An Ifa World Perspective Book Preview
According to Ifá, ori has four distinct arenas of perception; we think about our internal experience (identify emotions), we acknowledge our relationship with other people and things (evaluate levels of trust and empathy), we examine the past (access memory) and we envision the future (activate imagination).
The four modes of consciousness can be symbolized by a circle sectioned into four equal quadrants. In the literature on comparative religion this symbolic representation of inner experience is called a mandala. In Ifá the mandala of consciousness is symbolized by the circular divination tray. The quartered circle is a universal symbol of the self that appears in virtually every religious tradition throughout history. It is found in the sand paintings of Hopi shamans, the healing circles of Tibetan Buddhist, the temple art of Islam, the stained glass windows of Gothic Cathedrals and the markings on the Ifá divination tray.
In the course of a day the mind flips through the quadrants quickly as a method of processing information. When we encounter new experience, we examine how it feels, we remember similar feelings, and we consider how the experience impacts our relationships and we imagine the effect the experience will have on future events.
Ifá says Orisirisi eda lowo le lale yato fun eda tojade lowure meaning at sundown a different person enters the house than the one who left in the morning. The idea of being on a spiritual path suggests that a person is making use of specific techniques to facilitate the integration of new information and new experience. Employing the symbolic language of the mandala, we are widening the circumference of the circle by expanding the calabash of personal experience.
In Ifá many of the techniques used to train the ori are taught in the form of codes of behavior passed from one generation to the next as cultural expectations and through participation in rituals that reveal the mystery of transcendent symbols. Ifá has no monasteries and no universities; the Ifá School of learning is the extended family where everyone takes on the responsibility of being a mentor and teacher to younger generations.
When casting the oracle, Ifá diviners invoke the four quadrants of the mandala that appear on the divination tray by saying Iba se ila orun, iba se iwo orun, iba se ariwa, iba se guusu. The east (ila orun) is located on the top of the tray in the realm of the Spirits of air. The west (iwo orun) is located at the bottom of the tray in the realm of the Spirits of the earth. The north (ariwa) is located on the left side of the tray in the realm of the Spirits of fire. The south (guusu) is located on the right side of the tray in the realm of Spirits of water. Some literature on this subject shows the north on the top of the tray based on the ethnocentric notion that African divination trays use the same orientation as AAA maps. In my experience those references are inaccurate.
In psychological terms, air is associated with breathing and our experience of self; earth is associated with survival and our relationships with others; fire is associated with transformation and our ability to vision the future, and water is associated with am biotic fluid and our memories of the past. The four components of the ori are like spokes on a wheel linking the consciousness of the person to similar patterns of consciousness outside direct experience. This means ori has access to transcendent realms of perception called Orun in Ifá and often referred to as the collective unconscious in transpersonal schools of psychology.
Ifá divination directs the diviner towards one of the 256 verses of Ifá oral scripture. The verse identifies the clients most compelling and immediate spiritual lesson. Once the lesson has been identified the diviner may give the client two symbolic objects (stone and shell) used to determine the orientation of the divination. This process is believed to be direct communication with the client’s ori. It is used to determine either if the client will easily assimilate and integrate the four components of ori, learn the lesson and receive the blessing that comes with expanded consciousness, or if the client is in resistance to the lesson leading to potentially self-defeating behavior. Ifá says; Awon ti won segun ota, ko sohun ti yio fa iberu ota meaning those who conquer the enemy within have nothing to fear from the enemy without. Ifá divination is rooted in the idea of conquering the enemy within.
The smooth assimilation of the lesson from divination is called ire. The word for resistance to the lesson from divination is ibi. In Yoruba the word ibi means after-birth. Holding on to the placenta after delivery is fatal. The use of the word ibi in the context of divination suggests the person is holding on to thought forms (dogma) that are resistant to the lesson at hand (ire). I would describe ibi as opposition to embracing an open-ended worldview. Ibi is the solidification of dogma. Solidification occurs because letting go of strongly held beliefs is experienced as loss of self. It literally feels like a threat to your physical existence. More accurately it is a spiritual death that lays the foundation for rebirth and continued growth. The death of the old self is frightening and seldom comes without struggle or resistance.
