What Your Igbo Market Day Says About You
Igbo people have a 4 day week which they call izu. Izu is tied to the market, and is central to the flow of all things, because as the Igbo proverb says, "uwa bu ahia" (which mean, "the world is a marketplace"). The four market days are called Eke, Orie, Afo and Nkwo, respectively. If you want to learn more about the four market days, I recommend you watch this video by Derrick Ofodirinwa who is the creator of TheMedicineShell youtube channel.
Once you've understood the four market days, you will also understand that they are also the four fundamental elements. Those are fire, water, earth and air. In the above video, one of the things Derrick states is that the market day you are born on is also the door through which you enter into creation, and the door through which you enter into creation will speak to your nature. So, therefore, the market day you are born on reveals something about you.
If you want to find out what market day you were born on, all you have to do is go to https://igbocalendar.com and put in your birthday on the market day converter and it will tell you what market day you were born on.
However, I must warn you that if you live in the diaspora, you must be cautious of time zones. You might be born on Eke day in New York City at 9PM, but it was Orie day at 3AM in Igbo land. So, technically, you were born on Orie day. The Igbo market days apply to Igboland. So, keep that in mind. If you use a chart or app to look up the igbo market day you were born on, make sure to correct for time zones!
Now, let's get into what each market day says about who you are. Starting with the first one.
Eke - Eke is the Fire 🔥 element. So, people born on Eke day have attributes related to this element including creating. (Note: There is a difference between the act of creating and the gift of creativity. Creativity is an attribute of Orie.) Eke also represents light and darkness. It's spiritual manifestations are Anyanwu and Agbara.
Orie - Orie is the Water 🌊 element. So, people born on Orie day have attributes related to water including the pursuit of purity, freedom of spirit, strength of character, sense of duty and creativity. They also tend to attract guiding and teaching spirits as well as vision giving spirits.
Afo - Afo is he Earth 🌍 element. So, people born on Afo day have attributes related to the earth including being duty oriented, being inclined towards family and tradition and having a strong internal sense towards justice and balance. It's spiritual manifestations are Ala and Igwe.
Nkwo - Nkwo is the Air 🍃 element. So, people born on Nkwo day have attributes related to air including truth and justice. Justice comes in many forms such as justice between people and land, justice between the living and the dead and justice among different groups of people. The truth-oriented nature of the Nkwo-born person is why their symbols are Ofo and Ogu. Righteousness leads them. The feather is their symbol as it represents ascendence.
These characteristics are attributes that people born on their market day reflect when they are in alignment with their Chi and being guided by their akaraka. So, just for clarfication, it's like when you are living as your best self you will see your own qualities come out.
For more insight into this, you can watch me discussing this topic in the video below. Ya gazie!
