Divine Words from the House of the Divine Prince
The practice of harnessing supernatural forces and spirits for one’s own personal use, known in some parts of Africa as ‘Obeye’ (an entity that lives within witches), has taken on many names in the Caribbean islands, such as Shango (Trinidad), Santeria (Cuba), Vodun or Voodoo (Haiti), Ju-Ju (Bahamas), Obeah (Jamaica),. Although African slaves usually practiced Obeah for "evil" or rather self-interested, instrumental purposes, this faith also aided them as a source of strength and clandestine resistance. The practice of Obeah is the belief that one can use certain spirits or supernatural agents to work harm to the living, or to call them off from such mischief. Generally, the British used the term Obeah to describe all slave acts and practices that were considered supernatural or evil in nature, such as rituals and fetishes. Modern historians believe that Obeah originated from the Ashanti and Koromantin tribes of Africa on the Gold Coast, and that imported slaves introduced it to the Caribbean as early as the mid 17th century. Regardless of its use, for ‘evil’ or ‘good’, the Obeah men were treated with the utmost respect and fear by all whom met him. The Obeah man and women played a prominent role in the Caribbean slave societies from the beginning of the slave trade. They functioned as community leaders and teachers of the African folk’s cultural heritage. Many Africans believed that the Obeah man had within his power the ability to render someone invincible, resuscitate the dead, cure all diseases, protect a man from the consequences of his crimes, and cause great harm to anyone he wished. Yet the Obeah man’s most powerful gift was not his ability to steal people’s shadows , as the act of obeah or "hexing" was described, but his intricate knowledge of herbs and poisons. The term Obeah also suggested the word "poison" in the Caribbean plantations, this being the preferred and most effective tool that this practitioner of "magic" had at his disposal. Through the use of herbs and medicine, the Obeah man, was able to "miraculously" cure or poison (obeah) a person to death. Considering the development and practices (bloodletting) of "modern" European medicine at the time, an ill person had a much greater chance of survival by seeking out an Obeah man rather than a white physician. Obeah was not only used as a source of power through its association with the supernatural but with political power as well, specifically slave rebellions and the other forms of resistance in Jamaica. The Obeah man played a role as an inspirational leader who could entice his entourage, which might number in the thousands, to partake in resistance and rebellions. Because of their relation with "evil," Obeah men were blamed for every mishap that fell upon a plantation or individual. So how did they manage to recruit so many followers? The lure of becoming the follower of an Obeah man was that once initiated into his or her group you would become invulnerable to the white man and his weapons. Although you might appear slain, the Obeah man could, at his pleasure, restore the fallen body to life. Obeah men played a central role in the conception and development of any serious attempt at rebellion. The Obeah man provided an "ideological rallying point" in sanctioning an open rebellion. He afforded a meeting place for leaders and followers so they could plan their revolts under the guise of religious gatherings, and he maintained the link between traditional African culture which opposed colonial rule and the Creole (Caribbean born) slaves. By far the most important contribution that the Obeah man made to the resistance of the slave system was his direct participation in the preparation of the insurrectionists for war. The Obeah man would first administer an oath to African rebels that would bind them to never reveal to anyone the identity of the insurgents or the plans of the rebellion; to do so would bring upon the individual an agonizing death. A white Jamaican planter, Edward Long, best describes the ritual that the Obeah man initiated in order to administer the oaths: "Their priests, or obeiah-man, are their chief oracles in all weighty affairs, whether of peace, war, or the pursuit of revenge. When assembled for the purposes of conspiracy, the obeiah-man, after various ceremonies, draws a little blood from every one present; this is mixed in a bowl with gunpowder and grave dirt; the fetish or oath is administered by which they solemnly pledge themselves to inviolable secrecy, fidelity to their chiefs, and to wage perpetual war against their enemies; as a ratification of their sincerity, each person takes a cup of the mixture, and this finishes the solemn rite. Few or none of them have ever been known to violate this oath, or to desist from the full execution of it, even although several years may intervene." The Obeah man also created a powder that supposedly possessed magical properties that would bestow upon the user of it protection from the white man’s weapons. Long gives a detailed account of the capture of an Obeah man who was known to have administered many of these rituals in Jamaica: "In St. Mary’s parish a check was fortunately given at one estate, by surprising a famous Obeah-man and priest, much respected among his countrymen. He was an old Coromantin, who, with others of his profession, had been a chief in counseling and instigating the credulous herd, to whom their priests administered a powder, which, being rubbed on their bodies, was to make them invulnerable. They persuaded them into a