Ifá says Iberu ie fa iku ara tabi ti emi meaning fear is the parent of premature death. Resistance to change requires full time effort. If you focus all of your attention on ignoring your lessons, there is no time for living in the moment. Failure to live in the moment is extremely dangerous. Learning Ifá is a process of embracing modes of behavior that facilitate the smooth transition of ibi into ire. Anticipating the inevitable emergence of a new self from the death of the old self makes change less fearful.
If ibi is transformed into ire it tends to become solidified in one of the four quadrants of the Ifá mandala. Someone who is afraid of the future will remain stuck in the past. The most common example is the adult who refuses to grow up, wanting the lack of responsibilities associated with childhood to continue throughout life. Someone who is avoiding dealing with developmental problems will constantly run in search of a better future. I see this manifest when people say my life would get better if only I could win the lottery. Someone who is fearful of being successful in the world can mask the fear by focusing all their attention on spiritual matters. They do this in an effort to justify failure in practical matters by saying success is unimportant. Someone who is obsessed with success could be avoiding dealing with moral and ethical considerations that are part of spiritual development. The avoidance is often rooted in low self-esteem. This leads to the false notion that the problem can be fixed by external forms of gratification.
Divination uses ebo to break the bonds of ibi or solidified dogma. Ebo includes offerings, healings, cleansings, rituals and initiations as ways of freeing the ori from self-imposed restrictions. Ifá describes this process by saying; mo‘bo Orisa meaning I make an offering to spirit. If the person is in alignment with their higher self and free from the shackles of dogma Ifá says, mo sin Olodumare meaning I serve God.
Staying stuck in ibi literally deifies the problem. Instead of worshipping Source, we worship whatever it takes to stay stuck. Christians call this idolatry. As an issue of survival we devote all our conscious effort to creating a world that supports our distorted vision of reality by surrounding ourselves with peers who share our limited worldview.
If anyone from the circle of support deviates from the norm, they become the scapegoat, someone who is falsely accused of being responsible for the problems of the group. If the scapegoat refuses to submit to the will of the group they are shunned, banned, avoided and demonized. In the process we claim to follow the guidance of Spirit and imagine that Spirit wants us to behave in childish ways. We claim to follow the guidance of Spirit and believe we can control the future. We claim to follow the guidance of Spirit and ignore our financial responsibilities while pretending to be religious devotees. We claim to follow the guidance of Spirit by becoming workaholics justifying the obsession for the sake of the family. Mo sin Olodumare means serving God by being appropriate in the moment. Being appropriate in the moment can only happen if we see the world unencumbered by delusions generated by dogma. When any group attacks a member who is not a threat, the group sows the seeds of its own self-destruction. A healthy community embraces diversity of opinions. If you want to understand Ifá as a worldview, never demonize anyone, replace criticism with empathy, replace moral judgment with ebo, replace anger with understanding and replace self-pity with the courage to change.
The fear of change is rooted in a fear of loss of self only when self-perception is rooted in dogma. Discard the self-limiting ideas and the fear disappears. Theologians define dogma as a strongly asserted metaphysical principle. Dogma is commonly associated with religious indoctrination. From a psychological perspective, most individuals create dogma during their developmental years when their interpretation of life experience is falsely elevated to an inflexible personalized view of the Laws of Nature. For example a child grows up in a family where the predominate interaction with their parents involves the threat of punishment and physical abuse. The inherent need to be nurtured comes in conflict with the reality of pain and suffering. Rather than admit to not being loved, the child decides that love is expressed through violence. Growing up the child will associate with other children who share the same worldview. It is often easier to look for external support of a dogmatic principle than it is too deal with the painful truth at the core of a conflict. As an adult that same child might seek a religious community that sanctions severe corporal punishment of children. The dogmatic worldview gets reinforced by an extended community and is solidified as God’s Will while being passed down to another generation.
I refer to the process as deifying an internal conflict. Nazi’s believed genocide was God’s Will. There was a time when Catholics believed burning witches was God’s Will. There are Christians today who believe killing abortion clinic doctors is God’s Will. There are Ifá priests who believe God hates homosexuals and that women are inferior to men. Every American President who has declared war does so with God’s endorsement. Anytime you claim another human being is unworthy of being a part of your community you are invoking what you believe to be God’s Will. The only way you can convince yourself you are a prophet is to surround yourself with people who also think they know the Will of God. At this point your personal ibi becomes communal ibi. Communal ibi makes the job of personal transformation more difficult. Encouraging communal ibi is the tactic of colonialism better known as divide and conquer.
