eyes (actually there are two people I know of who are doing this). This is astounding, as any true Babalawo or Iyanifa will attest to, and is a great curse on the person, a sacrilege to Orunmila, and will do nothing but cause upheavals in the recipient’s life.

I have identified at least 16 people who have received these “hands of IFA” from this man for certain, and know there are dozens more –if not hundreds more. How is it that a Babalawo doesn’t know the number of eyes the ikin of a sacred hand of IFA should possess? And how is it that his elders in Nigeria have allowed this to happen? Amazing.

This is a very grave situation, yet they are still being promoted as an IFA priest. Where is the accountability? If you speak of IFA and the US/Diaspora, you must speak of the role of Nigeria. Does anyone within Nigeria understand that in some instances they have set loose forces into the world, by their own hand under the white flag of IFA, who are not only harming innocent people but also harming the future of the IFA tradition itself? Of course not all Nigerian priests and priestesses are unethical, nor should they be held responsible for all actions of their initiates, but surely they should make an effort to distinguish which people are coming for initiation/title out of a true need and calling from IFA, and not simply from a desire to puff up their ego and embark on a moneymaking venture once back in the US, using the name of IFA to achieve that. The greed for money is truly the root of all evil.

So how does one identify a fake priest from a real one?

The example of the ikin is an obvious red flag for someone who truly works inside IFA. The issue is the initiate or client does not have this knowledge inside of the US, unless they are lucky enough to find someone who can steer them straight before disaster and spending big money. As far as blanket identification of a “fake”, that is a sticky issue, because you can find people who say “a real Babalawo does not throw cowries”. Well, no, actually any “real” Babalawo can use cowries; cowries are just another means of divination and you might have to use what is at hand, if needed, but in straight defined terms of IFA, if you visit a Babalawo for divination and they use opele or ikin Ifa and pull a book about odu off of a shelf in order to recite verses (don’t laugh, most do in the US) this is not a capable learned priest. In the case of a woman client – if the “priest” starts sexual advances, or starts talking about being a “spiritual wife”, you are in the presence of – at best – an unethical and immoral Babalawo – at worst, a charlatan. If there is any kind of work with candles, glasses of water on a “shrine” (other than to make ibori or using a glass holding water in feeding/calling/”cooling” an orisa etc), you are dealing with a Diaspora priest (charlatan or not).

But if a priest/ess is presenting themselves as IFA only, ask if they came from an ATR before entering IFA – which tradition it was, were they fully initiated, by whom, where, when. I usually ask my clients to describe exactly what took place in their IFA initiation if they had one, where it was, who took part, how many Nigerians were present (if any), was there blood sacrifice, which animals and items, what was the odu given them (if any), the background and origin of the priest or priestess, was the odu calabash present (if a man, or does the woman know if one was present), were their eyes bathed with the proper herbs before entering the igbodu, many questions.

Also, In the case of otas and orisa, sometimes people send me photos of the inside of their pots when they suspect something is “off” and things are not going well; you would be surprised what turns up inside of them. Sometimes there are stones and pebbles where no stones should ever be, coins, pyramids, crystals, colored “gemstones”, signs that this is Diaspora practice and not IFA practice. Yes, there are differences in how “pots” are made within Yorubaland; some of these items mentioned above were made in the Diaspora and others were made in Nigeria, but all were supposedly “made in IFA”.

I suspect that a making of pots in Nigeria done in accordance to what the Diaspora client (with dollars in hand) knows as “true”, “familiar” or “authentic” in their own original Diaspora “knowledge”, is creeping into Nigerian IFA and orisa practice because some Nigerians are acquiescing to these taste dictates, perhaps out of politeness (and the fact they are receiving money so don’t want to contrary the foreigners), and they might not feel it matters in the long run and let it slide – but it does matter – because the IFA tradition is being modified by outside Diaspora tastes and dictates, whether anyone in Nigeria is aware of it or not, participating in it or not, cares or not. This cannot and should not happen.

My simplest advice in a nutshell is for a person to always trust their ori, their head, their higher self, that feeling in the pit of the stomach, the small voice inside of them. How do they feel in the presence of that person? Does the person offer guidance and explanation of how the IFA system works? Does it make sense? Are they asking for big money for immediate initiations when you have only just met them? Are they making financial demands that are far beyond what one can afford? Do they offer to do works that harm others instead of simply defending via “return to sender”? If you are feeling uncomfortable, there is usually a good reason for that.

Those who willingly harm and cheat others will end up paying, sooner or later, and those who have suffered at their hands, their own victory will come. The travesty is that the good name of IFA is being soiled by charlatans, and by people in the Diaspora who are “loving” IFA and orisa to death with their own egos and concepts, financial ambitions and their “Westernizing” of the principles of the IFA system.

My prayers are always with the good Babas and Iyas of Nigeria, my family, and especially the so-called “bush Babas and Iyas” (the ignorant of Nigeria call them “illiterates”), who hold the true and correct lineage upright and are examples of Orunmila incarnate in action, this precious gift of IFA the Yoruba people have so far managed to preserve and be sustained by. May Olodumare, IFA and all irunmole guide, protect and bless Yorubaland, her people, and the nation as a whole, ASE O!

Posted on August 2, 2015January 20, 2020 by farinade — 2 Comments

Eledumare, Ori, Orisa: The Puzzle of Ifa in Western Society

If you have not read any of my previous posts, my name is Iya Ekundayo. I was brought up in the Brazilian spiritual tradition of “Xango”, a diaspora offshoot of the Ifa tradition of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, and am a fully initiated Iyalorixa. I am also a Iyanifa, a priestess of Ifa of the same Yorubaland. My days are spent talking to people, divining with cowrie shells, pounding out soaps and medicines which are within the oral Ifa divination corpus, making offerings, writing emails with advice or just chatting keeping up, manifesting spirit or orisa into my body during consultations, and generally just living my life to best serve the people who come looking for advice and help. Some people know a bit about Ifa or orisa, some are initiated, some know nothing of the tradition and just need help.

