Ifá: A Forest of Mystery

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the Odus of Ifa and to gain an understanding of the worldview that underlies them. I am 20 years in the religion and 10 years initiated into Ifa and this is truly one of the best books to learn of the energies of the odus.In a market full of many hackneyed - cut and paste "books" being issued continually on the subject of Ifa, this book is a gem.The author is deeply involved in the Mysteries of Being, he is speaking from the authenticity of a lived experience. His writing is clear, poetic and very well crafted. The information flows on the wonderful writing.I do not usually write review for books. But this one I had to do because the amount of mediocre books on Ifa is overwhelming.Thank you Nick, as always your scholarship, your insight and your love shine through .

This is one of the best written books i have every read on Ifa. I love how he uses common sense, and keeps out all of the rituals that don't make sense from Santeria. I loved the stories/Patakis that he included. So much wisdom in these Yoruba stories. You'll be amazed. The book seems very well researched. He offers the history of how the spirituality has developed over the recent times from people calling if Santeria, to calling it Ifa, and from Cuba to the USA and Latin America, and Latin American culture. He doesn't offer any "secret" rituals that have been so much a part of Santeria, mainly to get your money.He also includes the names of other writers that he recommends. So this is a great starting off point to start really learning. I also recommend looking into the Ifa Foundation, they are great teachers. Ifa is an amazing religion/spirituality, just be careful being drawn into rituals or "secrets" that some people say they offer. Nothing has to be a secret. Its all just figuring out how you want to align/connect with the Universe/God.There are some fundamental things that you need, other than that create your own rituals. Great info in here about the Meji Odus. I wish he would write a book on other combinations of Odus.Wonderful deep book. I need to read it again and take notes. Ifa makes you aware that God and the Angels ARE actually watching everything. Wow.

Best detailed esoteric book on IFA. Buy this first, read and understand every single page before you read others. Well written with deep content to help understand global identical metaphysics as well.

I really liked the book.It can be used as a reference for babalawo and also by people who want to understand the values and ethics involved in the Yoruba religion, through Ifá.

Aqueles que desejam conhecer um pouco ou desejam aprofundar sobre a literatura sobre Ifá, o livro é uma excelente recomendação. É muito interessante por apresentar os 16 principais odús Ifá, detalhar o que há em cada um deles e as histórias contidas nos versos que exemplificam os mesmos. O livro permite ter um vislumbre de quão grande é a sabedoria, simplicidade e abrangente de Ifá. Acredito que é um livro importante também para aqueles que são interessados ou familiarizados com outras derivações das tradições africanas aqui no Brasil. Um excelente livro, de leitura fácil e simples. Recomendadíssimo!

The book is great but its kindle edition was a shitty job. Not a single yoruba word can be read because of the encoding.

O melhor livro sobre Ifá já escrito, bem como outros livros escritos por Nicholaj Frisvold, só tenho a agradecer pela leitura.