Once an unresolved problem is arrogantly elevated to a dogmatic principle there is no impetus for resolution. If I believe God wants me to be a racist I have no reason to examine racists behavior. If I believe God made men superior to women, I have no reason to examine my sexism. If I believe God condemns homosexuals, I have no reason to examine my homophobia. Once we invoke God’s Will life becomes very simple. The problem is the ori knows we are embracing a lie. The more the lie becomes manifest in the world, the more likely ori will send Esu O’dara on a mission to shake the ibi loose and continue the process of growth.
Unresolved conflict leads to tension and anger. When there is no impetus to resolve the problem the ori looks for an alternative means to discharge the frustration and anger. At times this will manifest as passive aggression, the attempt to control the behavior of others by pretending to be victim. To repress the pain of unresolved conflict a person might deaden their senses by turning to alcohol or drugs. If the person is fortunate, they might encounter a mentor. Someone who grew up with a similar worldview, who was able to break the shackles of their self-imposed dogma, might reveal how to embrace a more balanced and holistic interpretation of their experience.
An example that is all too prevalent is the child who is raised to believe sexuality is “evil”. The inability to reconcile dogma with a natural desire can cause a person to obsess on making sure others do not enjoy what has been denied to them. The person might avoid the internal contradiction by becoming self-righteous. They might feel the need to monitor pornography in an effort to protect others from temptation. If the conflict continues they might feel the need to join the clergy to protect their community from “sin”. At some point the power of the contradiction will undermine intention and the person may well become caught in a compromising situation. If the person feels powerless to deal with the internal conflict they will tend to act out their frustration against those who are helpless. At this point in the avoidance scenario they may even convince themselves that pedophilia is an expression of God’s Love.
Ifá divination is a tool designed to identify self-destructive tendencies before others in the community are damaged. Divination cannot work if Ifá is merely perceived as fixing a problem by magically manifesting a desired result without taking into consideration the need for personal transformation. I am not saying that magical expressions of will power do not work on a short-term basis. Nevertheless it is important to recognize that it is ultimately self-defeating.
When I was growing up, in the sixties, the Twilight Zone and Star Trek were popular morality plays. In some ways they were the American equivalent of the stories associated with Odu Ifá. Imagine you are on the starship Enterprise. You encounter a Klingon for the first time. His name is Dank. You look directly at Dank not knowing that in Klingon culture looking directly at someone is considered rude. Dank is offended by your gesture and becomes belligerent. A fight breaks out; you get a broken nose. You process that experience by assuming all Klingon’s are bullies. Sometime later you meet a Klingon named Gar. You are defensive, your body language signals the message you are prepared to defend yourself, and you get a second broken nose. Your dogma is now becoming solidified. Later on you become stranded in space with no food or water. A Klingon bird of prey comes to your rescue. You refuse the aid because you are convinced it is a trap. In the language of Ifá, ibi is creating more ibi eventually leading to premature death rather than a blessing of long life. You remain stranded never once looking at the consequences of holding on to a worldview that is rooted in a mistake that was originally of your own making.
The negative consequences of holding on to a solidified worldview are described in the story about the two faces of Esu O’dara. Two farmers who grew up together were best of friends. When they passed the age of puberty they both went for divination. Ifá said they must live on adjacent farms because their abundance would depend on mutual cooperation. Ifá said it was Esu O’dara who would teach them the mystery of abundance. Ifá said they needed to make regular offerings to Esi O’dara to make sure their friendship was not broken.
The two young men could not imagine being separated, they could not imagine being enemies, and they could not imagine living to old age in poverty. There was no need to appease the spirit of Esu O’dara. One day Esu O’dara came to the farm of the two young men. Their land was separated by a narrow path. Esu O’dara walked down the path with one side of his face painted white and one side of his face painted red.
When Esu O’dara passed one of the young men said, “Did you see that strange fellow with the white face?”
The other responded, “No he had a red face.”
