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.

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 or teacher also had a background in psychology, and so, I spent a little 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 drawings was born! I later thought to share my drawings as wearable art.

 Who is EsuDina? EsuDina or Esu's Flame is my Orisha Priestess name. As my spiritual journey has progressed, I've expanded my studies and for the past 3 years have been deeply studying the Eerindilogun Cowry Shell Divination System. I've created my own oracle cards based on the profound wisdon found in the Dilogun system, which I use for daily readings on my YouTube channel "Ijomosoro - Conversations with the Void." These readings work in beautiful tandem with the BiOriLogun divination system of Benin, creating a rich tapestry of ancestral wisdom and guidance.

For the past 2 years, I've also been immersing myself in the study of herbs, exploring both their medicinal properties as well as their esoteric uses. This botanical journey has deepened my understanding of the natural world's healing powers and spiritual connections.

Who is Vera Rake? Vera Rake is an Anagram of my name, Raquel Rivera, and is also my pen name for the book I wrote regarding my journey into Orisha lifestyle. If you want to know more about how I came to find Orisha, check out my mostly true story, "Egun Don't Say Sorry: The Covenant Our Parents Made", linked here.

Who is RaqCandy? RaqCandy x Arte Abukenke is the sound of my art coming to life. I write the lyrics and allow AI as a creative partner to shape the sound --sometimes even allowing it to use my own voice in the creation. The music helps me find the final strokes -the emotional and spiritual finish to every piece. Each painting and song are meant to be experienced together, as one story told through color, sound and feeling. Whether you enter through the canvas or through the beat, every piece tells its story in color and sound. Listen to the songs here!