Table of Contents
- Beginners Katashiro
- Yokai spirits
- Incorporating the Wu Xing and Yokai into Katashiro
- Wu Xing: Chart of Intent
Beginners Katashiro
Katashiro, a Japanese occult practice originating from Onmyoudou; which is the esoteric practice and system created from Taoist, Confucist, and Japanese Folk magick influence. Katashiro is sometimes addressed as Japanese voodoo only according its uses of straw and paper poppets called "Waraningyo". Katashiro is a relatable tradition to hoodoo in only these following ways. Katashiro incorporates personal concerns in poppet magick such as hair, nails, blood, spit and etcetera. Katashiro incorporates the use of Omamori as spirit influencing talismans or petitions to yokai, oni, or other Kami. Candle magick is even incorporated into Katashiro as well as sympathetic magick.
Yokai Spirits
We briefly talked about Yokai as a subject of spirit petitioning or conjure in Katashiro. Yokai are demons, fae, ghosts, and or gods born from the following alternatives: passing on with regrets, being born into the after life as a ghosts. accumulating spiritual energies through and or before death, as well as being born from natures left over energies from storms, emotions, and etc. Yokai are known fondly and or as trickster spirits for being able to shape shift and cause calamity or misfortune. A example of a yokai I am personally fond of and call upon in my craft of Onmyoudou is the Kidama, meaning tree spirit. Kidama are born from the spiritual ki or energies of ancient or long living trees. I regard them as fae do to their association with the forest and nature.
Incorporating the Wu Xing and Yokai into Katashiro
Since the knowledge of the definition of a Yokai is no longer a mystery I will now elaborate on how these spirits can be used in Katashiro according to the Wu Xing. The Wu xing is the principle of the five Eastern elements iin the occult originating from China and Taoism. Fire, Earth, Metal, Water , and Wood are the principle elements of the Wu Xing. According to the elements the behavior, emotions, and intensity of the energies in magick are applied. For example using energies corresponding to fire are passionate, destructive, and consuming but move fast, leaving a path of ruin. Water and wood energies are slow depending on the sun or a heat source as well as path provided. Earth is stable unmoving to those above it and always shifting below the surface. Metal reflects energy, takes in fire energy but can be destroyed if it absorbs to much. In Katashiro and in any occult a spirit or energy can be categorized by these principles. Intent determines it all. A example of this is a woman wants more money and she wants it fast, yet she wants the change to manifested as a visible change. The woman would use a fire elemental or a yokai born from fire energies. Therefore she would use this to have a fast moving spell, the spell would be vibrant and could be perceived or seen through manifesting change, as well as it being attuned to the woman passion of getting money from a source.
Wu Xing: Chart of Intent
- Fire, strong masculine intent ( straight forward, direct, unchanging, continuous), Glamorous, vibrant, radiant, consuming, Fast among wood, and earth energies, slow among water energies, Consumed by metal energies.
- Water, Feminine powerful ( Takes in the world view, powerful intuition, thinks ahead), vibrant passionate but giving, over passionate suffocating, Condenses and becomes visible to metal energies
- Metal, masculine and feminine (Can become fluid or solid according to environment) malleable, Reflective, imperial, wealthy, stable, can be clouded, reflective emotions, empathic
- Earth, feminine, masculine, giving, nurturing, destructive
- Wood, prosperous, feminine, masculine, abundant