The two men got into an argument that led to a fight that ended their friendship. One of the tools used to break the bonds of ibi is humility. From an Ifá perspective humility is the ability to consider another point of view and to make no assumptions about that point of view until it can be tested through direct experience. In other words test advice before rejecting it. This requires patience and a cool head. Ifá says Ibinu ko se ohunkohun iwa susu ni ohun gobgbo meaning anger accomplished nothing; patience is the crown of achievement. Those who posses patience posses all things.
Another of the tools used by Ifá to avoid creating dogma comes from the holy Odu, Osa’Tura:
Iba se Osa Tura. S’otito s’ododo, s’otito o si tun s’ododo, eni s’otiti ni Imale yoo gbe o.
Speak the truth tell the facts, speak the truth tell the facts. Those who speak the truth are those whom the Spirits will help.
In order to facilitate the daily assimilation of new information and new experience, let us look at just one component of this verse of Ifá scripture, the word s’otito. A loose translation of the word would be to only state the facts. In the words of psychology, make an objective evaluation of a new event that requires analysis. Stating the facts means make absolutely no assumptions about anything.
There is an Ifá story about Ogun that clearly expresses the value of s’otito. In the olden days Ogun served as the village executioner. One day a messenger of the Oba brought Ogun a man who was accused of steeling the Oba’s dog. Ogun told the messenger he would only execute someone for telling a lie. The messenger said the accused denied committing the crime and saw him do it. Ogun cut off the head of the messenger, freed the prisoner and said, “I was the one who stole the dog.”
If we examine the fable about the encounter with the Klingons we can create a hypothetical example of how being objective works. The meeting with Dank ended in violence, the assumption was that all Klingons are rude and aggressive. The only way this could be verified is if you personally knew every Klingon. An objective analysis would be to say Dank was rude and violent without extending the parameters of your conclusion beyond direct experience. Assuming that all Klingons are violent gives the problem no place to go and provides no basis for resolution. Limiting the analysis to what is objectively know opens the door to a wide range of questions that hold the potential for fixing the problem. Did Dank have a bad day? Did I remind him of someone he doesn’t like? Did he have a violent encounter with another officer from Star Fleet? Did I unknowingly do something to offend him? By remaining open to a number of interpretations and by not becoming locked into self-generated dogma the door remains open to gain a better understanding of Dank the person, a better understanding of Klingon culture and in this instance a better understanding of personal insensitivity. Exploring these options means it will be less likely that the meeting with Gar will start from a defensive posture. On the day the Klingon ship comes to your rescue you will be able to make an objective evaluation about whether or not to accept the assistance.
Ifá culture trains the younger generation in s’otito through the use of a strict taboo against gossip. There are always two sides to every story and when someone is complaining about a perceived injustice there is a tendency to describe the event in self-serving terms. Gossip is designed to get peer support for a dogmatic point of view. In Ifá culture gossip is considered pointless because it carries no possibility of resolution of a problem. In my experience an Ifá elder will only listen to a complaint when both parties are present. If there is no immediate resolution between the parties, the matter is taken to the oracle for guidance from Spirit. Once a problem has been fixed through divination it is taboo to re-visit the issue. Participation in this process is part of the training for becoming an elder. Ifá says; Ika ti ika ka, ko le yamju oro meaning the person who harms others, when they have been harmed, is unable to settle a dispute.
In Ode Remo the Oba meaning eldest father or village chief holds court in the mornings for resolving disputes. Anyone with a problem can ask the Oba and the elders of Ogboni to settle the conflict. If the other party is not present, the Oba will send one of his emese (messengers) to retrieve the other person. Nothing is settled without both parties in attendance. Those who are in dispute direct all their comments to the Oba who seeks the council of his advisors and then makes a final judgment. In many ways it is similar to a court of law. On a smaller scale the same process is used to settle problems within an extended family. All serious conflicts are resolved openly with both parties and witnesses in attendance. During the process, the participants are admonished to say only what they know, a traditional Yoruba version of the no hearsay rule followed in Western courts of law.
Removing assumptions from self-analysis is at the foundation of the Ifá concept of self-transformation. Such rigorous self-examination is an essential process for those who aspire to learn divination. To take one example, the verses of Odu Ifá make frequent reference to the possibility of good fortune coming from a significant stranger. Using our hypothetic example, if the diviner has a bias against Klingons, the Star Fleet explorer who comes for divination will not be told to welcome the rescuer from a Klingon bird of prey.
