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Shinto is the folk-religion of Japan. Intrinsic to it’s a perception within the non secular energy of nature and the protecting energies of crops, bushes, mountains, and different forces of the Earth. All of those are referred to as kami – the “genius” of “divinity” of nature – which can be a specific kind like a flower, a spot like a forest, or a pure course of, just like the turning of the seasons, which brings completely different crops and energies to prominence, or, certainly, the blowing of the wind, which has a non secular and psychological impact such because the readability of thoughts caused by its refreshing qualities which ‘blow away our cobwebs’ and assist us see extra clearly.
Kami, then, are the guardian spirits of the land, but in addition of occupations, abilities, skills, virtues, deeds or admirable actions, in addition to our ancestors and sacred lifeless, all of which have an ‘essence’ which infuses our lives. Briefly, they’re the divine forces of nature, representing the beauty and energy of life in all its varieties.
Kami historically have two souls: one light (nigi-mitama) and one aggressive (ara-mitama) and so – as we all know – a spirit such because the wind could behave otherwise based on which soul possesses it on the time. The spirit that manifests stands out as the light breeze of a Summer season’s day, bringing us peace and a way of calm, or a hurricane which carries all earlier than it and brings sudden change and violent breakthroughs. On this, the kami have ‘personalities’ or predispositions that are very human in nature.
The phrase Shinto is a conjunction of two kanji or ‘word-pictures’: shin that means ‘spirits’, and tō that means a philosophical approach or ‘path’. Therefore it is called “The Path of Spirit”; the understanding, that’s, that the divine is in all places round and inside us, and that there’s a approach of connecting with all of those spirits – each inside and exterior – via reverence of nature.
The primary – and nonetheless probably the most highly effective – Shinto ceremonies have been carried out exterior, in forests or earlier than rocks, which shaped a naturally sacred house and a pure altar. These ceremonies didn’t incorporate icons, as, for instance, Catholic rituals use bread and wine to face for the flesh and blood of Christ, or pictures of the Virigin to signify Mary, as a result of the spirits are formless essences, not the shape itself: inhabitants solely of the tree (or rock or waterfall) and never the tree itself.
On this sense, Shinto is shamanic and regards all issues as alive, conscious, sentient, and of spirit – identical to us. As a consequence, kami are seen as nearer to human beings of their nature and temperaments, ideas and emotions, than ‘gods’, and all of them occupy the identical world we do, not distant from us or inhabiting some far-off Heaven. To cite a phrase utilized by Terence McKenna in a unique context: “Nature is alive and speaking to us. This isn’t a metaphor”; inside Shinto it’s a actuality.
The obvious theme in Shinto, subsequently, is respect for nature, and its rituals are designed to mediate relationships between the Earth, its spirits, and its human inhabitants. Any twisted department or unusually-shaped stone could be a kami, as would possibly a waterfall, a cloud, a wildflower, or the moon, or, certainly – extra summary however nonetheless nature-related – ideas like development and fertility, and we should subsequently tread evenly on the Earth and make the correct observances in order to not disturb or upset these spirits. Nature rituals be certain that we accomplish that and a part of the explanation for them is that human beings, upon loss of life, turn out to be part of the kami too, no matter their ‘good’ or ‘unhealthy’ deeds on Earth – in order that the tree department you carelessly break might be the spirit of an ancestor or, certainly, might be your personal spirit in a number of years time!
Understanding this, as quickly as a baby is born in Japan, his or her identify is added to a listing at a Shinto shrine, which makes that little one a “household spirit”, or ujigami – which implies they’re already a ‘kami-in-waiting’ and can turn out to be one of many ‘geniuses’ of the place they’re born to as soon as they die. These whose names aren’t on this checklist turn out to be “water children” (mizuko), who, upon loss of life, are stressed and unhappy and will trigger troubles and plagues.
Shinto has no commandments as such, however there are 4 ‘Affirmations of Spirit’, which have their origin within the pure order:
1. The Shinto adept should love nature as a result of it’s sacred and brings us nearer to spirit.
2. She or he should recognise the household as sacred as a result of it’s the essential approach during which traditions are preserved and spirit might be felt.
3. She or he should attend festivals devoted to the Kami, of which there are various annually.
4. And she or he ought to give consideration to cleanliness. Purity of thoughts, physique, and spirit are all essential. Sure deeds can create impurity or “dirtiness” (kegare), corresponding to killing, or partaking within the loss of life of, a residing being. This could solely be accomplished with reverence – even in case you are simply consuming a take-away meal of meat or greens – within the information that you’re consuming a life to proceed your personal. Failure to indicate respect demonstrates a scarcity of concern for others and might create issues for everybody as a result of animals or crops killed with out gratitude for his or her sacrifice could maintain a grudge (urami) and their kami will search revenge (aragami) on the whole neighborhood. One purification ceremony to keep away from that is to face beneath a waterfall or cleanse your self within the sea in case you have not made your thanks prior to now to nature. One other variant is to clean oneself in water and herbs which have a spiritually cleaning property. Within the West, these might be vervain, marigolds, rose, or valerian.
One other approach of honouring the spirits and gaining their help is to erect an altar in your own home, which in Shinto is known as a kamidana, or “spirit shelf”. That is held on the North or West wall of one among your loved ones rooms, simply above head top. Earlier than it chances are you’ll pray and make choices to the spirits of your property and the kami of nature in return for the favours they may then give you.
To make a kamidana, first clear and purify your property, then select a web site that’s gentle and quiet. On either side of the kamidana place evergreen banches for purity and longevity, and dangle rope above the shrine as a safety for the spirits who stay there, so solely good energies could enter. You can too place gadgets in your shrine that imply quite a bit to you, or for which you search blessings and safety – corresponding to household images and heirlooms that join you together with your ancestors and their love for you. On some shrines, a mirror can be positioned to replicate unhealthy energies and preserve your property and household secure. Fairly often crops, flowers, or small branches are positioned on the shrine to signify the purity and energy of nature and the spirit it incorporates.
Meals choices, referred to as shinsen, are left to the spirits on this altar, as a mark of respect and to empower them in order that they’ve the power that can assist you. These usually embrace rice, wine (sake), water, and salt. For brand spanking new beginnings, a rice gruel made with the seven herbs of Spring (parsley, shepherd’s purse, cottonweed, chickweed, henbit, turnips, and radish) are left on the shrine on January 7 through the celebration of Nanakusa-gayu. The meals is faraway from the altar subsequent day and eaten as a part of a household feast. By doing this, you and your family members won’t undergo sickness for a yr. After making your providing, face the kamidana and provides thanks for the presents of your life. Then bow twice, clap twice, and bow as soon as once more. This ends the ceremony.
Shinto teaches that the whole lot is alive and has kami or “non secular essence”. There’s a kami for the whole lot and for all teams of issues, so each rose has a kami, each species of rose has a kami, and there’s a kami for all of the roses after which for all of the flowers of the Earth. All of those are collectively referred to as Yaoyorozu no Kami, an expression actually that means “eight million kami”, however which really means ‘an infinite variety of spirits’.
And this can be a great way to take a look at life: to recognise the spirit in all issues, to understand that nature is alive and speaking to us, and that the richness of the Earth – in all its myriad varieties – might be our ally, serving to us to reconnect with the planet we stay on and to know our place as we broaden our horizons and empower our desires to come back true.
References
There may be extra info on the kami and kamidana in The Non secular Practices of the Ninja, and extra on plant spirits in Plant Spirit Shamanism, each by Ross Heaven, and revealed by Future books. Additionally see [ and
