St Patrick’s Day and Pagans

The story is believed by many to be a metaphor representing St. Pat chasing the Pagans and Druidic priests (the snakes) out of the country. 

Even though many Pagans won’t celebrate this day, we have chosen to celebrate in defiance, because Pagans survived and St Patrick was defeated.

Yeah, we’re still here.

We Are Responsible For Ourselves

Yes 

There were only one set of footprints in the sand, (Footprints in the Sand) in the famous poem we are told, "During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

We don't need to be carried, we need to learn our strengths and purpose, gain confidence and even though there will be people during your lifetime that will assist and befriend you, those footprints in the sand are yours and yours alone.

The footprints are yours because you decided to get up and walk, because you believe in yourself.

The Tooth Fairy

We saw the comment (below) and even though it was a bit hysterical, we thought about the origin of the tooth fairy, money and pillows…here’s what we learned.

The tooth fairy is famous for exchanging a few dollars for baby teeth that have fallen out. 

The tooth fairy and losing teeth is considered a rite of passage showing that a child is “growing up.” 

There is no direct connection to the tooth fairy in European folklore. 

In Medieval England, it was popular to burn a child’s baby teeth because it was connected to beliefs about the afterlife. 

An old superstition was that if a child did not dispose of his or her baby teeth properly, the person would wander the afterlife for all of eternity in search of them.

There are legends in Europe, however, that do more closely resemble the tooth fairy legend, involving witches.

The purpose for disposing of the teeth is so a witch does not find them.

If a witch found a person’s teeth, it was believed that she might be able to gain complete control over that person.

The Middle Ages

 Europeans in the Middle Ages believed a witch could curse someone by using their teeth, so it was important to dispose of baby teeth the right way. 

Teeth were swallowed, buried, or burned. 

Sometimes baby teeth were even left for rodents to eat. 

Rodents were valued because they had strong teeth.

A tooth fed to a rodent would be the reason for the development of a healthy and strong adult tooth.

Eighteenth Century France

The tooth fairy idea in the 18th century France tells the story of a fairy that changes into a mouse to help a good queen defeat an evil king. 

The mouse secretly hides under the evil king’s pillow and defeats him by knocking out his teeth.

Scandinavian Lore

The tooth fairy leaving money under the pillow for money originated in Scandinavia. 

Vikings paid children for a lost tooth. 

Teeth were worn on necklaces as good luck charms in battle.

While the tooth fairy as children know her today wasn’t popular until the 1900s, the tooth rites of passage have existed in many cultures since the dawn of time.

Japan’s first-ever Tarot Card Museum in Tokyo

Tarot cards are becoming popular in Japan and that popularity brings us to the brand new Tokyo Tarot Museum that just opened in Tokyo’s Taito Ward. 

Run by Nichiyu, the first Japanese company to sell tarot cards in Japan, it’s the first-ever tarot museum in Japan.

Nichiyu has been importing tarot cards to Japan since 1974 and has continuously been a major part of the industry ever since. 

For the last 20 years, they’ve hosted regular exhibition and sale fairs at bookstores all across the country, but in order to give people even more access and opportunities to explore tarot cars they decided to open a tarot museum.

The Tokyo Tarot Museum focuses on exhibiting rare and unusual tarot cards, which were drawn from Nichiyu’s collection of over 3,000 cards. The museum will also put on a continuous display of 500 out-of-print, hard-to-find cards, which will also be for sale.

The museum plans to host workshops and lectures featuring professionals from the tarot world, tarot reading services, tarot card art exhibits, unveilings of new work by artists, 

The Tokyo Tarot Museum is located in the Yanagibashi neighborhood of Tokyo, which has been known as a fortune teller area since the mid-Edo period, and which was once one of Tokyo’s geisha districts. 

The museum is just a few minutes on foot from either JR Asakusabashi or Tokyo Metro Asakusabashi Station, so it’s easy to find. 

It operates on a reservation-only system, so before you go, make sure you book a slot on their website ahead of time. Entrance costs just 500 yen per person.