belief, that their generalissimo [general] in the woods, could not possibly be hurt by the white men, for that he caught all the bullets fired at him in his hand, and hurled them back with destruction to his foes." Obviously, this type of power in the hands of a slave made many plantation owners uneasy, to say the least. Joseph Williams describes the plantation owners’ view of the Africans from the earliest days of legislation in Jamaica: "a serious source of danger to the peace of the colony was recognized to be ever present in the assemblies of slaves where the old religious tribal dances were openly accompanied by drumming which aroused the fanaticism of Africans to such a degree as to endanger a general uprising." Before long it was discovered that a second cause of danger, this time a personal one to master and slave alike, was to be traced to the secret poisonings that were ever becoming more common. Beginning in 1684, various laws were enacted in Jamaica as a precaution against slave rebellion. Later, planter legislators enacted laws banning nocturnal "gatherings" and religious practices. In 1816, a law was passed recognizing the coupled danger present from revolt and Obeah, "if there shall be found in the possession of any slave any poisonous drugs, pounded glass, parrot’s beaks, dog’s teeth, alligator’s teeth, or other materials notoriously used in the practice of Obeah or witchcraft, such slave upon conviction, shall be liable to suffer transportation from the island [deportation]." The slaves in Jamaica, according to plantation owners, were primitive and unintelligent savages, yet they managed to resist the planter’s efforts to control and exploit them at every opportunity. The laws of Jamaica are themselves testaments to the efficient and meticulous planning of slaves in their attempt to rebel against the "white man’s" institutions. It had taken the planters more than 130 years, from the first law that recognized the threat of rebellion (1684), until they implemented a law that recognized the tripartite association between slave rebellion, obeah, and poisonings. As the years passed and plantation owners began to suspect that the increase in deaths by poisoning was attributed to slaves, they enacted harsher legislation that ranged from mandatory searches of the slaves domicile, "Every master or mistress or overseer of a family in this island shall cause all slave houses to be diligently and effectively searched once every fourteen days," to sentencing slaves to the ultimate punishment – death. One of these particular laws making the death penalty a mandatory punishment was enacted in the late 17th century: "whereas slaves have of late attempted to destroy several people, as well white as black, by poison…the said slave or slaves, together with their accessories, as well before as after the fact, being slaves, and convicted thereof…shall be adjudged guilty of murder, as if the party or parties that took or shall take the same had died; and shall be condemned to suffer death, by hanging, burning, or such other way or means as to the said Justices and freeholders shall seem most convenient." Deaths by poison began to take on a form of covert rebellion amongst those slaves who had rancor and access to their plantation owners or overseers. Most of the slaves who wished to poison someone but lacked the knowledge turned to the Obeah man of the region to execute the act. These types of personal services usually required a form of consideration. Obeah men were usually compensated for their services by their followers in the form of "donations": food, shelter or money. However, at times the Obeah man simply asked for the procurer’s pledge to carry out a "favor" at a later date. By accumulating a large amount of "favors" throughout a plantation or region the Obeah man gained personal power and was able to execute his wishes with ease. The Obeah man usually did not directly administer the poison to a victim; he simply called in one of his favors under the guise that he was applying a charm, and ordered that individual to administer whatever he asked to the food of the ill-fated slave or overseer. Clearly, Obeah men were important in the rousing, organization, and execution of slave revolts and slave resistance in general. Whites feared their power to invoke a rebellion and enslaved blacks were petrified at the thought of falling victim to their magic. Even though these men had many enemies, they were usually never betrayed by one of their own because he was recognized as an important figure in the slave society of the time. The Obeah man played various roles simultaneously. He was a healer and an executioner, he was loved and feared, he was father to all and demon to many. These men under the seemingly innocent guise of "medicine men" came to accumulate power and respect that rivaled that of the largest plantation owner. Even today in Jamaica children still tremble at the thought of going to visit the Obeah man. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- McCartney, Timothy Ph.D., Ten, Ten the Bible Ten: Obeah in the Bahamas. (Nassau, Bahamas: Timpaul Publishing, 1976 ). Williams, Joseph J., Voodoos and Obeahs: Phases of West India Witchcraft. (New York: Dial Press, 1932). Long, Edward, History of Jamaica (London:1774), Vol. II. An Act for the substance, clothing, and the better regulation and government of slaves, for enlarging the powers of the council of protection; for preventing the improper transfer of slaves; and for other purposes (December 19,1816); Acts of Assembly
Psychics CAN predict But Hoodoo gets results!