Having lived in many different countries of the world and also still traveling and residing for periods of time inside of the US, I have come to note many marked differences in how different peoples inside different nations approach Ifa and this path of the orisa. This is the longest stretch that I have been in the US for some time and working with people here. I have made several observations and at times become a bit frustrated, even angry, at what is being put forth and touted as authentic “Ifa/orisa worship” in the US. But what frustrates and angers us also teaches us, and patience – “suuru” – is just as applicable when dealing with clients who “don’t get it”, as it is to waiting for a long prayed for blessing to finally arrive. It is my job to help the people “get it”. I can be quite outspoken in my opinions, but they come from experience and observation, and most importantly, come from the wisdom of Ifa, the orisa and spirit guides I have worked with for decades.

There are many and varied obstacles to achieving harmony in ones life on the path of Ifa and orisa out here in the US it seems, and I could probably address each one individually in long blog posts. But this past week I reached a sort of tipping point where all of these issues came together in a perfect storm of clients with their varied problems, attitudes, perceptions and needs.

There are two major issues to start with (and it’s hard to not name all of them at once, as major), the first being: Many people in the US do not bow down to Eledumare/God/Olorun/Olodumare. However you wish to name the Creator God, feel free, but there is a very apparent lack of understanding that:

WE ARE NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, NOR DO WE CONTROL IT.

Of course I am not saying all people within the US present this, but yes, many. I see it over and over. I have come to the conclusion that many people have not been brought up in a home with a religious conviction or teaching, or, they have rejected the Christian model and are looking for all things “African”, yet somehow in their haste to embrace the “African” orisa, they have thrown God out of the equation.

Over the years I have tried to discover the root of this. I believe it is also partially due to not experiencing true lack, want and need. Most people are relatively well off in the US when compared to other nations like Nigeria and Brazil, actually, they are materially much better off. But until one has experienced fear and hunger in their belly, dealing also with day to day realities of perhaps washing clothes in a bucket, battling malaria, hustling to make ends meet and feed one’s self, many in the US don’t seem to see the need to pray to God or think much about God. And then there are the people who read books or articles online that parrot, “The Yoruba do not worship Eledumare”, that there are “no shrines to Eledumare/Olodumare/Olorun” to be found in Yorubaland. This is incorrect, and in no way, shape or form should one think that followers of Ifa do not put Eledumare front and center before all divination, all prayers, all sacrifice, and first thing in prayers of thanks upon waking. There is the English expression of putting “the fear of God” into someone, and there is some truth to that. Life in most places of the world is a tenuous existence, even protecting your life and arriving home safely is not a “given”, so I find that the mindset of people who live in countries with less stability and material comforts – such comforts as one finds in the US – is very cognizant of the place of God in their lives. Also, if it were not for the power of God, we would not be here, Orunmila would not have come as God’s emissary to give the Yoruba and the world the oral Ifa divination corpus, nor would there be orisa. All things come from God, but many people turn to, what is in their minds deemed, “the other God worship”, which is orisa, as if orisa are the “Gods” and the head and source of all, but I will come back to more of that subject later.

So, number one, people seem to believe that they hold the strings to life, that their desires, their wants and needs are paramount, that life revolves around their waking and sleeping, all else be damned, and the idea seems to be that the orisa are to be squeezed and manipulated, to be demanded from. The idea is that (in a very Western material fashion), ” I bought this ota of Oya online in a shop, I paid good money, now Oya is mine and works for me!” Well, that’s an interesting concept, but you do not “buy” otas willy nilly offered for sale with the click of a button online (unless from a charlatan), you do not order your knowledge, understanding and wisdom from an online market, and you do not “control” or “possess” orisa. An online purchased ota for sale outright in a shop (or any other “magical bean” purchased online), no correspondence/divination/sacrifice needed, has no ase, no power. Unless you are dealing with someone who is qualified, has the authority and true ase, does divination for you, finds you have a reason to pay for something involving Ifa/orisa and it is confirmed by Ifa, unless they make the proper blood sacrifices or any other sacrifices needed, you are being fleeced. And you also do not hand over money to unqualified (or qualified), “Babas and Iyas” whether in person or online, and then demand that you receive exactly what you asked for in your prayers, and most especially if you have no idea what you are doing and what the Ifa/orisa spiritual path is all about, and/or if you are not willing to look at your own fault in your current miseries/predicament. There are many moving parts to this problem: Lack of knowledge-a softer word for ignorance; a lack of respect and humbleness towards God; a lack of respect and humbleness towards authentic spiritual elders; rubbing shoulders and putting faith in people who are not qualified and authentic in Ifa and orisa worship; a completely wrong understanding of what Ifa is, what orisa do and don’t do, can or can’t do, and what the person’s own role and responsibility is in reaching harmony/resolution in their life. Which brings me to the second issue: not understanding Ori.

In the headlong rush to adore, worship, lavish money on orisa in a quest to find peace, power and happiness, many people do not understand that there is ONE orisa who is the KING of all orisa and is to be worshiped first: ORI. So what is ori? Ori is our destiny. Ori is our beacon and guiding light. Ah! So does that mean ori is outside of us? NO. Ori is within us. It is the guiding voice, the higher self, the spark of divinity that has within it the secret to our life and how it should unfold. There is an inner and outer ori. Think of it as two heads: One, the willful negative and “unenlightened” head, meaning us: our daily actions, thoughts, spoken words, the second and true head is our perfect and aligned with God ori/destiny, the one we are meant to pray to, sacrifice to, enrich, follow and merge with. It is an investment and alignment with our true self and path.

