Ifa divination: Odi

 

Odi represents the peace that results from completing an expectation. The Odu is also known as the "Seal". In all kinds of Ifa-Orisha rituals the concept of "sealing" is an essential element: to seal a ceremony is the guarantee that it will manifest. At the end of an invocation the priest breathes on the tray, the mat or whatever he has been working with/on, and says the word "to" (pronounced "toh"). In Yoruba that means "enough" or "it is finished" or "it is exactly as it should be"; after the word has been said, the ritual or invocation is closed, so that things said afterward do not melt together with the process of invocation. As metaphysical principle Odi is the seal of completion like happens in Nature. But: in Nature the end (sealing) of something, is always the beginning (opening) of another thing, and that's exactly how it is in Ifa where it points to the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth.