Homage To The One Who Sends and to those who are sent! Homage to Orisa and Egun!
Ifokanbale Omo Orisa! Peace of Mind from Olodumare Children of Orisa!
Alafia Omo Orisa!
Ire ati Ayo!
Good Tidings and Joyfulness!
If our foresight was perfect we would have no need for Faith, life could not offer us a challenge, and we could not grow! Olodumare has challenged everything and has also provided a way for everything to succeed. For the plants, animals, insects, the earth, sun, moon, and stars Olodumare’s command is for them to act according to their nature, the nature in which they were created. You and I are also given the same command but our nature is more dynamic, more complex than the nature of other things. We are not separate from them but we are different in that we can make choices that no other thing can make. Because of the complexity of the human drama, Olodumare gave us a Path to follow that can assist us in avoiding, evading, deflecting, and blocking unanticipated or undesired events and circumstances. That Path is Ifa! Ifa is by no means the only Path but it is the one to which this website is devoted. Lets consider 16 Truths of Ifa.
(1) There is a single God!
There are many who draw a sharp dichotomy between the so-called Monotheistic (believing in One God) and Polytheistic (believing in many Gods) religions. In Ifa, as in other indigenous belief systems, there is a Single Supreme God. This Supreme God then orchestrates creation through forces, agency, and agents. There is no real distinction to be made here. Both Monotheistic and Polytheistic religions believe in an Omnipotent Sentient Being who works through forces, agency, and agents. The indigenous belief systems tend to acknowledge and interact more with these forces, agencies, and agents through formal and informal rituals and ceremonies.
(2) There is no Devil!
Although Ifa exposes and addresses all of the frailties of humans it does not proclaim us to be born sinners or born in sin (Original Sin). Quite the opposite! The History and Corpus of Ifa make it clear the humans can be grand beings with the potential to ascend into ascendant beings. We are not created to be victims of God’s wrath! ! Ifa acknowledges the existence of negative forces in Creation but none of these forces or entities exercises the power of gods beside the Supreme God, Olodumare. We are created to fulfill the legacy of creation, to choose to overcome the forgetfulness brought on by the dynamics of the L’oja (marketplace), and to live in harmony with the agency and agents of Olodumare. We are Divine Spiritual Beings having a physical experience according to the Will and Intention of Olodumare.
(3) There is no Predestination!
Except for the day you were born, the family of your birth, and the day you are supposed to die, there is no single event in your life that cannot be forecast and, when necessary, changed. That means your fate in this life is dependent on your choices. Ifa Divination points out to you what those choices are in any given situation. Our common Destiny is to live so that Olodumare can experience the fullness of the Realm of Infinite Possibility. Our Fate is the consequence of our individual choices. We each live the consequences of our choices. Our Ori (Spiritual Head) is our guide to assist us in making good choices on our journey in this world.
(4) It is your birthright to be happy, successful, and fulfilled!
There is the potential for good and the potential for bad in the L’oja. Ifa provides the navigational system to fulfill your birthright and achieve happiness, success, and fulfillment in this life. Ifa says, Ohun Ori wa se, koma ni s alai se eo! What Ori comes to fulfill, it cannot but fulfill it! You and I are born to be successful in fulfilling our chosen Destinies.
(5) You should grow and obtain wisdom during the process!
Creation and the life that we share are full of mysteries and layers upon layers of spiritual wisdom and temporal knowledge that embrace and reinforce each other. We are not here to waste time in foolish things. That does not mean that we should not take time out to have fun. We should! But we should also keep uppermost in our mind that knowledge is power and is necessary to manage a world.
Orisa Orunmila (Ifa), the Keeper of the Secrets of Existence knows the nature and timing of future events.
(6) We are reborn through our blood relatives!
This is the reason you must pursue knowledge while on your journey. Accumulated knowledge can travel back with you each time you return. Imagine that you could give birth to your great-great-grandfather as he returns into the world carrying the wisdom of all of his rebirths (much of it to be forgotten in the birthing process). And imagine that one day in the future one of your descendants will give birth to you as you too make your return journey. This notion helps to understand why some children seem to be so wise for their age and we often use the expression that they are an ‘old soul’!
(7) Heaven is Home, the Earth is the marketplace!
Ifa says, Aye L’oja, Orun N’ile! The World is the Marketplace, The Spirit World is Home! Our journey is cyclical between interconnected realities. We move from Home to the world and return Home again before returning to this world. We choose to come!
(8) We are part of the Universe (Multi-verse) in a literal, not figurative way!
In the beginning there was nothing but the Ase, the Black Material of the Darkness from which all things come. It first manifested sentience and the Ase became self-aware, Olodumare. From this beginning all things have come into existence according to a plan. That plan and the laws that govern it is essentially the same for all things – interconnectedness, interrelatedness, and interdependent.
We’ll discuss the next eight Truths next month!
Reference: The Way of the Orisa – Empowering Your Life Through the Ancient African Religion of Ifa, Philip John Neimark aka Fagbamila, Oluwo of Ifa, Harper-SanFrancisco, ISBN: 0-06-250557-2
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Ki Olodumare, Orisa, ati Egun fifun e ni Itona, Imoye, ati Opo Ire!
My Olodumare, Orisa, and Ancestors bestow on you Guidance, Wisdom, and Abundant Blessings!
