Submitted by Starman Abiodun on
The Seven African powers are highly revered and celebrated amongst initiates and followers of the Yoruba Pantheon. They call them Orixas in Brazil and Loas in Vodun. Practioners from different branches may not worship the same African deities. However, the principle beyond the belief of the Seven African powers runs deep.
In fact, the concept of the Seven African powers is centuries old. The Seven African powers can be associated with the Seven Rays, which can be interpreted to be the Seven Attributes of God. It was first seen in Verdic literature and referred to as the Seven Rishis. The Seven Rays as a metaphysical concept has appeared in several religions and dates back to the sixth century.
The concept behind the Seven Rays is that there are building blocks of light, which gives us life. Before we are born, our souls are sustained in a beam of light. The beam of light breaks into seven pieces when forming physical matter, or the human body. We are all born with Seven Rays or Godly attributes. However, we have one dominate attribute that forms our personality and life mission. The qualities of this attribute are developed and refined through successive life cycles.
The Seven Rays, or the Seven Godly attributes are connected to the energy centers in the body called chakras. Chakras are energy wheels that are located along the spine. Baba Ifa Karade talks about the chakra system and how it relates to the Orishas and the Seven African powers in his book, The Yoruba Handbook of Religious concepts.
He states that Chango resides in the first chakra, or in Sanskrit the mulahadra chakra. Yemaja is the second chakra or the swadhisthana chakra. Oshun is associated with the third charka or Manipura chakra. Ogun is associated with the heart chakra or anahata chakra. Obatala is associated with the throat chakra or vishuddha chakra. Orunmila is commonly associated with the third eye or the Ajna chakra. Lastly, the crown chakra is associated with the Ori. Of course, the chakras like any kind of energy vibrate at different frequencies. However, the vibrational frequencies get stronger when they are in full alignment and working harmonically together. Once this happens, a person is able to receive energy and knowledge from a higher source. According to Baba Ifa Karade, this process is known as enlightenment, or reaching the heaven that is inside of you.
7 is an incredibly popular number. There are the 7 solar systems, 7 sacred planets, 7 colors, and the list goes on and on. In many African religions, people may call on the Seven African powers for blessings, guidance, and protection. They do this because they understand that combining the energy force of the Orishas is far more powerful than just calling on one.
http://articles.submityourarticle.com/the-seven-african-powers-203517
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Yamaya Cruz is the author of When The Shadows Began To Dance. She aspires to write books that are about spiritual healing, packed with emotional feeling, so people's shadows can dance.
<a href="http://www.newafricanspirituality.com">http://www.newafricanspirituality.com</a>