Category: Amulets/Talismans

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Mezuzah

I have been wanting to write about this for quite a while and I finally sat down for a moment to do it. Although it is specifically a Jewish custom/ item, one of my Jewish friends gave me the outer case and we wrote a protection prayer for my home together. This would never pass for a Jewish home (I’ll explain why later) but for my pagan home, it was a wonderful blending of religions and bonding experience. The image above is my personal mezuzah which is positioned just inside my home. This also wouldn’t work for any Jewish persons as it is supposed to be outside but Texas weather is terrible and I didn’t want it to become damaged since it is so pretty.

A mezuzah (Hebrew: מְזוּזָה “doorpost”; plural: מְזוּזוֹת‎ mezuzot) is a piece of parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah, which Jews fix to the doorposts of their homes. These verses are the Biblical passages in which the use of a mezuzah is commanded (Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21); they also form part of the Shema prayer.

According to traditional Jewish law, a mezuzah must be placed on every post-and-lintel entrance to a residence, courtyard, or city. Since the time of Meir of Rothenburg (c. 1215-1293), religious Jews have increasingly also placed mezuzot on the entrances to non-residential buildings such as synagogues and offices, and on each internal doorway of the home or building, with the exception of bathrooms (where the name of God is forbidden) and small closets.

The klaf is prepared by a qualified scribe (“sofer stam”) who has undergone training, both in studying the relevant religious laws, and in the more practical parts, i.e. carving the quill and practicing writing. The verses are written in indelible black ink with a special quill pen made either from a feather or, now quite rare, a reed. The klaf is then rolled up and placed inside the case.

In the biblical verses where the mezuzah command is found, the purpose is educational, to constantly remind a person of God’s commandments:

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.

In later generations, though, the mezuzah began to be interpreted as an apotropaic device, protecting the house from the forces of evil. A culture-comparative analysis suggests that the objects placed on domestic thresholds often bear the function of an amulet repelling the broadly understood evil. Some early Rabbinic sources explicitly witness the belief in the anti-demonic function of mezuzot.

The belief in the protective power of mezuzah is prevalent in modern times as well. In the 1970s after a series of terrorist attacks in Ma’alot, the representatives of Chabad started the campaign for the systematic checking of mezuzahs. The general assumption underlying the action was that adhering to the mitzvot would guarantee personal safety. According to various pieces of sociological research, approximately three-quarters of adults in Israel believe the mezuzah guards their houses.

Mezuzah cases

While the most important part of the mezuzah is the klaf, or the parchment, and not the case itself, designing and producing mezuzah cases has been elevated to an art form over the ages. Mezuzah cases are produced from a wide variety of materials, from silver and precious metals, to wood, stone, ceramics, pewter, and even polymer clay. Some dealers of mezuzah cases will provide or offer for sale a copy of the text that has been photocopied or  printed onto paper; this is not a kosher (valid) mezuzah, which must be handwritten onto a piece of parchment by a qualified scribe.

Because of the protection aspect that has been attributed to the mezuzah, this was the reason for my wanting to affix it to my front door. It was a beautiful piece that I got and, although it will never be considered valid by any self respecting Jew because I wrote it myself and it is not the sacred phrases they call for, I still absolutely love it. I also loved compiling protection spells with my Jewish friend and putting a custom protection amulet on my door.

According to halakha, the mezuzah should be placed on the right side of the door or doorpost, in the upper third of the doorpost (i.e., approximately shoulder height), within approximately 3 inches of the doorway opening. Care should be taken to not tear or damage the parchment or the wording on it, as this will invalidate the mezuzah. Where the doorway is wide enough, many Ashkenazi Jews tilt the mezuzah so that the top slants toward the room into which the door opens.

Generally, halakha requires Jews living in the diaspora (i.e., outside of the Land of Israel) to affix a mezuzah within 30 days of moving into a rented house or apartment. For a home or apartment in Israel (owned or rented), the mezuzah is affixed immediately upon moving in. Whenever passing through the doorway, many people touch a finger to the mezuzah as a way of showing respect to God. Many people also kiss their finger after touching it to the mezuzah and I think that is beautiful.

I do not consider it religious appropriation because my Jewish friend and I did it together and she was fully supportive. I also do not try to use it in the way that the members of the Jewish community do. I respect the Jewish religion and purchased it specifically to support a small business and only use it as a protective talisman. Does anyone belong to a multi cultural or multi religious community/ family and do similar things? Let me know in the comments!