There is an aspect of ibi that periodically showed up during divination that took me some time to fully understand. It involved the appearance of elenini meaning disruptive elemental spirits. At first it was not clear to me what exactly was meant by elemental spirit. Over time I developed a theory based on experience and observation. It may or may not be true and is impossible to prove because it involves a particular theory about the structure of reality. The theory helps me dispel elenini so at the very least it is a good working hypothesis.
I believe there is a thin veil of invisible light on the boundary between dimensions of reality. This light can be understood as pure unformed consciousness. The light can be easily molded by human thought. As a result of this interaction there is a global neither world of phantoms shaped by human suffering and despair. In Ifá when this light is accessed in its pure form it manifests as a beam of light coming from the earth and moving towards the sky. This light is called Ela from the elision e ala meaning I am the light. It is the light of Ela that guides the prayers of an awo when they are in an altered state of consciousness meaning connected with iponri which is the higher self.
If a person is avoiding transforming ibi they will look for someone else to blame for their problems. If there is no one to blame they will create an imaginary demon that they can claim is responsible for the disruption in their life. If the need to create a demon is strong enough the thought form will take shape and the monster will materialize in the physical world giving apparent confirmation the problem is external and not internal.
The current psychological literature on demonic possession has gathered convincing data that shows childhood victims of trauma create the phenomena as a form of protection. If you are being attacked by an adult the best defense is to seek the aid of a monster. Behind every Satanic possession is a wounded child.
In Ifá this phenomena is called elenini. Real Spirits always respond to the power of the word. If you tell Egun or Orisa to leave, they leave. Elenini does not respond to the power of the word. The more you try to dispel it in a ritual context the stronger it gets. If a ritual exorcism is effective, the old elenini is replaced by a new manifestation far more powerful than the original.
The only way to destroy elenin is starve it to death. By this I mean you have to slowly work away at the internal conflicts that feed the spirit.
The only person who can destroy an elenini is the person who created it. This won’t happen until the person is ready to accept responsibility for the real problem. If you try and banish an elenini in a ritual context the person who created it will view the ritual as a threat to their identity, they will resist the process by attacking you. There is no easy solution to this problem. My best recommendation is to refer the person with the elenini to a mentor, someone who has effectively transformed the real issue. The ebo or ritual cleansing ends up looking more like a twelve-step program than an offering to spirit.
It is my hope that as our communities gain more insight into this particular issue; we can share information on effective resolution. Far too often I see the manifestation of elemental spirits given inappropriate credibility by the extended family and this is extremely disruptive because it can infect an entire community making everyone distracted by the problems of one person. The pattern becomes especially dramatic if messages from the elenini are given the same weight as messages from spirit.
The whole concept of the extended family as mystery school is based on the concept of mentoring. If you are teaching someone who is younger than you the idea is that you have gone through whatever experience the student is struggling with, as a result you can give them the benefit of your life lessons. In simple terms anything you have fixed in your own life can be used as medicine for someone else. Ifá says; W’otun w’osi l’owo fi m’mo saka meaning the right hand cannot wash itself without support from the left hand.
The idea of mentoring informs the way traditional Yoruba’s greet one another. It is considered rude and inappropriate for a younger person to ask an older person how they are doing, or how they are feeling. The reason for this is because in the Ifá mystery school a younger person does not offer opinions or give guidance to an elder. Based on the admonitions of s’otitio, asking a person how they are doing carries the expectation of an honest answer. If the older person has a problem the younger person simply is not old enough or wise enough to offer an appropriate solution based on life experience. If you can’t assist in fixing something there is no point in discussing it.
In Ifá culture it is not acceptable for a younger person to tell an older person what to do by claiming the message came from spirit. A message from spirit directed towards a particular person would be taken to the person’s elder for evaluation before being delivered to the intended recipient.
One day I was walking through Ode Remo in the middle of the afternoon. It was very hot. I noticed that everyone but me was inside, in the shade, keeping cool. I decided it was time to return to the Araba’s house. On the way home I got sick. A grandfather came out of his house and asked me how I felt. I told him I had an upset stomach. He went back into his house and I continued walking. When I reached the place where I was staying there was a box of stomach medicine on the front porch. The grandfather asked me how I was feeling because he was in a position to fix the problem. How that medicine got to the house before I did, I will never know.
