Beginning My Ifa Journey - Episode 3

This episode is personal.

I’m sharing the beginning of my Ifa journey. Not from a place of having all the answers, but from a place of obedience, curiosity, and truth. This is me being honest about what I’ve felt, what I’ve questioned, and what I’m learning as I take these first steps.

For a lot of people, Ifa is misunderstood. It’s been mislabeled, judged, and spoken on without real knowledge. I’m not here to debate or convince anyone. I’m here to speak my truth and walk in what feels aligned for me.

This journey is spiritual, but it’s also real. It comes with unlearning, discernment, and moments where I’ve had to sit with myself in ways I never have before.

I’m still learning. I’m still growing. And I’m choosing to share this part of my life openly.

If you’ve ever felt called to something deeper, something that doesn’t fit into what you were taught, this conversation might resonate with you.

This is just the beginning.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

This is the Spiritual Realist, and I'm Scarlett Drown. This is a space for honest conversation about spirituality, individuality, and growth. Welcome to opening your mind without pressure, performance, or pretending. From views to heavenly minded, but earthly good.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

From church fans to creed. Grandma had a jar of roots. Cross hanging over the doorway. But the church still knew the truth.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Let's begin. So now we're going to ring our bell so that we can clean out any negative energy or any distractions while we spend this time together. Today our scent is hibiscus, and you can use it in a tea, you can use it in a bath, you can have an oil with it, but it is something that is used in EFA to help cleanse the Ori, purify thoughts, wash away stagnant energy, and it also helps foster joy and self-appreciation. It is a great plant to use in spiritual practices as well. So before I get into why I chose Ephar, let me give you a little information on what Epha is. So I like to say, because I'm new to it as well, I like to say Ephar is like the Christianity version of African traditional religion, right? So you have Ola Dumore, who is God. That is our word for God. He is the supreme being, he is the creator, he is the one that created the heavens and the earth. And that's how I see Ola Du More. Then you have angels, and we call angels deities, and there are a plethora of deities, 256 to be exact, and then or it's 401 ODUs, which we'll get into in a minute. But these deities are your spiritual guides. This is who you make the agreement with when you come on earth, just like when people say you have your own personal guardian angel, like Gabriel or Michael or whoever you believe is your personal angel. Well, these deities are who I believe and who we believe are our personal angels. And we'll get into who mine is in a little bit. But this is what we do and how we believe in Ephar: that your Ori, your spiritual head, your spiritual guide is your conscience that keeps you moving forward, and that you are living your best life and your most authentic life, but your purest life. In other words, so you are following the law of the land, you're being a good human, you have good morals, you have a good conscience, you do not do things that will cause hurt, harm, and danger to people or animals, and we'll get into that in a minute as well. But for me, epha is definitely a religion of personal connection with God. It is an individual religion. My ephar walk doesn't look like anybody else's ephar walk. Um, my walk with my deity and my personal angel doesn't look like that for anybody else because we all have come with our own purpose, with our own destiny, with our own things we are meant to do on this earth. I just believe in doing it the way that we have done it for centuries and centuries and centuries before Christianity came into our lives and into our communities and into our land. And that's why I practice ephar. And to be truthful, I didn't find ephar. Ephar found me. And I know people are like, what? But it did. And let's get into my story a little bit. I said earlier, deity. So deity and orisha, for me, that is the same. Let me just be really clear and really frank. I grew up Christian. I was born and raised in Christianity, rooted in Christianity. So I am learning this religion every day. So if I say something that people don't like and you don't agree with it, or you think I misgave information, please by all means correct me, tell me. My Baba will probably tell me anyway. But yeah, again, so there's 256 uh deities out there or orishas uh out there, and for me, I intermingle them because I'm in the religion, and so they get transposed all the time in my head because that's my understanding. So, you know, judge yourself. That's all I got. Now, let's talk about me. Uh again, literally, I did not find Efa. Efar found me. So, as some of you may or may not know, I had a bone reading. And in that reading, it came out that I needed to read tarot, that my people were Yorubian, and I needed to get some tarot cards and you know, bring my natural heritage back to the forefront. And uh again, I was into reading, I was into tarot, I should say, because not reading, but I got immediately went and got cards, and that started like this trickle effect. And