24 May Monday Message: Break the Chains, Make the Sacrifice, Tap the Fire Within

Alaafia Family! I pray you are well and bright as you read this and ready to jump into the week with the clear direction of your ori.

This Monday’s Message is clear: It’s time to free yourself of the ties that bind. Exercise your will power, make the necessary sacrifices and commit (for real for real) to continuous re-initiation.

As we discussed at Orisa Prayer and Meditation this week, the odu Ifa irete meji tells us that we must consistently re-initiate ourselves. It isn’t enough just to have been born (birth being the first initiation) — that won’t get you through life. You have to learn things during every stage of your development and apply that knowledge as you continue to learn more. Similarly, as we walk with spirit, it is not enough to go through ceremony or collect spiritual items — what are we doing with them everyday? How are we tapping into the real ase of our connections?

Our ancestors passed a lot mouth-to-ear and hand-to-eye and used repetition as a part of their epistemology because they understood it’s better to really KNOW one prayer than to have 100 that you don’t know in a book. Go on ‘head and make it your business to re-read, re-watch, re-ask until you have truly learned. That is what it means to consistently re-initiate yourself.

Our tarot card this week is the devil (15) and it’s important that we understand what the devil really is. The devil is not a boogie man — that’s too easy. It’s anything that keeps us enslaved. Anything that keeps us from being able to achieve our full potential. Anything that takes us off the path of our destiny. This could be addictions to food, substances, or people. It could be a job that drains us but that we keep because we just haven’t committed to moving on. It could be a partner who maybe isn’t terrible, but also isn’t contributing to our growth in any way. It could be laziness, procrastination, or any number of un-helpful ways of being. What is the devil in your life right now? How can you break the chains and free yourself?

Spirit is SO sweet because our crystal ally for the week is tiger eye which is JUST what we need to find the will to do what we gotta do. Tiger eye combines the energies of fire and earth, so that we get a little pep in our step, a little spark under us, but are still grounded enough to put the energy to good use. A true Ogun + Osoosi stone, combining the will and the direction. Getchu a piece and meditate with it if this sounds like what you need.

Ire gbogbo! All blessings as you walk your path!

~Iya Funlayo

PS: If you were with us on Clubhouse this morning I was reading from this book. The other (The Healing Power of Sacrifice) is unfortunately out of print.

Connect with the Family for all of our weekly events and schedule your personal consultation with Iya Funlayo to see what advice the spirits have for you. Get books, supplies, “orisa for me” shirts and more in the shop!