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Cat Whiskers

Cat whiskers are very magical! Cat whiskers are a wonderful item that you can use to enhance your craft, but what exactly are they? A defining characteristic of our furry companions, whiskers serve a multitude of important purposes aside from just adding to your pet’s cuteness. Whiskers are sensory organs, vital multifunctional tools for your cat’s sensory input and are needed to help them interact with their environment. A cat will often “feel” his way around with his whiskers before committing to a jump or squeeze through a tiny opening. They help them gauge distances and navigate tight spaces. From a built-in tape measure to night-vision goggles, whiskers are an essential part of your feline’s genetic makeup. 

Whiskers aren’t just hair follicles — they’re attached to your pet’s nervous and muscular systems. The hair itself is loaded with nerves, with an extra-sensitive tip called a proprioceptor, making for the optimal sensory tool. Whiskers are basically a sixth sense for our feline friends and allow them to sense more in their environment than we can through vibrations from their whiskers. Whiskers can pick up on subtle changes in air pressure and vibrations. This allows them to detect danger or prey, even when they can’t see it. The longer hairs around your cat’s little nose are visible, but cats actually have whiskers in other areas of their body as well. These little sensory whiskers are also above their eyes like eyebrows, in their ears, along their jaw, and on their legs. This allows for your cat to be able to sense prey, judge the size of small spaces and detect changes in the air all through these magic little hairs.

The placement of a cat’s whiskers is also significant. The outermost whiskers (on the sides of the face) are the longest and most mobile. These are used to gauge distances and help the cat judge whether it can fit through an opening. The shorter whiskers above the eyes and below the chin are called tactile hairs, which provide information about air movement and assist with hunting prey.

You can tell a lot about your cat’s mood based on the status of their whiskers. In a normal, relaxed state, your fur baby’s whiskers will be slightly droopy. When they’re feeling aggressive or threatened, they’ll be tensed up and pointing out to the sides. When your pet’s whiskers are pointing slightly forward, your cat could be feeling friendly or curious about their surroundings. When two cats meet, they will often touch noses and rub cheeks as a way of greeting each other and exchanging scent information. This is how they learn about each other’s individual smells, which is an important part of communication for cats.

In many cultures, the cat is associated with witchcraft and sorcery. Cat whiskers are powerful symbols in myth, folklore and ancient cultures, signifying good luck, spiritual growth, prophecy, telepathy and protection against negative energy. Whiskers help cats maintain balance and stability, and spiritually, they symbolize the balance between the physical and spiritual worlds, as well as the importance of maintaining equilibrium in life. Generally, they are associated with powerful goddesses, such as Bastet and Freya, due to their physical form, connection to the night and strong intuition. They represent an ancient respect for the spiritual realms, as evidenced by all the tales throughout history that depict cat whiskers with magical properties.

How does one use cat whiskers in their craft? Cat whiskers, once again, are very magical. In general, whiskers can be used in any spell, no matter what it is, to give it a huge magical boost. Cat whiskers serve as a physical guidance system, and spiritually, they represent the intuitive and psychic guidance that can lead individuals in the right direction. Cats are guardians and beings who exist on both sides of the veil. Cat whiskers afford us protection, especially when travelling in this and other worlds. Cats are said to walk between the worlds, after all.

Witch Tip: Use cat whiskers to aid in spiritual travel and divination works. They can be used to aid in astral ravel and prophetic dreams when placed near your bed as cats are believed to be able to travel between the spirit and mortal worlds, using their whiskers to feel their way around.

Another belief is that they signify the cat’s connection to the spirit world and their ability to see beyond the physical realm. Just as cat whiskers are incredibly sensitive to touch, they symbolize heightened sensitivity to energies, emotions, and vibrations in the spiritual realm. On a spiritual level, they represent a protective barrier against negative energies and forces.

Witch Tip: Place a few cat whiskers in your car or use them to create a traveller’s charm for protection and to avoid accidents. They can be stored in your glove compartment or a spell bag hanging from the rear-view mirror.

Black whiskers can be used for things you want to remain a secret. You can burn a whisker to boost manifestation. One old wives’ tale states that if you burn a cat whisker to make a wish, that wish will then come true. Whiskers are also said to be lucky charms, providing protection against evil spirits and bad luck. They are said to bring fortune to those who find them and can help us get past obstacles and to help our perceptions. Use them to boost any energy works or energy magic.

Witch Tip: Putting good luck and perception together, whiskers can help you to find lost items.

Black whiskers are often associated with strength and power, while white whiskers may represent wisdom and purity. Longer whiskers are often seen as a sign of good health, while shorter whiskers may be a sign of illness or stress.

Witch Tip: Black cat whiskers are especially powerful and are said to ward off evil spirits during astral travel if one is placed near your bed.

