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 The Word Obeah: What Does It Mean, How Does It Work?

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Silver Wind
Aud Mon Ra
Silver Wind


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Join date : 2007-07-18
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The Word Obeah: What Does It Mean, How Does It Work? Empty
PostSubject: The Word Obeah: What Does It Mean, How Does It Work?   The Word Obeah: What Does It Mean, How Does It Work? Icon_minitimeFri Sep 14, 2007 9:55 am

"Obeah, on the other hand, is NOT a religion in the classical sense. That is to say, there are no meeting places such as churches, mosques, synagogs or other religious buildings or shrines --- or any underlying infastructure replicating such a system. Nor is there any sort of congregation or parishioners, although there are what may be called followers, albeit scattered. Obeah is instead, a focused application of "occult power" tapping the virulent source of God's own access --- employed without sanction to facilitate or induce spells, call up answers, predict the future, or garner assist or knowledge from planes other than the conventional and implemented through the individual skill, cunning, and artistry of the Obeah practitioner --- usually beyond the guidelines of traditional witchcraft, sorcery, shamanism, voodoo (voudon), or tribal magic."

"The word Obeah or Obi is it self a word obscured and clouded in secrecy." What he is saying is, not only is the originating SOURCE of the word unclear or not fully known, it's obscurity mirrors precisely the mystery and secrecy of the phenomenom it is intended to represent.

Now, while it is true that the ORIGIN of the word is indeed obscured and clouded in secrecy, it is primarily because Obeah, as implied above, is in itself clouded in secrecy --- being the remnant of a once very powerful and celebrated SECRET religious Order lost in the mist of time. Even so, slowly over the years clues have surfaced that indicate THAT particular secret religious Order emanated from a certain general geographical area. Those clues, few in number that they may be, strongly point to the fact that the Order originated in or around an area where the Egyptian language was either born, dominant, or used by the priests or religious class --- much as Latin is used by certain religious orders today --- with the power and knowledge of Obeah maintained and rising from the underground ashes of that dispersed Order over the centuries. Considering such a background, it is very probable the etymology of the word sprang from the Egyptian word Ob or Aub, meaning "serpent." Oph is a winged serpent or dragon; and Ab means wisdom/understanding, and together means "Serpent of Wisdom" or "Serpent of Knowledge." To this day Obion is still the Egyptian name for a serpent.

Moses, who escaped with his people out of Egypt with the full might of the Pharaoh's army hot on their heels all the way to the Red Sea --- where the army reportedly then drowned --- forbade in the name of God, the Israelites even to enquire about the demon Ob, which is translated in the first testament as a necromancer, wizard, or Diviner. Moses himself carries a great deal of importance in all those translations, including right up to this day with Obeah. Even though Moses forbade enquiry into Ob amongst his people, he is seen as the ultimate snake-charmer and among the greatest of magicians. When Moses doubted he was really hearing the voice of God, he was asked what he was holding in his hand. When he replied that he was holding a rod, he is commanded to throw it to the ground. When he does, the rod becomes a serpent. When he picks it up it becomes a rod again. Later, under the direction of Moses, when Aaron throws his rod down before Pharaoh, it becomes a snake as well.(Exodus 7:1-16)

Throughout the ancient world, the Middle East and Egypt, because of the brilliantly clear desert night skys, the stars and the constellations carried deep significance, both for the wandering tribes such as those following Moses and the great civilizations and city-states such as Babylonia, Sumeria, and Egypt. Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer is one of those desert-sky constellations. Most people pretty much know what the Zodiac is --- the constellations on the plane of the ecliptic through which the sun passes in the course of a year --- and what their "Sun Sign" is in relation to the Zodiac (i.e., Sagittarius, Taurus, etc.). What most people don't know is that there are actually thirteen Sun Signs, NOT twelve. According to the official modern constellation boundaries that astronomers use today, the sun passes through thirteen constellations, not twelve. The Greeks chose to remove one of the original thirteen constellations from the Zodiac in order to accomplish their desire to have each sign rule for an even 30º of sky, so they selected Ophiuchus to be eliminated. It can only be because of his origins in Egypt as one of their most powerful dieties, on par with Osiris and Thoth, all of whom answered only to Ra. Mysteriously enough, just like Obeah is secret, hidden, and unknown, the "thirteenth constellation" of the Zodiac, Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer is secret, hidden, and unknown. About one person in twenty is an "Ophiuchus," and they don't even know it.

