Thank you for this work. I am glad to be a supporter. I am not too shy to admit I have some hesitancy and hopefully respectful/healthy skepticism about your project.
I think it will be a useful tool for those of us who do have the honor of working with elders. For those without, I hope it will help them too and that they proceed cautiously. For me, I have observed so many lineages and I am just a newborn in the scene. So it leads me to wonder, how can this tool give ‘one answer’… even to a ‘simple question’?
I guess I will find out. :)
I do anticipate asking questions that will be beneficial to me- and generate interesting discussions with my elders and amongst us in this community.
Again, your work is much appreciated and the ambition to take on something like this is admirable.
As a priest and teacher, I ask myself these questions almost daily: how do we honor the roots of Ifá while serving people who live in new circumstances—urban life, different languages, and other cultures? Traditions must remain alive, not frozen. The challenge is to adapt forms without diluting foundations.
Regarding the “Wisdom of Ifá” GPT: I’m not outsourcing divination to a machine. I use AI as a librarian and organizer for my own archive—over 50,000 verses, notes, and revelations I’ve collected and structured over the years. The model is restricted to my materials, drawn from respected sources (roughly 1850–1980). It does not roam the open internet for answers.
My process is simple and responsible:
For real readings, I divine myself first. I interpret through training, lineage, and lived practice—guided by intuition and the spiritual current.
Only after that might I ask the tool to surface relevant myths or point me to which Odù in my corpus discuss a theme. Sometimes it asks a sharp follow-up question or offers a useful angle. It never replaces the reading; at best, it refines my study notes or produces a clean summary for students who already practice Ifá.
As with any instrument—cowries, opele, books, or software—the outcome depends on intention, competence, and accountability. If someone lacks grounding in Ifá or neglects intuition, they will misread the tradition whether they memorize verses, skim PDFs, or consult a GPT. Tools do not absolve us of ethics.
If you’d like, I’m happy to share a private example of how I pair a human-led reading with an AI-assisted summary, so you can see the boundaries and the benefits in practice.
Of course. I would love an example. I think how I anticipate using it aligns with what you are describing. When I was reading the description of the tool, this was my assumption. When I read your example questions I felt a little less clear about it as it seemed like they were questions I would ask Ifa.
I would also love to know Baba, are there going to be any Yoruban translated verse available? The language is so poetic and uses such playfulness of words and wording (what very little I know)as a non-Babalawo, this seems like a great use of a tool like AI to me. Because it can become richer than any one translation.
And lineages are so varied- again, although I have limited experience, even going between Brasil and Cuba and Nigerian views (I haven’t been to Nigeria- yet) I have seen different interpretations. And then even in different houses in Cuba (a little less knowledge of that in Brasil) it is kind of like ‘wow. different’. My Oluwo cued me in to look at videos and things thru the lens of: look for what they do that is a known for me in our house, for example, greeting Orunmilla- and then I will sort of know if we come from a similar lineage. That way, I don’t confuse myself as much. Honor and respect the other lineage, without muddling my own learning. It isn’t quite as black and white as that, but just a general idea. There is a plethora of information out there. How to make sense of it is just as challenging as pre-internet days when you had almost no info.
Please- feel free to share any of your experiences, including how you have used your tool of AI.
Different lines and times, yes, there are. Diaspora is not Africa, Nigeria is not Congo, 1850 sources are not the same for 2025 even in the same region and family line. The tradition is dynamic and in a constant flow. Personally, I look for consistency of philosophy and work, for depth, last but not least for a personal spiritual and energy fit when doing own works. I do not care that much about formalistic things, I rather focus on the principles. If you understand them, if you have a good Orisa connection, you may be able to even adapt and work out own rituals based on the principles of work, energies involved etc. I do not like dogmatic interpretations and there is no one truth. I do not have a problem in learning and integrating wisdom and experiences from others. My house is in a constant development - sometimes someone new appears with a new, additional energy, so I thank and integrate and eventually adapt own rituals.
How to use? However you like to. Ask for ritual, odus and quotes about a topic, interpretations for a situation or an odu, relevance o Orisha for topics and situations in life, additional information in readings.
Does it answer in verses? If you want to - yes. And provided the sources are in verse forms too (GPT is able to convert myths in Ese, too). Obviously many sources are not in verse forms or a mix of verses and prosa.
