I wanted to share some things with you just so that you can know these things as you approach this tradition. First this tradition is NOTHING like christianity, judaism, or islam. So the approach cannot be the same. Also I truly exhort everyone to get as much of an overstanding of what divination is and its process BEFORE going to a diviner. Our Afrikan divination systems are complete in and of themselves. Overstand that the diviner is only divining what is in your own spirit. Also, a diviner ideally only gives you EXACTLY what the oracle is telling them to tell you.

Because of our conditioning here in the West and being torn away from our culture by Yurugus (europeans, east indians, other asians (arabs, chinese, kwk) it may be a bit difficult at first to grasp the true overall culture. I have talked to initiated New Afrikans who still say things like "I don't understand why I was supposed to be initiated". If they overstood the Afrikan concept of ayanmo ("destiny") then that would not be a question or concern.

Also, it is not appropriate to approach a diviner, especially on your first divination, asking them questions along the line of: "How do I get initiated?" Once again it is the oracle itself that will determine not only that, but also IF YOU ARE EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE INITIATED OR NOT IN THE FIRST PLACE? It may be true that another diviner told you that you are to be initiated but keep in mind that now you are dealing with another diviner who, more than likely, does not know the original diviner. Also, experience has shown me that many times people are relaying information another diviner told them that the words may not have come from the oracle itself. For instance there have been times when a diviner told someone their opinion (they should be initiated, they may be from royalty, kwk) and the client unknowingly mixed the diviner's opinion up with the actual declarations of the oracle. So be very clear with your questions and ask whether this is from the oracle or not.

Also, once a diviner inquires of the oracle what your "head divinity" is please do not go around trying to act like the deity! I have seen TOO many cases of people finding out their Orisa and go read something in a book trying to emulate it. It reminds me of my former "black greek" (what an oxymoron) fraternity days when I would see a person whose favorite color was brown just weeks before they pledged Alpha Phi Alpha and now their favorite color is the combination of, you guessed it, Black and Gold (the colors of Alpha)!

Also, there is a popular tendacy of many Afrikans to stereotype the deities. What I mean by this is that they read a book about what a deity is supposed to be and they expect everyone who "acts" like that to be a child of that deity. There are no hard and fast rules to "deity personalities". In fact, one should not approach this tradition from the perspective of the totally lacking pseudo-science geek (greek) astrology. This type of approach to the deities will leave you coming up short more often than not. For instance everyone wants to make Obatala always calm and cool -one that never gets fired up. Yet, does not Obatala carry a sword. Isn't he the one who gave Orunmila his sword? Is this not the sword present on the mat of a Babalawo/Iyanifa/Bokonon today? In fact, don't all Orisa carry weapons?

As a final note, please do not expect QUICK FIXES to come from the oracle. Sometimes one does get immediate results, but more than likely these changes will come over time. Just as a physical wound takes time to heal so do the spiritual ones. The act of a physical sacrifice (animals, food, kwk) is not a substitute for your own efforts of growth and spiritual attainment. If the diviner says that the oracle says that there must be a sacrifice of a goat one should then go on to sacrifice the goat WITHIN.

Baba Fawesagu, Awotunde Yao Faseyin
Damballa New Afrikan Vodun Ancestral Order

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