Exercise
Sit in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Examine two new experiences that occurred in the course of the same day. Analyze your reaction in each of the four modes of thought and write them down.
• Perception of self
• Perception of self in relationship
• Perception of similar past experience
• Perception of possible implications for the future
Under each reaction list your assumptions. Now review the event and look at your reaction to it minus any assumptions. Keep your list of assumptions on your shrine or white table. Begin to notice how similar assumptions continue to reappear in situation after situation. Take you list of assumptions and burn them in front of your shrine or white table. Take the ashes to the trash. Tell yourself you are discarding all beliefs and assumptions that do not serve you well. Turn around and walk away without looking back. Do this every night eleven nights in a row. This may seem like a simple process, but when a discarded assumption rears its head you will remember the walk to the trash bin and let it go. That is the way the mind works and the reason why Ifá makes use of ritual to transform personal problems. Ritual is an effective tool for reminding the ori a decision has been made. If simply telling yourself to change were effective there would be no need to study any spiritual discipline.
If an assumption remains persistent stand in front of your Ogun pot holding one of his spikes at chest level. Promise Ogun you will stop making a particular assumption when the spike hits the floor, then drop the spike. In Ifá an oath to Ogun is considered an absolute taboo. If you do not have an Ogun take the oath standing at a railroad crossing.
Get to the point where you are able to go through this process in the moment. Being objective is the first step in a series of steps that will transform the way you perceive yourself and experience the world. None of the other steps will work unless this step is firmly internalized and becomes second nature.
Ritual
The tension caused by unresolved internal conflict creates negative ase in our body and around our heads. Negative thoughts have physical substance in the world and linger around us like dead skin. Ifá has a complex system for cleaning away the negative effects of ibi or dogma. A simple head cleaning involves saying an oriki while moving the fingers of your left hand from the middle of your forehead across the top of the head down the neck the flicking the negativity away from your body. The word oriki literally means to praise the spirit or praise the head. It is the Yoruba word used to described prayers used in Ifá to invoke spirit. I recommend this oriki be used as a part of the Morning Prayer cycle. I recommend memorization so it can be used during the day whenever unresolved internal issues threaten to cause disruption.
Orí san mi. Orí san mi. Orí san igede. Orí san igede. Orí otan san mi ki nni owo lowo. Orí otan san mi ki nbimo le mio. Orí oto san mi ki nni aya. Orí oto san mi ki nkole mole. Orí san mi o. Orí san mi o. Orí san mi o. Oloma ajiki, ìwá ni mope. Ase.
Inner Spirit guide me. Inner Spirit guide me. Inner Spirit support me. Inner Spirit support me. Inner Spirit support my abundance. Inner Spirit support my future children. Inner Spirit support my relationship. Inner Spirit protect my house. Inner Spirit guide me. Inner Spirit guide me. Inner Spirit guide me. Protector of Children, my inner character is thankful. May it be so.
Make a commitment to yourself in front of either your Ogun shrine or a railroad crossing. Promise Ogun you will not engage in gossip, at all ever. Instead decide to deal directly with any person who causes you upset. Make the commitment for one month then objectively consider whether or not the direct approach is more effective.
Learn Oriki Ori
Orí san mi. Orí san mi. Orí san igede. Orí san igede.
Inner Spirit guide me. Inner Spirit guide me. Inner Spirit support me. Inner Spirit support me.
Orí otan san mi ki nni owo lowo. Orí otan san mi ki nbimo le mio.
Inner Spirit supports my abundance. Inner Spirit supports my future children.
Orí oto san mi ki nni aya. Orí oto san mi ki nkole mole.
Inner Spirit supports my relationship. Inner Spirit protects my house.
Orí san mi o. Orí san mi o. Orí san mi o. Oloma ajiki, ìwá ni mope. Ase.
Inner Spirit guides me. Inner Spirit guides me. Inner Spirit guides me. Protector of Children, my inner character is thankful. May it be so.
Click the link to purchase: Ori The Ifá Concept of Consciousness
Ire,
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