I programmed this GPT according to my style and criteria of reading. I restricted the access and interpretations to my extensive archives not allowing random internet sources. I set a frame of Dos and Donts. A frame for style and urban pragmatics answers. So GPT does never replace contextual readings with a seasoned Baba. But the sources are bigger than any Baba could have in his head and due to the limitations I set this GPT should be quite reliable when it comes to credible sources.
As I cannot upload here I will send an example via Email. I programmed GPT in a way is solely uses my extensive archives. GPT is allowed to interpret and use its knowledge to structure but I set frames like Do’s and Don’ts, ways to interpret, style, etc. - so basically you may ask whatever you want like - suggesting a ritual, interpreting an Odu, linking Odus or Orishas to topics, suggest a myth or a verse. There is no limit for asking except the ones I set. Obviously GPT is not human so sometimes contesting not
Que bom! Eu trabalho muito com a IA, mas existem limites e eles inventam muito sem avisar voce. Nesses GPTs ele usa apenas meus documentos e apenas em exceções eu permito que ele use o arquivo próprio. Mas sempre existe um resto de incerteza. - Eu programei tonalidade, estruturei respostas e coloquei algumas regras e limites como por exemplo direcionar para um uso urbano evitando sacrificios animais etc. Mas estou apreendendo com voces também. E com os meses e anos meus arquivos vao melhorando (como o GPT em si também), pois eu faco uploads contínuos quando termino de estruturar novos livros, que já escrevo tendo a IA em vista. Claro que vai ter um pessoal que nao gosta disso e quer tudo como antigamente, mas eu vejo isso como sinergia - usar o novo sem deixar de lado os fundamentos e a oralidade na prática. Axé!
Theoretically you should get link and password automatically in the footer of your newsletter as a supporting member. If any problem - please contact me :). Ashé - and good start into your day!
Àbórú àbóyé àbósíse and Alafia Baba! Thank you for all of your work. I look forward to using these tools! 🤍
I will appreciate your feedback for this newborn baby :)
Aboru Baba
Thank you for this work. I am glad to be a supporter. I am not too shy to admit I have some hesitancy and hopefully respectful/healthy skepticism about your project.
I think it will be a useful tool for those of us who do have the honor of working with elders. For those without, I hope it will help them too and that they proceed cautiously. For me, I have observed so many lineages and I am just a newborn in the scene. So it leads me to wonder, how can this tool give ‘one answer’… even to a ‘simple question’?
I guess I will find out. :)
I do anticipate asking questions that will be beneficial to me- and generate interesting discussions with my elders and amongst us in this community.
Again, your work is much appreciated and the ambition to take on something like this is admirable.
Blessings and alafia!
Thank you for your thoughtful concerns.
As a priest and teacher, I ask myself these questions almost daily: how do we honor the roots of Ifá while serving people who live in new circumstances—urban life, different languages, and other cultures? Traditions must remain alive, not frozen. The challenge is to adapt forms without diluting foundations.
Regarding the “Wisdom of Ifá” GPT: I’m not outsourcing divination to a machine. I use AI as a librarian and organizer for my own archive—over 50,000 verses, notes, and revelations I’ve collected and structured over the years. The model is restricted to my materials, drawn from respected sources (roughly 1850–1980). It does not roam the open internet for answers.
My process is simple and responsible:
For real readings, I divine myself first. I interpret through training, lineage, and lived practice—guided by intuition and the spiritual current.
Only after that might I ask the tool to surface relevant myths or point me to which Odù in my corpus discuss a theme. Sometimes it asks a sharp follow-up question or offers a useful angle. It never replaces the reading; at best, it refines my study notes or produces a clean summary for students who already practice Ifá.
As with any instrument—cowries, opele, books, or software—the outcome depends on intention, competence, and accountability. If someone lacks grounding in Ifá or neglects intuition, they will misread the tradition whether they memorize verses, skim PDFs, or consult a GPT. Tools do not absolve us of ethics.
If you’d like, I’m happy to share a private example of how I pair a human-led reading with an AI-assisted summary, so you can see the boundaries and the benefits in practice.
Àṣẹ. — Babá Tilo de Àjàgùnnà
Of course. I would love an example. I think how I anticipate using it aligns with what you are describing. When I was reading the description of the tool, this was my assumption. When I read your example questions I felt a little less clear about it as it seemed like they were questions I would ask Ifa.
