IFA is an ancient sacred science that has been passed down generationally for thousands of years. IFA is a science of divination – a means of communication and interaction with the unseen, spiritual world. Through the practice of IFA we can see what cannot be seen – in the past, present, and future – and thus diagnose problems that are beyond our scope. Therefore when we place our trust in the word of IFA, we are always ensured hope, no matter how dire the situation may seem to us.

Much like when one goes to see a modern medical doctor, going to the Babalawo starts off with something much like diagnosis. Instead of the doctor physically checking you out with instruments such as stethoscope, thermometer, etc. the Babalawo will consult the IFA oracle on your behalf to ask IFA what the energies in your situation are. Even if you do not reveal any symptoms or details to the Babalawo, they will consult IFA and IFA will reveal all. The Babalawo must interpret the divination and they will most usually do so with the use of Ese IFA, verses of divine poetry that has been passed down for thousands of years. The Babalawo will unravel details of your own situation from the poems and then they will help you make sense of it all and how it applies to your own personal current situation. Often the patient or client will have an internal reaction to the messages of IFA and they themselves will come out and tell the Babalawo further interpretations and insights into their own situation or problem. The Babalawo and the patient will discuss the interpretation and there is much healing psychologically. Certain things that were before overlooked or subconsciously “swept under the mental rug” are now brought to light, by IFA and by the person's own Ori (divine head/consciousness), and the whole issue is given a new shade of light. These new perspectives, and this outside divine word of IFA, help the patient to reexamine their situation and to look at it from an externalized view. Much like modern counseling or therapy, this helps the patient to deal with their situation and their problems.