The Odú are the sacred symbols that hold the ase (power/life force) of everything in existence. They are holistic maps that chart the dynamic movement of energy and iden­tify the most primal forces of the natural world. The Odú are transcendental mandalas that mark the active and inactive energies of a given situation with startling accuracy.

All that was, is, or ever will be, is born through Odú, in­cluding the Orisa and their sacred ase. The varied manifes­tations of Heaven and Earth are born through Odú and it is through these same sacred pathways that they will be re­turned to the primordial void. Odú govern the cycles of na­ture and the sands of time. They are the cosmic energies of creation—the very fabric of life itself! Like brilliant points of light positioned around the circumference of the Universe, Odú are the stars from whose holy emanation worlds are born. They are the blood and bones of our natural and supernatural existence.

Odú is the oracular utterance of the spirits, the divine wisdom of all those who have come before and those who have yet to be born. Uninhibited by space and time, Odú is the original language of the Ancestors and Orisa. They are the pure voice of divinity that expresses itself in absolute bi­nary perfection. Odú hold the answers to all of life’s ques­tions and collectively they become the eternal compass that directs and redirects one on their journey. The Odú issue words of blessings, but also carry admonitions and warn­ings. They reveal the forces obscured from view and trans­late the kinetic patterns of spirit into tangible rhythms of communication. Serving as the nexus for all of creation, Odú are universal points of physical and metaphysical ingress and egress. These sacred forces are the umbilical cords that nourish and sustain all multidimensional activity and movement.

The Odú are living, sentient entities engaged in potent and constant interaction with their creations. They are in­terconnected repositories of vast spiritual force, embodying the infinite dance of creation and destruction. The mascu­line and feminine, light and dark, yin and yang – such is the nature of Odú. The physical signs that represent Odú are the symbolic skeleton keys to an ancient universe, a world that is the womb from which all life ensued. It is through these gateways that invocations echo into the heart of the universe and are answered by the spirits. They are akin to spiritual antennae, able to transmit energies that manipu­late and modulate reality on micro – and macrocosmic levels. They are remarkably precise frequencies of energy that in­vigorate and also negate those things that fall under their auspices.

Odú govern the birth of a newborn and the death of an Elder, the tides that rush in and the riverbed that runs dry. The light rain that brings refreshment and the hurricane that carries destruction; the flame that illuminates and the explosion that critically burns are found within Odús grand scope. Odú’s face wears the smile of joy and utters the cry of anguish. The sun at its zenith during midday and the moon that softly illuminates the evening landscape are the chil­dren of Odú. The charismatic forces of attraction and repul­sion are given license through Odú. Spirit’s descent into matter and its eventual transfiguration and ascension walk the road mapped by Odú. All ailments and their cures are discovered through these holy beings. Odú rule the moment of fertilization, the critical period of gestation, the act of birth and the inevitable call of death. Odú marks the cells within our bodies and the space between these cells and the space between the spaces. Odú are the fiery manifestations of light from the Void and the suffocating magnetic pull of the Black Hole. Odú are sacred constellations, satellites of immortal wisdom that impact the cosmic machination of the universe and the minute steps of the individual. Odú gives birth to the day as surely as it does the night.

In a more microcosmic sense, the Odú give rise to success and bring about failure. The ability to move ahead or the im­possibility of manifestation is rooted in Odú. Relationships are formed and dissolved through these energies. They hold the frequency for ultimate connectivity or total disconnec­tion. Steadfastness and instability, clarity and confusion are juxtaposed through Odú. The complex model of one’s being can be clearly charted through these sacred energies. Life’s initiatory rites, both personal and communal, are given strength through their ties with these forces. That which is buried deep within the past or waiting patiently in the fu­ture can be understood through exploration of their relative Odú. The circumstances of the present gain clarity when ex­amining the Odú that governs their form and function. Bal­ance is both lost and regained through a direct and often complicated relationship with Odú.

Tags: Odu, Ifa-divination

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The first gift of the Ese-Opon Odus is Odi Meji. The gift of Odi Meji is incarnation and materiality. What is the first gift we receive from Olodumare? What is the first gift Olodumare gave to the first humans? The gift of the palpable is such a gift.

We begin with this wonderful gift! We get to be on this earth, where green grass grows and blue water flows and stars shine at night. And the message and the challenge of this Odu is to know when to pass through the mystical arch out of a garden, a sequestered place – perhaps our own little home environment – to the stark, high, snowy mountain peaks, unsoftened by verdure, which represent the pinnacle of pure truth. My personal experience with Ifa is that the reference to Mountains refer to reaching a higher level of unadorned truth, facing the objective truth.

