beginning on the path, some things to know before jumping in.

[yemayashija]

since so many are curious, i thought i would give some basic knowledge to help everyone get ready to learn.

first off the paths both ocha de regla (lukumi)are not called santeria. those that practice it prefer others call it by the correct name. palo and santo (lukumi) are not the same thing; nor are they dark and light versions of the same path as some have intimated on the net. they are two different trunks of the same tree.

with that being said lukumi deals with the orichas and palo deals with spirits and energy.

both have to be learned in progression through initiation.

you cannot make your own rules up or ignore certain aspects of it, as these entities make their wishes and demands known, and to ignore them invites disaster in the followers life. there is nothing wrong with wanting to jump right in and start making alters, some are breathtaking to see. but you need to learn what will be asked of you in return by the energies you honor, nothing comes without a price even in the spiritual realm.

the first lesson that is needed to be learned before all others is IWA PELE....

Iwa Pele is good behavior or charecter. one in these traditions must always show good charecter. how do you show good charecter?

1. you must always respect your elders in the religion
2. secrets taught to you, must remain secrets and are not to be discussed with outsiders
3. you do not argue or correct your elders
4. if you are not initiated, you do not teach without the permission and strict guidance of your good parent.
5. you do not casually enter into the religion as a curiosity seeker, you recieve a reading to verify if you are wanted by the oricha; not everyone is. and to what extent they will allow you to progress in the religion.
6. you do not misrepresent yourself as something you are not
7. you follow the rules of the house you belong to.
8. you do not cause embarassment to your godparents or those in your house.
9. even in times of discourse or disagreement you Never disrespect the elders of your house in oracion or action, or the oricha.
10. all in the religion are your brothers and sisters and are to be treated with respect.
11. when elders are talking or sharing, aleyos (those not initiated) have a responsibility to listen quietly and learn
12. you must heed the orichas call and their rules (each has different rules), you also do not chose who has your head.
13. always great your elders appropriately and ask for their blessings, in spanish this would be by saying "bendicion" before your greeting.
14. an aleyo must always be humble.
15. you must accept that there are things you are not ready to be taught and wait for the appropriate time to learn them, sometimes meaning after initiation.
16. the oricha and your house(of santo) require commitment and do not tolerate sometime care and devotion.

so as you see, there is alot of rules. and many more to come. this is not to discourage curiosity, but to be straight forward and upfront about what is expected of people who want to learn and practice.none of these paths looks for converts or tries to recruit people, that is why it is not easy to get into. it requires devotion and dedication.

with that being said every new person to a house is directed to learn their ancestors in order to elevate,honor them and ask their guidance. and that is where I suggest any still interested begin. then cleanse yourself and your home, oricha will not frequent a dirty (even spiritually dirty) place or person. then begin learning about the many oricha. in the mean time, most houses also practice espiritismo, and suggest setting up a boveda (alter). this is something i and my elders always suggest as a first step. spirits before oricha.

good luck in all your endeavors to learn, all will come in time.


81392

this is my boveda
luz y progresso to all

[Artiste-LiLi]

Though I do not follow this specific path:

I would ask your bendicion and say, with deepest respect, I thank you for this information and I say to others, all that has been said here is how you should be...that is as it should be...........respect and devotion.

[~Elise~]

though I Do Not Follow This Specific Path:

I Would Ask Your Bendicion And Say, With Deepest Respect, I Thank You For This Information And I Say To Others, All That Has Been Said Here Is How You Should Be...that Is As It Should Be...........respect And Devotion.


Qft!!!

[yemayashija]

Though I do not follow this specific path:

I would ask your bendicion and say, with deepest respect, I thank you for this information and I say to others, all that has been said here is how you should be...that is as it should be...........respect and devotion.

although I am deeply humbled and very thankful to you for this sign of respect from you, I am not deserving of it. I am not crowned yet, I have my warriors, and Olokun and am scratched in palo (rayado). my intent was simply (with Ochareo's approval ofcourse) to pass on basic rules so as others participate who are elders, we all show them that we can be respectful of their Orisha and them.

