July 16th, 2014

I decided I'd round out my Japan posts with photos of all the lucky charms (omamori) I bought from different shrines and temples. For the sake of scale, all of these are between one and three inches long.

From Itsukushima:

A general "good fortune" talisman, embroidered with the island deer.

A talisman for good luck in academics, taking exams, etc.

From Kinkakuji:

A "traffic safety" amulet, which I'm assuming extends likewise to safety during travel.

From Kiyomizudera:

A squishy little talisman portraying the god of business success.

A dragon talisman for good fortune.

From Jishu:

A talisman for improving "the luck in love of one's zodiac sign". I'm a Pisces.

From Meiji:

I was so worried that I'd lost this one because I couldn't find it the other day, but when I got my keychain holding all of these out to take pictures, there it was! This amulet promotes oneness of the mind and body.

The writing on this carved wood reads "kodama", which is the Japanese word for "tree spirit" (similar to the European dryad). These spirits of the forest are generally benign, unless their tree is attacked, in which case they may curse the person who cut it. According to the Meiji shrine website, these wooden bells are made from the wood of sacred trees which have finished guarding the shrine precinct and allow for the oneness of human spirit and nature.

And then there's this: my little desktop shrine for academic excellence.

All of these are definitely coming to college with me.

Astrology, Party-Style

I was at my friend's graduation party last night talking to her sister and her sister's parents when I found out that her stepdad, Bob, is a huge astrology buff. It was really interesting to sit and talk with someone who had taken chart-drawing classes and owns ephemeris and everything. We had a fascinating conversation about it, and it was really cool to meet someone knowledgeable on the subject! I only dabble a bit myself; I can draw a basic chart, but nothing especially fancy. He, on the other hand, was clearly an expert and could tell all sorts of things about me even just as I told him what signs my planets are in.
I never expected to get drawn into a discussion of metaphysics at a grad party, but it definitely made an otherwise lacklustre evening memorable!

Jishu Shrine

Another exciting part of the Kiyomizudera Temple is the shrine built on the same grounds.

Jishu Shrine

Jishu is a shrine to Ookuninushi, the Japanese god of love and good matches (think Japanese Cupid). 

This is the entrance to the shrine itself; note the tell-tale Torii gate through which one must step to enter.

This is the shrine itself, in front of which are two rocks, placed six meters apart. It is said that if one can walk from one stone to the other with their eyes closed, they will find true love. A friend or significant other is permitted to help, which is especially good since the shrine is both small and very popular, so there are a lot of people to walk around. 

Jishu sells lots of love talismans; I bought a small red one with the Pisces fish on it to "improve the luck in love of one's zodiac sign". I'm a Pisces in Western mythology, and a rat in Eastern. Most Japanese zodiac memorabilia uses the Eastern animals, and frankly, I don't care for being a rat, so I was excited to see a Pisces charm and figured I'd get that one.

February 19th, 2012

I learned something quite interesting today. Apparently, Mars went into retrograde on January 24th, and will continue passing through this phase until June 19th. For those of you not particularly familiar with astrology, "retrograde" is when a planet appears to be moving backwards through the zodiac. When this happens, that planet exerts a particularly strong force on earth, and tends to create intense situations in areas that the planet rules. Mars dictates male relationships, physical challenges, and risk-taking inclinations, so during a period of retrograde, these may become more pronounced in one way or another, for good or for bad.

Currently, Mars is moving through Virgo, and will therefore increase introspective thought. Since we are also currently in the Tree Month of Ash, this is the ideal time to work on deciphering hidden motivations and inner truths. People with a mutable sign, including (obviously) Virgo, as well as Sagittarius, Pisces and Gemini, will be most affected by this period. This retrograde will also cause worries over weight, nutrition and healthcare. Therefore, people with jobs relating to the former may experience a period of instability.