Important Note: There is one main and important rule for caring for a cat’s whiskers- DO NOT cut them or pull them out! Pulling them out can hurt them and removing them in any way, be it to pluck it or cut it, would be like cutting off one of their senses. It is very stressful for them and violates their boundaries and personal space. Besides being incredibly disrespectful, removing whiskers on purpose, especially in bulk, can leave your cat disoriented and confused, so leave this vital part of them alone to ensure comfort in their surroundings. Even if you own a cat with curly whiskers such as the Cornish Rex it is still important to leave their whiskers to grow and fall out naturally. Wait until they shed naturally. When they fall naturally, they are meant for you to find and use as you see fit. You will often find one or two a week if you keep an eye out.

Witch Tip: To find those whiskers, look in your fluffy goblin’s favorite spots, especially their favorite grooming locations. Keep an eye out for them before vacuuming and check the lint trap after you do laundry. I can’t tell you how many whiskers I have found in the lint trap. A bright flashlight can make spotting them much easier.

Witch Tip: Create a whisker bank to hold the fallen whiskers of your fury babies. You can create another for shed claws and keep them side by side. Any jar or bottle will do but they have some really cool ones on Etsy and Amazon as well.

Do you not own a cat? There are many cat owners who sell their cats’ naturally shed whiskers on sites like Etsy. The bank above was found on Etsy and the one below was found on Amazon. Find something that fits you!

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Teru Teru Bōzu

Picture from: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA GOOGLE IMAGES

In movies, rainy days are primarily signaled by passionate kissing in the rain and spending quiet evenings together with those we love. However, eventually we want the rain to stop so that we can go outside and play again. April showers bring May flowers but now that it is May, we need the rain to let up a little. What better way than with a Japanese good weather sunshine doll?

Many cultures have traditions related to weather, weather prediction, and even trying to influence the weather, making the topic of meteorology not only a great entry point to science, but also to the shared connection every culture has to weather events. A teru teru bōzu, literally translated as shine shine monk or shiny shiny bald head, is a small traditional handmade doll made of white paper or cloth that Japanese farmers began hanging outside of their window by a string. This talisman is supposed to have magical powers to bring sunshine, good weather, and to stop or prevent a rainy day. Teru is a Japanese verb which describes sunshine, and a bōzu is a Buddhist monk (compare the word bonze), or in modern slang, “bald-headed”

Picture from Google Images

In some areas of Japan the dolls are used by farmers on days when they hope for rain instead of sun. You’ll see many of them especially during the tsuyu (rainy season) and on special occasions, such as outdoor festivals or harvest events. Tsuyu occurs when cold air from Siberia north of Japan, and warm air from the South Pacific south of Japan, collide and stay for an extended period of time. This usually happens between June and early July.

The dolls are hung head-downwards and called fure fure bōzu or ame ame bōzu (both meaning roughly The Rain Monk) or rute rute bōzu which is simply teru teru bōzu said backwards. Although teru teru bōzu is the most common name, they are also known as teretere bōzu and sometimes hiyori bōzu. Researcher Miyata Noboru has found that in certain places in West Japan they are still called Hiyoribo and remembered as yokai.

What looks like a simple folk-custom is actually a prayer to ancient Chinese gods and to one of Japan’s monster clan, the yokai called Hiyoribo among other origins. According to scholars, the tradition of weather-watchers and a rich folk culture of hiyorimi (weather-watching rituals and practices) can be traced with certainty to Heian period (749 – 1185) continuing through the Edo period (1603 to 1867). It has been suggested that the teru teru bōzu weather-watching practice/ritual in particular was adapted from a Chinese practice which involved putting the teru teru bōzu on the end of a broom to sweep good spirits your way.

Picture from Google Images

Teru teru bōzu became popular during the Edo period among urban dwellers, whose children would make them the day before the good weather was desired. Traditionally, if the weather does turn out well, a libation of holy sake is poured over them, and they are washed away in the river. Today, children who make teru teru bōzu out of tissue paper or cotton and string and hang them from a window when they wish for sunny weather, often before a school picnic day. Hanging it upside-down acts as a prayer for rain. Both of these are common superstitions in Japan.

Written in 1921, there is a hauntingly beautiful but slightly creepy traditional children’s nursery rhyme which the Teru teru bōzu is the central object and subject, which also has an ominous ending. As the song goes, the Teru teru bōzu is bribed with a golden bell and sake in exchange for successfully preventing rain and given an unveiled threat that failure would result in its head being cut off.

One origin story commonly told about the origins of the doll is just as dark. The Japanese word bōzu is one of the words used to call Buddhist monks. In the past, monks were also expected to be able to invoke rain. The main industry of Japan used to be agriculture and rain was crucial. In 800, the famous Japanese monk Kukai was commanded by the emperor in Shinsen-en, Kyoto to create rain. After that, more than 20 monks held this ritual until 1300. Among all the monks who tried the ritual, Jinkai was known as a specialist, even nicknamed “rainmaking master.” There is even a myth that a red dragon appeared while he was creating rain in Shinsen-en. If a monk failed in controlling rain, his head was severed.

