Across families
Shaivism and Yoruba Ifá
Different families with 12 axes in close agreement — the sort of pairing a quiz weighting only the divine axes would never surface. Mean distance across all seventeen axes: 0.14 (0 would be identical).
Shiva as both the absolute and the immediate reality of consciousness, approached through recognition, yoga and temple practice. Spans ascetic and tantric extremes, so D3 sits mid-scale with a wide dispersion for good reason.
A vast memorised divination corpus, a remote supreme being, hundreds of orisha, and a personal destiny chosen before birth that can be renegotiated. The source tradition for most of the Afro-diasporic religions in this matrix.
Where they agree
A1 Divine reality
Both sit at a divine reality certainly exists — a gap of 0.00.
A4 Locus
Both sit at fully present within it — a gap of 0.03.
C3 The human condition
Both sit at leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound — a gap of 0.04.
B3 Institutional authority
Both sit at leaning clergy and tradition decide — a gap of 0.04.
C1 Survival of the self
Both sit at continues in some form — a gap of 0.04.
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good
Both sit at leaning achieved by effort or insight — a gap of 0.05.
D2 Centrality of ritual
Both sit at essential and prescribed — a gap of 0.07.
B2 Reading of sacred text
Both sit at between literal and binding and metaphorical, or no text at all and leaning literal and binding respectively — a gap of 0.07.
C2 Shape of time
Both sit at cyclical return and leaning cyclical return respectively — a gap of 0.08.
B1 Source of truth
Both sit at between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience — a gap of 0.10.
E4 Standing of nature
Both sit at leaning animate and itself sacred and animate and itself sacred respectively — a gap of 0.10.
E1 Exclusivity
Both sit at between one true path and many valid paths and leaning many valid paths respectively — a gap of 0.10.
Where they part company
E2 Origin of the cosmos
Shaivism: beginningless or natural. Yoruba Ifá: leaning an intentional act. A gap of 0.65 on an axis running from “an intentional act” to “beginningless or natural”.
A3 Plurality
Shaivism: between strictly one and many powers and spirits. Yoruba Ifá: many powers and spirits. A gap of 0.54 on an axis running from “strictly one” to “many powers and spirits”.
All seventeen axes
| Axis | Shaivism | Yoruba Ifá | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine reality | a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly exists | 0.00 |
| A2 Personhood | leaning a personal being one can address | between impersonal principle or order and a personal being one can address | 0.20 |
| A3 Plurality | between strictly one and many powers and spirits | many powers and spirits | 0.54 |
| A4 Locus | fully present within it | fully present within it | 0.03 |
| B1 Source of truth | between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience | between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience | 0.10 |
| B2 Reading of sacred text | between literal and binding and metaphorical, or no text at all | leaning literal and binding | 0.07 |
| B3 Institutional authority | leaning clergy and tradition decide | leaning clergy and tradition decide | 0.04 |
| C1 Survival of the self | continues in some form | continues in some form | 0.04 |
| C2 Shape of time | cyclical return | leaning cyclical return | 0.08 |
| C3 The human condition | leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound | leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound | 0.04 |
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good | leaning achieved by effort or insight | leaning achieved by effort or insight | 0.05 |
| D2 Centrality of ritual | essential and prescribed | essential and prescribed | 0.07 |
| D3 The body | between to be disciplined and to be celebrated | between to be disciplined and to be celebrated | 0.17 |
| E1 Exclusivity | between one true path and many valid paths | leaning many valid paths | 0.10 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmos | beginningless or natural | leaning an intentional act | 0.65 |
| E3 Locus of belonging | between a people, inherited and an individual choice | leaning a people, inherited | 0.16 |
| E4 Standing of nature | leaning animate and itself sacred | animate and itself sacred | 0.10 |
Positions for Shaivism rest principally on Shaiva Agamas, Tirumantiram and Kashmir Shaiva Pratyabhijna texts; for Yoruba Ifá, on Odu Ifa corpus and Abimbola’s scholarship. Per-cell sources are listed on each tradition’s own page.
The questionnaire places your answers on these same axes and ranks all 65 traditions by how closely they match. Take it.