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Spiritual growth is a journey. To begin the journey there is a need for an opening. The opening is the door that appears when the dogma you hold is shattered by an experience that challenges your preconceived notions about self and world. The door appears as a result of the universal presence of the Divine Messenger, meaning all interaction contains a potential message from Spirit. The message from the Divine Messenger as the trickster is always the same. The trickster brings the message there is more to life than you can imagine. This message can be extremely disruptive and confusing. To work our way out of confusion and back to integration and clarity we call on Osoosi to give us a vision of how to assimilate the message from Esu in a way that will give great depth and clarity to our understanding of self and World. Once the door is open and you see where the path is leading Ifa says invoke Ogun to clear away the obstacles. This is why Esu, Osoosi, and Ogun are grouped together as Ebora. Their interaction is the fundamental Ifa paradigm for growth. This paradigm is rooted in the structure of Ori and Ori is protected by Osun the source of the symbolic map of consciousness through which the Ebora travel.
The relationship of the Ebora is frequently misunderstood outside of traditional Yoruba culture. There is in the West a common misconception that the Ebora have a function to hurt people who upset you. This is a spiritual tit for tat based on the notion that the person with the most powerful Ebora wins. It is a childish notion of spiritual warrior usually rooted in deep insecurities and fostered by a uniformed media that thoughtlessly associates African spirituality with the idea of hexing people. In addition to being childish and silly it has no basis in traditional Ifa metaphysics. It is true that we can be affected by negative thoughts but only if we allow those thought to generate fear.
If you read the traditional religious literature of Africa closely you will discover there is a very ancient, wide spread, cross cultural reverence for the Spirit of Iron. In Yoruba, this Spirit is called Ogun, north of Nigeria you will sometimes find the Spirit of Iron called Ogun, and other similar sounding spiritual names. Throughout West Africa there is a tradition of making the profession of blacksmith a sacred vocation. This tradition is a logical development of the time when humans were dependent on hunting for survival. Ogun created tools and the tools lead to farming and farming leads to the stability of cities and the development of culture. There are indications these trade skills represent a cross cultural interaction stretching between the Middle East through Africa and across the ocean to South America. I am referring to interaction that predates the voyages made by Christopher Columbus. The clearest example is the Olmec culture of what is now Mexico. The sculptures of this culture in Mexico show indications it was based on cooperation between Phoenicians and West Africans.
The word Ogun is difficult to translate into English, but we have some indication from the word oogun. The letter O in Yoruba is used to indicate owner, or one who possess something. The letter O is also used to suggest that someone or some Spiritual Force has mastered a particular form of wisdom. The word oogun means medicine. So in a sense the word for medicine is owner of ogun. I am using the word medicine to mean both physical and spiritual transformation. If we can look at medicine as something that attacks illness, or as something that restores vitality, believe it is a reasonable translation. In a sense you have Ogun as the suffix of oogun, suggesting it is the source of vitality or the source of aliveness. In my opinion this gives us an indication that Ogun is a linguistic reference to the will to survive. It could also suggest survival of that which asserts its own will to make a place for itself in the world. English does not have a single word expressing this idea clearly, but is a commonly understood concept in Ifa associated with the Spirit of Ogun.
There is also an element of aggression implied in the word Ogun. In Nature there is competition for the available resources. To become successful in the survival process, vitality and assertiveness are required. The relationship between antelope and lions on the savannah sets us a dynamic in which the lions make sure only the strongest antelope survive. This is Nature’s way of guiding evolution in the direction of vitality. If we take this idea and see how it relates to the concept of medicine we can get some sense of the origin of the word in metaphysical principles. It suggests that development of consciousness as a way of improving our ability to adapt to our environment.
Unfortunately the notion of survival of the fittest has been used historically to justify racist ideas. In particular it has been used to rule the world. Vitality is a part of the human condition, but it does not define the human condition. Vitality coupled with empathy, compassion and a sense of community is what ultimately creates a foundation for spiritual growth. The notion of controlling others based on the creation of weapons to use as a threat is an idea rooted in greed and the mentality of scarcity. If you believe the world has limited resources than the use of violence to insure survival might make some sense. Ifa teaches the idea that we live in an abundant universe and that living in alignment with Nature can insure survival without the need to resort to violence.