remember, I told you I have a friend, and she always says, crumbs to the loaf. And when I tell you, it was like a little sprinkle of a bread crumb. So here we are today. My friend was one person that I did rely on because she is a my definitely she's like my sister friend. And we went to the St. Christian College and I saw her online one day with a John DeConker route, which one day we'll get into there. And I it opened me up to accept that there are other tools and other ways of using different things, even though at the time I saw myself as a Christian. So I hit her up, and I hadn't hit her up in God, at least 15, 20 years. I hadn't seen her, talk to her, anything. And here she goes, and she had these crystals and things like that. And I asked her, I said, hey, I want you to teach me tarot because I didn't know that she was into tarot. She didn't know I wanted to be into tarot. So granted, we just she was like, girl, I've been thinking about it, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Long story short, she opens up a tarot class. And I joined the class and I'm reading, and she and I just connected and on a spiritual level that we hadn't been connected with in a long time. Now, both of us sang in the same gospel Christian choir at school, and it was an amazing time we had together. We started, you know, talking more and frequently and things like that. And she is well more advanced than me in spirituality, so I'm learning things and you know what have you. And one day she calls me in the morning. Now, we rarely talk like in the morning, but it's like seven, eight o'clock in the morning. And she calls me out of the blue, and I just happen to like, my phone is always on do not disturb until a certain time. And I just happen to be looking at my phone when she calls, and she's like, I gotta tell you something. And she's like, I was in the shower and I got this message for you, and I need to tell you right away. Have you ever heard of Efar? And I'm like, no, what's Eva? Like, I've never, when I tell you at that point, and I know I live in Atlanta, and I know y'all like, how you in this black city, all these black people that practice this black religion, and you don't know nothing about EFA. Yes, nothing. Oblivious, right? And she goes, Well, I feel like you should look into it, or you know, what have you, what have you. And she gives me this prophecy, really is what it was. And you know, I take it in. It was so past my spiritual intellect at the time until I couldn't even fathom, like, what? I could hear what she was saying physically, but my spirit man was digesting what she was saying to me spiritually. It was just like that. Like, it was like my ears physically heard, but my spirit was the digestion of the message. Fast forward a couple days, and it's a person that we both followed online, who later I find out is on my Baba's podcast. Um, but at the time, I didn't even know what a Baba was. A Baba Laura is like the priest, and they're the ones that do your initiations and give you hands, and they become your godfather, and they teach you, and your Odoo, and your Odoo is like your life path. I knew none of this at the time. And she happened to be live, and my friend is like, get on live now. So I go online, and by the time she she's talking, she's giving people Barbas who, because at this point, Efar has taken off, and a lot of people are saying they're these things and saying they're Baba Laws and priestesses and priests, and they are just taking people's money, pretty much. And so she was giving information on people in different cities that you could go to that she knows that are trustworthy that won't be taking your money. They're in the religion, they do the religion, they live the religion, this is what they do. And she happened to say two names. And now, mind you, when my friend, my sister friend calls me, she told me, I feel like you're going to get initiated with somebody in Florida. Now, I'm from Florida, but I don't know anybody. And when I say zero people, I mean zero people that even practice EFA. Like, really. And so one of the names she gave was Ababa in Florida. And I was like, mm-hmm, that's interesting. Why would I hear that and catch that just at that exact moment? Remember, crumbs to the loaf. Crumbs to the loaf. I started following the two names that stuck out to me. One was in Atlanta and one was in Orlando. And so I started following them. And at the time, my Baba had not had a podcast. He had not been, he had done some videos and things like that, but he hadn't been uh as popular as he is now. But it was something about the way he talked and told stories that really connected with me. He was very personable about a religion that I had no understanding of. But the way he told the stories made them relatable so that I could understand the concept of what they call potter keys. Potter keys. I'm gonna mess it up, but that is, it's like scripture, right? Stories that you have proverbs that you tell so that the person can get what they should do or how they should live in different scenarios. Okay. Well, I contact him after months, and when I say months, I mean months of like looking at the same videos, looking at the same in the posts, like just making sure because in EFA, it it costs. I mean, just like anything else, it's gonna cost. And me and my money, we got a love-love relationship. Let's be real clear. She