(7-6) The dog has four feet, but he only takes one path.
 El perro tiene cuatro patas y coge un solo camino.

Animals follow their instincts and do what thousands of years of evolution has taught them works best.  They don't turn ideas over and over in their heads; they just do what needs to be done.  Humans, on the other hand, usually have a lot of projects going on simultaneously and a lot of conflicting demands on their time.  The dog's four feet remind us that there are always choices to be made, and everyone has options.  If a dog goes in one direction, he might find a bone. If he goes in another direction, he might find a stream where he can get a drink of water.  But, if he tries to go in four directions at once, he will go nowhere.  This is an important lesson for us to learn about priorities.  If we can't get our heart, body, mind and spirit to work together and lead us in one direction, we're going to be stuck at the crossroads, unable to progress.  

When this sign appears, it talks about the need to set priorities and do one thing at a time.  Don't let yourself be bogged down in indecision, and don't spend too much time turning ideas over and over in your head.  There comes a time when you simply need to decide and move forward, in one direction, and have faith that it will work out.  Every step in life is a risk. We can never see what's at the end of the path. But, usually if we move forward with confidence, things turn out just fine.   In Odí, the ancestors and spirits of the dead are important guiding forces, and sometimes they speak to us through inner dialogue and bursts of intuition.  Listen to your inner voice when you have to make a decision, and let yourself be drawn in the direction that feels right to you.  

1-1 When the king dies, there's a prince waiting to be crowned.  Rey muerto, príncipe coronado. 
Proverbs express literal truths, but also have symbolic meaning.  This one talks clearly about transitory power and reminds us that we're mortal.  No matter how important we think we are, one day we won't be around anymore, and someone else will take our place.  There's always someone - a student, a junior colleague, an assistant, an apprentice, an understudy, a son or daughter - who's going to step in and replace us.  They don't necessarily wish us harm - maybe they even love us - but, they know there's going to be a day when we're not around anymore,  and they're going to occupy the vacant spot we leave behind.  That's the nature of life.

Ocana (1) is an odu (sign) that talks about birth and death, or beginnings and ends, as part of a natural cycle.  This proverb, in particular, reminds us not to take ourselves so seriously.  In what area of our life are we thinking of ourselves as the king or queen?  Work? Home? In a relationship?  Do we act like we can't be replaced?  Do we think we need to devote ourselves heart and soul to some enterprise because it won't succeed without us?  When this odu comes up in a reading, the client needs to sit back and take a good look at his attitudes and behavior.  In all likelihood, he feels irreplaceable in some way, and he's obsessed with whatever it is that makes him feel so important.  He might be a workaholic who neglects his family and homelife because he thinks his business would fall apart without him.  He might be a controlling parent who's alienating his children because he won't allow them to make a move without his permission.  When Ocana comes with osorbo (misfortune), the client can be seriously out of balance.  He can be extremely stubborn, willful, and short tempered. He feels he has to be right all the time, and he can't stand to be corrected.  He truly believes he knows better than everyone else;  this makes him difficult to live with and, eventually, it drives people away.    

This proverb tells the client to lighten up.  No matter how important or powerful we think we are, the world won't end when we're not here anymore.  Everything will go on without us, and someone else will fill our shoes.  In the meantime, life is short, so why not enjoy it?  Why should we exhaust ourselves working all the time? Why should we make ourselves sick worrying about things we can't control?  What's the worst that would happen if we give up some of our control and walk away from things once in a while?  We don't have to go to extremes and give up everything that matters to us, but we should examine our lives carefully to know what's truly important, and where our priorities lie.  We need to be sure we're living a life we enjoy.  Kings carry a lot of responsibility on their shoulders, and they make a lot of personal sacrifices for the good of the kingdom.  Perhaps the king's subjects appreciate his sacrifices, and perhaps they don't. Perhaps they admire and respect him, and perhaps they don't. The only thing that's certain is that one day the king will die and a new king will be crowned. People will bow down to the new king, and the cycle will repeat itself with another prince on the sidelines waiting to be crowned.

(11-3)  The flame of disagreement doesn't care who ignited it.  La llama de la discordia no respeta la mano que la prendió.

Ojuani (11) is an odu that talks about a lack of gratitude.  Combined with Ogundá (3), it indicates a conflictive personality.  Some people have the idea that the world owes them something, and the favors that are done for them are simply their due. Time after time, they accept favors without saying thank you, or even acknowledging that another person went out of their way to help them. Good fortune comes along and act like it's the natural order of things. They can't imagine bad luck, or a person who doesn't want to help them, because they think the world revolves around them, and they deserve to have the best of everything.  This kind of person is bound to experience conflict with other people sooner or later, because no one can keep taking and taking without giving something back.  Misunderstandings arise about what someone owes someone else, what ought to have been done and wasn't, what is fair or unfair, what the obligations of one person are to another.  This proverb warns about the dangers of creating discord in your life, because even when your complaints and criticisms are aimed at another person, they will always reflect back on you.  Every time you make an unreasonable demand or use words to hurt another person, you're lighting the flame of discord in your life.  Discord spreads like a wildfire, and eventually destroys everything in its path.

There's really no such thing as a one-sided argument.  Once the demand, complaint, criticism, insult, or accusation is out of your mouth and hurled at another person, the other person has to react in some way.  Even if the other person walks away and refuses to engage in an argument, a conflict now exists where there wasn't one before.  Tensions remain, the relationship is damaged.  Occasional flare ups are normal, but this proverb asks you to reflect on how often you go through life stirring up discord?  When you perceive that someone is letting you down, or not meeting the demands you've created, do you lash out?  When someone does something to help you, do you show genuine gratitude?  Do you take too much for granted?   Not showing gratitude eventually causes other people to feel used and abused.  Failure to acknowledge what they've done for you is another way to create discord in your life, because it sets up a dynamic that leads to unfulfilled expectations, resentment, and anger.  Silence when a kind word is needed can be just as bad as an insult spoken aloud.

Do you find yourself in situations where everyone is mad at you and you don't know why?  Is your hand is the one setting fire to the situation, perhaps unintentionally, but still with negative consequences for you?  Sometimes more than a cursory thank you is needed.  Genuine gratitude requires you to see that you aren't owed any special favors, and when good things come your way, they come through acts of kindness and mercy that could have, under other circumstances, been withheld.  Reflect on all you have and recognize that it could all be taken away.  Nothing in life is guaranteed.  Feel gratitude for what you've been given, and respond to the world around you with a little more humility.  Stop saying "I want" and "I deserve," and think more about what you have that you can give back to others.