The path that leads out fortunately also leads in. This Odu gives us the gift of knowing that we can venture forth and then retreat to a place of safety and comfort. We can move out with courage and confidence knowing that we have a place to which we can return.

Rounded archways are mystical. Many of us, I think, have had the experience of passing through an arch and feeling that we have entered a different level of consciousness. On Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles, California as you drive north to Malibu, you come through a dark tunnel and suddenly find you are out in the light, seeing the shinning waters of the Pacific Ocean. At the right time of day, the light on the water is overwhelming, almost blinding. It is as if you have transcended to another level of being. What is suggested by Odi Meji is that when we move out of our garden of familiarity and habitat, we move to a place of higher understanding.

Higher understanding is a gift we receive from the Orisha Obatala, and in Odi Meji and throughout its Omo Odus this gift is manifested with different degrees of maturity and understanding. In Odi Meji we find the essence of adolescent behavior. Odi Meji has all the virtues of youth – openness, energy, lack of preconception, optimism, faith, enthusiasm, innocence, and idealism. Unfortunately I find that Odi is totally lacking in the gifts of age – experience and wisdom. Odi is more passionate than informed.

Still we need this childlike quality throughout our lives. Once again, if we approach this Odu from a Jungian perspective, we each, man or woman, have all of these youthful archetypes within us. There has been a lot of talk about the “inner child” in recent years, but we have more than one inner child. We have a joyful child, a fearful child, a curious child, a budding adolescent, and a rebellious adolescent among the many inside us. We see four of them in the Odus which form the cardinal point of the Opon-Ifa named Ese-Opon. When one of these Odus show up for us, it very often stands for someone who carries this energy in our lives, but it always represent a part of ourselves that is being activate at the time.

Based on my personal experience, Odi is the most spiritual Odu. Odi expresses appropriate awe of the manifest: genuine reverence that there should be such a thing as the physical world. Olodumare could have chosen simply to imagine the universe but instead chose to create it. What generosity! How wonderful! Odi’s appreciation of the physical world id understandable; as previously stated, Odi is associated with Jung’s sensate function.

It is clear to me that Odi is fully aware of the soul within the body, of the God energy animating the outer form. Through Odi, we sense the miraculous in the ordinary, or should we say, we should know there is no such thing as the ordinary. Odi those not need to be in a temple, church, or cathedral to experience the holy quality, the blessed quality of the world itself. Odi can see it in a leaf, in the eyes of another person; Odi can feel it in the fur of an animal. He can hear it in the wind or in birdsong, even in the whirring of a well-run machine, yet he is especially affinitized to the natural world where we find him. He experiences the presence of God in the wilderness, on a beach as he watches a sunset, the the arms of love. This Odu represents someone who has cultivated the attitude of holy intention, so that everything is experienced as blessed.

We must remember that each Odu has a flaw as well as a strength. The flaw in Odi is the danger of falling in love with money, power, prestige, status, influence, accomplishment – anything in the material world. In my view Odi has just received power from Olodumare, and he may be amazed, impressed, delighted, or confused by it, but he clearly can become slave to it. We can all remember being teenagers and our first experience behind the wheel, or our first dab of perfume, or our first venture at the stove.

How do we know which interpretation to put on this Odu when it show up during a reading? We don’t; that’s what makes Dafa so interesting. It depends on the accompanying Odu and the sense you have about the person for whom you are casting. It depends on your intuition at the moment. It depends on the inspiration granted by Ela.

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So much energy is spent harboring such powerful energy, that the only person impacted by its negative results is you.

Often times we take on a reality which is not who we are. A facade; if you will, is the most destructive persona we can assume. We put ourselves in a state of “being” which does not resonate with who we truly are. It is no wonder that the powerful Oya energy would come to our rescue.

Oyas’ presence may not seem like a rescuing act, but think about it. If we continue to present a persona we are not, eventually you will lose yourself in that illusion, and all you can do to save the illusion is to continue to lie about who, and what you are. Eventually Oya will shake the false foundation you have created and leave you barren for the world to “see” your true identity.

You are beautiful just the way you are!

All you have to do is find your true exterior beauty, and form a truthful mental image of yourself, just as you where meant to be. If you find this a difficult task, then visit your Babalawo, and undertake this quest.

Resentment is like one ounce of poison you take when you fail to accept your participation.

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