清明 Seimei Shrine: An interesting place for Wiccans

There are  more than  a 1000 Buddhist temples in Kyoto and probably an equal number of  Shinto shrines. I have a long connection to Kyoto, but I think I can be forgiven for not knowing them all.  But how this one slipped my net for so many years is surprising. The reason it is so surprising is the symbol for the shrine is a pentacle, very rare in Japan, but as a Wiccan very important for me.



Abe  no Seimei

 

This shrine is named after and built on the site of Abe no Seimei's house.  He was an Onmyoji a natural scientist and occultist. For six generations of emperors he was the court astrologer and exorcist. He accurately predicted the abdication of the emperor Kazan. He studied Feng Shui and became a master in China.  This is where he acquired the pentacle, in this case symbolising the five traditional Chinese elements ( a little different from what the Wiccan pentacle symbolises).

 

 

After Abe"s death in 1005 in his honor the emperor build Seimei Shrine. He became a mythical character with many stories generated after his death. Even in modern times, movies, books and manga have been made or written about him. In comparison to some of the famous shrines in Kyoto, Seimei shrine is relatively small. But many people including many famous people make pilgrimages to the shrine.

 

 

清明井　A  well which is said to have magical water.
 

 

300 year old camphor tree, people hug the tree to feel the ancient powers.

Guardian Spirit

龍　Dragon

 



ウィカは何ですか？

 

 

 

 

 

 

　

 

ウィカは宗教ですが、有名な宗教じゃない。　新しい宗教でも、キリスト教の前からあった宗教。　魔法と魔女の宗教。いろいろなウィカがいるけど、たいていウィカの人（Wiccan)は女神と神を信じている。　ウィカの場合、月と太陽は非常に大切な事です。自然、　神話、タロットとかmagick(ウィカのマジックの書き方）は大切な事です。たいていキリスト人は「ウィカが悪い」と言っている。でも本当の事はウィカの人はいつもいい事をしている。将来、新しい日本語ウィカのブログを作るつもりです。　タロットのブログも作るつもりです。もし興味があったら、連絡をしてください。

イギリスのPagan Federationの説明

What do you see in the Moon?

In the Kyoto sky tonight you can see a big beautiful Moon.  Like all Wiccans the moon is very important to me. But the Moon is important for everyone, most people like to look at the Moon. In every culture there are myths about the moon.  In Europe the myth of the Man in the Moon is a popular thing for mothers to tell their Children.  My Mother told me when I was a child, if I looked carefully I could see the man's face.  I tried, but could only vaguely see it.  In my twenties when I became a Wiccan and learnt about the Moon Goddess I was quickly able to see her face in the Moon. I think the Man in the Moon is just a Patriarchal distortion of the real Goddess story. I can still see her face here in Japan, if I concentrate, but another image naturally pops up.  Japanese people see a rabbit, at first I could not see it, but eventually I could and now it is easy to see. I do not know if there is any meaning to it, but naturally I think of fertility, which is the rabbits western meaning.  I have heard that Chinese people see a dragon, I have never seen it, but I hope to one day. What do you see in the Moon?

Goddess of Mercy

Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy

A kind gentle Japanese girl who lived on the edges of a village one day came across a Buddhist priest. The priest was lying sick on the road. The girl was very poor, but decided to help the priest. She helped the priest into her house and let him sleep on a futon. She had nothing to give him, so she went to her neighbours house and asked for a little rice. The neighbour said "yes, but when the time comes to plant the rice seedlings you must help me". "Of course, I understand" she replied.  She went to the next neighbours house and asked for a little miso soup and at the next house she asked for a little medicine. Both answered "yes, but when the time comes to plant the rice seedlings you must help me". She replied "yes, of course". The same thing happened at seventeen other houses, so she had plenty to nurse the priest back to health.  The priest recovered and when he left he thanked her and gave her a small statue of the Goddess Kannon.

