Akwu Aghali in Afa describes how creation emerges from strength held within stillness. Akwu provides grounding and patience, while Agali supplies force and vitality. When combined, they generate centripetal, procreative energy that gives rise to life, blood, flesh, and reproduction. Akwali, the mound, symbolizes accumulated potential made visible. This teaching shows that growth and creation require contained strength rather than scattered force, and that the feminine principle is essential in transforming power into life.

Akwu Ululu in Afa explains the nature of the ancestral realm, known as Obi Ndichie. Akwu represents potent stillness, patience, and foundational stability, while Ululu represents anchoring, gravity, and embodiment. When combined, Akwu Ululu describes a state where ancestral presence is fixed, stable, and continuously accessible. This teaching shows that ancestors in Igbo worldview are not wandering spirits but remain grounded through lineage, land, and the physical body. Through this anchored stillness, memory, identity, and ancestral authority are preserved across generations.

In Igbo mysticism, Akwu Ose represents a woman’s deepest spiritual essence, where stillness meets divine potency. It is from this sacred center that women naturally manifest creativity, insight, and transformative power. This teaching explores how modern narratives have limited this vast potential to fertility, and how reclaiming Akwu Ose allows women to reconnect with their true strength, purpose, and the feminine force that fuels the divine mind itself.

In Afa Akpukpala mystic matrix-system of divination, everything begins with a sacred balance: Akwu (stillness) and Obi (motion). These twin forces shape not only the universe but our daily lives. This teaching explores how recognizing this binary rhythm of action and rest, speaking and silence etc can bring us deeper clarity, harmony, and spiritual insight.

Afa language which is used primarily for divination and spiritual consultation in Igbo spirituality, consists of specific terminologies that typically differ from everyday (regular) Igbo words. Knowing these Afa terms and their regular Igbo and English equivalents can provide deeper insight into your cultural and spiritual practices as an Odinani practitioner. This post contains Afa terms with “Akwu”, their regular Igbo equivalents, and their English meanings.