Such that I could lean on you
As Nettles do lean on wild grasses
We should learn to lean on each other
Commentary: Owonrin brings the internal chaos and confusion that leads to personal growth. Ifa teaches that the ori that creates a problem is never the ori that fixes a problem which is why Ifa extended family stresses the importance of elders. An elder who has fixed a problem in their life has the medicine to fix that problem form the next generation. This process is called spiritual guidance.
Cast divination for Siejide;
That would take to commerce as a means of
Livelihood.
Commentary: the Odu is addressing the issue of clearing away confusion in order to be effective in the process of creating abundance.
Siejide; was however the daughter of the king of Òyó
She specialized in marketing
She had traded and traded
She could not record good sales
She then added two cowries to three
And went to Òrúnmìlà
Commentary: The client here has resources and opportunity but is not using them effectively. Adding two cowries to three means the client realized she had a spiritual problem related to her work in an ineffective business so she saved her money and went to the diviner for guidance.
She called on the priests Owon Owo laa na wo; mini
The priests Owon Owo la; na wo pesun
The priests Nto ba won laa pe niyan
That the three of them should cast divination, using
Ìbò for her
Commentary: the client is consulting three diviners stressing the value of solving an internal problem with the assistance of elders.
Siejide, they called her attention
You have traded and traded, you have no sales is
your reason for consulting Ifá
‘Offer sacrifice’, they advised
‘You will record sales in your trade.
Siejide then performed the sacrifice
She finished observing the sacrifice and started
having riches
Commentary: when the verses of Odu Ifa refer to making sacrifice, they are not necessarily referring to the offering. In this instance the sacrifice is letting go of the ineffective behavior.
She was dancing and rejoicing
She was praising her Babaláwos
Her Babaláwos were praising Ifá
She said it was as her Babaláwos had said
Lean on me
Such that I could lean on you
As nettles do lean on wild grasses
We should lean on each other
Cast divination for Siejide
That would take to commerce as a means of
livelihood
The one that was also the princess of the king of Òyó
Sacrifices is the way out, they had prescribed
Therefore come and buy of the articles of the king’s
child
You should all crowd together to buy the scarce
commodity
Come and buy of the commodities of the child of the king.
Commentary: These lines are the oriki ire, they re-confirm the idea that the client has the resources to create abundance but was not using them effectively. In a metaphysical sense Owonrin is the source of the confusion that leads to elevation. The reason we experience confusion in the process of elevation is because embracing good fortune involves letting go of old habits that do not serve us well. This process is literally the death of the old self and in the human condition the death of the old self frequently meets with opposition. That is why we have a community of elders who reinforce positive change in our life.
As a topographical metaphor chaos is part of the structure of the universe. Science teaches us that when something appears to be in a state of chaos, we can see order in the chaos if we get a new perspective and view the chaos from a distance. Chaos is simply a state of change and change inevitably leads to resolution. By viewing chaos from a distance we can anticipate and guide the chaos into a new state of organized complexity.
Ire
Awo Falokun Fatunmbi
