Originating from Chinese mythology and folklore, foxes that live for over a thousand years and the accumulation of great energy become nine-tail foxes. They are creatures which can shapeshift – usually into the form of a beautiful woman – so that they can seduce and consume the heart or liver of men. In most versions of the myth, a nine-tails fox which transforms into a human will always maintain some aspect of its fox nature – fox-like eyes, the ears, or even the nine tails.

The nine-tails fox is considered as having a morally ambiguous nature in the Chinese and Japanese versions of the myth with ancient texts mentioning its assistance of humans, and the humans that trick the naïve nine-tails fox. One Chinese story, The Three Sui Quash the Demons’ Revolt, the huli jing teaches a young girl magic which enables her to conjure armies with her spells.
In the Korean version, the nine-tails fox is typically portrayed as a blood thirsty and vengeful creature. However, in the Gyuwon Sahwa*, the kumiho is described as an auspicious fox spirit with “a book in its mouth”. As the text was supposedly written in 1675, there is speculation that the current and violent imagery of the kumiho was influenced by the Japanese occupation of Korea. In the Taiping Gunagji (太平广记: Tàipíng Guǎngjì – sometimes translated as Extensive Records of the Taiping Era: A collection of stories collected in the Song Dynasty), it is claimed that foxes were worshiped and considered sacred beings in the Silla Kingdom.

A nine-tails fox with enough willpower that can abstain from killing and/or consuming human flesh (or in some cases – any meat) for a thousand days, is said to be able to fully transform into a human. In the Korean version of the myth, a nine-tails fox can also become human by obtaining a “cintamani” (wish fulfilling jewel in both Hindu and Buddhist tradition).

While not much is known (in English translations) about the magical abilities of the huli jing of Chinese myth, the kitsune which shares some similarities with European fae-folk has considerably more magic. Some of the kitsune’s abilities include:
– Possession
– Generating fire and/or lightning
– Wilful manifestation in the dreams of others
– Flight
– Invisibility
– The creation of elaborate illusions almost indistinguishable from reality
There are stories of kitsune with even greater powers, and some have characteristics reminiscent of vampires or succubae which feed on the life-force of human beings – usually through sexual contact.

Something specific to the kumiho of Korean mythology is what is the possession of a ‘yeou guseul’ (여우구슬 – fox marble) which is said to give power to the kumiho and contains knowledge. The kumiho is able to absorb a human’s energy with it, the method usually resembling a deep kiss; and a human who can steal the yeou guseul from the kumiho and “observes sky, land, and people” will gain preternatural abilities.

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*Gyuwon Sahwa (규원사화/揆園史話) – A forged document from the early 20^th century claiming to be a history written in 1675 that describes ancient Korean history.

Related Post(s):

The Demon of Sunboksa (short story)

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Source(s):

Gyuwon Sahwa – Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyuwon_Sahwa 
Huli Jing – Wikipedia –  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huli_jing
Kitsune – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune
Kumiho – Mythology Wiki – https://mythology.wikia.org/wiki/Kumiho
Kumiho – Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumiho

Original article: The Nine-Tails Fox.

Chinese: 姻緣紅線 Yīnyuán hóngxiàn; red thread of marriage Japanese: 運命の赤い糸 Unmei no akai ito; the red thread of fate // 結び の 神 – Musubi* no kami; matchmaking, love and marriage.

Though there are multiple versions of the Red String of Fate tale, the more popular and well known version involves a young boy who, walking home one night, sees an old man standing beneath the moonlight. The man is Yue Xia Laoren, the old lunar matchmaker god, and he explains to the boy that he is attached to his destined wife by red thread and show him the young girl it will be. The boy being young and disinterest in marriage or having a wife picks up a rock and throws it at the girl before running away.

Many years later when the boy has grown into a man, his parents arrange a wedding for him. On the night of their betrothal, his wife waits for him in their bedroom with the traditional veil covering her face. Raising it, the man is delighted to find his wife is one of the great beauties of his village but wonders at the adornment she wears on one eyebrow. When asked about it, the woman responds that when she was a girl, a boy through a rock at her which left a scar on her eyebrow. He realises she was who he had thrown the rock at when he was a boy.

