Three times and OUT

It was a little over 25 years ago…that my wife Vassa, (known by many back then as one of the top 5 Interior Architects in the city of Chicago)…had just received her warriors.  Yes, back then it was more Santeria than Ifa…and she was learning about how to connect with her spiritual tools mostly on her own as our Padrino back then did not speak English and no one was willing to teach after the delivery of the tools.  As Vassa is so inclined…she opened herself up to experience…and got creative with learning about what was possible.  She does have a strong connection to her guardian ancestor and had a lot of guidance from that voice.  

Low and behold…within a week of getting her Ogun pot in her hands…she awakened one morning knew something was up. And as she was putting together her designer look for the day… (Which included wearing high heels and a tight Versace skirt)  

She was running a bit behind due to pull of the distraction yet she knew from the noise of it all… that there was some sort of message which was not totally clear but was definitely getting louder as she was getting closer to exiting in her car!  It was a cold icy morning and she had to use my car that day due to an issue with own car and the weather conditions.

She decided to face the message and stop “the mad dash for the door” and sit down for the first time in her life and take out each and every tool in the Ogun pot she had just gotten.  She was told that Ogun loved palm oil and she had just gotten some... so she went ahead and did her first solo ebbo.

Even though she was truly in the wrong outfit to be working with such a dangerous material for nice clothing…she was not going to shortcut one thing.  She took each and every tool out and blew her breath and began a dialog with Ogun as she polished the metal implements with her bare hands covered in red palm oil!  The experience was incredible to watch.  She went in deep. She could not even stop if she wanted to. She was in the tunnel vision mode.  I stood in awe as I watched how creative she was as she masterfully covered each and every surface.

Immediately feeling that the ritual was complete…she wiped her hands down and threw on her fur coat and off she went to the north shore job-site to meet a crew of construction workers to review the plans. Being that she was really tight on time now she did not park at the bottom of the hill where all of the other cars were lined up…she decided to drive straight up to the construction site on the top of the steep hill.  

Being that it was NOT HER CAR… she did not realize it was extremely important to put on the emergency brake!!!  She hopped out and just as she went to shake hands with the head man there…she could hear the cars’ tires crushing rocks as it was rolling backwards down the hill.  Of course she thought she could run after it and stop it somehow!  And after almost falling herself from the pointy high heels shoes collapsing under the harsh conditions which they were not designed to encounter…she stood and watched what would definitely be called…A MIRACLE!

The car, my car, was picking up speed fast and as if there was someone in the car able to see what was coming ahead to deal with…the steering wheel turned 90 degrees to bring the car away from hitting any and all cars parked in the original path it was taking.  And on top of it… the road which would normally have traffic on it was empty…no one was passing by just then.  ASHE.  The car actually moved like it was backing into a parallel parking space with great precision.  EVERY SUBCONTRACTOR on the job was standing there in TOTAL AWE. Did that Ebbo work or what! 

Some years later Vassa, then a full-fledged Iyanifa, had divined for herself (as she does every 5th day).  We always did this before heading out to the retreat.  She was going to set up for a workshop and it was time she did a “check-in” as the country roads are tight and people drive recklessly on them.  

In her reading she had Ogunda Meji as the main odu… Osa Meji on path and Ogbe Meji was in the subset of Victory.  She knew she had to discuss it with me and make double sure how to be prepared for what Ela and Orunmila had given her as knowledge to follow.  The ebbo was liquor Ogun.  Okay.  Big gulp.  Putting the puzzle pieces together she decided to take her fully loaded car and take the drive on a bit differently.  She was going to be in total quiet…and with both hands glued to the road.  (No multitasking this time!) She knew something was up and she had to be fully ready. She partnered with the knowledge received.

Prior to walking out the door she was bending over her Ogun shrine with a nice coconut rum and connecting in her creative way.  And off she went.  The drive was going really well until one block before her turn to the retreat.  This is where there is one little hill.  And about one block from reaching the hill an older Econoline Van pops over at a speed way over the limit. It was coming directly at her in her lane…and was going to crash right into her head-on.  

Because she was prepared for whatever could happen…she held tight and went off road at 55 MPH. She did not tip over with the challenging angled embankment that she faced managing…she did not lose control at all. She ended up stopping 1 ft. from the sign that says… “Welcome to Crescent City, The Bass Capital of Florida”. (That is the marker for getting to the retreat)  

As quickly as she felt relief for her own life…she could hear the crashing sounds of the van hitting the car which was immediately behind her. She ran over and saw blood gushing out of the woman driver’s mouth and the steering wheel in her chest and then saw that she had a baby in the backseat that was still alive.  She moved the baby right out before the car caught fire and called 911.  

