My Vision of Ediberé

THE ORCA BENEATH THE ELEMENTS OF EARTH AND FIRE

By Francisco Moreira — I am only The Apprentice

Earth is the quiet foundation of all existence.
It is root, stability, and ancient remembrance.
It holds the visible and the unseen; it safeguards what we were
and what we have yet to become.
Within Earth rest the origins, the patience of cycles,
and the strength that keeps humanity in balance.
When life trembles, it is Earth that reminds us
that all growth needs grounding.

Fire, on the other hand, is motion.
It does not wait.
It consumes, reveals, transforms.
It is the spark that unsettles to provoke change—
the light that forces us to face what we avoided for far too long.
Fire does not negotiate; it signals the moment
when life demands a decision.

In Ediberé, these two elements speak to one another.
Earth offers inner direction.
Fire compels us to correct our path.
When they meet, we understand that moving forward is not enough:
we must move forward with consciousness.

In that same language lives the story of the orca
who once sought sustenance but could not reach it.
She lived in isolation, fighting alone,
never realizing that survival is not always about strength
but about the wisdom of joining others.
The orca found a group willing to move in harmony:
mothers, calves, and a few males who understood
the importance of cooperation.
Together they surrounded the food source, organized themselves,
and what once was scarcity became abundance.

While they advanced as a family,
the solitary males continued wandering aimlessly,
spending their years in pursuits without meaning.
The difference between them was not destiny—
it was awareness.

“Earth sustains the one who chooses to remain,
and Fire guides the one who chooses to change.”

I am only The Apprentice, learning still
that no life flourishes in isolation.
Solitude born of pride weakens;
sincere unity transforms.
I am learning that true strength is not resisting,
but recognizing when it is time to draw near
to those who bring peace, direction, and growth.

“What isn’t ordered within will unravel without.”
I am only The Apprentice, and today I understand
that we stumble when we trust too much
in fragile memory.
The mind alters, exaggerates, minimizes,
and distorts according to the wounds of the day.
That is why what is essential needs Earth’s roots
and Fire’s clarity:
to be written, organized, reflected upon.
Today I understand that life changes when one chooses to speak
from who they truly are,
not from what they think they remember.

“No step forward can hold
if the past still clings to your ankle.”
I am only The Apprentice, and I have learned
that holding onto what has run its course
only prolongs pain.
I have learned that the familiar is not always the rightful path—
it is simply what feels comfortable.
I have learned that moving forward is not forgetting,
but honoring without remaining trapped.
And I have learned that true freedom arrives
when one accepts, with humility,
that some doors must close
so others may finally open.

Every human being is learning to live
while already living.
We stumble, we forget, we repeat our mistakes…
and still, life does not close its door on us.
It waits.
It watches.
It invites us to understand that growth
is not about perfection,
but sincerity.

And when that sincerity finally comes,
the path appears as if it had always been there,
simply waiting for us to awaken.

I am only The Apprentice…
Oluwo Otura Ojuani — Awo Ifá Oma
Iboru Iboya Iboshishe — Moforíbalẹ̀ Ifá