The story goes that there was a monk who promised a suffering village plagued by flooding due to constant rains that he could stop the rains that were ruining their crops and bring good weather. However, after promising good weather to a feudal lord, the sunshine did not appear as promised and the monk’s head was chopped off as punishment for lying by the unimpressed villagers. It’s said the monk’s head was then wrapped in cloth and hung outside to stop the rain and bring out the sun.

Picture from Google Images

The story rings true and plausible but hints of far older practices from prehistoric-to-proto-historic times. We know, from the oldest Japanese historical records of the mythological age and of the era of the earliest emperors of Japan, as well as from archaeological excavations (evidence is found in Asuka, Nara and elsewhere) that there was an ancient practice of human and/or animal (horse, cow, etc.) sacrifice to river gods as well as of soothsayers, fortune-bearers and virgin maidens who traveled with seagoing expeditions, and who were thrown overboard to the sea gods as propitious or conciliatory offerings.

According to record in the book called “Kiyu Shoran” (Inspection of Diversions) “嬉遊笑覧” if the teru teru bōzu is successful, and the following day is clear, then its head is washed with sacred sake and the doll is sent into a river to be washed away. In Edo period Japan, rivers were thought to connect to the afterlife and the realm of the gods, so sending the teru teru bōzu down the river was returning it home in the same way that candles and lanterns were floated down the river during Obon, the Festival of the Dead.

As the tradition goes, the custom begins where you make a plain-faced Teru Teru bōzu, hang it outside your window then wait in anticipation. If the following day, the Teru Teru bōzu has delivered and the sun is shining, you show your gratitude by drawing a smiley face on it. If however, your doll has been unsuccessful in its mission… be gentle and give it another chance. After all, it’s no longer feudal Japan. as with Daruma dolls—a face was only drawn on the teru teru bōzu if it had been successful in bringing fair weather.

According to Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, the legend of the Hiyoribo Weather Monk is passed down many generations in Japan and is said to originate in the mountains of Hitachi-no-kuni (modern day Ibaraki prefecture).

 “He is said to come from the mountains of Hitachi-no-kuni—modern day Chiba prefecture—and his season is the summertime. Hiyoribo is said to be a yokai who brings sunny weather, and who cannot be seen on rainy days.

Toriyama Seiken illustrated the Hiyoribo in his picture-scroll “Supplement to the Hundred Demons of the Past,” and explained that this yokai was the origin of teruteru bōzu. He said that when children hang up teruteru bōzu and pray to them to bring sunshine into the rain, it is actually the spirit of the Hiyoribo that they are praying to. “

Picture from Google Images

According to the Japan Weather Association, which runs the country’s popular tenki.jp weather app, the tradition of teru teru bōzuspread to Japan from China during the Heian Period (794-1185) and can be traced back to a custom that suggests the person charged with invoking good weather was not a monk but a broom-carrying girl.

As the story goes, during a time of heavy and continuous rainfall, a voice from the heavens warned the people that their city would be submerged if a certain beautiful young girl did not appear outside. To save people from the deluge, the girl was essentially sacrificed, sent outside with a broom to symbolically head to the heavens where she would sweep rain clouds from the sky. In order to remember the brave girl who brought clear skies, young ladies would recreate her figure in paper cut-outs, a skill in which the broom-carrying girl once excelled. These figures were then hung outside to bring sunshine in times of rain.

Known as 掃晴娘 (So-Chin-Nyan) or Souseijou in Japanese, which literally means “sweeping fine weather girl”, the paper doll concept gradually took on a different face in Japan, eventually becoming the teru teru bōzu we see today. This theory, which has the support of folk historians, sheds light on the origins of the weather talisman, which, with the rainy season still well underway, will be popping up outside windows and under rooftops around the country.

Kuragehime (a.k.a Jellyfish Princess) is the title of a short anime that is a fantastic feel good anime. It is such a great series and in one of the scenes you get to see an absolutely adorable Teru Teru bōzu jellyfish doll. A bunch of versions of the jellyfish dolls were made in the episode and each one is just as adorable as the next.

One fantastic artist made Kuragehime’s Teru Teru bōzu and I was so impressed by it, I had to include it.

Sources: Wikipedia, https://cloandro.wordpress.com/tag/teru-teru-bozu/,
https://japanesemythology.wordpress.com/tracking-down-the-origins-of-the-teru-teru-bozu-%E3%81%A6%E3%82%8B%E3%81%A6%E3%82%8B%E5%9D%8A%E4%B8%BB-sunshine-doll-tradition/
https://hyakumonogatari.com/2011/12/22/what-are-teruteru-bozu/

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