A Primer to use the Ancestor Shrine and 4 Cowry Divination
Before a devotee can begin effectively using Egun divination (which is sometimes called Obi or 4-cowry divination) she or he must be trained in the proper invocations and how to interpret the patterns that indicate yes/no answers. In order that the practice of Egun divination will strengthen, the devotee must always revisit the true purpose of all Yoruba divination systems; to bring the devotee closer to understanding their personal destiny.
We know that every action brings us closer or further away from our destiny or path. So every task and life challenge has significance in our spiritual growth. Keeping this reality foremost in our mind enables us to frame our divination questions better. In turn, the answers we get will have more relevance, and more practical application. Case in point: You might ask you Egun, “ Can I successfully purchase a car after my next pay day?” Let’s say that your Egun respond through the Obi with the answer- Etewa, which means yes with some struggle, so you prepare to do a second throw. You diligently amend or rephrase your initial question for clarity and hope to get a definitive yes/no answer.So you then ask, “ I would like to buy a car, can I start looking for one after my next pay day?” Ejife. Now the beginner in Egun divination would interpret that as the Egun’s approval. They would probably assume that not only could they go shopping for a new car, but that they would meet success. These assumptions have more to do with what they were thinking about when they asked the question, then what they actually asked. How so?
Perhaps the devotee is inquiring about the issue because their car is breaking down quite often, but at the same time their bills are escalating. Maybe to top things off (as Life often does) they absolutely need a car to get back and forth from work.It’s understandable that they would be concerned about their present situation. Fortunately, they have chosen an excellent medium with which to solve their problem. The Egun are quite willing to comment and act on these kind of everyday concerns. But, just as in human-to-human communication, language is all-important. In this case, it very possible that the devotee wanted to know that if they decided to buy a car would the Egun help make a way. However, they did not actually ask that particular question. Also, even though she/he asked if the purchase was possible, they did not ask if it should be done; or if there was a better way to resolve their problem. Instead of allowing the Egun to lead to them to the proper line of action, the devotee assumed that the only way to resolve the problem was to buy a new car. Who is to say that the Egun would not have led her/him to seek out a company carpool? How do we know that the Egun would not have pointed her/him to a relative that would have been willing to contribute money towards a new car? We must never lose sight of why we go to spiritual entities in divination; because we do not know everything. We must allow those entities the opportunity to inform us properly .There are endless possibilities in most Life issues, and the Egun are in a more knowing position than us.
Here is where the quality of divination sessions, as well as perceived accuracy of the system can come into question. While the devotee did receive a definitive answer on a question, it may not have been the best question to ask. In actuality, the system is not flawed or at fault. It was not used properly. This may cause problems later on. The devotee may become confused because two months after buying the car, it gets repossessed because she/he is unable to continue making payments. The first things the devotes says is, “I thought the Egun told me to purchase this car!” No, the Egun didn’t say go buy a car. They said the devotee could buy a car. There is a difference in these two statements. The devotee never allowed the Egun to offer clarification.
At this time let me reemphasize, that quite often it is not what you ask, but how you ask it that can affect the quality of your Egun divination sessions. It is for this reason that towards the end of all sessions of Egun divination that the devotee should ask the Egun if he/she has correctly interpreted not only the replies to each question, but also the best the line of action were applicable.
In our example above the word “can” ought to be replaced with “should” when the devotee is asking about new ventures.
In following articles, we will continue to discuss how devotees of Orisa worship can more effectively communicate with their Egun. Look out for a special section on phrasing questions for Obi divination and how to read patterns by myself and my godfather and others.
April 9th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Alaafia,
I found this post very helpful. It is so often that some phrase questions in ways that cater to their intended desires. I call it coaxing an outcome but when we phrase questions in ways where their is little or no uncertainty themn we limit the chance of unintended manipulation of the spoken word.
Ase
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I am seeing a young man whom practices and worshops his egun and santo. Also the orisha. i am trying to understand his relegion and give him the respect towards his religion. but I think he uses to get away with things. like he has to keep the light on while he sleeps or he said spirits will attack him. he also and this is where im starting to doubt some of the things he says. is and please, ecuse me for this statement. but he said there is certain things sexually he is not allowed to do . Or his tongue will ache and start hurting really bad and that is his punishment. I don’t want to question him. because i do respect his beleifs. But i think now he might be fibbing on some topics. If you could enlighten me.. I would greatly appreciate it.
July 28th, 2009 at 10:52 am
He sounds like he is going through some things and is in fact using Santeria as a shield, but not necessarily to “get over” on you. He may also have some emotional issues that his spiritual community is aware of, but he wouldn’t disclose to you. It’s hard to say if he is taking advantage of you without more details.
September 2nd, 2009 at 9:42 pm
I dont know about the light part. But the situation with the tongue is possible. Maybe a Orisha said he couldnt use his tongue to do things sexually. They might have told him in a misa, tambor, or other social gathering. The reason for this is to avoid future problems. They took it away from him to protect him. They could have taken it away from him cause he could catch a std or some other infection. Or the spread of a STD to somebody else. Orishas and egguns take things away for a reason. Or on the other hand he could just be using it as a cover.
May 11th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Well as far as the tounge is concerned, The first question that should have been asked is he a babalow. If so he is not allowed to perform oral acts. so yes it could be true. If That is not the case maybe you should ask him whether this was told to him in a religious function. As far as the lights are concerned. being a practicing priestess, I feel that you should not sleep in complete darkness. Iku lives in the dark as well as other spirits that may bother you. So I would say ask or investigate further on your own.
August 13th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
I grew up without extended family. I always felt alone and like there had to be much more in life. Reading about ancient Egypt during my childhood was interesting to me. Recently I have come to the wisdom of the Feminine energy and have begun communicating with my ancestors. I believe they are trying to reach me in many ways, sometimes using my first born child. I was advised to pour water, gen and something sweet into the ground when speaking to my ancesteors. Why is this, particularly the gin?