Obi Divination – The Mouthpiece of the Orichas

“Ago Obi, Ago Obi, Ago Obi”

Prayers begin for Obi, the Yoruba religion’s binary divination system for eliciting “Yes” and “No” answers to questions at various levels of intensity and meaning. Crucial to all African religious concepts under the main heading of Ifa and its various levels of dilution under the categories of Lukumi and Santeria, this system is a methodology of the ways in which Nigerian kola nuts (Obi Abata), meat of fresh coconut (give the coconut) and four cowrie shells speak to us and are considered the ‘spokespersons’ of the Orichas. The Orichas, as they are collectively known, are nature gods and goddesses of African origin who govern various places and elements in the world and are considered “guardian angels” of each and every one of those who inhabit the Earth. Each and every one of us is considered to have the “Ache” or “spirit” of that particular Deity and it is within the patakis, or stories of the Orichas’ interactions with each other and with the world, that the lesson is given. or the message is delivered. .

Obi’s spirit, once mortal on earth, ascended to Oricha once the good deeds were done, he fell from Grace because of the Ego. Upon descending to Earth, Obi’s spirit incarnated the coconut palm tree. Although Obi cannot speak with the use of his tongue, he communicates through the white (“clean”) or brown (“dark”) side of the coconut meat. If cowrie shells are used, it is the side that has been filed open to indicate “Yes” (“clean”) and the closed side with grooves indicating a “No” (“dark”) side of the response pattern that fell during the interrogation .

After libations and ritual prayers, Obi divination with coconut is used by some to answer questions during a divination reading in the presence of the client. Obi also clears up confusion regarding the cards’ message when used with cowrie shells in a tarot card reading for a client. Clients can ask Obi a question and the consultant or spiritual worker can also be asked to ask when the card layers on themselves are not associated with the clients dilemma. Obi divination is not to be taken lightly and is considered a tool to help humanity seek clarity in decision making, regardless of whether you are fully initiated into the religion or not. There are 5 intensity levels for Obi; two affirmative or positive answers to different degrees, two negative or “no” answers, and a “maybe” answer that needs a second question to extract a less ambiguous answer.

The five different shell patterns that will drop during a question session are as follows:

“Alafia” – “Yes with blessings!” – This is the most affirmative answer, but because you may be too eager in your delivery, you need to have a second cast to confirm and secure the answer. The second drop of the snails must be another answer “Alafia” or “Ejife” or “Etagua” to be taken as a “Yes” answer.

“Ejife” – “Yes” (but without emphasis) – This affirmative answer is interpreted as “Yes, and your World is balanced”, which means that what you have proposed or achieved (or are about to achieve) contributes give and take balance. , yes/no, or contradictory struggles of the World to stay in harmony.

“Etagua” (or “Etawa”) – “Maybe” – This answer comes up when the question needs clarification (phrasing it in such a way that you can get a “Yes” or “No” answer to begin with) or Oricha is reflecting on the whole situation and you need a second question that has been ‘modified’ in order to answer. When Etagua appears, the second response from the second snail toss is the true response. If another “Etagua” (Etagua-Meji) falls after the first, the meaning is “do not ask what you already know”.

“Okana” – means that darkness surrounds the client and a positive result cannot be obtained, perhaps without additional spiritual work. One open shell and three closed ones indicate focusing the small beam of light in the dark.

“Oyekun” – The most serious “No” answer, as it speaks of the client not being in touch with their spirituality and walking in the dark. This is a terrible warning; portends unforeseen troubles, accidents, fires, and even portends death. Additional questions must be asked on behalf of the clients to determine why Oyekun has come. Water should be sprayed on Oyekun and if it appears more than once, the shells should be placed in water to ‘cool’ the response.

After the complete reading of the tarot cards, the client is given the opportunity to ask questions that were not addressed in the reading of the cards. These may be for more clarity on the original shell release or other unrelated questions about business relationships and strategies. Once we start getting multiple “Etaguas” to questions in an obvious pattern, this is an indication that the question line should end as the customer is asking questions to obvious answers in front of your face.

While it’s not always an immediate answer, Obi gives a glimpse of things to come. It’s no mystery that clients who return for a follow-up reading three months later will exclaim, “The shells were right! I just didn’t see (the situation) unfold before me!” and other affirmations that indicate that the revelations of Truth that Obi gives come true. For me, as well as for more than 70 million devotees of this indigenous African religion, we know that Obi does not lie.