akin101:

ha pastor some people know me here o
I wanted to ask a queston about the ifa odu's
are they real as in can it foretell the kind of life a man/woman will live
what they mean to an individual
what are the do's and donts that come with each one
i might be jumping the gun here but can someone tell me more about the following odu's
irete meji and Ogbe alara also called Ogbe  itura and Ofun Meji

Ogbaragada cast Ifa for Odu when he was going to create all the differnt characters in the world. He was advised to sacrifice: Four pillars, one big calabash (with cover) and a chain. He heeded the advice and made the sacrifice. He was assured that no one would query his action, Therefore he should pitch the four pillars together on the gorund and place the calabash on them and to tie his hand to the poles with the chain. He did so and subsequently created all kinds of characters and was since then known as Oduduwa.

DU OFUN MEJI AS COSMIC CALABASH
Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 7:31am
The sixteenth major odu [Ofun Meji,an orgasinational category and active agent in the Ifa system of knowledge and divination],container of all mysteries,the complete calabsh of Oduduwa as formulated in the language of ifa,is all but inaccessible-placed out of the way and out of ordinary thought processes.What was lost at the "time" of Ose Meji must be regained,but how?The redemptive process might said to begin with the final episode in the saga of witches :Oshe Oyeku.
Odu,the female principle imagined as a container,the fourth elemental being to siiue forth from the python's egg,having grown too "old",expresses her desire to go underground.Seated on her mysterious cylinder box,she calls her four advisors-Obatala,Babaluaye,Ogun,and Oduduwa (an active emanation of her self )-and gets them to agree to her departure by promising revelations to those of their children who come to solicit,to adore her properly in her house in the forest.

This house has become the ceremonial apare-box containing a calsbh (her body),which contains in turn (or is surrounded by )the four calabashes given to her on that occasion by the four advisors.Obatala gives a calabash of chalk,Babaluaye offers his favorite substance,osun (red powder),Ogun-charcoal powder,and Ododuwa-mud.These gifts imply four roads,four corners of the universe.They are the original four major signs.From one of them will be born another forest principle,as once Odu from the pythons egg.Ofun,the calabash of chalk (efun) who gives (fun)himself,produces Obatala,the white divinity as Orisan-nla,greater than,the beginning and the end,first and last,the container of them all.The egg within becomes the womb,passivity becomes creativity personified.Surely this is part of the meaning of the orisha Obatala as Ofun.

Igadu (igba, "calabash",and Odu )becomes an orisha,the divinty worshipped by diviners who have attained the highest degree of self knowledge-that is,the profoundest understanding of Ifa.Only such diviners may install the terribly powerful calabash of existence,once closed never to be reopened except under horrific circumstances, "symbol of the sky and earth in their fecund union,container of the supreme wisdom of Ifa, [the installation of which validates ]an esoteric principle of universal symbiosis".

Judith Gleason,A Recitation of Ifa: Oracle of the Yoruba (New York:Grossman,1973)188-191.

Pastor AIO:

However, apart from the use as a divinatory tool, I find the odu and their contents very deeply philosophical and they present an amazing cosmology that is second to none. 
There are various dos and don'ts for each odu.  They have their various ewoo (taboo).  They have their various herbs, and their various objects or foodstuffs for sacrifice.  I can write a post later on describing the process of divination and how the babalawo arrives at a diagnosis and decides when moves to  make in order to ascertain Ire (good fortune) and block Ibi (bad fortune). 
I sometimes find that I can read situations and the dynamics around someone and thereby make predictions without requiring any divination instruments. 

Aje:

From what I have learned thus far, Aje is passed down from mother to daugther. Aje is a feminine/contractive energy. Aje is a force that is naturally connected to the female prinicple. It has the power to create or destroy so that re-birth is possible and balance is restored. All women carry the power for creation and destruction through the womb. There is also power of the word. The ability to use ones Aje to create reality for the person using the word as well as those around them, Aje is both a spiritual power as well as the humans who exercises that power.

Ohter points, I would like to state in regard to feminine ecessence and or principle are as follows:

Broken down, we will find that our creator is also a feminine principle and or force.

OLO= Spirit
Odu= Womb
(Osu)mare= Rainbow Serpant

Olodumare means Spirit of the womb of the rainbow serpant,



Then we have Onile, which literally means "Mother Earth",
Do you women see where I am heading ? The very foundation of our existence evolved from a feminine principle.

AJE-IYAMI

Aje is a women society with a spiritual force that is thought to be inherent in African women. Aje societies members are so powerful that they are feared and revered. AJE/ IYAMI is women spiritual life force, ashe, which can be creative or destructive. 'The mothers' IYA L'AJE control fertility, life, prosperity and the death. They have the capacity to destroy individuals or entire communities, that is why spiritually empowered humans are called Aje.
.



AJA/IYAMI members are astrally-inclined human beings who enforce earthly and cosmic laws, and they keep society balanced by ensuring that human beings follow those laws or are punished for their transgressions. These women, honored as "our mothers" (iya wa), "my mother" (iya mi), and the elders of the night, are recognized as the owners and controllers of everything on Earth. Aje's power comes from the fact that it is considered the origin of all earthly existence.

