As a spiritual coach, I talk about the concept of soul mission, calling, or destiny quite often. But what does all this mean? What is your soul mission? What were you called to do in this lifetime? What were you destined to achieve or accomplish?
Well, I get these questions on regular basis from my clients. At a certain point in their lives, people are no longer satisfied with the status quo. They aren’t complacent to just work to earn their daily bread. Some aren’t okay with earning a certain amount of money. And others aren’t okay with just achieving a certain status in their career.
They feel that they were called to do more in life beyond working, eating, sleeping, etc. As a result, they begin trying to figure out what that something is. And therein begins their soul journey – a relentless quest to understand their purpose.
Defining Your Soul Mission
Soul mission can be defined as the notion of achieving balance and harmony in life. It’s about overcoming challenges that have kept you stuck or stagnant in previous lifetimes. It involves learning karmic lessons so you can grow and advance in this lifetime and the next one.
Contrary to popular belief, your soul mission is not your job or occupation. That is only one element that will help you achieve your soul mission. It’s also not about who you will marry or how many children you will have. Again, these are small factors that play a role in how or if you achieve your soul mission.
While this notion is fairly straightforward to define, it is not always as easy to determine for the average person in westernized societies. That’s because we have been divorced from the sentiment that this life is about soul growth and advancement. Instead, we are taught from an early age that life is all about financial gain, social status, and profit.
As such, when people reach a certain stage or achieve a certain status, they often feel empty. It’s at this point that they try to figure out why they were created. But, this notion is a birthright for many people in indigenous cultures.
In such regions, soon after a child is born, and sometimes before, their parents have a solid understanding of the things the child will need to do to achieve balance. And as the child grows, they gain even more understanding of these dynamics as well.
Determining Your Soul Mission
So, what about those of us who weren’t privy to access this knowledge from birth? How can we figure out what we need to do to achieve balance in our lives? Well, like anyone else, we must go on a quest of self-discovery, which may include many tools and individuals to assist us along the way.
There are multiple ways of ascertaining this information. And no one way is right or wrong. In fact, I often suggest that you work with multiple tools to help you understand your purpose or calling. Fortunately, there are many resources available for us to do so. Below, I outline just a few resources that may be helpful for this purpose.
Ifa Divination
In the Yoruba system, divination is a key component to understanding one’s soul calling. This process involves consulting with Spirits to bring forth information for understanding who you are and why you came to Earth.
Oftentimes, divination can give you insight into your spiritual team or tribe. This knowledge can be very beneficial in fully understanding who you are, what types of lessons you are meant to learn, and how you can achieve balance.
Knowing your Head Orisha, or spirit, is greatly beneficial in this regard. This is the guardian energy that watches over you and guides your path. This diety embodies specific traits and characteristics that may be prominent within you. These traits can be both positive and negative. The negative traits will give you a strong indication of what you need to work on in your life to achieve balance.
This same concept applies to other members of your spiritual team. In particular, the group of astral mates or Egbe Orun that you belong to can likewise help you pinpoint what you need to accomplish in this lifetime. These energies ensure that we do not return to heaven ashamed of not completing our soul mission.
Spiritual Connections
But knowing the composition of your spiritual team is often not enough. In many cases, you will need to connect with them on a higher level so that they can adequately guide your path. Without such connections, they will only do the minimum. But with proper connections, they will effectively lead you to your destiny.
This is why Ifa divination and ritual work are so effective. They provide a pathway for you to understand and properly align with your soul mission through these spiritual connections. And keep in mind that this is a process – it is not a one-time deal. The more you engage in the practice, the more you will learn about your soul’s calling.
Astrology
The concept of astrology was likewise born and bred in African spiritual traditions and philosophical thought. Resultantly, all western astrology planets are synchronized with African deities in some form or another. As such, this is another great resource for understanding your destiny. In particular, your north node in western astrology points in the direction of your destiny. You will most likely find the planetary ruler of the constellation where your north node sits is a vital part of your spiritual team as well.
In astrology, the south node is the point where we came into the Earthly plane. It is the constellation that we enter from our past life. But, the north node is in direct opposition to this planetary cluster, which indicates that this is the direction we are meant to go in this lifetime.
To understand your destiny through your north node, first, learn about the negative traits of your south node. Then, gain an understanding of the traits or qualities that are inherent in your north node sign. These are the areas of your life in which you will have the greatest challenges, as they are the areas you need to conquer. In essence, your soul mission will be to balance out the dueling traits of your south and north nodes.
South Node Traits
For instance, if your north node is in Virgo, that means your south node is in Pisces. Pisces is a very dreamy, charitable sign. For the most part, this energy is gentle, loving, and kind. But it does have its share of negative traits. Sometimes this energy can get stuck in illusions and its idyllic image of the world. Pisces is also self-sacrificing, oftentimes to a fault. Pisces is likewise watery energy, which can lead to being overly emotional, too trusting, and too appeasing. This is the energy you will be most comfortable with in this lifetime.
North Node Traits
Some of the opposing traits of Virgo include being analytical, driven by intellectual or logical reasoning, critical or analytical, and slow to make decisions. Virgo is also honest, reliable, and charitable. But depending on other planetary aspects, someone with a heavy influence of Pisces in their natal chart may be too giving, caring, emotional, etc. As such, they will have many challenges that will cause them to embody the Virgo energy that they need to experience balance and harmony.
Balancing the Traits
Understanding these dynamics can give you greater insight into what your soul must accomplish in this lifetime. It can also help to unravel many questions about your life and steer you in the right direction. Your life circumstances will still play out to drive you toward your destiny. But having this information can help you make sense of the things you go through. And it can help you make better decisions.
Summary
Other tools, such as numerology, tarot or bone readings, and other forms of divination, are beneficial for the same purpose. Those resources are very useful for understanding your destiny. Though they may not be able to give you the keys to take control of your destiny. Each of them can effectively lead you in the right direction.