In today's world the most common manifestation of Obeah is blended with Orisha worship. Orisha are spirits of nature as well as powerful ancestors that are prayed to, asked to intercede, and in certain cases, actually take possession of practitioners. Among the top ranking Orisha and one of the Seven African Powers, using another ob word AND serpent related as well, is Obatala. His color is white, literally "chief of the white cloth," the integration of ALL colors into one. Corresponds to Damballah, the primordial serpent; sky-serpent; he is the Orisha of peace, harmony, and purity and owns the world. When he possesses his children, they move about on the floor in the manner of snakes.

The peoples of ancient times (most typically the Pythagoreans, but others as well) had a legend that a kind of Light, described as a "living fire," flowed through all living things. Guarding this Flame was the serpent Ophioneus, very similar in respects to his nearly same namesake Ophiuchus. He was said to lay coiled in the Waters of Life. If anyone obstructed or hindered the Light of the Flame, Ophioneus would rise out of the water like a monster and consume them. The Greek philosopher Pherecydes (circa 600-550 BC) wrote a great deal about Ophioneus, having obtained the doctrines from the Phoenicians, also known as Ophites (Greece was first colonized by Ophites, serpent worshippers from both Egypt and Phoenicia). The Ophites venerated a serpent by the deity-title Ab, sometimes rendered Ob and Ob Aur, meaning Father --- as in the procreator of All. They also had the watery serpent Leviathan or Thiavat, which is same as Ophioneus. All of this ties into Abaddon that appears in Revelations as the Angel of the Abyss. It is unclear if the forces of the Abyss are fully good or evil in any way. The Obic forces that guard the Light and keep it flowing apparently take it by whatever means necessary and return it back to where it belongs when a person fails to let it flow or obstructs it.

Continuing, Oub or Ob, and Oubos (sometimes: Oubaios, although it should be rendered Oubos for oubaios is a possessive, and not a proper name) was the name of the Basilisk or royal serpent, emblem of the sun, and an ancient oracular deity of Africa. This derivation, which has come down from one particular sect --- and as stated previously, the remnant probably of a very celebrated religious Order in remote ages --- has now become the general term to denote those of African decent who practice Obeah. Although Obeah is found in some degree throughout a wide area of the islands of the Caribbean, it is most typically found where a strong concentration of descendants of West African slaves who spoke Ashanti are found. Nearly 90 percent of Jamaicans are descendants of West African slaves who spoke Ashanti, brought to the island by Spanish and English settlers, and the focal point in the Caribbean where Obeah has the strongest presence and most adherents. The Ashanti word for witch was obayifo. Obayifo, a derivative bayi (sorcery) is synonymous term ayen, a wizard, or more generally witch. Men and women possessed of this black magic are credited with volitant powers (ability to fly), being able to quit their bodies and travel great distances in the night sky.

What is interesting is how the word "Oph," "Ob," and other similar words and root-words with meanings of snake-gods, winged serpents, dragons, and god of the Egyptians and various other cultures --- morphed through the ages to no longer be related to snakes per se' but instead to the evil that the snake represents (the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, etc.) --- and thus then encompassing such meanings as sorcerer, witch, wizard, diviner, ending up applied to Obeah. How the etymology of Egyptian words in such ancient times was able to spread or be incorporated into the language of a West African sub-Saharan tribal culture and eventually bleed down into the patois of the Caribbean islands is not known --- although one must admit there are incredible conincidences in both meaning and pronunciation.

Obeah is the most dreaded and most powerful of all occult practices. For both purveyors of the craft or the recipients of its outfall, it can be either deadly or compassionate. The path of the Obeahman is lethal in that a true Obeah has at his command a full range of tools and formulates that manifest themselves in a direct and instant function that infuses his abilities with the power to severely destroy whatever comes within his realm of comprehension. He also has the power to do the opposite. It depends on intent. Although a majority of practioners today are questionable, members of the old order, then or now, neither know nor see good or evil. An Obeahman can use ANY system and fuel it with the power of Obeah without the danger of disrespect FOR the gods, but, depending on circumstances, not necessarily without repercussions FROM the gods.

http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/awakening101/obeah2.html
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The Word Obeah: What Does It Mean, How Does It Work?
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