In no time a helicopter landed right on the road to remove the Mother’s body and take her away.  Vassa handed off the baby to the police and felt she needed to set things right with the man driving the van who was sitting on the side of the road by then.  He only had a small gash and a touch of blood on his forehead… BUT wreaked of alcohol!  She went right up to his face and told him the truth. ONE WEEK LATER WE PURCHASED VASSA A BIGGER CAR!  It was a time of many emotions and a time to be grateful for having the divination and ebbo in place.

Now, the reason I am writing this story now…is that this past weekend Vassa had ceremonies scheduled at the retreat and divination was performed and ebbo’s were done prior and the findings revealed there were some obstacles to clear and strengthening of awareness to be done.

She left the retreat Saturday evening in a pouring rain to meet her Mother. Traveling once again on Hwy 17, but now in the dark.  She knew to be very aware…and to drive with a lot of caution.  She had done ebbo’s to Esu and Oko that day.

About half way to her destiny she had to quickly come to a sudden stop in the middle of the road as there were 3 cars ahead of her completely stopped first.  And in the dark rain she could see big tire marks in swerving shapes…realizing that a car had lost control… and then it looked as though there was a car turned over in the dark edges of the woods.  And then…she told me she hear a woman crying.  Can you imagine laying where no one can see you, hurting and being rained on?  Horrible!  Frightening!  

Vassa said she could not see any details, only shapes…BUT said she could “feel” everything!  She said she could feel death…and a chaotic spirit energy.  Off in the distance she could see the blue police lights approaching and more people were stopping and getting out.  She was on her way to meet her 81 year old mother for a Musical and dinner so she could not stay as her own mother was waiting for her on the side of the road in the dark rain as well.

So off she went completely shaken.  She knew something inside her was shifting.  It was very unsettling.  She did not want to upset me so she waited until the morning and we went into deep discussions of some of what could be possible and sat with the Oracle and in the divination …there was an answer to take action with.  The spirit of the dead person was trying to join her living presence…and there were times in the past where we have done ceremonies for individuals suffering for years from such an event.  

We did the rituals defined as the protocol to follow.  It was powerful.  The strategy for Vassa involved me as well.  I had to be the one to do the “heavy-lifting” and use my horsetail wand to whip it out of her and clear her energy fields partnering with my own level of strength.  It was NOT a light-weight situation.  It required the big strong connections I had built from 40+years of working connecting.  Vassa had to do egg cleansing and a big sage ritual with the ancestors.  It was big! Remember, there are no coincidences there are only unnecessary victims.  

Listen!

Love and Blessings Philip Neimark

Ogunda Meji

Well, it’s time to get back to work! And what better Odu to use than Ogunda Meji!  

As an Obatala walking with the Life Path Odu: Ogunda Bede… I have always had a certain soft spot for Ogun (plus I am married to one!) Like with all Odu… our lives are greatly influenced by them.  As we gain the knowledge and meaning with each one through personal experiences playing out in our everyday life…we will each find special value with a certain set of  them.

For the “newcomer” … It’s very important to not get consumed by the “gathering & gathering” of information process without doing the work of applying what we been bringing into our thoughts. In the case of Ogunda… it is first and foremost all about getting the work done and building with the concepts Ogunda teaches us.

With the matrix of Ogunda we can move from a frail disposition to moving with a more consist solid flow with greater confidence.  We will be able to grow the possibilities for using greater creativity in order to create successful solutions for issues at hand.  For those that are diviners… when Ogunda lands as one of or both legs of the Odu … it means to RUN THROUGH THE POSSIBILITIES IN YOUR OWN HEAD AND NOT TO THE COMPUTER FIRST!

The Ogunda Meji Odu teaches us to get out the target and get our minds in focus on the top priority and go with greater determination without shortcuts…clearing the obstacles and execute intelligently. Certainly the work ethic should be your initial consideration... and as it applies to you, you must ask… “Am I doing all I can in my current situation?”  Or am I trying to do too much? Am I being too creative and failing to keep my eye on the ball? Then you need to go through each and every one of the possibilities.

It doesn't mean you will always come up with the “right” answer on your own…but you do create an effective long-term patterning and approach to doing the work.

Love and Blessings

Oluwo Philip John Neimark - Fagbamilia

Okanran Meji

When I am introducing new initiates to the Sacred Odu, few give me more pleasure than Okanran Meji. First, it can be a great helper if, during your Orisha journey, you learn it is in the logic of the Odu, not the heavy-handed insistence on what someone else believes, that is the path to truth. Let me explain...

An expression of this Odu from the late 1800’s, “tells” us in part…that Odu Okanran Meji signifies problems, court cases, suffering and evil vibrations. And mentions that the children will be aggressive and domineering.” And…looking more into the depths of this time periods interpretation (which is still pretty much how many practice this path)…we see it was telling us that it supported a worldview, a position held dear to the adherents of Santeria/Lucumi, that women were second class citizens…and definitely forbidden to be initiated into Ifa! And whether it be intentional or otherwise, that the basic tenor of the Odu... makes it completely worthless!

NOW...What is it really telling us?

