Do you have a battle plan to counterattack the strategies the enemy uses to keep you defeated? If you’ve ever served in the military, you know that no military unit would ever dream of going to war without a battle plan. What is a battle plan? It’s a strategy to exploit your enemies’ weaknesses and maximize your strengths so you can win. If you’re not in the military, perhaps you’ve never thought you needed a battle plan—but you do because you have spiritual enemies who can and will wage war against you.
The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy, having influenced military strategies for centuries. The author, Sun Tzu, says, “He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them.”
Orunmila created Ebo to solve the problems of human beings. People on earth use Ebo not only to solve problems but to alleviate suffering. After the Bbo is made a Babalawo will consult Ifa to ensure that it is carried to the proper place. Ebo will then invite Esu who will then take the Ebo to heaven where it will be accepted. In this way, it is not only the prayers that are answered but problems are resolved and suffering alleviated.
In the practice of Ifá Divination is the first step to identifying a permanent solution to your problems. Ifá Divination will identify the “root cause” of your problems and prescribe an appropriate permanent solution or Ebo.
An Ebo is a sacrifice.
So, let’s start off by defining what a “Sacrifice” is.
“The giving up or foregoing of some valued thing for the sake of something of greater value or having a more pressing claim.”
Whatever one desires in this life requires the giving up of something; hence life is a process of “give and take.” The simplest form of sacrifice one can give is time. The most complex form of sacrifice one can give is choosing to make significant adjustments to your behavior and even social circle.
“The sacrifice of time is the most fundamental form of sacrifice.”
In America, we sacrifice most of our youth in school. We then sacrifice our time in daily labor to acquire finances for daily living. On a deeper level, the sacrifice of time involves patience.
Time sacrificed does not always bring about the desired result in our lives. Nor does time spent on something that supposedly guarantees you peace of mind. When these disharmonies are prevalent, we are taught to seek the spiritual realm and beg God for favors. Many of us are unaware and do not realize that the spiritual realm like the physical one requires some sort of giving in order to receive. Imagine walking into the Human Resources department at IBM and demanding a paycheck knowing that you never worked (sacrificed) a day at IBM. The Spiritual realm works the same way.
Communication with the Spirit Realm is what Ifá is all about. Sacrifice is an attempt to engage the forces of the universe so that they can work for us, resulting in peace and harmony in our environment. Within Ifa, sacrifice or Ebo, is an attempt by human beings to send a message to all these supernatural powers of the universe regarding our own human affairs. When all the supernatural powers accept our Sacrifice/Ebo, everybody is happy and committed to working for us and we can achieve peace.