And to you I pray to those that protect and guide me, to bestow many blessings on you and your spirits.

Luz y progresso!!! ( light and progress to your sppiritual court):smile:

[yemayashija]

Qft!!!

please forgive my online ignorance, but what does "QFT" mean exactly?

[plumedsnake]

please forgive my online ignorance, but what does "QFT" mean exactly?

Quoted For Truth. in other words they agree.

[Artiste-LiLi]

although I am deeply humbled and very thankful to you for this sign of respect from you, I am not deserving of it. I am not crowned yet, I have my warriors, and Olokun and am scratched in palo (rayado). my intent was simply (with Ochareo's approval ofcourse) to pass on basic rules so as others participate who are elders, we all show them that we can be respectful of their Orisha and them.

And to you I pray to those that protect and guide me, to bestow many blessings on you and your spirits.

Luz y progresso!!! ( light and progress to your sppiritual court):smile:

I thank you for your prayers.

Though, I feel, you are most derserving of my respect as you are well beyond my station within the Mysteries and your path. I am but a humble babe barely beginning to crawl. My traditions are in Appalachian Mountain Magic (Folk Magic/HooDoo style magic) and I am an "adoptee" in a New Orleans style VooDoo family who has no children to pass their path too...they do not wish their knowledge to die with them...so, the "adoption".

I look forward to learning more.

[Ochareo!]

since so many are curious, i thought i would give some basic knowledge to help everyone get ready to learn.

first off the paths both ocha de regla (lukumi)are not called santeria. those that practice it prefer others call it by the correct name. palo and santo (lukumi) are not the same thing; nor are they dark and light versions of the same path as some have intimated on the net. they are two different trunks of the same tree.

with that being said lukumi deals with the orichas and palo deals with spirits and energy.

both have to be learned in progression through initiation.

you cannot make your own rules up or ignore certain aspects of it, as these entities make their wishes and demands known, and to ignore them invites disaster in the followers life. there is nothing wrong with wanting to jump right in and start making alters, some are breathtaking to see. but you need to learn what will be asked of you in return by the energies you honor, nothing comes without a price even in the spiritual realm.

the first lesson that is needed to be learned before all others is IWA PELE....

Iwa Pele is good behavior or charecter. one in these traditions must always show good charecter. how do you show good charecter?

1. you must always respect your elders in the religion
2. secrets taught to you, must remain secrets and are not to be discussed with outsiders
3. you do not argue or correct your elders
4. if you are not initiated, you do not teach without the permission and strict guidance of your good parent.
5. you do not casually enter into the religion as a curiosity seeker, you recieve a reading to verify if you are wanted by the oricha; not everyone is. and to what extent they will allow you to progress in the religion.
6. you do not misrepresent yourself as something you are not
7. you follow the rules of the house you belong to.
8. you do not cause embarassment to your godparents or those in your house.
9. even in times of discourse or disagreement you Never disrespect the elders of your house in oracion or action, or the oricha.
10. all in the religion are your brothers and sisters and are to be treated with respect.
11. when elders are talking or sharing, aleyos (those not initiated) have a responsibility to listen quietly and learn
12. you must heed the orichas call and their rules (each has different rules), you also do not chose who has your head.
13. always great your elders appropriately and ask for their blessings, in spanish this would be by saying "bendicion" before your greeting.
14. an aleyo must always be humble.
15. you must accept that there are things you are not ready to be taught and wait for the appropriate time to learn them, sometimes meaning after initiation.
16. the oricha and your house(of santo) require commitment and do not tolerate sometime care and devotion.

so as you see, there is alot of rules. and many more to come. this is not to discourage curiosity, but to be straight forward and upfront about what is expected of people who want to learn and practice.none of these paths looks for converts or tries to recruit people, that is why it is not easy to get into. it requires devotion and dedication.

with that being said every new person to a house is directed to learn their ancestors in order to elevate,honor them and ask their guidance. and that is where I suggest any still interested begin. then cleanse yourself and your home, oricha will not frequent a dirty (even spiritually dirty) place or person. then begin learning about the many oricha. in the mean time, most houses also practice espiritismo, and suggest setting up a boveda (alter). this is something i and my elders always suggest as a first step. spirits before oricha.

good luck in all your endeavors to learn, all will come in time.


