Odù 74 of 256 · Odi family

Odi Irete (Odi Leke)

The bull who was left an ox for doing a favor: bindings and favors that enslave — but Oshún is chasing you with good luck, and she crowns the hard worker.

Odi Irete (Odi Leke) is Odù number 74 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Odi family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 18 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 12 ebbós and works and the signs it shows in the consultation; the detail of iré and osogbo, the eewó and the full recipes open with the Babalawo plan — that locked part is still written in Spanish.

The sign at a glance

Order in Ifá: Odù 74 of 256
Composition: Odi over Irete
Orishas that speak: Orunmila · Oshún · Olokun · Ibeyis (Jimaguas) · Shangó · Orishaoko · Eshú

What Ifá says in this sign

Odi Leke is the sign of the bull who, for doing the dog a favor, was tied by the horns and turned into an ox: an Ifá of transformations and of favors that enslave. Here you learn to say no — before a yes leaves you yoked to somebody else's plough.

Your rise comes through honest sweat: to reach anything high you have to work hard — like the farmer who, for being obedient and hardworking, was crowned King by Oshún. You are able to do a new job and fear is stopping you: this odu says you can. And there are three pieces of luck on their way: Oshún is chasing you to hand them over — if they have not arrived, it is because she has not wanted them to… yet. Attend her.

«The bull was left an ox for doing the dog a favor — Odi Leke learns how to say no.»The pulse of Odi Irete (Odi Leke)

The binding is not only the bull's: you have been bound with hair from your head and from below — do the work to break it, and neither accept nor do the favors that tie you down. Look after your testicles against blows and hernias (castration was born here), do not lift heavy loads, and eat properly: in this odu people fall ill from hunger and from overwork.

In love it cuts both ways: this is an Ifá of adultery — the child by the married mistress will come to light and put you in a difficult place. And one warning from the confessional: even though you give your word to keep quiet, when you get home you will want to tell your partner what Ifá said — do not do it: what the oracle says is not pillow talk.

Your manners are part of the ebbó: sitting down at the table to eat was born here — never eat standing up —, and Orunmila eats up high, on a platform: give him his height. Take care on stairs, tell no lies, and go forward: the ox blessed by Olofin ended up holding the world on his back — the transformation in Odi Leke can be a crown as well

The sign in one line

Work hard, break the binding and sit down at the table — Oshún is chasing Odi Leke with three pieces of luck, and she crowns the hard worker.

The prayer of Odi Irete (Odi Leke) · Yoruba

Odi Leke awari odi olowo ashupua odoloro odiguin lodafun Orunmila orubo, odi ju arapa odi guepe adifafun aupla tiendofe, eyele lebo.

Súyere
Osanyin konko koko wayaese meye sokuta.

Ifá says — what Odi Irete (Odi Leke) tells you

Lodafun Orunmila. Kaferefún Oshún, the Ibeyis and Olokun.
You have to work hard to reach anything high; you are able to take on a new job, but fear is stopping you.
By doing favors, you can end up a slave and caught in bindings, like the bull.
It marks a change or a transformation in your life, which may go well or badly.
This is an Ifá of adultery: the man has two women, and if it is a woman, she has two husbands.
The people around you treat you with envy and say you hold the position that was meant for one of them.
Castration and trouble with the testicles, from blows or from a hernia; you may end up ruptured.
Illness from overwork, from hunger, from a changed head and from lifting too much; you have to eat properly.
A mole on your private parts, which you keep looking at in the mirror.
A child the man is going to have by a mistress who is still with her husband, and it will come to light.
You are being called a thief, and everyone laughs at you for being ruptured.
Even though you give your word not to repeat it, when you get home you will tell your partner what Ifá said.

