They not only discovered the universe functioned essentially like a computer, but they learned how to manipulate this binary information to cause changes in the world around them. Thousands of years ago, ancient babalawos (literally “Fathers of the Secrets”) discovered an enormous secret: the underlying fabric of the universe is made up entirely of ones and zeros like an immense computer program and that wisdom, knowledge and thought are the forces that move the world. It is a vast body of knowledge and wisdom covering everything from the human condition to the universe at large, as accumulated and distilled over hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.”*

Ifá is probably best known for being a sophisticated and remarkably accurate and effective form of divination, containing within it a system of remedies, but Ifá is much more than merely divination. “Babalawos are initiated into the service of Orunmila (often shortened to Orula), the Oricha or deity of wisdom and knowledge, and are the only priests who practice Ifá, the highest and most profound form of divination in Santería. For hundreds of years these babalawos, who serve as the high priests of the Afro-Cuban religion, have jealously guarded these secrets, which may have already been thousands of years old before enslaved babalawos brought them from West Africa to the shores of Cuba. “Hidden within the mysterious Afro-Cuban religion commonly called Santería there is an even deeper body of secrets and rituals known as Ifá practiced by a group of priests known as babalawos, meaning, “Fathers of the Secrets,” in the Lucumí and Yoruba languages.

Ifa odus