Ichu Aja, the act of propitiatory offering, is one of the most misunderstood practices in Odinani. Many approach it as a quick spiritual fix, while others perform it without grounding it in lineage, intention, or alignment.

When done properly, Ichu Aja restores balance and strengthens spiritual relationships. When done carelessly, it becomes ineffective, or worse, confusing.

Below are five critical mistakes to avoid when doing Ichu Aja, explained simply and clearly.

1. Prioritizing Foreign Forces Over Your Own Lineage

One of the most common mistakes is offering propitiation to foreign deities or forces before honoring the spiritual forces of your own land and lineage.

In Igbo spirituality, relationship follows origin. Your strongest spiritual ties are:

Your ancestral line
Your community’s spiritual framework
The land you come from

Ignoring these while engaging external forces weakens alignment. It has to do with order. When order is wrong, results are unstable.

2. Using Materials That Are Taboos in Your Community

Every Igbo community has its own taboos; foods, animals, actions, or materials that are considered spiritually inappropriate or sacred.

This includes taboos from both your father’s land and your Ikwu Nne (your mother’s lineage).

Involving taboo elements in Ichu Aja:

Disrupts alignment
Creates spiritual resistance
Undermines sincerity

What works elsewhere may not work for you. Always respect your local customs. Ignorance does not cancel consequence.

3. Treating Ichu Aja as a Way to Bypass Cause and Effect

Ichu Aja is not a currency to escape natural consequences. Performing offerings repeatedly in the hope of “buying” solutions, without backing them with corrective action, is a misunderstanding of Odinani.

Spiritual balance requires:

Time
Change in behavior
Natural unfolding of events

Overuse of propitiation without action signals avoidance, not responsibility. This will most certainly lead to frustration and discontent rather than resolution.

4. Failing to Set Clear Intentions

An offering without intention is set to be ineffective.

Before Ichu Aja, you must be clear about:

Why you are offering
What you seek to restore or align
What you are committing to change

Vague intentions lead to vague outcomes. Clarity directs spiritual attention and makes your offering meaningful.

5. Ignoring Alignment With Your Chi

No offering can override a misaligned Chi.

If you do Ichu Aja without checking in with your Chi, without reflection, honesty, or inner consent, you weaken the process.

Your Chi is the mediator between you and the spiritual world. When it is ignored, communication becomes distorted.

Alignment with your Chi ensures:

Sincerity
Proper timing
Emotional and spiritual readiness

Without it, even correct offerings lose effectiveness.

To Sum It Up

Ichu Aja works when it restores order, not when it is rushed, misdirected, or used as a shortcut.

Honor your lineage.
Respect taboos.
Act responsibly.
Be intentional.
Align with your Chi.

When these principles are observed, Ichu Aja becomes what it was meant to be; an effective, powerful act of reconciliation between you, your ancestors, and the natural order.

That is the way Igbo ancestors practiced it, and the way it still works today.