We do have in the theological concept of Ogun the idea of survival through assertive and aggressive action directed towards maintaining survival. The idea is not the ruling principle of social organization in traditional Yoruba culture. In the Ifa creation Myth, the world is described as originally being ruled by Ogun and goes on to say this era of civilization was a failure. To put the idea in contemporary language we are talking about male testosterone. It is what I would call the dynamic, assertive aggressive, expansive quality in Nature itself which is expressed by the Spirit of Ogun. This is an observable Force in Nature that only becomes destructive when it is out of balance with the nurturing, contractive qualities associated with female structure. This is why patriarchy does not work. When Ifa came to the diaspora the influence of patriarchal religions smothered the original African idea of gender equality.
When Ifa speaks about Ogun it is often in reference to blacksmiths and tool makers. This is a limited perspective because it suggests a person figured out how to make use of iron technology and now we are deifying that person. If we limit our perception in this way we are missing the primal manifestation of Ogun as a force of Nature. I call Ogun the spirit of Iron because it is the common translation of the word and because Ogun is the Spirit who is honored by the tool makers but he is not limited to the methodology of tool making.
I believe the historical genesis of the human relationship to Ogun may have emerged out of the tradition of men as hunters and women as time keepers. This is a separation of gender roles likely established for practical reasons. Women on their cycle leave a scent easily picked up by animals and making it difficult for women to effectively hunt at certain times of the month. At the same time the cycle becomes a built in clock. These two social functions became separated by gender as a matter of practical convenience. The point is there is no indication in this separation of functions that men are better than women. There is simply an indication of aptitude making certain tasks easier to accomplish.
We get another indication about the genesis of our understanding of Ogun by looking at the symbolism used to represent Ogun. In Ogun’s pot we have an iron cauldron with three legs, wrapped with a chain and filled with spikes. There is usually a knife and maybe some tools in the pot. We can look at the pot and ask what do these things represent? With the pot itself we have the symbolism of the womb, and we also have the idea of three legs. Three is the symbolic number of Onile or Mother Earth. Ifa says that whenever two Awo (diviners) meet three are always present, the third being the Earth Herself. Three symbolizes the relationship to the Earth; this gives us the symbol of the womb supported by the symbol for the Earth a clear indication of the relationship between masculine dynamics and famine form.
The pot is surrounded by the chain. In Ifa the chain is used as a symbol for the link between Heaven and Earth, a link that is sustained by the genetic chain of DNA. There is a piece of red cloth around the pot which is filled with iron spikes. There is some scientific indication the rust on the iron deposits at the bottom of the ocean created bacteria which became the source of the first single cell life forms on Earth. This would be the beginning of evolution and the basis for Ogun’s praise name Oguntobi meaning Ogun is the Father of all. The seed of life in the womb of the ocean is now symbolized by the iron spikes in the iron cauldron of Ogun. In the pot iron spikes or tools symbolize sperm in the womb. The female component of Ogun is frequently diminished in the West. What is used to consecrate the Ogun pot is irosun. Irosun is red powder from the camwood tree. In Yoruba the word irosun is sometimes used to refer to menstrual blood from the elision ire osun meaning good fortune comes from the guardian of the head which I would interpret to mean genetic inheritance from our ancestors. If you are putting red camwood powder on the Ogun pot you are symbolizing the primal procreative drive for survival.
Historically the urge for survival led to the development of hunting, and to the development of marking time. The value of marking time was the ability to anticipate a shift in the seasons and to develop adequate protection for winter eventually leading to the ability to plant crops. We are talking about the primal motivational forces in the development of human consciousness leading to the development of civilization.
In the Ifa Creation Myth, Ogun’s initial effort to create civilization fails due to an excess of aggression. Civilization is saved through the efforts of Orunmila who teaches Ogun the principles of good character. I believe this is a historical memory of the fact that unchecked procreative, aggressive behavior is not the optimal principle for social organization. We have the idea of ethical judgments tempering the pure unbridled aggressive nature of Ogun as a Spiritual force in Creation. The story about Orunmila’s relationship with Ogun does not mean that Ogun is “evil”, it does not make Ogun “bad”, it does not make Ogun “the devil”, it does not make Ogun a “blood thirsty warrior”. It does make Ogun part of the bigger picture, in which the issue of balance becomes important. Every aspect of the wheel must play is part fully. To emphasis one spoke of the wheel over another is to create dogma and dogma is never true.
