Once the diviner has marked either ire or osogbo, it is time to mark one of the many remedies, or larishes,

that can be found through odu. Whenever an osogbo is predicted, eb6 (an offering) should be prescribed; also, whenever ire falls in anything but ire yale timbelaye (that is, ire that will manifest in this life), some small token ebO or larishe should be marked to stabilize and lock in the goodness predicted by an odu. It is here that the diviner needs to proceed slowly and cautiously. Keeping in mind the general energy pattern of the opening sign, the priestjess can more skillfully manipulate the diloggun; knowing the orishas that speak in a letter, and what eboses or offerings those spirits normally require, will help in this process and save valuable time throughout the divination.Remember that in the section for each composite odu there will be a list titled "The Eboses of [composite odu's name]"; although one or more of these things may be required to close the reading, these must not be confused with larishe. Marking larishe is a moment when both the orisha and the odu are allowed to speak, to "personalize" the sign, dictating exactly what is required to bring the client's ache back into alignment. The world is made of this power, ache, and those things used in eb6 will be transmuted by the Spirits into the energy they need to reweave a person's destiny. A competent diviner can mark eb6 to almost any human problem; however, there are a few times when the orishas, odu, and egun will not prescribe larishe. The client is left on his own to face what amounts to nothing more than his own karma. First, the diviner selects the efun and ora to be used as ib6 throughout this process: Efun is used because the calming influence of Obatala permeates all the odu, and he is the most forgiving of all the orishas. With his blessings, anything can be overcome. 10 Efun will always answer yes and mark the eb6, while ora will signify that the diviner must continue to manipulate the diloggun until a resolution is found. The first question that must be asked is, "Larishe si?" or, "Is there a remedy?" If the oracle answers that there is no remedy to be prescribed, the diviner must then ask, "Igboro larishe?" or, "Is there advice from an initiate that is present?" If the answer is yes, then the priests and priestesses present at the divination will be allowed to advise the client on eboses based on their own personal experience with the odu. They will also be allowed to give advice on problems being faced after the diviner has had his chance to speak. This advice and the eboses are written down on paper as if the oracle had prescribed them itself. If the answer to this question is no, the diviner must ask, "Ocha onire?" or, "Will an orisha give a blessing to clear the sign?" The orisha giving the blessing should be determined by following the order of orishas given in "The Orishas Who Speak in [Okana, Eji Oko, and so on]" found in each chapter; the diviner must ask "[name of orisha] onire?" until the proper orisha is found. Finally, if the answer to this question is no, the diviner should ask, "Egun onire?" or, "Will egun give a blessing to clear this sign?" If none of these results in a yes answer, the diviner must not despair; he begins to give the reading to the client. The initial energy of odu is only offering advice now, and before the reading is closed out there will be more opportunities for the diviner to prescribe eboses that will help the client with his difficulties. The odu that fell for "Egun onire?" should be recorded with the words "no larishe at this time." If the initial answer to "Larishe si?" was yes, or if the diviner has determined that either an orisha or egun will stand up on behalf of the client, he must then proceed to mark eb6. He begins with the following list and the question "Adimu?" Once a type oflarishe is determined, the diviner must then continue to work the dilogglin and ib6 in tandem until the exact eb6 required is determined. The diviner's assistant

