Greetings, Gifted Reader.
Omedettou Gozaimasu!
That’s Happy New Year in Japanese.
Like many other cultures that celebrate the New Year,
Japanese tend to take a more spiritual approach than the West. Does your
culture perform any special rituals at this time of year? Would you like to
share them with our readers?
Gypsy Stars literally lucked out this year and was invited
to attend the midnight gonging for 108 human sufferings at a Buddhist Temple.
That was special enough, but the next day, I celebrated (along with hundreds of
others) at a Shinto Shrine.
First, we sipped on ozoni soup with mochi, then drank a small cup of sake flecked with gold (for prosperity).
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| sake with gold... |
We then purchased a fortune. If
you didn’t like yours, you could tie it to a tree and buy another until you
were satisfied.
Afterward, we washed our hands, and stood in line to receive a
cleansing and blessing by Shinto priests. While one cleared us of all the bad
luck of last year, another rang bells to scare away evil spirits.
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| go away bad spirits... |
After that,
we headed back to the Shrine’s store to purchase New Year omamori (good luck charms).
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| omamori for everything... |
The upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year will be honor of the
Green Wood Horse. How will it factor in your life? Are you a horse? Don’t
forget, animals resent having to share their year with you, so be cautious.
Thank the stars, there are other factors at work that can negate bad fortune.
Speaking of, t_zing now has animal astrology t-shirts, so
check them out.
And, please like The Urban Goddess facebook fan page that we
created for all metaphysicians. If you’d like to be interviewed for this blog,
email gypsystars@me.com
In keeping with change for the New Year, Gypsy Stars will
now move to a bimonthly format. Look for us again on March 15.
Banzai!
Good luck, light and love,
Gypsy Stars