Proverbs of Odi Irete (Odi Leke) · Òwe

“The ox, for doing the dog a favor, was tied by the horns.”
“Make yourself worthy of every favor, but neither do one nor accept one.”
“To reach anything high, you have to work hard.”
“Misfortune is born of ill will, not of destiny.”
“A breeding ram fears no challengers.”
“The hoe that works never rusts.”
“When the donkey turns wise, the fool will listen to reason.”
“There is more strength in good judgement than in the champion's arm.”
“A frightened ram is saved by his fear.”
“Better to keep quiet than to speak without care.”
“Whoever loses their temper at good advice harms themselves.”
“The careless one lets out the secrets of their heart and puts their orí at risk.”
“Dishonor and insult always keep the unbeliever company.”

13 proverb interpretations in this Odù, locked.Every proverb explained: which road it comes from and how it applies. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Iré and Osogbo

6 iré and osogbo readings in this Odù, locked.The iré and osogbo of the sign, sorted by subject — health, money, love, death, loss… Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

What is born in Odi Irete (Odi Leke) · Ìbí

That the bull, for doing the dog a favor, was tied by the horns and turned into an ox.
The farmer saw the strength in his horns and roped him to plough the land; this is an Ifá of transformation.
The binding.
Here the binding is done with hair taken from a person's head and from below at a certain moment.
Sitting down at the table to eat.
Orunmila lives on a platform and eats up on the table; eating standing up is forbidden.
That Olofin blessed the ox.
He ruled that every important consecration should carry an ox horn, loaded and sealed, and that every secret of the Orishas should be closed with an ox horn and a palm heart.
Castration.
It speaks of trouble with the testicles, from blows taken or from a hernia.
That the cat, when it relieves itself, digs a hole and covers it over.

What is forbidden · Eewó

5 eewó (taboos) in this Odù, locked.What the child of this sign must not eat, do or wear. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Ebbós of Odi Irete (Odi Leke) · The sacrifices that open the road

LoveWork to break bindings🔒 Babalawo

LoveTo get loose from the binding, with Eshú🔒 Babalawo

Beating enemiesBraid of dog rope and ox rope🔒 Babalawo

Beating enemiesProtection with Ogún on the hill🔒 Babalawo

HealthWork to Olokun (Fonolokun)🔒 Babalawo

HealthPraying the head with quail🔒 Babalawo

LossHutia and fish at the corners🔒 Babalawo

Pushing death awayEbbó with the tools of your trade🔒 Babalawo

8 ebbós in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Works of Odi Irete (Odi Leke) · The workings of the sign

HealthThe ox horn of the consecrations🔒 Babalawo

Beating enemiesTo break it apart🔒 Babalawo

MoneyOshún's gourd at the waist🔒 Babalawo

HealthThe necklace that reaches the private parts🔒 Babalawo

4 works in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Patakíes of Odi Irete (Odi Leke) · The roads of the Odù

1The dog and the ox

The dog, in a bad way, made ebbó with Orunmila, and his friend the ox went with him to leave it. The dog asked the ox to carry the ebbó on his horns; a farmer saw the strength in those horns and roped the ox to plough with, leaving him a slave for doing a favor.

There was a dog in a very bad way, and his friend the ox advised him to go to Orunmila, who saw this Odù for him and told him to make ebbó; the dog made it and the ox went with him to leave it. The dog set out with the ebbó in his mouth and, since he could not talk that way, the ox said: «Put the ebbó up here, on my horns, and then we can talk». The dog put it there, but the ebbó was very sticky.

When they reached the foot of the tree where they were to leave it, the ox began banging his head hard against the trunk to get the ebbó off. A farmer nearby saw him and said to himself: «I never knew the ox had that much strength in his horns». He quickly took a rope, lassoed him and tied him by the horns, because that was where the strength was that would serve him to plough the land and pull the cart. And the ox was left a slave for doing a favor. That is why in this Odù, by doing favors, you can end up a slave and caught in bindings.