81392

this is my boveda
luz y progresso to all


Ache!

ochareo!

[plumedsnake]

the first lesson that is needed to be learned before all others is IWA PELE....

Iwa Pele is good behavior or charecter. one in these traditions must always show good charecter. how do you show good charecter?

I feel inspired to say a few more things about Iwa Pele. Iwa means Character and/or Being. You state of being is your Iwa. Pele is most often used as a formal greeting. It is wishing the greeted person calm and harmony. Also it is often translated as 'Sorry', but this is wrong. The reason for that is that when someone is hurt, like say you stub your foot against a stone, your companion will say to you 'pele'. This again is wishing the person to be restored to a state of harmony.

Also if someone is hotheaded or aggressive people might admonish him to 'se pele pele'. That is 'act calmly' or 'do it gently gently'.

So when we strive for Iwa Pele we are striving to be in tune and at peace within ourselves, with others, and with the environment.

[alwaysfallingup]

Yemayashija, you recommend working with spirits as a first step. Can you point those of us who are interested to a good resource for this first step, or maybe describe what you would do to begin working with spirits as a first step?

Thank you so much for sharing this information with us!

[Teresa]

Bendicion,

Yemayashija and Ochareo!

Thank You so much for joining in here with the conversation and giving us information pertaining to your religion.

:thumbsup:

[yemayashija]

Yemayashija, you recommend working with spirits as a first step. Can you point those of us who are interested to a good resource for this first step, or maybe describe what you would do to begin working with spirits as a first step?

Thank you so much for sharing this information with us!

Yes I do recommend to get to know your spirits first and to elevate them so that they can better guide, influence and protect you. I suggest for anyone just getting started, to start slowly. It is better to have one or a couple strong, enlightened spirits than to have 50 with no tongue, enlightenment or strength. I will bow humbly to Ochareo on the set up and actual elevation of spirits; as he has written some very enlightening and explanatory descriptions of how to get started setting up a boveda (or spirit altar). I am sure that I and several others can and will jump in with some tidbits as well, as the creation of a boveda can and will become personalized for anyone who utilizes one. and as another tidbit.....your boveda can be a very powerful tool in your spiritual and magickal growth. no matter what path you walk.

[yemayashija]

I feel inspired to say a few more things about Iwa Pele. Iwa means Character and/or Being. You state of being is your Iwa. Pele is most often used as a formal greeting. It is wishing the greeted person calm and harmony. Also it is often translated as 'Sorry', but this is wrong. The reason for that is that when someone is hurt, like say you stub your foot against a stone, your companion will say to you 'pele'. This again is wishing the person to be restored to a state of harmony.

Also if someone is hotheaded or aggressive people might admonish him to 'se pele pele'. That is 'act calmly' or 'do it gently gently'.

So when we strive for Iwa Pele we are striving to be in tune and at peace within ourselves, with others, and with the environment.

ache para ti!!!!!!!!!

[yemayashija]

Quoted For Truth. in other words they agree.

thank you!

[yemayashija]

I thank you for your prayers.

Though, I feel, you are most derserving of my respect as you are well beyond my station within the Mysteries and your path. I am but a humble babe barely beginning to crawl. My traditions are in Appalachian Mountain Magic (Folk Magic/HooDoo style magic) and I am an "adoptee" in a New Orleans style VooDoo family who has no children to pass their path too...they do not wish their knowledge to die with them...so, the "adoption".

