Posts Tagged“#orisha”

orunmila

When I received my hand of Ifa, my Godfather Ifa Tosin gifted me this beautiful prayer. Regardless of your spirituality, religion, or faith, you cannot deny the truth of these words. Over the years I have memorized this prayer. I was praying to my Ifa recently, and that’s when it dawned on me that this prayer is universal. One does not have to be a practitioner of Traditional African Religion to appreciate it’s words and message.  For a general understanding of Ifa and Orunmila click here https://africanspiritualitynow.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/orunmilla-the-deity/   Orunmila I offer you my morning greetings in the name of my odu_______.…

In the Yoruba language, “Eyele Funfun” means “White Pigeon”. In  Yoruba/Lukumi http://www.lukumiart.com/ocha/ tradition, white pigeons represent purity. They are often used to remove negative energy. For several years now, my Babalow (Godfather in Ifa, spiritual mentor) has had me do a yearly cleanse on New Year’s Eve with a white pigeon. It is very simple. I get a white pigeon- not the dirty pigeons you see on the streets. But a beautiful bird purchased from a reputable bird store. I take the bird and sweep it across the top of my head, across the front and back of my body, front…

I recently went to my Happy Place as I do every week. A hidden beautiful river that flows through the mountains here in Southern California. As I walked down the bank, I noticed something low to the ground move into the bush. I couldn’t make out what it was. Was it a lizard? Was it a snake? I made a conscious decision  to proceed in the opposite direction. I wasn’t taking any chances even if it was only a squirrel. Whatever it was I scared it off. Or so I thought… I soon forgot about it and relaxed on a…

I recently shaved my head for the second time in 18 months (you can read about it the first time here http://reneholiday.com/nurturing-locs/ ). It was unexpected and it was unplanned. I thought about it for a couple of days. Literally about 48 hours later I called my barber, and headed his way to shave my head, on a Friday evening… Now let me take you back to the weekend prior. My Godmother called me for our weekly conversation. It’s more like a “Spiritual Tune-Up.” In our conversation we talk about my Ocha https://oshunschild.com/2013/11/08/making-ocha-and-the-initiation-procedure/, and that my hair will be shaved again.…

Everything changed on March 4, 2017, in a good way. My thought process, my energy, my level of sprituality, literally everything. I called my Godfather in Ifa (read more about Ifa here http://thesacredforest.org/ifa )  and all I said was “Baba (Yoruba word for father/wise man), I’m ready”.  He’s been waiting years for me to say that! This will not make sense to some of you, so I will explain as such. I’ve been a practioner of African Orisha Worship for many, many years.  In this tradition you ultimately want to be crowned with the Orisha that walks with you. The ceremony is…

Oshun! Oshun! Oshun! Maferefun Oshun! Recently Beyonce hit the Grammy stage, and the world has not stop talking about her channeling Oshun for her performance. If you are not familiar with Oshun, she is the African Deity of love, beauty, prosperity and fertility. This description of Oshun are quick bullet points, there is SO much more to her than this. If you are a practitioner of Ifa and Yoruba religions (such as myself), a conversation about Oshun is just a common conversation to have. However, I do find it interesting that the rest of the world is now intrigued by…