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256 ODU IFA DIVINATION CARDS & BOOK.

By Afolabi Lipede and Akanbi

The 256 Odu Ifa are the verses of the Ifa divination corpus, which is central to the Yoruba religious and cultural system. Ifa divination is a complex system of divination used by Yoruba priests (known as babalawos) to communicate with the Orishas (deities) and seek guidance on various aspects of life. Each of the 256 Odu Ifa represents a combination of binary patterns, resulting in a total of 256 possible combinations. Each Odu is associated with a specific set of verses, proverbs, stories, and rituals, providing insights into different situations, challenges, and solutions. The Odu Ifa serve as a repository of Yoruba wisdom, ethics, and spiritual teachings, offering guidance on matters such as health, relationships, prosperity, and spiritual growth.

This book provides a basic overview of the essence and motivation behind each of the 256 Odus.

The set of 256 Odu Ifa Divination Cards below:

256 Odu Ifa Divination Cards designs. Artwork Copyright © by Afolabi Lipede. 

These illustrations are based on the guide, created by the Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library with funding from the Atla OER Grant Program, exists as an Open Educational Resource on “African Traditional Religions: Ifa.” Content licensed CC-BY-NC 4.0. Based on the image created by Dr. Will Coleman Ph.D., Oscar Daniel and Brad Ost (Available in appendix with Excel Spreadsheet). This extraordinary diagram is a geometrical interpretation of the 256 holy odus of sacred scriptures (parables, proverbs and prescriptions) for cultivating Iwa pele (good character).
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