Concepts of orisa worship

Orun is an invisible realm to the mundane world and is the plane where spiritual forces exist. There is orun rere (the good realm) and orun buruku (the bad realm). Orun rere is where the spirits of those individuals who have lived a life according to their destiny and have strived for perfection are sent. Orun buruku is the opposite and is where the spirits of those individuals who have lived a life of bad character are sent.

Created by Olorun, odu exists within the consciousness of Olodumare. Odu brings forth creation and contains every possibility that is held within the universe. Odu are living entities that contain the potential for all beings, events, occurrences, and predicaments that have or will eventually manifest themselves into the universe. These manifestations were documented and cataloged by the witness of creation, Orunmila, and through this process, he created Ifa, which is the tradition and spiritual practice focused on divination.

Eleda is the spark of divinity that everyone is born with and carries within themselves. It is our most concrete link to Olorun that we as humans have. When one speaks of eleda they are referring to their own ori's consciousness. It can also be used as a word to refer to a devotee's relationship with their own patron orisha. Eleda is Olorun's ashe within us that allow us the opportunity to create our own personal realities throughout our lifetimes.

Ori is our walking consciousness (the talking self) and our own personal deity within our own head that we are born with to guide our lives us daily. It is necessary for the Yoruba to propitiate and appease ori as the head guides the body and that it must be strengthened and cared for in order to help a devotee overcome the external influences found in the world that may cause misalignment with their destiny.

Ayanmo is destiny or fate. It is those things that we cannot change in life and are meant to experience.