The Power of Absolute Positivity
Matthew 7:12 THEREFORE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO TO YOU, DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM: FOR THIS IS THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS.
This is the message of the clear crystal; to live and let light abound from within and from without. It is the ability to just be and allow the Divine Universe to be your guide just as the song says, “He’s eye is on the sparrow…and I know he watches me.”
Its is the way of the Buddhist who teaches that all is a journey to the next and higher elevations of consciousness.
For “All is a Blessing!”
Beginning this journey is most powerful yet it can be begun within the next moment and reapplied with just a conscious decision to be.
Try it first for just a minute and then fifteen.
An hour or maybe a work day, at first.
It is a concept so simple and yet too complicated for most to readily comprehend.
Understanding that the Divine operates in the realm of Absolute Positivity, we must reprogram ourselves, like a computer, to rebalance with that Absolute vibration.
So many of us are living in the past or living in the future because we find the present too much to accomplish. When it is the ‘right now’ were we have the most power and control. Learning to call upon that vibration even in the midst of chaos is the challenge and mystery of being human and taping our higher-creative forces.
Every time we make a judgment, express and expend energies on the failures of others or ourselves we step out of our own realm of control into that of others and thus make ourselves venerable to the negative energies of others.
Matthew 7:3 AND WHY BEHOLDEST THOU THE MOTE THAT IS IN THY BROTHER’S EYE, BUT CONSIDEREST NOT THE BEAM THAT IS IN THINE OWN EYE.
We are all at different frequencies on the spectrum of Light and Divine Evolution. It’s really a waste of time to spend more than a self-examining look at negatives for the purpose solely of spiritual evolution. Anything more is vanity.
Absolute Positivity…first just meditate on what that means…. It is understanding that all things have a positive when we consciously choose to seek it.
It’s really that simple.
“Seek ye first the Kingdom and all other things will be added unto you.”
“Hmm; the power of words.”
Absolute Positivity is only allowing the most positive of images, thoughts and forms in our mind and thinking even when we are distracted or occupied in high stress activities.
If you’re distracted by the flaws in another’s program, you’ve crossed that line into vanity. Anything more is just to hear the sound of your own voice. Once you identify a crack, error or weakness, the next step is to bring about change, otherwise your stuck and the results will be written in your soul and spirit, regardless the fault you assign to another.
These are the times when we are most likely to respond to any given situation out of emotion in our most natural of ways; often exposing who we really are on the inside. Operating at your optimum under these conditions takes conditioning and repetitive reinforcement until this way of viewing/thinking becomes second nature.
Feeding anything but Absolute Positivity can be time consuming and draining of vital life force necessary for the accomplishments of your own personal destiny.
Releasing of negative energy (no matter how justified you may think or feel at the time) never out weights any negative karma or repercussions you may suffer as a result; as well as those now paid out upon the universe and the environment we are all a part of.
We have been separated from our knowledge of our connectedness. We are one living breathing organism within this universe. The hardest lesson we will ever have to except is that everything we think, say and do DOES have a Divine and Spiritual effect on the entire Body of Life.
We still only know less than a percent of the Universe and all that is apart of this existence. Yet many are willing to take the risk of not understanding that which we crystallize in thought, word and deed and the Ultimate effects.
Some call it living in the moment. If only we truly understood the power of a moment. A moment can alter our lives….forever! If we still haven’t learned this lesson, then the next major tragedy will be greater than we can even envision.
One way to accomplish this is by the usage of positive reinforcing mantras.
For example:
“I am light
I am perfect and divine in the light
I Am God/dess created in the Light
I am whole
I am in balance
I am complete.”
After I have said this for a period of at least nine days and 900 times (at least) I play with the words a little and find new more condensed ways to say the same thing or to expand the hidden and subconscious meaning of the words.
Keeping in focus mentally my base goal or meaning for the particular mantra.
For example:
“I Am Light
I am perfect
I Am Light
I Am God/dess
I Am Light
I Am Created
I Am Light
I Am complete.”
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What’s Inside My Esu/Ellegua? For over a quarter of a century people have asked us: “What’s really Inside my Esu/Ellegua?” Prior to the Ifa Foundation introducing North American’s to the philosophy of Ifa, the overwhelming majority knew only the Santeria/Lucumi view of the Universe…and that view was NOT based upon the 8000 year reality of Ifa, but upon the Western religious – primarily Catholic – sets of rules and values. Those values combined with Western cultural values to bring about a belief in things rather than energy. When, in 1974, I was first introduced to Santeria/Lucumi, it was par for the course for the priest to include such items as coins, dirt from a cemetery, dust from a prison, a bone or a rock, along with a host of other items, and mold them inside the Esu/Ellegua they were constructing. Each item was representative of certain attributes. In Africa, for thousands of years, ALL Orisa are self-contained, totally complete, matrixes of the energy they embody. Said in another way, Western art is always representational. A painting of a woman is representative of the woman. A sculpture of a horse is representative of a horse. A clowns’ mask is representative of a clown. In African art, a pregnancy mask is not representative; it is the embodiment of pregnancy! An African Death Mask is not representative of Death; it is the embodiment of Death! And an African Orisa, Esu/Ellegua, Osun, Ogun or any other, is NOT a representation of the Orisa; it is the total embodiment of that Energy! TOTAL and complete in and of itself. By attempting to modify or improve on that essential energy through the use of man-made items or modifications, is to short-circuit the genuine energy itself. There is a second, and equally important Truth: The energy can ONLY be transferred from its original seminal source through the triangulation of the skills, wisdom and world-view of the Priest creating it. In the course of that happening, critically important changes occur. If, for example, the priest holds a World-View that is personally corrupt – if they believe women are second class citizens, or skin color is important, or sexual orientation is critical, or a host of other exclusionary ideas, the energy that is transmitted will reflect those views and limitations. The energy is, in a real sense, modeled by the energy of the priest. A useful metaphor would be a chef taking a host of perfect natural ingredients and failing to wash his hands prior to the process. While the ingredients would be perfect, the germs or dirt from the chef’s hands would corrupt the final product. There is one last great Truth in regard to the inherent energy of your Orisa or implement: The skills of the priest will determine the outcome as well. That is where, and why, it takes years of experience, years of developing and working and living with good character, with lasting and loving relationships, with accomplishment and success to be able to create a living example of any energy that has the capacity to allow you to benefit from the full spectrum of what they have to offer. Many would believe, or attempt to convince you, that it is the ingredients that determine the outcome… It is NOT. It is the inherent energy of the priest, combining with the perfect energy of the Orisa that determines the outcome. If that is flawed, the object, while “alive” will be flawed in the same way of the person that created it. There is no “Shazam” that will turn the flawed, inexperienced or bad character priest into Captain Marvel. It is not a matter of cemetery dust, coins or bones. It is a matter of pure energy, that must remain pure if the object is to have relevance, meaning and power for you. I do not know what may be in your Esu/Ellegua, because I do not know who created it. I DO know what should be in it. Nothing but pure energy lovingly transferred through the energy of an experienced, wise priest who has lived their life with good character and integrity. Anything less is simply another example of our cultural shortcomings…like being a little pregnant, or almost faithful. In order to reach your Destiny you cannot settle for less than the perfection of what Oludumare’s energies can offer.
Blessings Philip John Neimark Oluwo
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