I look forward to learning more.

I am a babe as well, hopefully I will be for a long time.....there is so much more I desire to learn. But, I would like to comment that we are all adopted into our paths, there are very few family only lines anymore especially in the U.S.

Being adopted into a house or line is something to be extremely proud of, it means someone saw the potential for a very special gift in you, and chose you out of many who would pay anything to gain the knowledge and spirtual growth they are offering you. So, to you I also wish for you to grow and become spiritually strong enough to carry on the teaching being handed down to you.

[Maria]

I will bow humbly to Ochareo on the set up and actual elevation of spirits; as he has written some very enlightening and explanatory descriptions of how to get started setting up a boveda (or spirit altar). I am sure that I and several others can and will jump in with some tidbits as well, as the creation of a boveda can and will become personalized for anyone who utilizes one. and as another tidbit.....your boveda can be a very powerful tool in your spiritual and magickal growth. no matter what path you walk.

Um, I was wondering if you are referring to this site http://www.ochareo.com (http://www.ochareo.com/) because it has been a very useful starting point for me :). Also can I ask, what is a Boveda? I have tried Googling it, but I haven't come up with anything so far.

[yemayashija]

Um, I was wondering if you are referring to this site http://www.ochareo.com (http://www.ochareo.com/) because it has been a very useful starting point for me :). Also can I ask, what is a Boveda? I have tried Googling it, but I haven't come up with anything so far.

Ochareo, is not a site; it is a screen name utilized by an elder here on this forum that is an initiated priest of Chango and Yemaya. I always refer back to Ochareo out of the respect I have for him as my elder, and for the truth and good judgement he has shared with me for many years. He is from a very distinguished and long line in our religion and is well versed in not just the spanish incorporations but also the original lukumi that our beliefs stem from.

But please remember, no one and I repeat no one knows everything about every detail in our or any religion. That is the reason forums like this are so important and so useful. We all learn together, and we all get challenged to progress and find the answers we don't already know. And with many paths you will find some small differences in how minor things are done, because each line passes down their way. But all major things are universal.

A boveda (please forgive me for using the spanish term) is just another name for an altar you maintain personally for your spiritual court, including your ancestors. some people and houses prefer to split it into two altars or shrines, one for all your spirits that surround you (your spiritual court) and one called an egun shrine which is only for ancestral spirits.

I personally have both, but when just beginning I think you should concentrate on just one encompassing all your spirits until you learn more about taking care of your spirits and elevating them.

If anyone doesn't quite understand a term anyone has said,please speak up, sometimes it's easy to forget that not everyone uses these terms on a daily basis.

Thank you for reminding me!!!!!!!!!

[Artiste-LiLi]

I am a babe as well, hopefully I will be for a long time.....there is so much more I desire to learn. But, I would like to comment that we are all adopted into our paths, there are very few family only lines anymore especially in the U.S.

Being adopted into a house or line is something to be extremely proud of, it means someone saw the potential for a very special gift in you, and chose you out of many who would pay anything to gain the knowledge and spirtual growth they are offering you. So, to you I also wish for you to grow and become spiritually strong enough to carry on the teaching being handed down to you.

Merci, merci beaucoup....I thank you. I am thankful for my adoption and to "be made blood" in this family...I pray each day that I may be strong enough and good enough to learn and carry on what this family line has entrusted to me. I too have no children..but I have 3 nieces to whom I may pass my knowledge.....for this I am most heartily thankful.

I look forward to learning even more here at the "cyber-knee" of others who are well beyond my knowledge. While it is best to learn in person, this is what we have at this time so we make the best of it.

In regards to the boveda, do you have color recommendations, suggestions or recommendations for placement within one's home, things to include in the boveda (gifts, items such as shells, candy, tobacco, etc), how does one know which spirits (other than ancestors) to honour and how does one go about "elevating" them?