records this information: Both the letters marking the specific eb6, and the eb6 itself, are to be written in the record of the reading. The options for eboses are as follows. adimu: An adimu is an offering, often something edible. If the answer to larishe is adimu, first the diviner must use ib6 to determine which orisha wants adimu (unless this information is already known from the process of divination). Once that is determined, the diviner must mark what the orisha requires (a candle, some fruit, some cooked food, a material object, flowers, and so on). For this type of eb6 animal sacrifice is not marked; an adimu is anything simple and cool, whereas blood is complex and hot. Once this is done, the remaining specifics about the ebo also need to be marked: how long it is to be left with the orisha, and what is to be done with the offering once the ebo is complete. aladimu: This marks any type of offering based on what the diviner knows the orisha likes. If the answer to larishe is aladim( the diviner must first mark which Spirit wants the offering (again, if this information is already known from the process of divination, it will not need to be marked). Although the diviner does not need to mark the specific offering, he should still mark how long it stays with the orisha and what is to be done with the offering when it is removed." eboshure: In this orientation the diviner will not need to mark a exact offering; the Spirit is requesting an eb6 made of anythin~ that can be eaten. The diviner will just tell the client what fruit the orisha likes and have him provide a small basket for that Spirit. The orisha taking eboshure must be marked (unless this information is already known). The food left in eboshure remains with the orisha until it begins to spoil. eb6 keun edun keun: This is a daily cleansing done before the orisha's shrine. Each day, something different is used. The diviner will ask the oracle to which orisha the cleansing should be done, what articles are to be used, and how many days it is t< be done. Also, the diviner will ask the oracle where the offering should go after the cleansing is completed. This type of eb6 is almost always done with fruits or grains; never is an animal sac rifice to be used. When cleansing through eyebale (animal sacrifice) is needed, the oracle will first prescribe eyebale. koshe ocha: Literally, this translates into "the reception of an orisha." If the list of eboses for each composite odu details that a certain orisha should be received, then the diviner does not need to mark which Spirit is standing up. If no orisha is listed there, the diviner should go down the list of orishas who speak in the odu until one is marked. ebo misi: This marks a spiritual bath (herbal waters) to be taken by the client. The diviner should mark the items to be used and the number of times the bath is to be taken. Some odu will include directions for specific spiritual baths. When this is the case, that is the bath to be used. yoko ocha: This marks that salvation is to be found by being crowned. Unless the guardian orisha is known, this letter will not close out until the head has been marked.

ocha onire: This eb6 shows that an orisha will remove the volatile heat of the letter. The diviner must mark both the orisha and the eb6 required by that orisha. The questions to be asked are, "[name of the orisha] onire?" and then, "Eb6 elese [name of the orisha]?" If the orisha wants nothing, we say the orisha loves the client freely and no offering is required. A token adimu, however, should still be given. When a larishe is being marked to the initial questions "Ocha/Egun onire?" this larishe is not marked aga1n. egun onire: This marks that egun will remove the volatile heat of this letter. Although the specific egun is not marked, the diviner must determine if egun want anything in return for their help. (The question to be asked now is, "Eb6 elese egun?"). If no eb6 is required, we say that these spirits love the client for free, yet a token adimu should still be given. When a larishe is being marked to the initial questions "Ocha/Egun onire?" this larishe is not marked again. Onirunila onire: In this orientation, it is Orunmila that stands up on behalf of the client. The orisha priest or priestess is powerless to mark eb6 to Orunmila; only a Babalawo may prescribe his eboses. For this reason, many diviners will not try to mark "Orunmila onire." If, however, the question has been asked and the answer is yes, the reading must be brought to a close and the client taken to Ifa. The reading should continue in the normal fashion. The eb6 marked by this should be written in the record thus: Eb6 elese Orunmila. The client must go to see Ifa. Olonin onire: This marks that the blessing will come at the feet of Olorun and Ol6dumare. The eb6 for this is automatic: The client should salute the sun every morning orisha onire: This signifies that the blessing will be brought by the more obscure, mysterious orishas, those that know the secrets oflife and death itself: Orisha Oko, Yewa, Oba, Nana Buruku, Babaluaiye, Nanume, and so on. These are the ones that stand up to free the client from his osogbo. First, the diviner must determine which of these Spirits speaks in the odu that has opened, and then he must mark which of them is giving the blessing to clear the sign.Once this information is known, eboses to the orisha must be marked. If the orisha will accept no eb6, and if the letter will not close out, the client is marked for the reception of this orisha. The diviner should mark this and then close the reading. Note that it would be wise for the client to receive this Spirit's eleke (the beaded necklace associated with this orisha) no matter the eb6 marked in the letter. Also, if the reception of a dark, obscure orisha is marked under the eboses for the composite odu (listed in each chapter), that is the orisha that must be received; the diviner does not need to mark it because odu already has. igboro larishe: The remedy will come from one of the priests or priestesses present at the mat. They should be allowed to give the client eboses (but not advice unless the diviner specifically asks for it later). Any eb6 prescribed by any priest or priestess in the room should be written in the record as if odu prescribed it itself. These will be the works that clear the osogbo in the sign that fell.

