Osogbo: Speaking to the Spirits of Misfortune

By understanding osogbo, the spirits of misfortune, we can better overcome them and return to health and balance in our lives

- Explains how misfortune works in this world as living spirits that plague humanity but are also a catalyst for self-development and conscious evolution

- Shows that we can overcome osogbo through eb , sacrifice, and hard work as prescribed by consulting the orishas through the casting of the dilogg n

- Shares more than 40 ancient African sacred stories about the spirits of osogbo

Beginning with the story of his goddaughter's battle with stage IV cancer, Lucumi priest cha'ni Lele explains the role of osogbo, or misfortune, in our lives. While everyone seeks blessings in life, undeserved blessings make us weak and lazy. It is tragedy that encourages us to grow and persevere. Exploring the Lucum beliefs regarding osogbo, he shows that the Lucum faith is neither fatalistic nor defeatist but healing and life affirming. He shares more than 40 patak s--stories stemming from the ancient Yoruba of West Africa--about the different spirits of osogbo, who like the orishas once walked the earth in human bodies. He explains the place of these spirits within the 256 odu of the dilogg n, the divination system used in Santer a to receive guidance from the orishas.

Lele shows that the spirits of osogbo are not only concepts but also real deities and that we can, if we understand their nature, fight them through eb , sacrifice, and hard work. He reveals how the osogbos see themselves as entities of misfortune who stand against life and all that is good in the world, but in truth it is misfortune that strengthens us, misfortune that motivates us, and misfortune that brings great evolution to the world. As the author shows, "Without bitterness, one could not know sweetness." Likewise, without misfortune in our lives, we would never know blessings or what it means to be blessed.

Author: Ócha'ni Lele
Publisher: Destiny Books
Published: 03/21/2014
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781620550984


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 04/21/2014

About the Author
Ócha'ni Lele has been immersed in the underground culture of orisha worship since 1989. He made Ocha in 2000 and was crowned a priest of Oya. His other books include Sacrificial Ceremonies of Santería, Diloggún Tales of the Natural World, Teachings of the Santería Gods, The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination, Obí Oracle of Cuban Santería, and The Diloggún: The Orishas, Proverbs, Sacrifices, and Prohibitions of Cuban Santería. He lives in Winter Park, Florida.