07/23/2023
Periodic reminder re: scammers and abuse
If you are new to this tradition, it is unfortunately easy to fall into potential scams. But some common sense can prevent a lot of this. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Priests will never message you out of the blue offering readings on social media. Any message that starts "Grand Risings" or "Your ancestors have a message for you" from someone you don't know is 100% a scam. You can approach people to get a reading, not the other way around.
There is no s*xual contact in this religion, in fact it is strictly forbidden. While some limpias and initiations requires very brief nudity, this is never done with just one priest present and usually should be done by someone of the same gender as you. At no point should ANYONE try to have s*x with you or touch you in a s*xual manner.
As a further point to that, it is strictly taboo to have romantic/s*xual relationships between godparent/godchild. If your godparent is coming on to you, they should not be your godparent. If you are attracted to your godparent in a way that interferes with your ability to be a godchild, find another godparent.
Readings, ebós, and initiations do cost money in this tradition, but there are reasonable price ranges. You can find a lot of threads about that in this subreddit to get a sense of things, bearing in mind that there are many factors that can raise or lower the price depending on region, time of year, whether people or plants have to be flown in, whether it is an uncommon Orisha to crown (Asojano, etc.), etc.
No one works entirely alone in this religion. Every priest has been initiated by people and should have people who can vouch for them. While their godparents may have passed on or become estranged, there should still be people who work with this priest. If initiations are being done just with one person alone, it would be a good idea to ask questions. Readings and ebó can be done alone, but even the simplest initiation like elekes requires at least two priests to be present.
We have three forms of divination in this religion: Obi (coconut), diloggún (cowrie shells), and Ifá (opele/chain and ikín/palm nuts). Trained Olorisha/Babalorisha/Iyalorisha can provide Obi and diloggún readings. Trained Babalawos provide Ifá readings. While some of us may provide tarot or card readings, or other types of readings, OUTSIDE of this tradition (for example, if we are also espiritistas), those types of readings do not speak for the Orisha, do not mark initiations in this tradition, and should be clearly separate. "Orisha Tarot" decks may look pretty, but they are not used to divine the will of the Orisha. And there is no "Orisha Astrology," "Orisha runes," or "Orisha bone castings."
This isn't an exhaustive list of red flags, just a few very common things I see coming up online. This is a very beautiful religion that is mostly full of people with good hearts who genuinely want to help everyone progress spiritually. So don't be discouraged, just remember to use common sense.
