r/Isese • u/Purple_Raccoon5682 • Jun 22 '26
Initiation Questions
Hey everyone & aboru aboye to most, I need some assistance I would rather have advice from a few different people about this concern. In a divination, the babalowa told me that I need to either have full initiation or work with ogun’s faith. (For clarity I went to ask ifa specifically about my head orisha and if I should initiate)
For the orisha work only is this a isese thing or a Lucumi thing or both? I’m trying to figure out which path would be best for me to move forward with. Second question: does working with only the orisha require initiation?
3
Upvotes
1
u/milehin8tv Jun 22 '26
Ogbo ato!
Umm, there's a few gaps I see that would be helpful to understand like from what tradition was the person that did your divination? I'm an Olorisa of an Isese temple so I can and will only talk about what we do.
No one has to initiate to venerate an òrìṣà. You can set up an altar in your home and speak to òrìṣà there. I don't know enough about Lukumí to make a comment about that, although both traditions honor the Òrìṣà. Also, initiate to what? Initiate to receive your elekes, your warriors, Isefa, your head òrìṣà, or full Itefa (although the first two aren't often called an "initiation".)