Ijuba: I honor Olodumare; I honor Mother Earth; I honor all the primordial energies that faithfully continue to do their job and contribute to my wellbeing; I honor all my teachers who tirelessly and continuously acquire knowledge and generously share their wisdom with me; I honor all my ancestors who came before me; I honor the spirit of my mother; I honor the spirit of my father; I honor my higher self.

About Me: The Story Behind Arte Abukenke

Funny story... I came into Orisha lifestyle determined to learn how to become "a witch" because, over the years, I had grown exasperated with people who, not shyly, would call me a witch to my face!

I was fortunate in that my first oluwo (teacher) also had a background in psychology. I spent over a year learning Ifa as well as doing shadow work. Spirit used my skewed thinking to reel me in and straighten me out. Turns out, spirituality is self-empowerment as well as a life-long pursuit.

The real magic happens as I continue to do the work on myself. Each lesson hidden within the Odu (life experiences) presented the opportunity to check myself deeply. Later, I would manifest these learned lessons in the form of a drawing. And thus, a whole corpus of watercolor paintings was born! I later realized the power of sharing these drawings as Orisha-Inspired Wearable Art.

The Many Faces of the Mission

As my spiritual journey progressed, so did my calling to share these stories. I am an initiated Orisha Priestess (EsuDina, Obara Sa) and an Ifa practioner (Aarinade Faweje, Irosun Di). This path is expressed through several interconnected creative identities:

• Vera Rake (Author): This is the anagram and pen name I used to write my mostly true story, Egun Don't Say Sorry: The Covenant Our Parents Made, chronicling my journey into Orisha life.
• RaqCandy (Songwriter): Under this moniker, I compose the original scores that accompany my visual pieces. This transforms the canvas into an immersive audio and visual experience, giving voice and rhythm to the Patakís.
• Aworan Pataki Comics (AP Comics): My next endeavor is to make these ancient stories relatable to a new generation, I have partnered with my son, Hector "Lex" Isidro, to very soon launch AP Comics  where I focus on the paintings, while Lex handles the layout and dialogue.

Diving Deeper into the Wisdom and Community

My spiritual studies inform every aspect of Arte Abukenke. For the past three years, I have been diving deep into the Dilogun Cowry Shell Divination System. I've created my own oracle cards based on the profound wisdom found in Dilogun, which I use for daily readings on my separate YouTube channel, Ijomosoro - Conversations with the Void. These readings work in beautiful tandem with the l’oribilogun divination system of Benin. I have also been immersing myself in the study of herbs, exploring both their medicinal properties and esoteric uses.

I’ve created a space, “Artists Talk,” on my main Arte Abukenke YouTube channel which is a vibrant community dedicated to collaborations with other creatives. Here, I host conversations where I weave Orisha principles into various forms of artistic expression, showing how the spiritual path can inspire and guide all creative endeavors.

Arte Abukenke is where these practices are all crocheted together—a full-spectrum platform dedicated to sharing the living wisdom of the Orisha.

~Raquel A. Rivera