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It is the view of Ifa that all things on earth, and in our entire universe, are conscious and alive. Everything possesses its own awareness and energy. These infinite, natural energies that comprise the universe are called Orisa. Each has its own specific function and its own myriad aspects, as well as its own unique name. Modern people have likened Orisa to Gods, or anthropomorphic forces with human-like characteristics; however, this simply isn’t accurate. Orisa is energy. It is Divinity revealed through Nature. It is the energy of the forest (Ogun), of the ocean (Yemonja), of the wind (Oya); of opportunity (Esu), of love (Osun), of peace (Obatala) and of war (Sango); of everything found under, and beyond, the Sun.

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Ifa is an indigenous, earth centered African spiritual tradition which was conceptualized by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, West Africa. According to oral literature, the practice of Ifa originated as far back as eight thousand years ago. Therefore, Ifa may indeed be the oldest monotheistic religion in the world.

Ifa is balanced on three legs; Orunmila (Creator), Orisa (Nature Spirits), and the Ancestors.

The Supreme Being, Orunmila, is without gender and is not an active participant in the affairs of living humans. Orunmila is benevolent and has provided a Universe with all that is needed for humans to be fulfilled and happy. Read the rest of this entry

At Ile Ifa we have adopted a way of bringing people who wish to practice Ifa back into the tradition. Members of the Egbe (Extended Family) wishing to grow within Ifa must go through several rites of passage. These passages are as follows: Read the rest of this entry

1. Oluwo:

This is a man who has studied and practiced Ifa as a priest for many many years and has not only seen Orisa Odu but owns Orisa Odu (Olodu: owner of Odu) and works with this deity. The Oluwo is the only person who can initiate men into Ifa (Itelodu style). Itelodu is a male Ifa initiation where the men see Orisa Odu as part of their Ifa initiation. And of course, he is the only one can give someone Orisa Odu. Read the rest of this entry

According to the culture of ancient Maya, part of what scholars call Mesoamerica, astronomy predicts some major cosmic developments for December 21, 2012, including, perhaps, the end of the world as we now know it, as some people believe.

Mayan calendars are still used by a few cultures in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador and are said to be the most accurate ones in existence. They date the solar year accurately within minutes, taking account of the cycles of sun, moon, Venus, and other cosmic bodies and only have to add one “leap day” after 380,000 years. Mayan civilization was quite advanced, possessing technology that modern man is still trying to comprehend. 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 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. 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