2The machete and the jealous husband

Orunmila told a woman that she had cut her hair, that she had trouble with her cycle and that her husband had another woman. She told her husband everything, and out of jealousy he went to kill Orunmila with a machete; climbing to the platform he slipped in the blood and cut himself with his own machete, and died.

A woman went to be read by Orunmila, who saw this Odù for her and was careless enough to tell her that she had cut the hair on her body, that she had trouble with her monthly cycle, that she wore a band tied around her waist and that her husband had another woman. When the woman got home, she told her husband everything and swore that what he had divined was true.

The husband, out of jealousy, believing that his wife had slept with Orunmila, took a machete and went to kill him. But Orunmila was up above, on the platform in his house, putting two guinea fowl to his head; the man started up the ladder, slipped in the blood, fell, and cut himself with the very machete he was carrying, and died. That is why in this odu you do not repeat what Ifá says, and you go up a ladder carefully.

3The farmer who became King

A farmer whose luck had run out made ebbó with Orunmila, who gave him a gourd to wear at his waist while working the land. The people on their way to the new King's crowning laughed at him; but Orunmila sent for the bald man with the gourd to be crowned, and for his obedience Oshún gave him the kingdom.

There was a farmer whose luck had run out badly, whose crops produced nothing; he went to Orunmila, who saw this Odù for him, marked him an ebbó and gave him a gourd to wear at his waist when he went to work the land. The road to the town ran past his fields, and in the town there was a great feast to crown the new King; the people going by laughed at him: «Hey there, friend, the one with the ball», and the farmer went on working and paid them no attention.

At the feast, Orunmila, who was the one to say who the King would be, gave the order: «Go along the road, and the man you see hoeing, bald, with a gourd at his waist — bring him here, for he will be King». The people remembered the farmer they had been laughing at and brought him by force, while he shouted at them not to kill him. Orunmila presented him: «This is your King, lord and master of his lands», and they crowned him. The farmer thanked him, and Orunmila answered: «Thank your own obedience and your hard work as well, because it was Oshún who gave you this wealth».

4He sacrificed so as not to be afraid of work🔒 Babalawo

5Aweror ogbola, King in the time to come🔒 Babalawo

6When the yearling tied up his own mother🔒 Babalawo

7The woman who never laughed🔒 Babalawo

8The farmer who refused Eshú a bed for the night🔒 Babalawo

9Eshu's trap for Odi Leke🔒 Babalawo

10The marriage never consummated🔒 Babalawo

11A beggar's wishes🔒 Babalawo

12The mother who took advantage🔒 Babalawo

13When Oggún lost his strength🔒 Babalawo

14The ashé of Osain's ewe🔒 Babalawo

15The two Franciscos🔒 Babalawo

16False devotion🔒 Babalawo

17Having a friend there🔒 Babalawo

18The pattern to follow🔒 Babalawo

15 more patakíes in this Odù, locked.Read every road in full with the Babalawo plan. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Before you subscribe: everything you read on this page is in English, but the locked part of the treatise — the full text of the other patakíes, the recipes for the ebbós and works, the iré and osogbo readings and the eewó — is still written in Spanish. We are translating it. · This page is also available in Spanish: See Odi Irete (Odi Leke) in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Odi Irete (Odi Leke)

What does the Odù Odi Irete (Odi Leke) mean in Ifá?

The bull who was left an ox for doing a favor: bindings and favors that enslave — but Oshún is chasing you with good luck, and she crowns the hard worker.

What number is Odi Irete (Odi Leke) among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Odi Irete (Odi Leke) is Odù number 74 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Odi family.

Which orishas speak in Odi Irete (Odi Leke)?

In the Odù Odi Irete (Odi Leke) these orishas speak: Orunmila, Oshún, Olokun, Ibeyis (Jimaguas), Shangó, Orishaoko, Eshú.

What is a proverb of the Odù Odi Irete (Odi Leke)?

One of the proverbs of Odi Irete (Odi Leke) says: «The ox, for doing the dog a favor, was tied by the horns.».

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