Dear seekers of wisdom,
“If the Sun cannot catch the Moon,
why does a person exhaust their legs chasing applause?”
Òtúrá Méjì carries a proverb that humbles the ego in one breath: the Sun cannot catch the Moon.
The Sun is bright. The Sun is loud. The Sun is impossible to ignore. Yet even the Sun cannot “possess” the Moon, cannot seize it, cannot force it into the hand. This is how Ifá teaches us to recognize a painful trap: the chase for recognition that was never meant to become nourishment.
Many people confuse relevance with reach. They mistake noise for impact. They think that a crowd is proof of value. But Òtúrá Méjì teaches something older, gentler, and more dangerous to the ego: relevance is earned in relationships—through sincerity, gratitude, and service—until your name becomes trusted.
And what is happiness in this same Odù? Another proverb answers with the calm certainty of elders: the only happiness we truly have is the happiness we have given.
So today we sit with Òtúrá Méjì—one key Odù leading the whole teaching—to speak about the kind of relevance that does not depend on followers, trends, or performance. The kind that lives in the heart of a spouse, the memory of a friend, the prayers of a client, the respect of a community.
Narrative Teaching
Òtúrá Méjì does not flatter anyone. It warns against pride, boasting, envy, and lying, because these are the fast roads that create temporary attention and long-term disgrace. The taboos in the text are explicit: do not boast, do not lie, do not let envy and selfishness pull you into public hatred and eventual loss.
So, Ifá begins with a simple question: what makes a person’s presence valuable? Not the volume of their voice—but the weight of their character.
The story of Sincerity and Falsehood
In Òtúrá Méjì, we find the section titled “He made divination for Sincerity and for Falsehood.”
Sincerity and Falsehood argued about who was stronger. Falsehood bragged like a person with an audience—confident, dramatic, quick to impress. Sincerity spoke like a person with Orí—quiet, steady, slow. Òtúrá Méjì warned them: Falsehood can look powerful, but its power is temporary; in the end, Sincerity defeats Falsehood.
Then comes the line that should be carved into the wall of every marketplace and every social platform: no matter how powerful wrongdoing appears, justice overtakes it in the end.
This is the heart of credibility. A person can gather attention with exaggeration, with borrowed wisdom, with spectacle. But relevance that lasts—the kind that brings peace and happiness—grows from truth, because truth survives time.
The story of Gratitude as spiritual currency
Òtúrá Méjì also teaches that relevance is relational—and relationship is fed by gratitude. In one passage, Ifá says plainly: whoever does not show gratitude for yesterday’s benevolence will not receive today’s blessing.
That teaching is not decoration. It is spiritual technology. It means: if you want your life to keep receiving goodness, you must become a person who recognizes goodness, honors it, and returns it.
In another story, Okere (the squirrel) is described as the one who uses everything to give thanks, asking for help to express gratitude to Ifá, to Orí, and to Olódùmarè.
This is a picture of relevance: the relevant person is not the loudest in the room; they are the one whose heart remembers.
A quiet proverb that destroys the “announcement culture”
Among the ethical sayings preserved in the text is a principle we can translate simply: morality is not proclaimed; it is practiced.
This is why posting spiritual messages without credibility feels empty to people who can see. If a person’s speech is sweet but their behavior is bitter, the community will eventually taste the truth.
Closing Insight
Many people want to be seen by the world. Òtúrá Méjì asks a better question: who is truly helped because you exist?
The Sun cannot catch the Moon. But the Sun can still give light. And the Moon—quiet, faithful, returning—still guides travelers at night. Relevance is not possession; it is contribution. It is becoming the kind of person whose presence makes life steadier for others, so that your name becomes a refuge instead of a rumor.
Stay blessed, stay sincere, and let gratitude protect your destiny.
Babá Tilo de Àjàgùnnà
DAILY IFÁ ACADEMY
Members’ Gate
The free teaching establishes the foundation: Òtúrá Méjì defines real relevance as sincerity, gratitude, and practiced character—because justice outlives deception, and blessings follow those who honor yesterday’s helpers.
In the supporting-subscribers portion of this newsletter, I go deeper into how to apply Òtúrá Méjì to daily life: spiritual development, health and nervous-system calm, love and family stability, and business reputation that attracts the right people. I also include a complete DIY ritual and spiritual bath to harmonize one’s name (orúkọ), character (ìwà), and destiny (Orí) with the kind of relevance that lasts.
Spiritual Insights & Teachings
Òtúrá Méjì is not a sign that tells us to hide. It tells us to become clean enough to be seen without shame. It tells us to be the kind of person whose presence is beneficial—so that people mention our name with respect, not gossip.
The taboos reinforce this: do not boast; do not lie; do not feed envy; do not cling too
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to DAILY IFÁ to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.