Besides Ochossi's role as hunter and witch, he is also considered to be a great seer. His children usually have good psychic abilities when they are developed. We have noticed when giving "coco" to the Orishas, or divining with the 4 pieces of coconut, that Ochossi many times has something to say. He will often stop the proceedings to deliver a warning. This seems to happen many times, especially when giving coconut before an Ita or reading with the Orishas or with Orunla. Often Ochossi stops procedures to tell those involved to pay special attention to what is going to be said in the Ifa by the Orishas or by Orunla. The divination by coconut is a divination system that is usually used as a preparation to other ceremonies. For example, if you are going to feed any Orisha or Orunla sacrifices of any type of animal, the Orishas in question or Orunla must be given coconut to be sure that they are in agreement with what you are going to do. This is usually reserved for priests and priestesses of the religion. If you have received your warriors, you might in an emergency consult them with the coconut pieces if your godparents are not available to do so for you, but you should not consult for other people if you have not been initiated into the religion as a priest or priestess. American unfortunately, have to habit of wanting to do things for themselves and like to read a book and then using the "do-it-yourself" method of learning, proceed to try it out for themselves. We have heard stories of people giving coconut to Yemaya and other Orishas when they have not even received these Orishas. The Orishas have to be present in their soperas with their sacred stones and shells for this to occur. Please be respectful and try not to make up this religion on your own, because you will find nothing but trouble if you insist in being your own guide in these Mysteries. This is not a fantasy game, you must be firmly grounded in reality to practice this religion.
We have been talking mostly about Ochossi's roles as hunter, magician and seer, but let us not forget that Ochossi is also a great warrior. Above you see a picture of Rama. Rama was an encarnation of Vishnu, that defeated the demon gods. Notice that Rama uses a bow and arrow. Likewise Ochossi is also a great warrior. He is like Chango, in that he likes to see justice done. Ochossi is often propitiated in court matters, where he holds great sway. Ile Ochossi (Ochossi's house) is considered to be the jail. Priests and priestesses are always telling Ochossi: "Ochossi, you are certainly welcome in my house, but, please, I don't ever want to visit your house." Naturally, you cannot go out and rob banks and expect Ochossi to help keep you out of jail. That shows a great misunderstanding of the function of the Orishas and is against the general laws of morality. But Ochossi certainly can be helpful in solving legal matters when approached with the right sacrifices and ceremonies. We hope that none of you ever have to visit Ochossi's house and pray that Ochossi gives you the intelligence to live in the right way.