eb6 kere: Eb6 kere is a beautiful yet complicated set of offerings. It consists of several spiritual cleansings for the client. First, when this is marked as eb6 the diviner needs to ascertain the orisha taking eb6 kere. Then, he must mark a series of offerings to be given and used for the cleansings.The length of time, in gradual increments of weeks, must also be marked. For example, the oracle answers yes to eb6 kere, and the diviner discovers with ib6 that Yemaya is to receive the offerings. Since her number is seven, he decides that each offering should remain with her for seven days, and he marks the following items for a period of four weeks (one month): a watermelon, molasses, flowers, and a basket of fruit. After the offerings are marked, he then uses the oracle to mark where each offering should be taken after one is removed and the next given. The oracle answers that they should each be taken to the lake for disposal, so as the offerings are removed and replenished, the client takes the old ones to a lake. sarayeye: This marks that a cleansing is needed. In sarayeye it is customary for the diviner to first mark it to egun (unless the eb6 is being sought for a specific orisha), and if the oracle's answer is no, he then begins with the list of orishas that speak in the sign. After the proper Spirit is determined, the item with which the client should be cleansed is marked. Sometimes, this can be an animal. In sarayeye, however, it is customary for the animal to be set free after the cleansing since no sacrifice was dictated by either the odu or the orisha (if a blood sacrifice is needed for a cleansing, the odu will dictate that eyebale, sacrifice, is needed). Finally, the method of disposal should be marked as well (if the cleansing is done with an animal, the oracle should dictate where the animal is to be set free). kobori eleda.: This eb6 prescribes an eb6 made to one's ori. Usually, this is a rogaci6n (a cleansing of the head), but the diviner should mark the things that need to be used in the rogaci6n. Depending on the problems faced by the client, and the odu that has fallen, the rogaci6n might need to be done at the feet of a specific orisha. The odu will dictate when this is the case. This type of offering will not dictate the "feeding" of the ori with sacrifice; such an eb6 would be marked by eyebale (animal sacrifice). kaure: These are prayers; the diviner should mark whether they are to be made to egun or orisha. If the prayers are to be done before an orisha, he must mark which one. The prayers should be dictated to the client. In kaure, it is customary for the client to make adimu with a candle before the prayer and fruit after the prayers are completed. If the oracle will take none of these, we say the larishe is eye bale, or the sacrifice of an animal. Blood offerings are very hot and volatile; it is important to note that this is always a last resort for eb6. Life on all levels is a precious gift, and it is taken, reverently, only when there are no other options. If the oracle has not yet determined whether the offering goes to egun or orisha, the diviner must now ask these questions. First, the diviner must determine if it goes to egun by asking, "Eyebale elese egun?" or, "Does the animal sacrifice go to egun?" If not, he must ask, "Eyebale elese orisha?" or, "Does the animal sacrifice go to orisha?" If both egun and orisha refuse eyebale, the oracle is dictating that the sacrifice should be made to the client's own head. A

rogaci6n is to be given, and with this cleansing an animal sacrifice must be offered directly to the crown of the head (this is the area that links the physical head on earth with the spiritual head in heaven). Only in this way will the client's issues be resolved, for in this case we say that his own spiritual and physical ori is causing confusion in the reading. All of this information should be written in the reading's record by the diviner's assistant. Once the diviner has completed the processes detailed above, the initial manipulations of the diloggun are complete. The odu has been opened, its orientations determined, and the initiallarishes prescribed to bring the client back into alignment with odu, egun, and orisha. This is the most important information to be gleaned from the letter; it is now time for the diviner to impart what he has learned to his client. Note that in many houses of ocha, eyebale is not the last larishe included in the pattern of questioning.Many diviners will end thesession with the question of eyebale, and if the oracle responds negatively, it is said that the larishe is "Ko larishe" or "No larishe." This, however, is frivolous; odu would not answer yes to the question "Larishe si?" only to tell the client that the eb6 required is "Ko larishe." It is possible that this confusion arises from an exception to this line of questioning. In some of the odu, when a letter will not close out, there are specific orishas that must be questioned in turn about the possibilities oflarishe and eb6. Out of respect for both the odu opened and the orisha questioned, the possibility of eyebale must be given as a direct choice during questioning. When eyebale is refused by that Spirit, there are eboses that are then considered marked, and those are the offerings that will bring the client back into alignment with his destiny, turning osogbo to ire. When this pattern of questioning is needed, the option will be flagged in the chapter about that odu.