Museum Reception

Last night, the campus museum hosted a reception to celebrate the opening of its new exhibits. I think I was the only freshman who went, but there were a lot of faculty and older students in attendance. I bring it up because as I was walking through the exhibits, I noticed this Japanese tsuba, a decorative hand guard for a samurai's katana.

It caught my attention, because its eyes, which were covered with a brighter metal (gold leaf, maybe?), shone in its display. Upon taking a closer look at it, I immediately recognized Raijin, and felt a rush of validation when I looked at the information card and saw that it was, indeed, Raijin being depicted.

Raijin is the Japanese thunder god ("rai" being thunder and "jin" an alteration of "shin", which in turn is the same "shin" in "Shinto", and means "god"). He is often shown with (or competing against) Fuujin, the wind god. According to Shinto mythology, after Izanami and Izanagi created Japan, the Buddha entrusted eight Raijin to protect the Dharma (assigned a variety of meanings, but primarily referring to natural law). This sort of syncretism between Shintoism and Buddhism was and is very common among the Japanese. When there is a storm, Raijin beats his drums (note the drumsticks he holds in the tsuba) and produces thunder. His drums are usually topped with a mitsudomoe symbol, a variant of the tomoe and a trinity figure thought to represent Man, Earth, and Sky. The mitsudomoe is also visible in the tsuba as the circles above and below the central slit for the blade - the top retains its bright metallic covering, making the three-pronged symbol easy to see. Those who are familiar with Japanese mythology might look at Raijin's iconography and assume him to be a demon, or oni. Some versions of the myth do indeed suggest that Raijin is a reformed oni, thus explaining the resemblance. One legend says that Raijin likes to eat children's bellybuttons, and so some parents may warn their children to keep their navels covered during thunderstorms. Another story, found in Judika Illes' Encyclopedia of Spirits, states that Raijin saved Japan from the 1274 Mongolian invasion by firing thunderbolts at the Mongol ships.

Raijin is never found without his loyal companion (and perhaps pet), Raijuu, the thunder beast. This spirit, often taking the form of a white or blue wolf or fox, is the source of electricity and lightning, and has the dubious honor of being the inspiration for the Pokémon, Raichu. Another explanation of the bellybutton story is that Raijuu likes to fall asleep in people's navels, and Raijin must strike him with lightning to wake him up, thus harming the sleeper. Those who believe this version of the story may sleep on their stomachs in bad weather, whereas others say that Raijuu only sleeps in the bellybuttons of people sleeping outside.
Modern practitioners wishing to honor Raijin could call upon him for protection during storms or a power outage. While I imagine there are specific rites one may do to honor the thunder god, a small monetary offering is standard fare among the Japanese kami. Unless you live in Japan, it is unlikely that you live near any sort of shrine to Raijin. If this is the case, money could be donated via the internet to help provide relief for storm victims or to help maintain Japanese shrines which honor the thunder god and associated deities.

May 6th, 2013

Whew! I had my first AP test today, out of the three that I'm taking this year. It was on Environmental Science, and I think it went okay. I got tendinitis or something similar in my right arm a few months ago, though, so as I was doing the extended response, all the writing was making my arm burn. 'Twas not fun. As they say in Japan: "Shikata ga nai" - "It can't be helped".
In addition to visiting a prospective college on Saturday, my family stopped at the Field Museum. True to form, I expanded my now quite extensive collection of rocks. Kindly bear with me as I expound upon a few of their properties over the next few days, yeah?

Amazonite

 

Physical Characteristics: Amazonite is a blue-green variety of Feldspar, named after the Amazon river, though it is not actually found in the Amazon basin. Apparently, the Spanish explorers got even more wrong than we thought.

In Nature: Feldspars are also microlines, types of minerals that are important in the formation of igneous rocks. Microclines like Amazonite are typically rich in Potassium and Sodium.

Chemical Composition: KAlSi3O8

Mohs Scale Hardness: 6 (middle)

Can be Found: The USA (especially Colorado), Brazil, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Russia, and Zimbabwe

Healing Properties*: This stone assists in stopping self-destructive behavior, both physical and emotional, and alleviates stress and exhaustion. Additionally, Amazonite soothes the nervous system and supports the processing of information. It also improves posture and may protect against snakebite, though in modern times, unless you own a grumpy pet snake, you're probably better off working with your stone to protect against bites from other types of animals.

Magickal Properties: Allegedly, the deeper the color of the stone, the more powerful it is; though this is usually true, there's also no need to blow your food budget to get a gigantic piece of gem-quality crystal. Work with what you can get, and the stone will respond to the energy you put into it. Amazonite is a stone of self-respect, confidence, grace, and self-assuredness. Use it to increase understanding and smooth cooperation with others. Another application is to heal emotional trauma and to balance the male and female (or yin and yang) energies in the body. Furthermore, Amazonite draws forth the motivation to reach your goals, and can be used in matters relating to the truth, trust, and integrity. Due to its blue-green color, the stone brings monetary success, while opening the psychic centers. Those performing rune or tarot readings may find the stone's assistance helpful.

Chakra Association: As it deals with emotions and communication, Amazonite is connected to the Fourth (Heart) and Fifth (Throat) chakras.

Element: Earth

Energy: Receptive

Planetary Association: Uranus

*Magickal healing should never take the place of seeing a doctor and following any recommended prescriptions, actions, or other advice. Magick works best in tandem with physical efforts, anyway, so don't skimp on those check-ups!

March 2nd, 2013

I can't believe how quickly time has gone by the past few weeks. It seems like we just had Valentine's Day - now it's early March! My Grandma and Uncle spent the last few days at our house. I was gone a lot of the time at school, but Thursday night we were able to go out to eat at a nice restaurant, and yesterday we went to the Field Museum in Chicago. One of my favorite exhibits is their dinosaur exhibition. This is only one of the pictures I took, with my brother standing in it for scale, but I found the size of this fish skeleton simply hilarious. I mean, come on, it's gigantic!

Also while here, my Grandma and Uncle had a really belated Christmas with us - from my Uncle, I got a cool book of Japanese folktales, and while I got several things from my Grandma, my favorite was probably a piece of grey stone in which dozens of tiny red-black garnets are embedded. She and I share a love of stones, and I thought it was the coolest thing! Now, of course, I'm obligated to research and write about garnets.