It is believed that there is a red cord attached to those that are destined to meet, and though it may twist and turn, tangle and stretch; it will never break and will ultimately bring two destined people together. In the original Chinese myth, the cord is fastened around the individual’s ankle. In Japan, it is bound from the male’s thumb to the female’s little finger; and in Korean culture, the red thread is thought to be fastened to the little finger of each party.

The red string of fate is a theme that turns up a lot within Eastern Asian literature and film, but also within the Western media and mythologies; though it is more commonly referred to as soulmates and twin flames.

While the stories they all tell are vastly different from the original folk tales, they all share the constant theme of two people finding each other no matter what. Even if they fall away from each other, or their lives twist and turn away from each other; they still find their way back to each other by the end. Oftentimes this is also after going through some form of personal transformation that makes the individual(s) better know themselves and understand others.

The Japanese animated film “Your Name” (君の名は, Kimi no No wa) tells the story of two characters, Mitsuha and Taki, who switch bodies when they fall asleep. At first they both think they’re just having a super realistic dream, then learn that those dreams are in actual fact real and that they are somehow switching bodies. They get to know each other by leaving messages and instructions to each other for when they wake up.

As the story progresses, they go in search for each other though it transpires their timelines are split three years apart from each other, so Taki doesn’t realise who Mitsuha is immediately when their paths first cross. Many years later, they are both living in Tokyo having forgotten the dreams they’d had, though they both have a sense of having lost something. They finally see and recognise each other again while on different trains that pass each other in a station which leads to them both getting off the trains and running across Tokyo trying to find the other.

“Musubi* is the old way of calling the local guardian god. This word has profound meaning. Tying thread is Musubi. Connecting people is Musubi. The flow of time is Musubi. These are all the god’s power. So the braided cords that we make are the god’s art and represent the flow of time itself. They converge and take shape. They twist, tangle, sometimes unravel, break, and then connect again. Musubi. Knotting. That’s time.”
Hitoha Miyamizu, Your Name

“Do you believe?
Even in a different time and a different dimension,
The one meant for you will appear and protect you.”
Xia Lin: Well Intended Love (Season 2)

In Well Intended Love (奈何BOSS要娶我, Nàihé BOSS yào qǔ wǒ), a relationship between the main characters Ling Yizhou and Xia Lin is initially instigated by a marriage contract. As the story progresses, the two fall in love with each other for real as they get to know each other. Even though Ling Yizhou loses his memory while hypnotised at one stage, the strength of the relationship brings his memories back through the strong, underlying bond the two share.

It is more into season two that the red string of fate concept appears with the characters living in an alternate timeline. While the storyline is different to the first season, it follows the characters as they find their destined partners. At the very end of the second season, Xia Lin is dreaming and sees flashes of the original story of how she and Yizhou came together and speculates that in every version of their lives, she and Yizhou would find each other some way.

The Korean drama It’s Okay Not to Be Okay (사이코지만 괜찮아, Saikojiman Gwaenchanh-a) which has just started on Netflix is a brilliant example of the dark and brooding side to the red string of fate and twin flames. A romance with a difference, it follows the healing journey of the two main characters and shows their emotional and psychological wounds in a profound manner.

Much like the original folk tales, It’s Okay Not to Be Okay shares flashbacks to the main characters as children when their paths first crossed. One is hurt and runs away and it isn’t until they’re adults that their paths finally re-unite.

A red string of fate relationship is one that is pre-destined and inexorable relationship that will occur at precisely the right moment. Whether the individuals are aware of each other or not, and no matter where their lives take them first, they will ultimately find their way to each other; and when they do finally come together, they will be in a place of understanding and balance which creates an unshakeable core to the relationship.

Twin flame relationships within the theory of the red string of fate eludes to a runner and a chaser – where one is more awake and aware of the connection while the other is either oblivious or freaked out by the intensity of the emotions. The roles can switch between partners throughout life, and there can be a lot of coming together and breaking a part as both deal with shadow work before a final union happens.

**Sadly because of the romanticisation of twin flame unions and soulmates, a lot of toxic and harmful relationships are over looked as “twin flame.” Shadow work refers to self improvement and self love, dealing with fears and past hurts and learning empathy and compassion to light up the darkness and become the epitome of yin and yang. It is important to know that any level of mental and/or physical abuse, the use gaslighting or any method for control and dominance is still an abusive relationship and anyone suffering from abuse needs help and support.

