Osogbo: Speaking to the Spirits of Misfortune

Misfortune works in this world as living vibrant spirits--known in the Santeria and Lucumi faith as Osogbo--that plague humanity but are also a catalyst for self-development and conscious evolution. Beginning with the story of his goddaughter's miraculous recovery from stage IV cancer, Ocha'ni Lele explains how Osogbo tries to bring us down and how if we follow the prescriptions of the Orishas we can overcome misfortune and bring ourselves back to health and balance. Exploring the Lucumi beliefs regarding Osogbo, he shows that the Lucumi faith is neither fatalistic nor defeatist but healing and life affirming. He shares more than 40 patakis--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 diloggun, the divination system used in Santeria 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 ebo, sacrifice, and hard work. He reveals how Osogbo sees itself as one who stands 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.