Skip to content

The 256 Odù of Ifá

Ifá speaks through 256 signs called Odù. There are 16 major signs, the Meyi, and 240 combined signs (omoluos) that are born from crossing them. Each Odù holds its own prayer, its patakíes (sacred stories), its ebbós, its iré and osogbo, and its eewó (taboos). This is the full index, in the Lukumí tradition.

All 256 signs have their page in English — essence, prayer, sacred stories and meaning. Search by name, number or the shells — or open its family. New to Ifá? Start here →

Before you subscribe: the paid part of the treatise — the full text of every patakí, the recipes for the ebbós and works and the iré and osogbo readings — is in English too, for all 256 Odù. The pages you see here are free, and so is the whole eewó of every sign.

The Ogbe family

Eyiogbe · no. 1 and its 15 combined signs The father of all the signs: the light that opens the roads, the power of Orí and the double salvation.

The Oyekun family

Oyekun Meyi · no. 2 and its 15 combined signs The lord of the night: death and the ancestors, the Ituto and the birth of sacred writing.

The Iwori family

Iwori Meyi · no. 3 and its 15 combined signs The eye that puts things together: analysis, kept secrets, and the hidden beast you have to tame.

The Odi family

Odi Meyi · no. 4 and its 15 combined signs The womb of the world: motherhood, the sea, and the promise that what is lost will be found.

The Iroso family

Iroso Meyi · no. 5 and its 15 combined signs The deep water: the bottom of the sea, the sunset, and the eye of providence that uncovers every trap.

The Ojuani family

Ojuani Meyi · no. 6 and its 15 combined signs The mask and ingratitude: the fruits of work are never seen, until the sacrifice ties the hands of the enemies.

The Obara family

Obara Meyi · no. 7 and its 15 combined signs Two kings, two crowns: the tongue that saves and the tongue that ruins, and the humble calabash that hides the wealth.

The Okana family

Okana Meyi · no. 8 and its 15 combined signs A world turned upside down: Eshu grants the opposite of what is requested, and the tongue that reveals secrets can cost a life.

The Ogunda family

Ogunda Meyi · no. 9 and its 15 combined signs The kingdom of iron: the knife that splits the difference, justice that cuts straight, and the weeping that turns into laughter.

The Osa family

Osa Meyi · no. 10 and its 15 combined signs Air and the world of spirits: the wandering wind that negotiates even with witches, and outlives everyone.

The Ika family

Ika Meyi · no. 11 and its 15 combined signs The safe harbor: the word no one can contradict, and the proud ship that ends up paying tribute to the dock.

The Otrupon family

Otrupon Meyi · no. 12 and its 15 combined signs Intelligence come into the world: no one is skilled enough to gather water in his clothes, or wise enough to number the grains of sand of the earth.

The Otura family

Otura Meyi · no. 13 and its 15 combined signs The father of life: man became king of creation, and the truth, though slow and weak, always triumphs in the end.

The Irete family

Irete Meyi · no. 14 and its 15 combined signs Eyelemere, the one who laughs at death: he goes down to the world of the Egun and returns to the world of the living; he is love in person.

The Oshe family

Oshe Meyi · no. 15 and its 15 combined signs The fighter who learned to fall: by losing, you win. And the money sought with greed serves for your own burial.

The Ofun family

Ofun Meyi · no. 16 and its 15 combined signs The powerful one on earth: mother of the fourteen Odù, owner of the empty space, the one who speaks with life and with death as an equal.
Unlock the 256 Odù What is Ifá?