There is a type of schizophrenia in the US, in my opinion, where people have become so disjointed and cut off from God and their own ori, their own true self, that they have great difficulty in pulling together the threads of their life or even their thoughts in everyday life. They don’t realize that the key to their happiness lies within themselves. And it is important to understand the order of things. God first. And our ori is not “outside” of us in some kind of planetary orbit of orisa that seems to be circling just out of reach of the people, and that if they buy just “one more tool”, “one more initiation”, “one more sacrifice”, than somehow the orisa and a perfect life will be theirs. No. There is no orisa who can help you more than your own ori. Granted, it helps to be born in a culture and nation where you are aided in that knowledge, and the naming ceremony of a newborn baby (Akosejaye), is done by Ifa priests precisely to find out the odu/path/destiny of that child, make the necessary sacrifices, and point out the positive and negative aspects of their character and destiny, and which orisa are to be appeased throughout life. Ah HAH! Those orisa are the ones I need to appease! Yes, they need to be appeased and worshiped-by qualified and authentic Babalawo and Iyanifa- but if you do not first open your ori, open your head, align with your head, get your sight, follow the steps of proper Ifa initiation and then subsequent possible proper orisa initiation, you will be walking blindly, groping in the dark and burbling in tears in front of a home shrine (one you spent thousands of dollars to acquire, have no authority whatsoever to have, one that contains no “ase” or “authentic tools”), you will be crying to a Baba, an Iya, and never go from the stage of using training wheels, like learning to ride on a child’s bicycle, to one of mastering your direction in life and riding freely.

ORI is first and foremost, and each morning after giving thanks to Eledumare, one should hold their head in their hands, address their Ori, pray to be made small and humble so one can hear, pray so that your actions, voice, deeds that day will enable and be worthy of supporting and merging with your true destiny, to bring the inner and outer destiny into alignment. We can behave a certain way that is contrary to our ori, contrary to how we are to behave and conduct our life. Certainly, we are given this information from a (hopefully) trusted and qualified Babalawo at our initiation into Ifa, but what we DO with that information is up to us. You must humble yourself before God, be willing to do what you know is right and wrong, be striving to become more of a spiritual manifestation of divinity on earth. You can make all the initiations in the world, make all the ebo, etutu you want, spend all the money in your bank account, and it will not bring your good destiny into your hands if you do not align with your ori, do your work, straighten out your character, thoughts, words, actions and deeds.There is a seeming lack of will and fortitude in many people, where their minds race, they have no control over their self-negative chatter, and most importantly, they refuse to bow down, be thankful, make themselves small and go before God as a humble spiritual being, asking to be remade, reformed, asking to change their character into one of lack of ego, lack of violence, lack of negativity towards one’s self or others.

And many people make the mistake of initiation/crowning under an orisa before they have even received Ifa initiation. That is putting the cart before the horse. There are far too many opportunities for people in the US with curiosity about Ifa and orisa worship to be railroaded quickly into initiations, receiving “Warriors”, receiving “beads”. This is not how it is done. You must first have a good base understanding of what you are getting into. In Brazil, we spend years developing inside the ile-Ifa, attending sacrifices, “giras” where the orisa come down, developing as spiritual mediums who can be possessed by orisa and egun, and we bow down to not only the deities, but humble ourselves in love and respect for our Baba or Iya who are sheltering us in their nest! It is only after years of praying, using special preparations and baths, observing, learning, partaking, and developing as physical mediums for the orisa and spirit guides, that we take initiation. NO ONE HANDS YOU YOUR SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE-YOU LIVE IT AND EARN IT!

Somehow the idea of initiation has become like a “diploma mill” in the US, and sometimes in Nigeria, where hungry people are facing American dollars being offered. There will always be someone willing to take your money, unless they are the real deal. There is an order to learning and spiritual growth, and it is just too common to see people being initiated left and right, only to then think they have somehow received the “right” to open up shop, set up their own shrine, buy some cowries or ikin Ifa to divine with, and start playing the game of marketing. It is a very sad reality, very wrong, and makes a mockery of the tradition. It is only the Ifa priesthood who can pave the way for your future initiations into orisa worship (if you want to TRULY follow the authentic IFA root tradition), not the other way around, and don’t even think that because one has received a hand of Ifa, that you are now a fully fledged priest of Ifa! You must be ready for initiation when Orunmila says you are meant to, and you must trust the mouthpiece. You must make your way to the gateway through your own humble spiritual striving-not because some priest conveniently says you “need” initiation when they have a large bill coming due, and not because you yourself are in a mad quest for “power” or inflation of ego.

I have seen over and over where people have been “crowned” with orisa ahead of Ifa/Orunmila-sometimes in the diaspora, sometimes in Nigeria- and been crowned incorrectly, with very bad consequences for the person’s life. This is what can happen when YOU DO NOT TAKE CARE WITH YOUR ORI. Be very careful who you listen to, allow to initiate you, allow to touch your head and life. ASK YOUR ORI FIRST. Your inner ori knows many things which your busy and under-developed outer “you” does not know! It is the small voice inside, the pit in the stomach, the hunch, the inner self that knows right from wrong, good from bad. The trick is to listen, pay attention, bolster your ori, align with your ori, call on your ori to guide you. Do not entertain negative thoughts/self hatred of your life or of others lives. Do not speak negative things/self hatred of your life or others lives. You must keep your mind together and strong-not divided. You can ruin and destroy your own life much better than any enemy can, and the power is all there in your ori to guide and bless you.

