Will do. Unfortunately I have been swamped in work and I have just signed up for two online medical courses so I may not be able to get to this for awhile. I just can't seem to help putting more stuff on my work list.
Most of what I found is in Shinto. There was a coven here for awhile in which I did post some stuff, it was one specifically for Shinto, but it was removed by Pet when the other lesser covens were removed. I think a big part of it was that the Priestess wasn't very dedicated to it. She hardly logged in and most of the lessons had been posted by me.
Most of what you will find on magick will be Shinto-related. Shinto has a lot of rituals done throughout the year celebrating nature, the kami (gods), etc. Shinto believes that everything has a kami. Every little blade of grass, for example, and then there is a greater Grass Kami presiding over them all. Because of this, there is very little information on summoning creatures, because the paranormal is all around you, in Japanese philosophy. Most of the rituals were done by people of the feudal court because the Emperor was said to be a direct descendant of the gods. This is illustrated in the kabuki play "Saint Narukami and the God Fudou", which opens with peasant folk making a pilgrimage to Kyoto to ask the aid of the Emperor in bringing them rain. If you want to read it, I have links :) I'm a big fan of Kabuki and Noh theatre, and I suggest reading some plays to get a feel for the spirituality and rituals.
Something more practical, perhaps: If you wish ill will upon someone, you acquire a straw doll meant to represent the person and you visit a shrine between midnight and 2am, where you nail the doll to a tree and pray that they suffer. The name of the god usually prayed to and the name for this practice escapes me at the moment, but it has something to do with "bulls" because the hour this is normally performed is the hour of the bull. It is explained in better detail in the Noh play, "Kanawa", from the book "Troubled Souls from Japanese Noh Plays of the Fourth Group" by Chifumi Shimazaki (I'll try to find it online, as I do not own it. If you're willing to be patient, I can get it from the library in a few days lol).
I believe the same thing is done to reverse a curse (don't quote me on that), as is seen in the anime Bakemonogatari (a word play on the word 'bakemono', ghost, and 'monogatari', story. ;) ) in the episode "Nadeko Snake". I remember there was some twist to that story, and that what the girl was going was actually perpetuating her curse. In that anime, rituals are performed often but I do not know of their actual validity.
If you guys would like, I can post some stuff on the festivals and their traditions/rituals?
The Japanese are pretty superstitious people. When naming a child (or acquiring a name as a Kabuki actor, geisha, or the posthumous Buddhist name, for example) everything is taken into consideration, down to the day, motifs worn or present, season, and especially the stroke count in the kanji.
If anyone has more specific questions, it would help me narrow down my research, so don't hesitate to ask; I like a good challenge.
Ah, found it! "Ushinokokumairi" is the ritual with the straw doll. Here it is described as a type of VooDoo (and it's hour of the Ox, not the Bull, lol XD )
Kikuyo, your awesome! (lol) Can you give the link of the eastern mythology and magic? I'm very interested in Eastern cultures, they are very spiritual and unique to me.
For Eastern mythology you can really just google "Japanese (Chinese/Korean/Thai/etc, etc) mythology" and you will be taken to a bazillion links. Tibet is popular for its mysticism and Korea has a unique form of Shamanism.
As for learning about the culture, I'd suggest reading up on etiquette, the history, religion, and unique traits of a place. You can also watch drama to get a feel for school culture, love culture, etc. Anime is a good peek into the fantasy realm of the Japanese mind, and there are Chinese and Korean manga as well as Japanese.
I guess your request was a little vague to me XD If you could be a bit more specific, like prioritize your interests, I would be of more use lol.
And you guys may be interested in "Kujin-in", which isn't quite "magick" so much as energy manipulation for centering. Mudras are fun! ^-^
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuji-in
If any of you saw that (awful) "Ninja Assassin" movie, the hand movements that Raizou does to heal himself are kuji-in. It doesn't work like that (obviously), but I was wicked surprised they included something relatively-obscure like that in the movie.
