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Light is the building block of being and creation. The interaction between light and darkness constitutes the cosmic pulse and is replicated in man by breath. When we are inhaling and exhaling we are interaction between life and its absence. In a cosmic scale this takes the form of light and darkness and just as breath needs extreme contrast to maintain life, so it is with cosmos and creation. It is the extreme that generates the stability of the earth and the world and it is these contrasts that make our world a mystery. The source of light manifests in several ways and is a source for abundance, blessings, wealth and what the Yoruba people call "Ori rere," a calm conscience. The objective is that our being in the world should be soothing and comforting, as the caresses from the rays of the sun. When light is exalted it burns and makes all things barren. It does this while it remains in the glory of its own being. These cosmic and mystical phenomena can replicate in people as well and give what can be understood to be a negative vibration of "Obatala. Obatala "is the spirit of the white cloth, dreams, light and all things aerial and pure. When light turns negative it implodes and dislocate our sense of self importance. Our indecisiveness becomes a tool for allowing the scorching sun to burn the fields and people around us. It leads to a misdirected sense of superiority an calls upon another "odu, Obara meji. Obara" refers to the principles of strength and force and can in its negative manifestations lead to authoritarian and ruthless abuse of ones own strength. The accumulation and comprehension of light in the hands of a negative manifestation of "Obara" generates despots and tyrants of any kind. The source for this activity of being others to ones will is ultimately a refusal to lift both hands to the light (which is the meaning of the word "Eji Ogbe", which is the name given to the firs"t Odu" in the corpus of If'a). By consuming the light for personal ends can in its positive manifestation lead to natural authority, while in its negative manifestation it will generate arrogance and dislocated ideas of ones own self importance. Ultimately this form of arrogance will lead to the idea of total supremacy where ones words are experienced as weightier than even the word of "Olodumare", God. At this point light will collapse and implode and the bright scorching sun will start to make your spiritual life barren and deserted from light. The arrogance accumulated is challenged and this provokes the vibration we know as 'the father of light', "Obatala." The docile and inspirational father of purity turns into the white death that seeks out the cause of the darkening of the light to reinstall the natural balance. It is from this complex interaction one If'a proverb tells us that Sango (manifested in Obara and represents politics) need Obatala in order to be a just ruler. What If'a says is that strength without a clear and enlightened mind will lead to tyranny. The red powers of strength and the whiteness of light needs to be in harmony and its natural hierarchy be adhered to. But we are not perfect, and at times even the accumulation of wisdom and understanding can ignite in us the illusion of supremacy. When the redness, the 'rubeata' of enthusiasm of strength has overcome a person the remedy is calmness and If'a gives one such remedy that I will replicate here in the form of a `Id'a`ab`ob`o, which is a protective remedy or medicine. The medicine is done in the following way:You will gather the following items:Ewe `eb`ur'e (Crassocephalum Rubens)Om'i `igb'in (the blood of snails)The herbs you will pound into a powder and drench it in the blood of the snail and leave it to dry. You will then take a mortar and pestle and mix it well.
Then take:Ewe 'od'und'un (Kalanchoe crenata)Ewe t`et`e (Amaranthus hybridus)Ewe r`inr'in (Peperomia pellucida)
Let it dry and turn it into powder with the help of the mortar and pestle. You will then mark in the powder the odu obaraogbe and recite the incantation (ofo) below over the powder. This being done you will separate the powder in three parts. One part is added to ose dudu (African black soap), one third to a neutral lotion or body cream and the last third is placed in a cup of cold water and drunk.
`Eb'ur'e d'e awo ol`uj'eb`e `Eb`ur'e make open the doors of supplicationIk'u e j'eb`e f'un wa o Death, accept our supplications`Ar`un e j'eb`e f'un wa o Sickness, accept our supplicationsOf'o e j'eb`e f'un wa o Loss, accept our supplicationsS`onp`on'a e j'eb`e f'un wa o Spirit of infectious disease, accept our supplications `Er`o p`es`ep`es`e ni t'igb'in The snail is always clam and tranquil`Er`o p`es`ep`es`e ni t' `od'und'un Odundun is always calm and tranquil`Er`o p`es`ep`es`e ni ti t`et`e Tete is always calm and tranquil`Er`o p`es`ep`es`e ni ti rinrin Rinrin is always calm and tranquil