There are plenty of people looking to make money off the ignorant and star struck: those who are more than willing to enter orisa worship without understanding that the doorway is the IGBODU OF IFA. You enter through Ifa initiation, whether as a baby or as an adult, but the correct order is Ifa first, learn your orisa influences, and then seek out orisa initiation. To not do so is possibly courting disaster. This is not to take away from the priests and priestesses in the diaspora who have no true knowledge of Ifa, but who have carried on as their ancestors did solely within orisa worship and that of eguns; the ones who are truly gifted and capable of divining and seeing what is what. But the truth is the truth, and the diaspora traditions that use any Yoruba orisa name-their origin is IFA. Think about that. And choose wisely where to put your trust in Ifa priests and priestesses in the US, or anywhere.

So, we have a lack of acknowledgement/reverence/respect towards God. We have a lack of knowledge of Ori. We have a lack of respect towards true spiritual elders. We have multiples of websites, foundations, organizations, ile Ifa, centros, botanicas, tiendas, Ifa Babas and Iyas, all kinds of New Age diviners, half breeds and cross pollination people claiming – with NO authority or standing in Ifa – that they can “infuse” a statue/ota/shell/etc., etc., etc., bought online, with ase/sacred energy for the client to “invoke” orisa or egun, simply by “bathing” it with certain herbs etc.,. Rubbish.

If one is not dealing with a fully initiated priest or priestess from a country where the root religion is practiced or at least with having spent years in learning with correct authentic elders from those countries, in good standing, with sound mind and motives, a seeking person is courting danger, courting a fleecing of the pocket, and worse.

There are some simple items which can be purchased online without consulting and working with a true Babalawo or Iyanifa, as long as they are not meant to represent authentic initiation into or the ability to “invoke” or “use” an orisa or spirit guide. A true representative of Ifa will guide you, help you understand how you can (and need), to help yourself, will make your needed sacrifices along the way until it (possibly) is divined that you need to enter the Igbodu or be initiated under an orisa for any reason (and not everyone is called to be initiated), but, they will not do the work that you and only you are meant to do: with your own head and prayers, your own hands, your own two legs.

What I see all too often as the motivation for seeking out Ifa/orisa is a hunger for power or a fascination with something “new”, “ethnic”, “different”. A hunger for money and material things. A hunger for puffing up of the ego, with no respect for the tradition, no respect for the true elders of the tradition, no practice or even knowledge of authentic tradition, no willingness to make ones self small and pay the dues one must pay in order to learn what orisa is, what Ifa is, or even the role of spirit guides. And it is simply amazing to me what many people in the US are marketing and getting rich off of-meeting these power hungry needs- when they themselves have no authentic knowledge, are basically charlatans, and they get away with it because the majority of people here are simply ignorant of the facts.

There is the need for the quick fix, and people in the US have the power and custom of acquisition of goods to “better” their life-instantly. They treat spiritual issues the same way. They believe with a click of the mouse and a credit card that they can avail themselves of the world of orisa, of Ifa, or whichever tradition is being marketed. On the one hand, it is not their fault, not knowing any better, but again, you must treat your precious life as gold, it is your future, your destiny, your money that you are entrusting and putting into the hands of others. And frankly, many people have no business getting involved with the Ifa tradition nor the offshoots in the diaspora. Whether it is because they enter for all the wrong reasons, or they enter and have come away bitter, spiritually broken, financially drained, some even raped, taken advantage of, and it is suffered at the hands of unscrupulous supposed Ifa and orisa “elders” and “leaders” who will market even their own mother if it means making a dollar. USE YOUR HEAD IN DISCERNING WHAT YOU ARE SEEING WITH YOUR EYES AND HEARING WITH YOUR EARS.

I have said it before in other places and will say it again here: Do not hand over your money to people simply because they have a “title”, have a following, have charisma, have a large “foundation”. Run, and don’t look back, if a so-called “priest” says that you must give sexual favors to them. Run, if they divine and say,”Ifa says, Orisa says” that you must do something which will cut into your savings, deeply, beyond comfort, that you must do a work which will harm another or yourself, that in any way will reduce you or put you in a position of lack or possible bodily harm, or if they demand that you stay up all hours of the night in “rituals” (outside of an authentic Ifa initiation which takes several days, with authentic and trusted Babalawo and Iyanifa). And conversely, don’t seek out Ifa/orisa if you are not willing to HUMBLE YOURSELF DOWN IN FRONT OF GOD, ESU, THE IRUNMOLE/ORISA AND YOUR ELDERS!

And now we come to orisa. The trend in the US seems to be that either the person becomes a slave to orisa (over-ritualized and long ceremonies with no basis in Ifa or true orisa root tradition, $$$$$$ needed for unneeded offerings/rituals, clothing, implements that have no purpose or reason in true Ifa etc., etc.,) or, that some people view orisa as nothing more than Gods to be manipulated, whined at, cried to, demanded from, exactly when they need them and how they need them, for whatever whim they have on earth. Which brings us back to the point of no respect for God, no respect for Ori, no respect for the tradition, and no understanding of the spiritual nature required of us to fulfill our part of the bargain.

The orisa are not a vending machine; they are not some kind of cosmic ATM machine where one can withdraw material goods and needs at will and as one pleases. The orisa are not meant to be “sent” to “destroy” people just because one doesn’t “like them”. The worst, most petty and ugliest nature inside humans comes out when the issue is power- how they can get it, how they can keep it and how they can use it for their own gain and against others. And jealousy of those who have true power, jealousy of those who are doing their work and progressing, jealousy and simple lack of good character is exhibited by many people who yearn to “control” orisa, “command” a shrine, yet they cannot even take the first step and stand naked and transparent before God and admit their bad character and being, in order to grow in spiritual understanding.

