I am a little late, please forgive me. Yesterday was Itadogun and a sista was busy. However, I woke up that morning wanting to share a collective message in honor of International Women's Day. I asked Ifa what wisdom could I share as it related to the energy of the day.
Ifa revealed for me the Holy Odu Irete Irosun.
Now, Irete is in the place of the masculine. It even looks like a sword. It speaks about perseverance and determination that comes after achieving mystic vision, or a deeper relationship with Spirit/the Divine. Why after? Having a relationship with the Divine that is healthy and in alignment with your destiny brings about inner peace. There is a calmness to you that restores your Ase. You then have the energy to do, as well as the vision, what needs to be done in order to move forward.
Irosun is in the place of the feminine. It is balanced. It represents ancestral energy, gifts, and wisdom we use to reach our full potential. In it visually you have both mother and father represented. It is balanced. Feminine and Masculine. When we are balanced in spirit (feminine is the home of Spirit) we are more in alignment with our Destiny. You are able to realize your full potential and embrace it. You then become more aligned to the blessings your Ori has chosen for you.
The two coming together remind us that in order to succeed we must balance our feminine and masculine energy. This Odu speaks on someone that has been wrought with challenges and is looking to overcome them. There is actually an Itan that talks about this beautifully.
The story is about the Sekere. You may have seen it. A gourd or calabash that is covered in shells. To play it you ma gently shake it or turn it from side to side.
In the story it speaks of trap setters being in the forest and hiding under dirt in the plain. And how you get used to the traps in the forest. Sekere used to get beat with a stick. When going to receive divination, Sekere was asked to give ebo. Sekere complied.
It was then declared that Sekere would never be beat with a stick again.
Sekere sang out that their body was full of Okun beads. Their body is a treasure.
As Baba would say, "What do you hear this story telling you?" Drop it in the comments.
What some don't know, that I learned recently, is that the Sekere is an instrument used in the veneration of Oya. Oya is the Mother of storms and she is the matron Orisha of my Temple. She is considered to be a fierce warrior in her own right. Oya does not walk behind Shango. Nor in front. They are side by side as equals. She, in herself, wields a machete. A very "masculine" weapon some would say. Yet hers is dull. A representation of her ability to win the war using her feminine power. The masculine is present. It simply is not her only tool.
I would encourage you to look at where you lean when you are problem solving. Are you more in your masculine or in your feminine? Yesterday our Odu for Itadogun was Oyeku Meji. This Odu indicates a time of being still, at time to be receptive. Allowing yourself to receive requires you to be in your feminine. You can't secure the bag if you won't open your hand to hold it.
Your IWD message from Ifa is, balance. Restore balance and you will not have to worry about all those traps anymore.
Sit with that.
Ire! (Good Fortune)
Ase! (May it be so)