Maiden
What you need to sow
Begin by making something with another person. Nothing here is built alone.
Japanese
Izanami
She Who Invites, Ruler of Yomi
Japan, Kojiki compiled 712 CE; older oral tradition
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Her story
Historical context
goddess · Japan, Kojiki compiled 712 CE; older oral tradition
Izanami and Izanagi stirred the sea with a jewelled spear and made the islands of Japan. She died bearing the fire god, and went to Yomi, the land of the dead.
Mythology & traditions
Izanagi followed her and lit a torch to see her, breaking his promise; horrified by what death had made of her, he fled and sealed the passage with a boulder. She said she would take a thousand lives a day; he said he would cause fifteen hundred births. The world's rhythm comes from a marriage that could not be undone but also could not continue.
Domains
- Creation
- Death
- Marriage
- Grief
- Necessary separation
Symbols
- Jewelled spear
- Islands
- Boulder at the cave mouth
- Plum branch
- Comb-tooth torch
In the oracle
Her guidance
Mother
What you need to grow
Nurture what is still living. Do not spend the whole season at the cave mouth.
Crone
What you need to know
Some doors close permanently, and the boulder is not cruelty. It is the shape of grief.