We know and teach that Ifa is a system of balance, and that can be shown by the inherent relationship between each pair...Ogbe is all light, and Oyeku, the other side of Ogbe, is all “darkness.” This relationship stays pretty much intact for all the Odu, with the exception Okanran. For, in this pair, Obara, which represents the powerful male presence (that is on the one side) SHOULD be matched with Okanran... representing a powerful feminine presence. But after the diaspora, the Cubans and others were forced into basically Catholic practices...and one of the worst of these became disempowering women! And, to be sure we listened, it was inscribed in their books as the exact opposite of the empowered female...or balancing force of Obara.

This is an example of your responsibility to utilize common sense in ALL of your Ifa work, not to repeat the mistakes of past years.

Love and Blessings

Oluwo Philip John Neimark

Obara Meji

Nowhere, more than with Obara Meji, does an Odu present its multi-faceted face. Often times with multiple meanings.

It is very easy, for the diligent practitioner, to begin to forget when he made the previous adjustments. That's correct. Some few of us, the Ifa Foundation in the forefront, are continually watching, assessing and deciding WHEN the validity of this once vibrant definition, is no longer justified...and the time for the new LIVING energy/s has occurred. This is never done capriciously. But, if it were never done on a continuing basis, I would still be dealing with how to deal with a car that starts ONLY when I crank it. Or better yet, how to figure out the appropriate ebbo for what I just cast to insure I can travel to New York in a single day!  After all, I live in Central Florida, and frankly, I just think I have no suitable ebbos for a seven thousand mile journey, by foot, horse or even a hyped up model car that could handle the trip!  The point here, and one you and most practitioners have never truly confronted, is that there is no magical way of freeze framing the past...as if it was the present!

And while you can simply apply this to the entire Ifa compendium, I shall save that for the more appropriate setting.

In the meantime, what is the largest recent change to how casting Obara in current living truth is currently accomplished?

Back a hundred to a hundred and fifty years ago, the primary meaning was to be very cautious regarding false opportunities. As Obara, and particularly Obara Meji, have come to represent the Babalawo (or Iya's) life path, it must be considered a genuine warning sign for those wishing to be initiated back in those times. Indeed, If one examine the current crop of Ifa Priests, who refuse to answer questions, who insist on a set of "rules" that either infantilize the neophyte or leave them lost in an Alice in Wonderland setting, or asked you to follow every antiquated custom - not simply those that lend a beauty and awe to what we do and the gifts we are given...well, they have certainly slid through the cracks.

In realty Obara was, as are so many Odu, with dual meanings...but here, while we certainly must keep a wary eye on the character of those we attend or initiate, the real meaning was for men, and women. For men, Obara is about assertively (not aggressively) going for that you wish for or need...and if you are an Ifa priest extending yourself not to the simplest answer, but to the correct one.  For women, it means DO NOT SETTLE, by basis of your gender for anything less than you wish to accomplish. PERIOD!

Until next time

Love and blessings

Oluwo Philip John Neimark

Owanrin Meji

Well, it looks like it’s incumbent on us to CHANGE UP our way of doing things. When the Odu were initially brought to Mankind they understood that ours would be a major learning effort...something to be prepared for as our knowledge expanded. They were sure it would take place, and they attributed this to the “plan” of Ifa priests to discuss the Odu in monthly or quarterly times with other Ifa priests and to see what was CURRENTLY relevant and what was not. It sounded very much like “a plan”...and one that would work. Unfortunately, like most plans, the built-in safeguards became victim to our human behavior.

I used to ascribe the “bump in our behavior" to the fact that following many many years, we had begun to transcribe the readings and place them into books for our learning and convenience as well as for others. I confess, I was one of the first. My Sacred Ifa Oracle, published by Harper Collins publishing group (the largest book publisher in the world), freeze-framed the information to the level that I was aware of at that time like the thousands of books that followed.  Now I know more and openly share what this Odu means today in many different ways.

It seemed a fail safe plan. After all, Ifa priests (not simply Babalawo’s ) would meet, offer their Odu’s and discuss what they had learned. The plan was self policing. Well, it DID work for hundreds, if not thousands of years, but then it failed badly! You see, the Yoruba began to write everything down. It was meant to help, keep track of and teach young Ifa priests. What it began to do was INSCRIBE the written into STONE…and not allow it to translate as a living energy!

This is all meant to bring you up to date with the most accurate, incredible, spiritual and beautiful system of divination that man has ever encountered. And what better ODU than Owonrin Meji...the Odu of absolutely “upside down” thinking!

We used to say that when you were in bad fortune, Ibi/Osorbo, that it was time to try something different. Today we know it is the sign for ire or ibi/Osorbo, if you want to increase the results of your divination, you will look for a solution other than you looked for at any time in the past...not that it was flawed, but simply because a MUCH BETTER solution had become available.

Until next time.

Love and Blessings

Oluwo Philip Neimark