The orisa deities are not “Gods” in the sense of the Creator God Eledumare, though they are frequently called that. And this is where people who are not familiar with the Yoruba spiritual cosmology can go astray thinking that the orisa are the end all and be all, little gods in their own right. No. Orisa are under God. And for every good side and trait of orisa there is a corresponding negative, and as human beings we are meant to look within and see how best we can align ourselves with the positive traits, be calling the positive into our lives, with sound reasons and motives, and heeding the examples of the negative traits shown by the odu verses narrating the lives of orisa, and avoiding those. Orisa is not going to hold you up as you whine and puff about your horrible life (when it has come partially or fully through your own hand), though they do support at times when one is completely spent and weak (but transparent, honest and willing), but I am talking of taking responsibility for ones life. You can make ebo after ebo to orisa, but if you continue to do things which are against your birth odu taboos, or simply just full of bad character, you will not get far in life nor in your understanding of life. You will not reach the cherished and lofty goal of becoming a revered ancestor; an example that your children and children’s children would be proud of. If you cheat others, lie, steal, back stab, gossip, speak negatively to yourself or others, create trouble, break both spiritual and man’s laws, you can make all the ebo you want to try and “fix” things, but your character and bad actions will catch up to you, and you have missed the point entirely of being involved in the tradition. It is not about power, not about acquiring wealth at all costs, not about rising up above others in a peacock fashion, not about getting the money for a new car simply because you want it-not that you need it. You do your work. You go within, you humble down. You work with your ori, with your thoughts, actions, you wake up and pray, you make your offerings and prayers to orisa that they become your right hand in all you do. You ask that while you move your legs down the path, that they make sure to keep those legs in the correct stride and on the right path. When you are moving forward with Eledumare above, your inner and outer ori working in tandem, Esu below Eledumare, Ifa as the guiding eyes, and orisa as the energies which can each assist in bringing us what we specifically truly need, AND is part of our destiny, then we are right with Heaven and Earth.

Sometimes what one “needs” is to face difficulty, take a good look at it, experience it, look within, summon our inner strength and innate guidance, and GO TO WORK ON THE PROBLEM! Perhaps divination and an ebo is needed, as that is part of the functioning tradition, but one does not sit back, reluctantly put money down for the Baba or Iya to perform a “miracle” through Ifa (though we can and do), and then expect that everything is going to be blue skies, milk and honey, while one continues down the same incorrect path, not heeding the words of Ifa, not heeding the advice of the Babas and Iyas, not changing one’s own rotten, selfish, puffed up egotistical self centered importance, one’s stubborn and ignorant ways of carrying on as a little human god.

We do not sit back and wait for orisa to help us as if we are helpless spoiled infants. No! We are spiritual beings, we are meant to grow and learn in life. Each hardship creates an opportunity to overcome, learn and attain wisdom. With time and adjustments to our character and habits, we become stable, enlightened, life’s trials are seen for what they are-temporary roadblocks that can be removed or avoided and gone around. Once we understand our true position in the order of the spiritual universe, we enter the stream of life and consciousness where happiness comes, peace comes, even in the midst of temporary trouble. We become more and more like orisa in action, and that is the puzzle and riddle of Ifa.

© 2016 by Farin da Silva, All Rights Reserved. Pursuant to the Copyright Act of 1976 and subsequent amendments, codified as 17 U.S.C. §§ 101-810, the works contained within are protected by United States laws and by international treaties. This includes the literary and pictorial works created by Farin da Silva contained herein, as well as any other original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. The unauthorized copying, distributing, displaying, or production of derivative works is strictly prohibited by Farin da Silva. Copyright infringement may subject you to civil liability of a minimum of $750 per infringement for statutory damages, as well as the costs incurred to enforce these rights. 17 U.S.C. § 504. A court may award up to $150,000 per infringement. This copyright holder takes copyright infringement seriously and does enforce their rights.

Posted on September 9, 2014January 20, 2020 by farinade — Leave a comment

The Odd Pairing of Esu and Joan Rivers

I am always fond of saying that I learn something new in orisa everyday and this week was no exception. For those of you not familiar with me, I work as a Iyanifa and Iyalorisa priestess, a cowrie shell diviner, a maker of Ifa medicines using plants and leaves and also as a physical medium of spirit and orisa. A large part of my work is attending to clients who come to sit “face to face” with a spirit guide, or, most often, Esu, the “most human” of all orisa, for a one on one about their life and all things under the sun. At times the sessions are gut wrenching and tearjerkers, other times the people are almost rolling on the floor with laughter; with Esu, especially, one never knows what is going to occur.

This week a client came to me (and they have approved my sharing of small parts of their story), beset with troubles; they wanted to talk with Esu.

It was a hot night, a restless wind swirling outside. Esu arrived quickly with his usual commanding energy and presence, cackling and cracking a joke to those present. Always the Master of Ceremonies, he settled in to get to the subject matter at hand.

The client.

As she had talked to Esu before, the approach was direct. Sometimes Esu comes in slow and from a side angle, circling in until he gets to the core nut each person has protected, or is not even aware of protecting, but in this case she laid it all on the table. A middle-aged woman, no debt, no children, paid off house, good income, but nothing was going right. All was dark and dismal, roads blocked, marriage troubles, frustration, anger and sleepless nights waking up at 3 a.m. to worry ’til dawn.

Okay. Anyone who knows a bit about the Ifa and orisa tradition would say:

“Esu will say they need to make sacrifice!”

“He will say, go to Ogun to open your road”.

“He will say, let’s take a look if someone (Iyami, enemies etc.), has done something against you”.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Here I must insert that I have a helper at my side, a patient soul who’s game for late night sessions and orders barked at 1 a.m. by spiritual powers who can be-let’s just say-adamant, about what needs to be done. They act as a go between for cultural reference or choosing the proper word in English Esu is searching for.