Gelede is an annual festival honouring “our mothers” (awon iya wa), not so much for their motherhood, but as female elders. It takes place in the dry season (March-May) among the Yoruba people of south-west Nigeria and neighbouring southeast Benin.
The mask (or headdress, since it does not cover the face) is one of a pair worn together by men masquerading as women to amuse, please and placate the mothers who are considered very powerful, and may use their powers for good or destructive witchcraft purposes.
The Gelede ceremony involves carefully choreographed dance, singing and music, especially drumming. Dozens of masquerading pairs may take part. The daytime festival is held in the marketplace, and is preceded the night before by an Efe ceremony at which male masks are used by ‘jesters’ who make satirical performances including social comment.
Gelede probably originated in the late 18th or early 19th century. It may be associated with the change from a matriarchal to a patriarchal society, but then one might expect it to have older beginnings.
The Gelede ceremony may also take place at the funerals of cult members or in times of drought or other serious situations which are thought to have been brought about by malevolent witchcraft.

And Yoruba religion DID NOT COME FROM EGYPT.  It is bad scholarship to say so.  It is not in Ifa, it is not in Obatala literature, and the linguistic and archeological evidence does not support it.  Maybe some people want to think that their religion came from the lighter skinned Egyptians because they built pyramids and had writing.  But its not true, and whatever we as religous people say, MUST BE TRUE so that the irunmole will bless us.

Heeepa Orisa Oooooo

InesQor:

@Pastor AIO: Can Ifa divinations also be made using a good random number generator? If not, why not?

R4Jesus:

i also come against every spirit of bondage right now in the name of Jesus. Every generational curse i bind you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I declare right now in the name of Jesus that you hold no power. Every lying spirit that has held families in bondage and lies i break it right now in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I declare right now that their powers will come to nothing.

The Divination Process

When a client goes to a babalawo for consultation he sits on the floor before the babalawo and first the babalawo invokes Ifa:

Ela ro wa, Ela ro wa, Ela ro wa
Ela flow down x3
Orunmila ro wa, Orunmila ro wa, Orunmila ro wa
Orunmila flow down x3
bi o ba r'oko ki o de, bi o ba r'odo ki or bo
If you're at the farm come, if you're by the river come.
Very good invocation to start.

There are two possible tools for divination.  Either the Ikin themselves, or the Opele.
Ikin are the palm nuts that represent Ifa.
http://bilingual.sulekha.com/mstore/bilingual/albums/default/ikinholder.jpg

The Opele is the divining chain which is an easier and quicker way to divine. 
http://www.spiritualtools.org/images/coconut-opele-main-size.jpg

The purpose of ifa divination is to come into communication with Ori.  The client takes the opele from the babalawo and meditates on his problems then touches the opele to his head.

The babalawo invokes the 4 directions plus the center.
Iwaju opon ifa
The front of Ifa's tray
ehin opon ifa
The back of Ifa's tray
Olomun otun
Olomun on the right
Olokanran osi
Olokanran on the left
Arin opon ifa ode orun
Center of Ifa's tray the city of heaven

Then the chain is cast.  According to how the chain falls it will mark out an Odu.  The shells of the chain, of which there are 8, can fall either face down, or face up.  One way is male the other is female.  So all the combinations are possible.
The Odu that first comes up is the main odu of the consultation.  However each odu is very deep and extensive in meaning so the babalawo has to narrow things down so that they will be more pertinent to the client.

The odu are arranged in order of seniority starting from Ogbe first down to Ofun the sixteenth and last.  This order becomes important for asking questions that require a yes or no answer.

The first question asked is whether or not the main odu that was first cast came with Ire or with Ibi.  That is whether it comes with Good fortune or with negative energy.  The opele is cast twice.  If the first cast is senior to the second cast then the answer is yes. If the second cast is senior to the first then the answer is no. Babalawo never pronounce Ibi on the client so they ask, Ifa is Ire or Ayewo that you see? What about the other 240 odu? So it is arranged fron Eji Ogbe to Ofun Ose. That process of asking yes or no, is called dibo. There are two types, the one that a babalawo uses when he is casting ifa for himself and when he is casting for the client. The one you described is when he is casting for himself. The babalawo will give the client some pieces called Ibo(They are bone, cowrie, sea shell, teeth, isin fruit, stone etc). These ibo have symbolic meanings to help narrow down what ifa is saying as well as to determine the type of ire or ayewo. So the client holds the ibo in his closed hands. Because he is covering the ibo, he is Adibo.