don't cheat on me, I don't cheat on her. We like to stick together like white on rice, okay? So I don't be trying to spend my money unnecessarily. And then I be, I don't want to get mad, and then you spiritual, and I'm over here really trying to get you back on the land, and you trying to get me in principality. So I just be trying to stay clear. Anyway, so I book a consultation with Baba Joseph, and man, it was life-altering. It literally changed my life. I did not even understand that I needed it until I got it. Like, I didn't understand where or what I was going, what I was trying to get into, if this was even what I wanted to be. Now, let me just back up one quick second. When I decided that I was gonna stop going to church, or I thought church was no longer something that was beneficial for me in that kind of sense, I really thought I was gonna be a Buddhist. Now, I know you probably thinking, yeah, they about to listen, baby, they was gonna keep me out of the temple. Cause I don't know if I got the tenacity to sit there and do all of that in silence. Cause I mean, it's me. Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know that I did not look into just one avenue of religion, right? I came from a religious background. I believe in God. I believe God is in every religion in some in any facet of it, because I believe it is your intention that is what drives your relationship with God. So for me, anyway, that was just something I looked into. I did the stuff, I chanted, I, you know, I tried to embrace it, but EFA kind of fell in my lap. And so I did the consultation with Baba, and I mean, it just went well. He was informative, he gave me what I needed. He did not try to solicit me to get my hand in EFA through him. He did not try to manipulate the situation so that I could be one of his godchildren. He did not, uh, he gave me exactly what I paid for, right? And it was after that that I decided, you know what, I think he's gonna be my baba. And so after a couple months and after some things had happened that he stated would happen, um, I went ahead and asked him, you know, can I get my initiation through him? And he did take a minute because he has a long waiting list, or he had a long waiting list, but a slot opened up and I was able to go ahead and get my hand in EFA. And I've been practicing ever since. Now, people want to know what it is about if our keeps me going or drives me. And for me, it is the moral compass and the spirituality of EFA that actually keeps me growing and moving forward. Like if it was not for EFA, I would not be right here with you in this space sharing this moment. Now, I'm not saying that Ephar is for everybody. Just like Christianity ain't for everybody, just like Catholicism isn't for everybody, just like Buddhism isn't for everybody. I believe in you finding your own route to what it is that you need to be your highest self for your highest good, for the greatest purpose that you were born to do in this earth on this earth for your destiny. Epha just was for me. And I don't denounce and talk about any other religion because I mean, what you do is what you do. I know people that practice Christianity and they're still initiated in ephaw because that is their desire. And so I don't think there's anything wrong with that. People have a lot of questions or a lot of misinformation out there in the internet world. Um, but for me, I believe in going to the source. If I have a question, I go to my Baba and ask my Baba because at the end of the day, he's very knowledgeable. He um believes in educating and teaching you about your Odoo. And your Odoo is your life's plan. It is what you should live by, and it presents you with scenarios that you should not get into that really will hinder your clear path to your destiny, right? And so it's something that you should study and you should know. And I'm working on studying it totality-wise. I've read through my whole Odoo at least once. And so I think that that is something that I have become a better person for. For instance, I don't eat a lot of red meat anymore. Not because it is wrong to eat red meat, but for my Odoo and what I was born to do, it's something that I should eat on occasion. Now, let's get into my head orisha. Now, he is very unique. And yes, I have a male Orisha uh deity as my head. And so just to be clear, because Ephar believes in balance, if your head deity is a dude or a man or a male figure, then you will always get the accompany to that. And you find out your mother and your orisha once you crown that orisha on your head, meaning you do the ceremony it takes to bring him or her fully into your life. So for instance, my orisha is Agayu, which a lot of people have never heard of that before. They have no idea who he is, if he exists, what he is, but he is the deity known as the gatekeeper or of the volcano. So he lives in the volcano, he's very fiery. Uh also um, desert just depends, and the river. It just depends on what comes out when you get crowned, that Orisha, okay? And so I know you find out who your head is, and that's what the Lango is in Epha, your head. Uh, you find out who your guardian angel, deity, orisha, is when you get your initial hand of Epha. And so I found out right then and there that Agayu is my guardian, Orisha, and he is very unique. Um, a lot of people don't know. You have your your regulars, and I say that not in a