After her litany of complaints-Esu listening quite interested the whole time-began his conversation with her:

“So, with all the hubbub in the world, the one unchanging thing that everyone has within their reach are their thoughts and their attitudes. A winner remains a winner until the end. You see, you cannot say: “Last week I was a winner but this week I’m not.” You have to say: “I’m always a winner, always a believer.” Like that lady that passed away today, she was a winner.”

Looks exchanged between the client and helper.

Client: “I don’t understand.”

Helper: “Esu, which lady do you mean?”

Esu: (waving arms) “You know, that funny one.”

Helper: “Funny one….”

Client: “Joan?”

In unison: “Ohhhhhh! You mean Joan Rivers!”

Esu: “Yes, Yes, her! She was a winner! Why? Because of her attitude. And she kept her attitude up when others would have withdrawn from society. People could say “Well, she had money, she kept herself looking good.” That wasn’t it, it was her drive and her ability to look ahead and know, “I’m going to overcome this one way or the other!”

A winner pushes right up until death comes. You either give up before your time and live a self imposed type of death, or you keep pushing. That’s what you do.“

The session continued on going into other areas, but after it was over I was curious as to why Esu had singled out Joan Rivers as an example to be held up during a session. This was quite possibly one of the strangest pairings (Esu speaking of Joan Rivers) to date.

I know he was pushing for us to understand that ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING, and that if we say we have FAITH, than we must put that into action, unfailingly, and if the chips are down WE MUST ALWAYS BELIEVE THAT WE ARE A WINNER, no matter what, but what was this odd pairing of Esu on a moonlit night bringing up the name of Joan Rivers in my Ile-Ifa, my shrine? I did a little internet research and came away with a profound respect for this remarkable woman.

She was born to Russian-Jewish immigrants as Joan Alexandra Molinsky in 1933, raised in New York, and listened to the constant bickering of her parents fighting about money, though they were “comfortable”. She was pudgy, in her own words, and the ugly duckling in comparison to her older more beautiful sister. She was terrified of poverty-and failure:

“I could not endure the reality that I might end up Joan Molinsky, an unattractive, nondescript little Jewish girl, run-of-the-mill, who might just as well have stayed in Brooklyn and married a druggist and had a normal life. I had come from normal life, from real life, and nobody there had been happy”, she said in her 1986 autobiography, “Enter Talking.”

She went to college, acted in plays and bit parts in the movies, worked at upscale department stores, but her attempts at leading a “normal” life as her parents wished, did not go well. Her first marriage lasted only 6 months. Penniless, she changed her name to Joan Rivers and hit the nightclubs of Greenwich Village to do standup comedy, much to the horror of her parents. Comedy at that time was an all-male bastion and she suffered greatly, hitting a low playing at a strip club in Boston:

“Even sobbing in the filthy shower in Boston, telling myself, ‘I’m not going to do this anymore, I’m not going to do it anymore,’ I had known I would keep on going, no matter what. My parents were not going to defeat me.”

Jan Wallman, who booked the Duplex club in New York, recalled Rivers hauling around a clunky tape recorder to record her routine for later self-evaluation.

“She’d come in the next night with the material refined just perfectly, until she’d make it even better the next night,” Wallman said in an interview on the Cabaret Exchange site.

“I never knew anybody who worked that hard.”

Fast forward to years of success with Johnny Carson and then a heart crushing blow as their personal and professional friendship came to a complete end after she left his show to host her own comedy talk show. He hung up on her twice and they never spoke again. Her new show failed. She was blackballed. She could not get work.

After 22 years of marriage (in which her only child Melissa was born), her husband committed suicide on August 14th, 1987, which Joan blamed on the stress and heartbreak of what had happened with Carson, NBC and the Fox show fiasco. During this difficult time her daughter did not speak to her for almost a year as they both struggled with their pain. Joan always wanted to have a big family but several miscarriages ended those dreams and it was at the low point of her husband’s suicide that she considered killing herself. What kept her from carrying it out was knowing that her daughter would be alone in the world with no family with no one to care for her. So what did she do? She fought back to “climb out of the well” and went to work.

She came back for a 5 year stint on the “Joan Rivers Show” and continued on to win an Emmy award, star in Celebrity Apprentice, create a jewelry line for QVC and host various other shows such as E! Fashion Police. She never gave up. In her documentary “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work”, which was warmly welcomed at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, she was discussing her anxiety over getting older and staying culturally relevant. She pointed to her empty calendar and exclaimed:

“I’ll show you fear. That’s fear.”

She fought her childhood demons. She went against the dictates of her time and broke into an all-male enclave of comedy. She stayed true to her self. She cried alone in strip club bathrooms after stand up sets where she needed that money to live off of. She lost longed for children to miscarriages, she lost the love of her life, a man she was married to for 22 years, to suicide, and she contemplated following him in the same manner. She lost her best friend in show biz and was snubbed and blackballed in the industry. She overcame all, but at the peak of her 81 years she left us much too soon, but she left behind such a shining example of human spirit that even Esu, yes, the Yoruba orisa deity we call Esu, found her life worthy of use as an illustration of what to strive for:

“A winner pushes right up until death comes. You either give up before your time and live a self imposed type of death, or you keep pushing. That’s what you do.”

Mo dupe o Esu, thank you Joan, may you rest in perfect peace, Ase o!