For example, imagine that the main odu is Oyeku Meji and now the babalawo wants to ascertain whether Oyeku came with Ire or not.  He casts twice more.  If the order of the subsequent casts is Irosun[b]Meji[/b] and then Ose[b]Meji[/b], well Irosun is senior to Ose so he says that it is Ire.This is if he was casting for himself. For the client, before he asked the Ire or Not Ire, he would give the client two pieces of Ibo to hold. Each one symbolically representing yes and no.(Example cowrie for yes and bone for no.) After the client takes one in each hand. The baba would then ask the Ire or Not Ire question. Using our example here. The first cast is Irosun Meji then Ose Meji. Since Irosun meji is senior to Ose Meji, baba will ask the client to open his Left hand. The piece of Ibo in his hand will tell the baba if it is Yes or No. If his left hand has the Cowrie then its Ire or Yes but if it has the bone, then the answer is Not Ire or No. However if Ose is cast first and then Irosun then he says that it is Ibi.Same process just its the clients right hand that will be chosen. As a rule, right of the diviner is the left of adibo and vice versa. The principle of Dibo is that the client can never accuse the diviner of falsifying the message because he can never see which ibo you have in what hand. It is your Ori that tells Ifa which hand. And Ifa tells the diviner via the opele or ikin.

Now Imagine that the result is Oyeku which has come with Ire.  There is still a considerable amount of content in Oyeku coming with Ire so the babalawo will want to narrow things down a lot more.  Oyeku is a sign that promises a considerable amount of wealth but it also carries the possibility of death and illness.
There are various Ire and various Ibi.

Ire Aiku - Ire of Longevity
Ire Aje - Ire of wealth of which there are two, Aje tutu and Aje gbigbona, cool money and hot money
Ire Aya - Ire of finding a wife
Ire omo - Ire of childbirth
Ire isegun - Ire of victory in battle
etc etc etc

So the babalawo goes through the various Ire ascertaining yes or no for each one.  Imagine now that the readings say that Oyeku meji has come with Ire Aje tutu, what next?

All the while that the opele is being cast the babalawo is chanting verses from Oyeku meji and also greeting certain odu that are cast along the way of the process.  As he narrows things down he also picks on the more relevant verses.  So as we are talking about Oyeku meji he will chant verses that pertain to Ire aje.I cannot defnitely say this is the rule. From all my teachers and when I have seen them divine. Verses are not chanted until they are narrowed down as explained above. Alot of what is said is not only greeting odus that come during the ibo investigation, but they recite a line or two from a verse for the various odu that come to refresh their memory
There is a story in Oyeku meji of how Orunmila journeyed to earth from heaven in the company of other deities.  He had gone for divination prior to making the journey and was adviced to make certain ebo and to not stop on account of anything not even the most torrential rainfall. 
As he journeyed in the company of the other deities, true enough it began to rain heavily.  Rainfall and water is a constant theme in Oyeku, as well as darkness/cloudiness.  This is the Odu that brought rain into the world. 
As the weather kept getting worse the various other deities took shelter along the way, but only Orunmila kept on.  The Rain beat him terribly and it was a serious ordeal but he kept on.  At at last he got to earth and he was the only deity there.  He met two women there.  One was called Oja (market) and the other was called Aje (wealth).  They said that they were looking for husband.  Since Orunmila was the only guy around he did not waste time but promptly married both of them.  By the time the rainfall subsided and the other deities arrived Orunmila was already living comfortably with trade and wealth. 

The babalawo can use this precedent and advice his client on what ebo to make (ie that which orunmila made in the above case).  And he'll also advice his client that he will go through certain ordeals but he should not seek respite but keep trudging on.  His problems may also be emotional and psychological rather than physical.  But at the end of it will be the success of great wealth.

Other questions that the babalawo will ask using the opele is whether an ebo should be done and which orisha should be propitiated.  In the case of Oyeku Meji it is quite likely that Olokun will accept something.  Olokun rules the sea and oyeku has so much to do with water.  If not olokun then one of the water deities like Oshun or yemoja. 

This in brief is how most Ifa consultation processes go

AwoOnifade:

As I said I dislike typing a lot so If baba Pastor doesn't mind too much I will just append his post.

Baba Pastor I am not correcting you just offering a different perspective. I acknowledge your knowledge of Ifa is far greater than mine. I hope I can Learn more from you.

Deep Sight:

_{Alanitiogo. . .Awoonifade. . .what else, Paster?}

Gamine:

I'm so interested in this now, I would like to get more information.
I've come across some in relation to what I was researching but very limited.
and some talked about not letting out 'secrets of the shrine'

0 Ogbe     - light - birth of Orunmila (wisdom)
15 Oyeku    - dark - Oludumare's Earthly creations
9 Iwori    - ask diviner for advice
6 Edi      - watch out for obstacles
12 Irosun   - crouch and wait and plan
3 Owonrin  - weather storms
14 Obara    - cooperate (each hand washes the other)
7 Okanran  - follow plans
8 Ogunda   - Ogun - use technology wisely
1 Osa      - overcome fear
13 Ika      - you reap what you sow
11 Oturopon - raise children well
2 Otura    - govern wisely
4 Irete    - if you refuse to sacrifice something,
              you may lose it anyway
10 Ose      - truth protects good and destroys evil
5 Ofun     - Oludumare creates Earth, the 16 Odu,
              the Orishas, and humans