disrespectful way, but the ones that we all hear about the most. You have Oshun and Yemaye and Shango and Eshu and other ones like that, that everybody knows. Like everyone, when Beyoncé came with the gold crown, you know, everyone goes, oh, she is uh Oshun and her sister, because she says it in the song, that her sister represents Yemaye, that's the mother of the water and the ocean and the sea. So, you know, and Shang-Go, everybody knows Shang-Go, the like manliest man with the staff with the sword or the staff or whatever that thing is called that he has, you know, and so, you know, the gatekeeper of the crossroads, the road opener, everybody knows those. Those are kind of names that people know and hear urbanly all the time. But there are, again, 256 deities. So I happen to have one that he's different, he's very unique, and learning about him gave me clarity in life. Like when I got my hand in EFA and I got my OD's, it helped me understand and become free. Free because my life experiences now made sense. My yeses and my no's, my comings and my goings, my situations that I was in or were presented to me, how I handled that, all started making sense. Like, I got it. Like, okay, you're not crazy. I mean, crazy is relevant, right? But I'm just saying, like, it all helped me be okay with who I was and accepting that this is what you were born. The reason why you act this way when this happens is because this is what you this is who you were born under, this is what you were born to do, this is why you were supposed to move this way and not this way, right? And so I'm Grateful that I have a very unique Orisha head because A, I'm always like the opposite. I follow the trends when they're no longer a trend, right? I'm the person that wear all white when it's black season and all black when it's white season. Like that's who I am. And so this deity, this Orisha, he's just different. And learning to live with him is different and unique, but it also opens me up to a freedom to accept who and what I am all the time. And so, yeah, I really am appreciative of that. You also find out in your hand who is your warrior, meaning who fights for you, who is the one that is protecting you, and that is different from your crowned mother. So if you have a male head figure that is called your father, and then you'll get your balance. You'll get your mother when you crown that head because the masculine and feminine always exist together. Because Efa again believes in balance. So I haven't crowned yet, so I don't know who my mother is yet. I think I know, but uh, you know, I say I will not say until I crown. But yeah, and then you get your warriors or your person, your deity that fights for you. So for instance, if you were born with Gabriel as your personal head angel, Michael may be the ones that fight for you. And we all know what Michael do. He put his foot on the neck of your enemies. That's what Michael do. Don't blame me, don't blame the messenger. That's what the Bible says he does, that's what he came to do, that's what his, that's his whole purpose in life. So I'm just saying. Yeah, so my walk in EFA has been different, exciting, and has been life-changing. I am a different person since becoming initiated in EFA. It is a very personal relationship and a very personal religion. I still don't know anybody else besides my family in Orlando that practice EFA personally. And none of my circle practice EFA. I am the only one that wears this yellow and green bracelet. But I'm okay with that because it helps me, it guides me. It's my relationship with God. And most of my friends are Christian, and that's their relationship with God. And we love each other, we mingle in the same circle, we live in the same space. We are still really good friends because nothing about my religion and their religion has to pit us against each other. I am so excited to be able to document and share my journey as I'm learning this religion of Ipha, which goes back thousands of generations before me. I want to be clear on I am new to Epha. I am new to the religion of Epha. But spirituality, I was born into. I was born into spirituality, I was born into a discipline of practicing a spirituality. Yes, it was defined in Christianity and that belief, but I also grew up in the Gulla Geechee Corridor where hoodoo and our roots run through the veins and through the rivers and the creeks and in the land because the dirt never lies. This week, I encourage you to look up Ephi. Look at its structure, look at its prose, look at how it could benefit you, or any religion that you've been thinking about looking into that differs from your base religion or what you were born into. Or if you're not in a religion and you're looking for a religion, you could definitely find a plethora of information online. Follow your gut. If a person is saying something that does not agree with your spirit, then that may not be for you, just like I did. I'm Scarlet Drown, heavenly minded, but always earthly good. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Remember, you can find you in everything you do.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

From church fans to create.

SPEAKER_01 27:11

From folded heads to touch of dirt. I let the spirit guide me to the herbs of the earth's garlic through. I remember every story that they spoke in the words. I'm empowered by the spirit strengthened by my decent.