The rice planting season came and on the same evening all twenty neighbours came and said tomorrow is the planting day. The young girl did not know what to do, she could not help everyone on the same day, but she had made a promise. So she prayed to Kannon for help. At the same moment the priest was praying to Kannon on a mountain top. Suddenly the sky went dark and Kannon appeared in the sky. To the priest she said " the young girl who helped you so much is in trouble, in the next village find nineteen girls to help her plant the neighbours seedlings. So he went door to door and all the young women agreed to help.

The next day the young girl decided that all she could do was help the nearest neighbour, so went there and worked all day.  unbeknown to her the priest took the nineteen young women from the other village to all the neighbours rice fields and they worked all day. The young girl went home sadly believing she had let down so many neighbours. But one by one each neighbour came and thanked her. She did not understand what had happened, but she was very happy. Finally the next door neighbour came, not only did he thank her, but he asked her to marry him too. The young girl smiled and the Goddess of Mercy, Kannon smiled too.

How to write Witch in Japanese.

I wanted to write a post for this blog today, but I have been so busy, so this is just a fun filler.

Japan's Imbolc 節分

Probably because I was born in the Spring Imbolc has always had a special meaning for me. Also the Goddess Bridged has a strong connection to the Rowan tree, my choosen name. Now, for me living here in Japan, Imbolc has been extended to three days, because I include Japan's Setsubun festival. The meaning of Setsubun, is the change of the season. But it is especially used for the change from Winter to Spring. It is eccencially a cleansing festival. It is believed that during the year Oni demons or devils come and live in the corners of a house.  On Setsubun Japanese people throw dried beans into the corners of their houses and shout "demons out, good fortune in". Often a father will dress as a demon and his children will through beans at him. It is also auspicious to eat the same number of beans as your age on this day. Many Shinto shrines have events where men dress up as Oni, but I prefer to go to Yasaka Shrine where Maiko ( young Geisha )Dance and throw packets of dried beans to the crowd.


Maiko-San at Yasaka Shrine on Setsubun 2014

Maiko-San at Yasaka Shrine on Setsubun 2014

 

 

South Heaven 南天

If you walk down the residential streets of Kyoto, 

outside many houses you can see a beautiful bush. 

At first glance you may think it is Rowan, 

but when you look at its beautiful red berries 

there are not the tell tale pentacles at the stark. 

The leaves are shaped like Rowan leaves and 

turn red in the Autumn and Winter like the 

Rowan’s also do. In June pretty white

flowers bloom.

 

 

 

The Rowan is an important tree for me. 

My family name is originally Riley, but it 

never really felt like my name and about 18 

years ago I decided to legally change it.

 I wanted something related to my Wiccan 

beliefs and Rowan seemed perfect. The Rowan 

tree is a tree of protection and 

it has protected me through the years. 

The Japanese word for Rowan is 

Nanakamado, which I use here and 

for my FB page connected to my spiritualty.

 

In Britain and especially in Scotland it is 

ｔraditional to have a Rowan tree in front of 

the house, to protect the house from 

bad influences. In Kyoto the ubiquitous 

南天 ( Nanten : South Heaven) does 

exactly the same thing. There is another 

pronunciation for it, Nan o Tenjiru, 

meaning to change a difficult thing. 

Now in the depths of winter this colourful 

and beautiful tree is brightening up Kyoto. 

Scotland and Japan are half a world apart, 

but this beautiful synchronicity 

is an exquisite wonder. 

私の名字はRileyですが、18年前合法的にRowanに

なりました。ロワンは木の名前、日本語でナナカマドです。

ナナカマドの葉は美しい緑、でも冬にその

葉は赤になります。冬、赤い実が多いです。
葉と実は本当に日本の南天に似ています。

スコトラントには古い家の前にナナカマドがいます。

伝統的にスコトラント人はナナカマドは

悪いことから守ってくれる木を信じる。

日本人の場合、南天は悪いことから守ってくれる木です。

不思議ね！