When Ogun’s power or ase is needed, it needs to be fully expressed in its essence to find its proper place in the world. One of the ways this is done in traditional Yoruba communities is to allow the elders of Ogun to make life force offerings. In many Yoruba communities there is room for specialization. You can have a ceremony for Oya (the Spirit of the Wind) and when it comes time to make an offering of a goat, and initiate of Ogun can be called in to make the cut. After that he might leave the ceremony. I am speaking about what is commonly called “animal sacrifice”. The word “sacrifice” is a Christian term; the word in Yoruba is Ebo. Sacrifice does not translate to ebo. Ifa does not sacrifice animals because that suggests the animal is killed and discarded. The Ifa concept of ebo is to provide a feast for the family or the community. When you live in an environment that depends on domesticated animals for food, the slaughtering of an animal is always a sacred act, just as hunting was a sacred act when communities depended on hunting for survival.
In traditional Yoruba communities, Ogun initiates slaughter domestic animals, and hunt those wild animals that are part of the diet. They sometimes specialize, so not every Ogun initiate necessarily does both. All Ogun initiates are trained in the spiritual discipline of preparing sanctified food, meaning food that is blessed during the preparation and consumption.
When you go through a rite of passage, or a personal transformation, it is the Ifa belief that the more people pray on your behalf, the more likely it will be that your prayers will be heard by Spirit. In order to get a lot of people to support your spiritual elevation you feed them. On the day you announce you have made a commitment to move from being a child to an adult, you feed the community. After the feast no one in the community will allow you to get away with childish behavior. When someone does something foolish elders will say we slaughtered a goat to announce the day you became an adult, honor your commitment to that celebration. This was not a sacrifice it is a part of normal cycle of feeding the community.
Why would you provide a feast in a ceremonial way? This is based on the idea of reaffirming our covenant with Creation. When a priest of Ogun slaughters a goat, he precedes the gesture by saying may the Spirit of this goat reincarnate as a goat to feed my family in the future. You are acknowledging the interconnected relationship between all things in Nature. It is not about the blood. The blood is the seal to the covenant. There is a mistaken motion in the Diaspora that the more blood you use, the more power you raise. In Africa they return the blood to the Earth. When the blood is placed in the Earth it has regenerative value like fertilizer. They take a feather and dip the feather into the blood and touch the plod to the shire being fed. Quantity is not a factor. There are variations on this process, the point is food is being prepared for the community, the blood is incidental. The act of re-affirming our covenant with the Spirit only requires a small amount of blood. It is the sincerity of the ritual act that carries the power and not the quantity of blood.
There is another aspect of a life force offering essential to understanding the awo or mystery of Ogun. Based on the Ifa belief in reincarnation, animals pass into the realm of the ancestors. We pray directly to the animals so our prayers may be taken by the animals into Orun or the invisible realm. Ifa teaches the idea everything in the World has consciousness and Spirit can communicate with all things. Ifa also embraces the idea of psychometry. If I touch your shoes I can tell where you have been during the day. Your prayer against the head of the animal transfers that message to both Spirit and to those who share in the meal. It is the process of giving our prayers physical substance in the community and in the realm of the ancestors.
When you make the offering you are dealing with the power of Ajala the Yoruba word for warrior. The word Ajala is an elision of aja ala, meaning the dog of light. In Ifa a dog is a messenger to Spirit like the Nimbus in Egyptian culture, it is not a derogatory reference. When you day you are a dog of white light, you are saying you are a messenger of ethical conduct. In the act of making ebo or offerings you become Ajala. You become the vehicle in which ethical conduct is incarnated. Light in Ifa is associated with the idea that everything is connected. To experience light in its primal manifestation is to have a mystical experience that allows you to feel your connection with all things. This experience comes into being in the Odu Otura meji. There is no Ajala without the manifestation of Otura meji. Ala is a symbolic reference to the mystical vision. Aja is a symbolic reference to the ability to remain connected to spirit to reinforce your original mystic vision with information relevant to the moment.
The Ifa concept of Ajala includes the component of mystic vision and the Ifa concept of Ogun includes the component of s’otito s’odido, meaning state the facts and tell the truth. In the folk lore associated with Ogun there is a story about Ogun working as an executioner for an Oba or king. Someone has stolen one of the Oba’s goats and the Oba’s messenger has accused a specific suspect who the messenger claims he saw take the goat. The messenger brings the suspect to the palace for execution. When the messenger arrives with the suspect, Ogun decapitates the messenger saying it is taboo to lie. Ogun says “I know the suspect is innocent because I stole the goat.” The mystery of Ogun becomes finding a place that will open a portal for truth. In Ifa unconditional love or Ife is the only truth, all else is illusion or ibi. This is not the Ultimate truth of God’s will; it is the relative truth of how to live effectively in the world.