If you want to read more on Twin Flames, check out the post on ‘Twin Flames and False Flames’ here.

“And all along I believed, I would find you.
Time has brought your heart to me, I have loved you for a thousand years,
I’ll love you for a thousand more.”
Christina Perri – A Thousand Years

References:

The Taiwan Times. Find Love at Taiwan’s Top Five ‘Cupid Temples’.  https://thetaiwantimes.com/find-love-at-taiwans-top-five-cupid-temples/
TV Tropes. Red String of Fate. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedStringOfFate
Wikipedia. Read Thread of Fate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_thread_of_fate

Media Quotes:

Christina Perri. A Thousand Years.
Jo Yong. It’s Okay Not to Be Okay (사이코지만 괜찮아).
Jordan Mechner. Prince of Persia (Sands of Time).
Makoto Shinkai. Your Name (君の名は).
Qiang Wu. Well Intended Love (奈何BOSS要娶我).

Original article: The Red String of Fate.

Date of Imbolc: 1st/2nd February
Meaning of Imbolc: purity, growth and renewal. The reunion of the god and the goddess, and of fertility. Dispensing of the old to make way for the new. The strengthening power of the sun and the return of light to the world.
Symbols: Besoms, Brigid’s crosses, Candles, Ploughs, Snowdrops.
Herbs: Angelica, Basil, Bay Laurel, Heather, Iris, Myrrh. All white flowers.
Incense: Basil Bay, Cinnamon, Myrrh, Vanilla, Violet.
Foods of Imbolc: Pumpkin and sunflower seeds, poppy seed cakes, bread, dairy products, lamb, and food that had been stored over winter; smoked meats, dried fruits and nuts.
Colours: White, Pink, Yellow and Green
Crystals: Amethyst, Bloodstone, Garnet, Onyx and Ruby.
Ways to celebrate: Candle lighting, walking in nature and looking for signs of spring, having a clear out and “spring clean”.

Imbolc, also referred to as St Brigid’s Day and “Candlemas” in the Christian calendar, falls midway between the winter solstice (Yule, 21st/22nd December) and the spring equinox (Ostara, 21st/22nd March). Imbolc was originally a pagan festival associated with Brigid, the pagan goddess of fertility. It is thought that the word “Imbolc” comes from the old Irish “i mbolc” which means “in the belly”, which was a reference to the pregnancy of ewes and brings the association with fertility. Another possibility is from the old Irish is “imb-fholc” which means “to wash/cleanse oneself”, referring to a ritual cleansing.

Traditionally, Brigid crosses were made from reed rush and a doll-like figure known as a Brídeóg (or Bridey Doll) would be taken from home to home as a physical representation of Brigid herself visiting their homes, for which this festival was about. Brigid was often invoked for the protection of the home and livestock, and to receive the goddess’ blessing, people would make up an extra bed for the goddess and leave her a meal and drink.

The festival of Imbolc is of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the returning light and early signs of spring. In the first few minutes after sunrise, people would light a fire or candle in each room of the house in honour of the sun’s returning power and the lengthening days. Celebrations often involved hearth-fires/bonfires, special feasts and divinations and watching for omens. Fire and purification are important aspects to Imbolc. People would clear out the old and the unwanted, de-cluttering both their homes in a ritualistic cleansing of the property and self.  This is where the term “spring cleaning” stems from.

People would visit holy wells as part of the celebration of Imbolc – as with Beltane and Lughnasa – and they would pray for health while walking clockwise around the well. They would leave offerings such as strips of material that were dipped in the holy well known as clooties and/or coins. This tradition with the offering of coins at wells is potentially the origin of what we know today as the “wishing well”.

Imbolc was a time for weather divination in particular. People would take walks and look for the first signs of spring such as snowdrops appearing while watching out for badgers and snakes coming out of their dens. Imbolc was also the time when the Cailleach – a divine hag, greater and weather deity in Gaelic mythology – would come out to gather her firewood for the rest of winter. If the Cailleach wishes to make winter last a good while longer, she will make the day of Imbolc be bright and sunny so she can spend more time gathering her firewood. Therefore, people were full of relief if the day was one of foul weather, as it meant the Cailleach was asleep and winter would soon come to an end.

How do you celebrate Imbolc/Candlemass? Are there any local folktales connected to this festival? Let me know in the comments!

Original article: What is Imbolc?.