#obidivination

Some information from this post regarding my personal involvement in certain Africana traditions is out of date. Please see this post for corrections and updates.

No problem sis <3 Makes me happy to hear :D And yes! I’ve definitely heard of this from multiple sources as an alternative to using cowrie shells when you’re in a pinch and don’t have them on hand. If you don’t already know, using four cowrie shells for divination is call Obi divination and it’s one of the simplest and most basic forms of divination used in Ifá and its derived religions Santería and Candomblé.

In these religions, there are many forms of divination that you can only do after being initiated at a certain level. For example, only olorishas can divine with sixteen cowries shells which is called mérìndínlógún. Only those who have received one Hand of Ifá can divine with ikin (palm nuts). Only babalawo and iyanifa, those who have been initiated with two or more Hands of Ifá, can do Ifá divination with the opele chain and with ikin on the opon tray.

Obi divination is a bit of a grayer area because on one hand it’s considered open for all levels but on the other hand, there’s still special methods and training you should do. Thinking I could teach myself and give it a try since there’s lots of information on it online and it seemed open to non-initiates, I washed four cowrie shells with Florida Water to cleanse them and asked some questions. When I asked if I was ready to use this divination method, I got a firm “no.” Not never, but definitely not yet. I strongly suspect this is because my ilé (Ifá lineage) offers lessons on it, and I am supposed to wait to learn formally.

So while I think divining with four coins is a very hoodoo-like way to adapt this simple divination method and that’s probably fine for anyone to try, I would caution anyone from attempting Obi divination using cowrie shells or coconut slices without learning from an olorisha, babalawo, or iyanifa.