I would also love to know Baba, are there going to be any Yoruban translated verse available? The language is so poetic and uses such playfulness of words and wording (what very little I know)as a non-Babalawo, this seems like a great use of a tool like AI to me. Because it can become richer than any one translation.
And lineages are so varied- again, although I have limited experience, even going between Brasil and Cuba and Nigerian views (I haven’t been to Nigeria- yet) I have seen different interpretations. And then even in different houses in Cuba (a little less knowledge of that in Brasil) it is kind of like ‘wow. different’. My Oluwo cued me in to look at videos and things thru the lens of: look for what they do that is a known for me in our house, for example, greeting Orunmilla- and then I will sort of know if we come from a similar lineage. That way, I don’t confuse myself as much. Honor and respect the other lineage, without muddling my own learning. It isn’t quite as black and white as that, but just a general idea. There is a plethora of information out there. How to make sense of it is just as challenging as pre-internet days when you had almost no info.
Please- feel free to share any of your experiences, including how you have used your tool of AI.
Different lines and times, yes, there are. Diaspora is not Africa, Nigeria is not Congo, 1850 sources are not the same for 2025 even in the same region and family line. The tradition is dynamic and in a constant flow. Personally, I look for consistency of philosophy and work, for depth, last but not least for a personal spiritual and energy fit when doing own works. I do not care that much about formalistic things, I rather focus on the principles. If you understand them, if you have a good Orisa connection, you may be able to even adapt and work out own rituals based on the principles of work, energies involved etc. I do not like dogmatic interpretations and there is no one truth. I do not have a problem in learning and integrating wisdom and experiences from others. My house is in a constant development - sometimes someone new appears with a new, additional energy, so I thank and integrate and eventually adapt own rituals.
How to use? However you like to. Ask for ritual, odus and quotes about a topic, interpretations for a situation or an odu, relevance o Orisha for topics and situations in life, additional information in readings.
Does it answer in verses? If you want to - yes. And provided the sources are in verse forms too (GPT is able to convert myths in Ese, too). Obviously many sources are not in verse forms or a mix of verses and prosa.
I programmed this GPT according to my style and criteria of reading. I restricted the access and interpretations to my extensive archives not allowing random internet sources. I set a frame of Dos and Donts. A frame for style and urban pragmatics answers. So GPT does never replace contextual readings with a seasoned Baba. But the sources are bigger than any Baba could have in his head and due to the limitations I set this GPT should be quite reliable when it comes to credible sources.
As I cannot upload here I will send an example via Email. I programmed GPT in a way is solely uses my extensive archives. GPT is allowed to interpret and use its knowledge to structure but I set frames like Do’s and Don’ts, ways to interpret, style, etc. - so basically you may ask whatever you want like - suggesting a ritual, interpreting an Odu, linking Odus or Orishas to topics, suggest a myth or a verse. There is no limit for asking except the ones I set. Obviously GPT is not human so sometimes contesting not
It is a practice that is alive and dynamic 🙏🏾 thank goodness!😅
Thank you for your thoughtful response
Lovely☺️
Muito bom. Tenho usado Gemini carregando artigos e-books para ajudar a organizar os temas e estudar sobre Orìşàs. Já quero ler seus textos 🙌🏻
Que bom! Eu trabalho muito com a IA, mas existem limites e eles inventam muito sem avisar voce. Nesses GPTs ele usa apenas meus documentos e apenas em exceções eu permito que ele use o arquivo próprio. Mas sempre existe um resto de incerteza. - Eu programei tonalidade, estruturei respostas e coloquei algumas regras e limites como por exemplo direcionar para um uso urbano evitando sacrificios animais etc. Mas estou apreendendo com voces também. E com os meses e anos meus arquivos vao melhorando (como o GPT em si também), pois eu faco uploads contínuos quando termino de estruturar novos livros, que já escrevo tendo a IA em vista. Claro que vai ter um pessoal que nao gosta disso e quer tudo como antigamente, mas eu vejo isso como sinergia - usar o novo sem deixar de lado os fundamentos e a oralidade na prática. Axé!
Thank you. I’m looking forward to these links.
Theoretically you should get link and password automatically in the footer of your newsletter as a supporting member. If any problem - please contact me :). Ashé - and good start into your day!