santeria

Luz, Amor, y Àşę.

Today, February 2, the winds of change blow. Countless practitioners of Orisha worship come together to celebrate Orisha Oya and embrace the manifestation of Her energy in their lives. Candles flicker, drums play, and bodies move to the rhythms of resistance that have protected a faith with such vehemence that it must be recognized as nothing less than a lifestyle.

Colors flow in abundance so profound that the depth of the spectrum itself is awe inspiring.

The alluring sound of Aña has now captured the leaves as they too are dancing. They are announcing Her arrival.

Orisha Oya’s entrance is externally announced while internally manifested. She is the energy that we draw from to make the changes necessary in our life as we seek to gain and maintain balance and grow closer to our Ori. We must not seek to ignore the storms felt by our soul when Orisha Oya sends Her messages to us. Instead we should understand that, at times, it is only after we accept that all has purposely been removed from our often restricted perspective that we are able to see that which we should truly be focusing on.

Marefefun Orisha Oya!!

Year of My Ori….

Coconut water drips down my face and cools more than my flesh…. it cools my mind.
I am immersed in the fragrance of the land made fertile by the blood, sweat, and tears of my ancestors.
I inhale but am not simply breathing….
Rather, I am ingesting the energy that surrounds me.
I am not merely exhaling….
Rather, I am releasing the tension that has accumulated over the last year and scraping the walls of my mortality as to ensure that no residue is afforded the opportunity to build up and grow.
I will not allow the arteries of my soul to be clogged by the cholesterol of my mortality.
I will not allow the plaque of temporal drama to hinder the smile of my spirituality.
The music seduces my shell and reaffirms the fact that my physical presence is not the authority of my existence… rather it is a servant of it.
As the old year kisses my cheek before passing, the new one embraces me with its presentation.
I ask its name and it smiles.
“My name is your name”, it states.
Confused, I ask for clarification.
“My name is your name”, it repeats.
I take a moment to think about what I am being told and decide that it is not a simple misunderstanding that I am having. Rather, I must be missing something deeper.
I excuse myself and prepare to walk to my sacred space where communication with spirit thrives, but I am stopped by the new year who now stands before me again.
Suddenly this new year transforms into my reflection and repeats: “My name is your name”.
I beg for an explanation as tension attempts to seize the opportunity and creep back in.
With a flick of its finger, this new year brushes tension off my shoulder and moves closer to me.
Assuming that another embrace was to follow, I extend my arms. However, an embrace is not what I receive. Instead, this new year enters me.
My entire surrounding has become a mirror and my reflection makes itself known in every living thing I can lay my eyes on.
My lips begin to move and I realize that I am smiling.
I get it now….
The new year is named after me because the time has come for me to be all that I have worked on being. While growth and development are eternal processes, they are not without checkpoints of tangible accomplishments.
“So you get it now?”, the new year asks through my own mouth.
“Yes”, I say. “I get it. Your name is my name because this is the year of my Ori”

Dr. William Q. Ross

Tag: santeria

Maferefun Orisha Oya….

Year of My Ori….