Home
>
Spirituality
>
5 Ways To Learn More About The Orisha

5 Ways To Learn More About The Orisha

The Orisha are the Messengers of Oludumare, the God/dess of the Yoruba Traditional Spiritual Tradition known as Ifa. The Yoruba Spiritual Tradition is centered in West Africa in what is now called Nigeria. During the time of the enslavement of African people in the New World, known as the Maafa ( Kiswahilli for Great Disaster), Ifa came to the Americas and the Caribbean. Anyone caught practicing the religion was put to death.

Since Christianity was the only religion allowed to the enslaved Africans, the Orisha of Ifa were hidden behind the Catholic saints wherever similarities were seen between the two. For example, Shango, Orisha of Thunder and Transformation, carrier of the double headed ax, was served through Saint Barbara since she too was portrayed with the double headed ax. This assured that the Orisha would survive the transatlantic passage and live on.

Centuries later the Orisha are still being worshipped behind the masks of Saints...and openly by their original African names and images. People of all colors, genders, and nationalities now celebrate the Orisha in the privacy of their own home and along with their spiritual families, commonly called Houses or Iles.

Here are five suggestions to help you to connect with the beauty and harmony of the Orisha.

1. Attend lectures about traditional West African Spiritual Practice. Check with your local universities to learn of lectures in the Comparative Religions, Anthropology, and African Studies Departments.

2. Subscribe to reputable lists about Orisha and African Traditional Spirituality on the internet. You can find Orisha focused discussion listed by doing a search at Yahoogroups.com and at Google.com. Be prepared to state your intentions and to show respect to the guidelines of the list.

3. Attend lectures and view exhibits of West African Art at your local museums. Call them and ask to be added to their mailing lists for to learn of upcoming events

4. Check your local holistic newspaper for workshops, seminars, and lectures in your area given by initiates in the Ifa tradition or one of its adaptations in the New World, such as Santeria, Candomble, Shango Baptist, or Lucumi.

5. Attend conferences and workshops that are centered around Orisha practice. Check with local metaphysical bookstores and botanicas for a list of upcoming events.

Supplementing your reading about Ifa with hands-on contact with people who are involved in the Ifa tradition will give you a different perspective and enhance your experience of the Orisha immensely.

Meri Tahset is a rootworker, aborisha, spiritual counselor, and sistaservant of the spirits dedicated to helping people to heal themselves and to maintain their connection to spirit in their daily lives. Meri can be reached at http://www.sistahealer.com

housekeepers near Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

Analysts at Silent Push have uncovered a widespread scam that uses counterfeit retail websites to steal the credit card information of online shoppers.

Chrome users need to update their browsers immediately as Google addresses a critical vulnerability that hackers are actively exploiting. Additional security measures are recommended.

A study found teens glance at phones for dangerous two-second intervals while driving, using devices primarily for entertainment, texting and navigation despite crash risks.

Security researchers uncovered a flaw in Windows 11 that allows attackers to disable Secure Boot using Microsoft-signed tools, requiring manual updates to protect against bootkits.

Carnegie Mellon's noninvasive brain technology allows users to move robotic fingers by thinking about the motion, offering new possibilities for people with motor impairments.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection to your accounts. Instead of relying only on a password, MFA requires you to verify your identity using two or more methods.

Scientists from Duke, Harvard, and the University of Otago have unveiled a game-changing tool called DunedinPACNI. It uses a single AI brain scan to reveal how fast a person is biologically aging.

A disturbing wave of fake agent phone scams is sweeping across the United States, catching people off guard and draining their savings.

Emojis aren't just playful add-ons; they're powerful tools for building stronger connections in our increasingly digital world.

Google has taken a major step toward the future of clean energy by partnering with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), an MIT spin-out working to build one of the world’s first commercial fusion reactors.

If you create and share art online, you might have seen messages warning that Facebook's parent company, Meta, claims the right to use or even sell anything you post, whether it's pictures, poems, or artwork.

Cybercriminals hit Qantas in a major data breach that exposed information from up to six million customers.

Having reliable, loud, and timely emergency alerts on your phone or device is important because when severe weather strikes, every second counts.

Here's how your daily brew is becoming the foundation for greener buildings.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, are transforming how we learn. But what does this mean for AI and learning retention?

Modern AI data centers use much more electricity than traditional cloud servers. In many cases, the existing power grid cannot keep up. One innovative solution is gaining traction: repurposed EV batteries for AI data centers.

Microsoft 365 and Outlook users are being targeted by a tactic that injects fake billing alerts directly into their calendars.

Researchers are now showing us that old smartphones as data centers could be the next big thing in sustainable tech.

Scientists have created micro-robots for sinus infection treatment that can enter the nasal cavity, eliminate bacteria directly at the source, and exit without harming surrounding tissue.

Let's examine how your data is collected in everyday life, who is buying and selling it, what happens to it afterward, and, most importantly, what you can do to protect yourself.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. developed small robots called "Pipebots" that can travel inside water pipes to find and potentially repair leaks, all without any excavation.

A groundbreaking new study has uncovered disturbing AI blackmail behavior that many people are unaware of yet.

Four teams of autonomous humanoid robots competed in China's first AI soccer tournament, demonstrating advanced capabilities in ball detection and independent decision-making.

The ID. Buzz autonomous van features self-driving technology with 13 cameras, nine LiDAR units and five radars after Volkswagen partnered with Hamburg and Uber for 2026 deployments.

Social Security phishing scams use urgency and impersonation to steal personal data. Learn how to spot fake SSA emails and implement 10 protective measures.