The Way of Orisa: Empowering Your Life Through the Ancient African Religion of Ifa

Editing review - I did not intend to give five stars but ONE star. Full disclosure, when I first read this book, I thought it was great. But that was when I didn't know any better. Today, I can tell you that this is one of the most inauthentic primers of our faith out today. It claims to promote and praise ony branch of faith (Traditional Yoruba), while mocking another (Santeria), but then offers what is basically thinly veiled Santeria. His explanations and descriptions are out of the New Age cliche catalog. If you are just starting your journey to Orisa, pick up Joseph Murphy , Wande Abimbola or just about anybody else. NOT THIS BOOK. santeria.blog.com

This is an excellent and informative book that provides accurate and important information to anyone interested in studying Ifa. I highly recommend it.

As someone who was initiated into Santeria and did not find what I needed there, I bought this book to learn about Ifa. I wanted to know just what Ifa is, what the difference between it and Santeria is and many other questions. This book is excellent. It gave answered all my questions and gave me enough information to get started. The best thing about this book is that it gives some guidelines for what the non-initated can do to begin practicing Ifa. It tells us how to get in touch with Orisa energy. I needed someplace to start - and Oluwo Philip Neimark's book was the answer to my prayers. I am very thankful that he has written this book and would highly recommend it for any person looking to understand the basics of Ifa.

This book presents the orishas from the viewpoint of being primal energies, moreso then Deities or god/goddess energy.It is definitly coming from the more African based view of orisha lore, and is not very colored with the Santeria/Lucumi interpretations.In this, you will not find references to syncretism with the saints, nor alot of space devoted to any particular dogma, specifically.If you are interested in stripping away the pretense of putting a face on the orisha, and more interested in just working with the energy of the orisha in raw form, I highly recomend this book....Give the book a try..

Mr. Neimark has provided student's of IFA a great place to start. His book is both lucid & inviting. It opens the doorway to the mysteries of the Orisa & the beauty of the religion of IFA. It is a brilliant work that is perfect for someone that knows little about the religion. After being unable to find any material on anything other than Santeria, Mr. Neimark's book is refreshing & more than welcome. I think his writing style is excellent - clear & to the point. His book provides solid information from someone who has been there. Anyone that has ever wanted to explore IFA, look no further. This book is an open door in a religion where so many people pride themselves on withholding information. My thanks for Mr. Neimark for his wonderful & presentation. IFA is a truly beautiful religion & this is a truly wonderful book!!!