Within Ori we find a place to balance between the head and the heart. Balance gives us a sense of self and World. It is Esu who disrupts our sence of complacency given us a vision of self and world beyond our immediate perception. The disruption of Esu thows us into a world of fear, confusion, panic and dread. Through the invocation of Osoosi our higher self can guide us to a vision of the path that will lead us out of darkness and into light. When the speps we need to take are clear it is Ogun who gives us the will power and determination to actually walk the path. Ifa teaches when you invoke Ogun you are asking to transform that which obstructs your growth. These obstructions always originate in ourselves as ideas that do not accurately reflect the World around us. Ogun clears away inner obstacles that lead to the transformation of the external environment. In simple terms we are the masters of our fate.
Odu Ifa does speak of the dangers of Ogun unleashing his ase or spiritual power without the tempering balance of female spirit. At times people grouped together in community are confronted with the need to defend themselves. The Odu Osa Ogunda speaks of a time when it is necessary to go to war. This is symbolically referred to as the time when the water buffalo stirs up dust. The water buffalo is sacred to Oya the Spirit of the Wind who is considered the guardian of the forest. To say the water buffalo is stirring up dust is to say the stability of the rain forest is threatened. In traditional Yoruba culture a threat to the rain forest is understood as a threat to survival. Oya in turn opens the door to the realm of the ancestors who have the insight and vision to fix that which is being threatened. The first step in the process is saying Ogun cannot go to war without the guidance of Oya to protect the village from extinction. In the verse Osa Ogunda Oya is described as a shape shifter meaning she has a spiritual power associated with the women of Iyaami Osoranga. This is the power of astral travel and the ability to use astral travel as a weapon to torment those who threaten the stability of the culture.
Approximately two hundred years ago there was a huge reaction to slavery in Nigeria initiated by the women of Iyaami Osoranga. This moral outrage led to skirmishes with the British and the eventual end of slavery in Yoruba culture. This moral outrage was formalized into the ancestral ritual called Gelede. The purpose of gelede is to appease the anger of the mothers by holding an annual ritual where the social concerns of the mothers are directly addressed.
In traditional Yoruba culture warfare is an integrated operation coordinating the physical warriers skills of the men who are initiated into the martial arts associated with Ogun and the women are initiated in the martial arts associated with the powers of the ancestral mothers. Ogun’s martial art is called Aki meaning courage and those who are skilled in the martial arts are called Akin meaning brave men. The martial arts of the ancestral mothers are associated with Aje meaning power of the word. The Odu Osa Ogunda says that Ogun recognizes the shape shifting abilities of Oya and asks her to be his wife. Together they become a potent force for protecting the village. In other words traditional Yoruba warfare is physical combat supported by prayer.
Ifa understands the inner mysteries of warfare and understands that the ase or spiritual power used to effectively fight a war is not easily turned off. If the energy is not grounded following a battle, the ase runs the risk of becoming self-destructive. The Odu Ogunda Ose speaks of the taboo against hurting other, offending others, and punishing others. All of which are considered different from defending the community from attack. It is the role of Osun the Spirit of Fresh Water to remind Ogun of this distinction. She does this by using the medicine of honey to sweeten his soul after the trauma of war. Osun is the source of abundance, erotic elure and the promise of a good life. It is Osun who Ogun turns to when it is necessary to dispel the testosterone necessary for being an effective warrior.
Ultimately the purpose of Ogun’s ase is to clear away any and all obstacles leading to rebirth as expressed in the Odu Ogunda Odi. In this verse Ogun is promised a safe journey, meaning the removal of obstacles will result in the manifestation of a completely transformed ori or the emergence of a new self-identity with expanded parameter of grasping self and world. Odi is the Odu that incarnates Yemoja, from the elision yeye mi oja, meaning the Mother of Fishes. This is the Ifa spirit of the Nuturing Mother who gives us a sense of completion and grace when we have completed the difficult journey of self-elevation and transformation.
Classic studies of mythology described this as the hero discovering the boon of treasure in the wilderness. In simple terms this means any problem I fix in my life become potential medicine for someone else. In traditional Yoruba culture everyone older than you is your mentor and everyone younger is your potential protégé. We learn from experience and experience gives us the voice of authority to teach others. The Hero’s Journey is support of the Ifa proverb that says. “If your life gets better my life gets better.”
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