User blog:Horsyqueen/Messenger of the Gods - Kitsunes and Tancho

The gods and deities of which we research or believe in, whether you be Christian or Pagan. These deities have messengers. Messengers of different deities come in many different forms but little is understood about them. Today I am going to talk about two very special messengers, one of these is extremely well known while the other resides in the world of those it exists in. Firstly I shall start with the most famous.

Kitsunes These are animal demons from Japan but also seen in China. Many people will not know but they are the messengers for the deity called Inari.

Inari Inari is the Japanese deity of foxes, fertility and rice. The deity itself is both male and female and like the kitsunes a shape shifter between the two and her fox form.

Kitsunes as said before are animal demons which means they start their life in a normal animal form, the form is that of a red fox like the one in the picture of Inari above. They then later become able to shift between human form and their fox form. A common misconception with their human form is that they appear as male but in reality kitsunes only come in the human form of a female. It is understandable to believe otherwise but kitsunes are the feminine messengers for Inari. Kitsunes do not have to have many tails but they tend to grow a new one every century. One of Japans most magical creatures who live among the bustling cities. There are only two places with these special foxes, Japan and the UK, no other country has urban foxes. This creates such a special relationship with the night time mischief makers. Many people will wonder what kitsunes abilities are but theirs are very similar to their Tanuki relatives. Both are shape shifters but kitsunes only have two forms while Tanuki are nearly unlimited. Kitsunes are also tricksters and will never miss a change to trick a passerby. The foxes will also possess woman and these are key among Japanese culture, these woman would usually wear a kitsune mask. Many people do not realize a key aspect of kitsune culture which is a tough reality for some. Here is a passage which describes it: 'In Japanese mythology, the fox creates delusions in men, often taking the form of a beautiful young women to extract a man's semen during sexual intercourse, thus adding to it own potency. The only way to tell if you're in the company of a fox-women is to watch for her shadow on water; a fox spirit's shadow will be cast a an outline of a fox, not that of a women. One story tells how the Mikado was seduced and bewitched by a beautiful young girl, the jewel maiden. After she had left him important, the fox spirit ran away until she reached Nasu Moor. There she lived inside a huge rock and waited for strangers to pass by. One day a Buddhist priest called Genno heard her story. Realizing he was dealing with a demon- spirit, he preyed to Buddha, and the spirit transformed into a fox, then into a beautiful young women who was sucked back into the death-stone forever.' In some ways people refuse to believe the truth.

The next animal is one that you will see no where else on earth. Tancho Messengers for most of the Shinto and Taoist deities. The wonderful and endangered birds who look like celestial beings themselves.

These birds are a species of cranes called Tancho and look exactly the same whether you are in China or Japan, both are under the same protection. The bird itself does not look like the one above as Tancho are black and white giving them a slight yin and yang aspect to them. The birds symbolize immortality, nobility and celestial power. These birds are ballet dancers and it is understandable to why they are messengers. They are some what enchanted with the energy of Qi (Chi/Ki) of which can be seen if you look for it. It is believed that sacrificing items to the birds, then they would give you a favor or luck, this is known as Tsuru no Ongaeshi.

horsyqueen Mind over Matter