Disclosure: What follows is my own highly opinionated, intensely felt, not necessarily correct, and perhaps at times alienating view of Odu, and what they mean.

The Osi-Opon is found in the western quadrant of the Opon-Ifa. This represents the world, as it exist outside your immediate surroundings – friends, extended family, neighbors, associates, business colleagues, etc. The Osi-Opon is the “Not-I” in the aforementioned “I/Not-I” equation. Being the opposite of Otun-Opon, the Osi-Opon represents death, completion, and the place of transformations.

The water element and the setting of the sun represent this quadrant, heralding the closure of the physical and cosmic day. Emotions are also found within this section of the Opon. Kinetic energy returns to its source to be transformed into potential energy once again. It is through the gateway of Osi-Opon that this return takes place. Physicality gives way to death. The final transition is made. The area from the sternum to the pelvis region falls under the auspices of the Osi-Opon.

This quadrant deals with the invisible world and governs those things that are obscured from view. The Osi-Opon is represented by the sacred Odu Oyeku. Read the rest of this entry

Disclosure: What follows is my own highly opinionated, intensely felt, not necessarily correct, and perhaps at times alienating view of Odu, and what they mean.

The northern quadrant, the Ori-Opon, represents the Heavens – the home of the Ancestors and Orisa. This is the spirit world and is represented by the air element. It is from the Ori Opon that the blessings of the gods stream forth. This quadrant marks the spiritual genesis of any physical or spiritual manifestation. This is the realm of potential energy waiting to spring into action. It is the world of infinite possibility. In terms of the human anatomy the Ori-Opon represents the head and the faculties of the mind. The sacred Odu Iwori represents the Ori-Opon.

As I suggested in the article about Ese-Opon Odus, we each have certain Odus with which we are particularly attuned. Anyone who denies that this is the case is not being honest. If we were all in such perfect balance that we related equally well to every quadrant grouping of Odus in the Opon, we would have no reason to be on Earth. We are here because we have work to do, and the work, as suggested by Ifa as well as most other esoteric systems, is to get ourselves into balance. Of the quadrant grouping of Odus which I am particularly attuned, the Ori-Opon Odu comes second, which may seem downright perverse. The Ori-Opon Odu are very difficult Odus. This is a not a quadrant of the Opon where people have a good time. However; we learn some of our most valuable lessons through our pain; comfort carries a tendency towards inertia. Most of us committed to personal growth are in sympathy with these Odus even if we don’t like it very much. Read the rest of this entry

Exploring the Opon Ifa

The Opon Ifa is the great divining tray used in Ifa divination and is also used in the preparation of sacred medicines. Opons vary in size and decoration, but are generally carved from wood and are decorated with the sacred symbols of the Ifa cosmology. A characteristic symbol of the Opon is the Head of Esu that decorates the top quadrant of the tray. Some trays have one, two or even four Esu faces carved around their rim. The border of the tray is usually carved with anthropomorphic figures, each with a special purpose and meaning. The Babalawo makes use of the Opon Ifa when performing divination with the I kin. Read the rest of this entry

Disclosure: What follows is my own highly opinionated, intensely felt, not necessarily correct, and perhaps at times alienating view of Odu, and what they mean.

In the eastern quadrant one finds the Otun-Opon. This is the region that governs the world of the Self – the diviner, their home, immediate family and intimate surroundings.

The Otun-Opon is the “I” of the “I/Not-I” equation. This is the region of life whose symbol is the element of fire. The seed that was sown in the Ese-Opon springs forth in the Otun-Opon. It is further represented by the rising sun and signals the beginning, marking the dawn or a new realm of the Otun-Opon that the kinetic energy moves within the individual’s private world.

Anatomically this region relates to the portion of the body from the neck to the sternum, located at the base of the rib cage. This region also deals with the visible realm and those forces that are in plain view. The sacred Odu Ogbe represents the Otun-Opon. Read the rest of this entry

Disclosure: What follows is my own highly opinionated, intensely felt, not necessarily correct, and perhaps at times alienating view of Odu, and what they mean.

The group of Odus located in the Opon-Ifa cardinal point called Ese-Opon is found in the southern quadrant of the Opon and deal with the element earth and things incarnate and material: health, money, career, sensuality, work, home, cars, maintenance, clothes – anything observable by other people as opposed to anything that is going on within ourselves.

The Ese-Opon is the place of day-to-day events as they manifest in the life of the individual. Further, this quadrant represents the flow of energy in one’s life. This is the realm where potential energy transforms into kinetic energy, marking spirit’s descent into matter. The feet represent the Ese-Opon in terms of the human anatomy, and further denote the physical body and the biological process of fertilization and gestation. It is within this quadrant that the seed is sown into the fertile soil of the Earth. It is also the realm of rebirth and reincarnation and is represented by the sacred Odu Odi. Read the rest of this entry

Disclosure: What follows is my own highly opinionated, intensely felt, not necessarily correct, and perhaps at times alienating view of Odu, and what they mean.

In order to give you a relative foundation from which you can draw your own parallels I will break down the Odus in a fashion which will allow me to assigned elemental dignities to each of them in groups of four.

To begin with I shall consider each Odu in relation to the Opon-Ifa. Furthermore, I will positioned each set of four Odus in a cardinal point within the Opon-Ifa. The cardinal points are named Otun-Opon (East), Osi-Opon (West), Ori-Opon (North), and Ese-Opon (South). Read the rest of this entry