I know how we do these things in my family....I am most curious and interested to learn about other traditions' ways.

Thank you!

[Artiste-LiLi]

Ochareo, is not a site; it is a screen name utilized by an elder here on this forum that is an initiated priest of Chango and Yemaya. I always refer back to Ochareo out of the respect I have for him as my elder, and for the truth and good judgement he has shared with me for many years. He is from a very distinguished and long line in our religion and is well versed in not just the spanish incorporations but also the original lukumi that our beliefs stem from.

But please remember, no one and I repeat no one knows everything about every detail in our or any religion. That is the reason forums like this are so important and so useful. We all learn together, and we all get challenged to progress and find the answers we don't already know. And with many paths you will find some small differences in how minor things are done, because each line passes down their way. But all major things are universal.

A boveda (please forgive me for using the spanish term) is just another name for an altar you maintain personally for your spiritual court, including your ancestors. some people and houses prefer to split it into two altars or shrines, one for all your spirits that surround you (your spiritual court) and one called an egun shrine which is only for ancestral spirits.

I personally have both, but when just beginning I think you should concentrate on just one encompassing all your spirits until you learn more about taking care of your spirits and elevating them.

If anyone doesn't quite understand a term anyone has said,please speak up, sometimes it's easy to forget that not everyone uses these terms on a daily basis.

Thank you for reminding me!!!!!!!!!

"Ochareo" is also an interesting website dealing with the Yoruba faith. I've only just "skimmed" it and I plan to go back when I have the proper amount of time to read it in depth. Thank you for the link Maria!

[yemayashija]

I feel inspired to say a few more things about Iwa Pele. Iwa means Character and/or Being. You state of being is your Iwa. Pele is most often used as a formal greeting. It is wishing the greeted person calm and harmony. Also it is often translated as 'Sorry', but this is wrong. The reason for that is that when someone is hurt, like say you stub your foot against a stone, your companion will say to you 'pele'. This again is wishing the person to be restored to a state of harmony.

Also if someone is hotheaded or aggressive people might admonish him to 'se pele pele'. That is 'act calmly' or 'do it gently gently'.

So when we strive for Iwa Pele we are striving to be in tune and at peace within ourselves, with others, and with the environment.

ache para ti... luz y progresso!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is excellent information

[yemayashija]

In regards to the boveda, do you have color recommendations, suggestions or recommendations for placement within one's home, things to include in the boveda (gifts, items such as shells, candy, tobacco, etc), how does one know which spirits (other than ancestors) to honour and how does one go about "elevating" them?

I know how we do these things in my family....I am most curious and interested to learn about other traditions' ways.

Thank you!

I have posted on Ochareo's behalf a document he began explaining the boveda. (he unfortunately couldn't get it to post)

If you look under the thread "the boveda or spiritual altar" we can break it down step by step over there.

luz y progresso

[yemayashija]

"Ochareo" is also an interesting website dealing with the Yoruba faith. I've only just "skimmed" it and I plan to go back when I have the proper amount of time to read it in depth. Thank you for the link Maria!

lol yes there is also a site by the name, i have seen it. but that's not whom i was referring to. i guess i should have pointed that out. i wasn't inferring there wasn't a site, i just guess my fingers couldn't keep up with my brain lol.

[Ochareo!]

lol yes there is also a site by the name, i have seen it. but that's not whom i was referring to. i guess i should have pointed that out. i wasn't inferring there wasn't a site, i just guess my fingers couldn't keep up with my brain lol.


Ochareo the website. Funny thing that I never got name copyrighted lol....the owner is Mike Orta whom was a good friend of my godfather ibae ara onu. He has a botanica actually one of the biggest in Los Angeles, named Saydel! He is an awsome person he has Obatala made and now is in the buisness of drumming.

Ochareo!

[dragoncrone]

-- as well as eagerness to learn, should be the attitude with which we begin any new spiritual learning.