© 2016 by Farin da Silva, All Rights Reserved. Pursuant to the Copyright Act of 1976 and subsequent amendments, codified as 17 U.S.C. §§ 101-810, the works contained within are protected by United States laws and by international treaties. This includes the literary and pictorial works created by Farin da Silva contained herein, as well as any other original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. The unauthorized copying, distributing, displaying, or production of derivative works is strictly prohibited by Farin da Silva. Copyright infringement may subject you to civil liability of a minimum of $750 per infringement for statutory damages, as well as the costs incurred to enforce these rights. 17 U.S.C. § 504. A court may award up to $150,000 per infringement. This copyright holder takes copyright infringement seriously and does enforce their rights.

Posted on April 6, 2014January 20, 2020 by farinade — 15 Comments

Eewo-Taboos and Living Life Within the Tradition of Ifa

The Yoruba tradition of Ifa is very clear about eewo-taboos-and every person initiated into Ifa, Itelodu, or who has a naming ceremony at birth, is given their taboos to guide them in life. These go beyond the Christian Ten Commandments of “Thou Shalt not…”. The taboos are very specific to your own special life path and destiny, and are put in place to assure that you achieve iwa pele, perfection, in all aspects of your life. While the Yoruba of old made it very clear that Olodumare is watching all we do, admonishing to not take what is not ours, and not betray or cause harm to others, it is our own personal taboos which we wittingly or unwittingly break that can cause our downfall in life.

The eewo can be about which profession you should enter, a type of area to live, events you attend, colors or type of cloth that you wear, food and drink to eat and what you should give as gifts or how you entertain in your home and many other variables.

Some taboo are ancestral and handed down, some come from being born into a certain village, some from following a certain profession and some come from being under a specific orisa such as Osun, Olokun etc. For instance, it is forbidden for devotees of Osun to eat guinea corn, Obatala devotees can never drink palm wine or get tipsy to the point of being drunk, or preferably not drink alcohol at all. Depending on your odu, these taboos all come to the forefront and must be followed in order to assure your happiness in life. Following taboos ensures that a village, community, home and your personal life be smooth and sweet. Once you have knowledge of your taboos and continue to go against them, you will be bringing down misery upon your head in various ways. You might remain in poverty, not produce children, have no peace in the home or in your self. The odu of the Ifa corpus are very clear on this point.

Many odu Ifa illustrate the plight of orisa when they broke their taboos and how they discovered just where they were breaking that taboo. Osun was tricked unknowingly into eating guinea corn when she was eating emo, a type of rat, not knowing that the area where the rats were caught was in fact a farm of guinea corn where they were feasting. She took the appropriate measures to come into alignment with her taboo. If the orisa themselves followed the restrictions than how much more so must we also strive to not break our own taboos?

The orisa or imale, strove to achieve greatness, we are all striving to achieve our balance of perfection in the spiritual and material world. By abiding by our taboos we are giving ourselves the best help we can. Breaking taboos is something that will erode one’s life slowly over the long run, or, might cause a quick blow as a reminder that one is breaking a taboo. We must remain vigilant and pay attention to what we are doing. If your taboo is chicken, then you must not eat chicken and be sure to check all packaging or meals that might possibly have chicken stock etc. inside. Same with eggs or corn. You must check labels to see that you are not unknowingly eating/using a substance that is taboo for you. We also have plant and animal taboos and as a priest or priestess, there are some items we cannot handle for use in Ifa medicine. We might be able to use that item in preparation for another, but not for ourselves. In the plant magic of Ifa we all have an “Oluwo”, a plant that is like our Godfather, and using that plant would be akin to harming our own blood relationship with our ancestors. You must ask your initiating elders or another Babalawo priest to make sure you have ALL of your taboos known to you.

Usually what occurs is that some of the very things that are taboo for us are what gives us immense pleasure. Imagine a client’s dismay when he received the news that he should not eat shrimp, and this was his favorite food. His wife exclaimed that this was going to be heartbreaking as she was making his meals of shrimp a good 6 times a week. One of my taboos is to not eat head of anything. This is related to our own unique odu and our relationship with our own ori, our divine guiding self, so, to eat the ori/head of others would be akin to me robbing myself of my own stable ori and its innate guidance. Years ago I became suspicious of an item of food that I loved to eat-ikura-salmon roe caviar. This was my absolute favorite thing to eat and each time I felt I was indulging in some almost naughty too good to be true pleasure. Every time I ate the caviar I would become giddy with pleasure, popping the salty sweet eggs with my tongue on the palate and savoring the flavors as a distinct pleasurable sensation hit my brain. But each time I had a small taste of caviar, that evening I would invariably have a difficult night of sleep and wake with a foul temper, foul mood, a pounding headache and the day would not be a pleasant one. This happened often enough that I questioned my husband on the matter. He said it should not have any bearing on my taboo of not eating head as the eggs don’t have a true head, but my own ori was telling me that while not exactly possessing a head, the delicious eggs have within them the beginnings of a head. He cautioned I should pay attention though, and as I am linked strongly with Olokun/Yemoja, and due to my negative reaction, I stopped eating them. Our inner self, our ori, usually knows that what we are doing is not right. We need to be vigilant and watch ourselves for any signs that we are unknowingly breaking our own taboos.

Another area which is important is when we use Ifa soaps, black soaps, and a priest or priestess hands them to us for use in gaining favor, luck etc. It is very important to state what you know of your taboos before using such items, as you might have the opposite effect! When I pound soaps for people I make sure to ask for their taboos (if they know them), and I also divine to make sure that the soap or preparation is correct for them and will work perfectly. I learned this the hard way. I once received a soap to use for the Iyami from a family member. I did not ask what was inside and began to use it. About a week passed and I went from being cheery and happy on day one to becoming increasingly tearful and distraught, for no apparent reason. After a week and with tears coming each day I decided enough was enough and started divining and thinking as to what had changed. The soap! I stopped using it and immediately my mood returned to normal. I don’t know for certain what was in the preparation of the soap, but am certain it was one of my plant/animal/material taboos. Breaking taboos can have a powerful reaction!

Another time I unwittingly broke my taboo of always eating off of white plates. I would cook my breakfast in an iron pan and then for about 5 days in a row I was not transferring the food to my white plate for eating. I would get interrupted with business before I could eat the food and it was getting cold so I resolved to leave it in the pan and eat from it directly. But the pan was black. Once again I became a nervous wreck with tears for no apparent reason until it hit me when I was sitting down to eat and stared into the black pan which was staring back up at me. A HA!

That is how eewo works. For whatever reason-others might call it simple superstition-breaking our taboos does have repercussions. My advice is to write out all of the taboos that you were given, review them periodically and ask yourself honestly if you are “fudging” on some of them, get back into compliance and see if your life does not improve!

I have a client who was unknowingly breaking about every taboo they had, not being given their taboos at the time of initiation by a diaspora priest, and little by little they cleaned up their habits and are now successful in every area of life and it seems the sky is the limit!

Taboos do matter, and Ifa put them here to guide us to our best achievements. While it may seem small, following our eewo is the single most important thing we can do to achieve happiness in this lifetime-even more than making sacrifice after sacrifice! Our taboos are extremely personal and shape our lives. We have this one life to accomplish all God put us here on earth to do-let’s go about it the smart way and shine!

Posted on March 11, 2014January 20, 2020 by farinade — 12 Comments

The Importance of Prayer and Ori

God/Olodumare is Supreme

For followers of Ifa, known as elesin ibile, prayer is a daily practice. When one understands their place in the Universe along with all the irunmole, it is only natural (or with a little practice), to give thanks for everything one has, no matter how small. Our heavenly Father Olodumare has given us the gift of life along with this magnificent planet we live on. I like to start each day praying to God, starting with giving thanks for everything I have in detail, adding prayers for loved ones, and stating: “As I take my place in your world today, I ask that I be given the ability to send and receive Divine Ase.” This is because I know that everything I do is only because of the Power of God who animates my life and who gives me breath. I owe everything I have to Olodumare.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYING TO ONES ORI
In my work as a priestess I encounter many people who are passing through difficult times, so as a basic foundation I try to instill the practice of daily prayer by my clients as a means of stabilizing the mind and generating positive thoughts, words and actions that will see the person through their day. Over time, changes do occur as the benefits of prayer, the spoken word, bring harmony. Prayer focuses and harmonizes one with their place in the Universe, God’s realm and prepares one to receive blessings.

Principle to this is our ori. Our ori is what is translated as the head, or higher self. Each person is born with an ori that guides them. Much like a bird that instinctively knows the migratory routes it must fly to reach food and their nesting grounds to lay eggs and continue the circle of life, so does our ori know what is best for us. We have both an inner ori and an outer ori. Within our own personal Odu, or road/path/destiny of life, we have innate tendencies to think or behave in certain ways. These can be both positive and negative. This is why we ask when praying to our ori: ” My Ori, do not spoil my inner wisdom, or “ori inu” . Though we might be a mild mannered and calm person, if we “lose our head” in a fit of anger and utter words that we might regret later, we are in essence spoiling our outer and inner destiny by letting our head run away with and rubbish our “good head”, our inner wisdom that knows right from wrong, good decisions from bad decisions.

While it can be difficult to understand the concept of having an ori, ori is simply our higher self that knows what it is we need and can lead us to it. Sometimes we have personality disorders, perhaps a drug habit or dependency that effectively shuts down our ori; we simply cannot “hear” it. Some people are born with impaired mental functioning, emotional problems, psychological disorders that keep them from enjoying life. The stresses of life here on earth are many, and it is our thoughts and attitudes towards these challenges that will make or break us. We are meant to be happy and there are steps we can take to improve our happiness.

Ifa is all about bringing ourselves into alignment with the Universe around us, our environment, our social, material and emotional landscape. By understanding that our ori is something to venerate, we now see that having good guidance from within is a very precious thing. Many times I tell people, “if we are not for ourselves, than who will be?. If we do not love ourselves, than who will?” We must be our own best friend and our ori IS our very best friend, protection and guidance in life.

HOW TO PRAY TO YOUR ORI
After waking I advise people to pray, even before getting out of bed. If you want to rinse your arms, legs, mouth with water first and then kneel on the ground, even better, but the main thing is to do it as soon as you wake up. After praying to Olodumare, move on to your ori. Place your hands on your head, one on the forehead and the other on the back of the head and pray out loud:

“Ori Ori Ori! You are the first and foremost, you are the King and the Head. You are the first amongst all orisa. Without ones ori, we cannot find our way, please listen and hear my prayers. It is I (state your name), the son/daughter of (state your mother’s name), who received the odu of (state your odu name. If you do not know, skip this.) My ori, please guide me to the people, places and things which will help me in life today. Bring me the people and things I need to receive wealth, health, happiness. I am asking you my ori to….(state your prayers/desires/wishes), listen to my prayers and take them to heaven Ase Ase Ase O!”.

Starting our day in this manner aligns us positively. We have clearly stated what we are looking for, and as we have spoken it, so shall it be. The Yoruba speak of ori as such:

ORI APERE!       ORI, THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL!
ORI EWU!          ORI, I ADORE YOU!
ORI OKUN!       ORI, YOU ARE PRECIOUS!
ORI IDE!             ORI THAT SHINES/IS PRECIOUS AS BRASS!

When we take the time and effort to venerate and honor God first, then our own ori, we are opening ourselves up to receiving and radiating positive energy which affects how we move in our environment. Just try this as an experiment for one week. You will be rewarded!