Here’s the thing: I’m kind of enamored with the idea of having a patron saint or a patron god watching over you and inspiring you for a specific reason. Now, I consider myself mostly Christian with some other religious beliefs wriggling themselves into my spiritual system…and I was christened as a baby as a Catholic, and followed that faith for a few years until I became a Lutheran. I basically adhered to whatever religion my parents followed. My Dad was Catholic, and when we were with him, we were, too. When my parents split, we started going to the Lutheran Church (my mom and grandmother were/are Lutherans), where I had my catechism when I was older, and I took it very seriously. But I would still occasionally go to Catholic services…I even went to some in the UK when I studied abroad in Wales. I enjoy both flavors of Christianity and have no problem attending church services in either denomination, although overall I feel more comfortable in the Lutheran church. But it was through Catholicism that I was introduced to the saints, and that stuck with me. My two that I connect with are St. Michael and St. Paul.

Anyway….through experiences living overseas, and influences from my family’s varied belief systems, or lack thereof, my spirituality has grown to accommodate more than Christianity. Maybe that doesn’t make me a Christian anymore. I have no answers for you. But I’m influenced by paganism, atheism, Buddhism, and Shintoism. What a mix of beliefs!

When I studied abroad in Wales at the ripe old age of 20, I knew that I needed to respect the beliefs, religious or cultural or mythological, of the Welsh. I don’t remember what the predominant Christian denomination is there, but I attended Catholic services, a special agape with songs in Welsh, an Anglican service in a glorious cathedral, and also learned about The Mabinogion and fun traditions like the Mari Lwyd. But I also prayed near standing stones (Pentre Ifan)and ancient burial chambers in Anglesey (Bryn Celli Ddu). In Wales, I got a healthy dose of folk magic, paganism, and Christianity.

I knew something like this would happen when I moved to Japan in 2016. I love Japanese mythology and the stories from the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki. But going to Shinto shrines and sacred spaces really solidifies the stories in your mind, yet at the same time, you feel like a part of it. …It’s kind of hard for me to explain.

While I did go to Buddhist temples in Japan, and completed the Shikoku Henro in honor of Kobo Daishi (Kukai), and definitely felt deeply touched by it all, the Shinto shrines and stories of the kami really had a pull on me.

In Takachiho, Miyazaki, I relived the stories of Ame no Uzume, Amaterasu, Sarutahiko, Izanami, and Izanagi, plus witnessed the sacred dance known as kagura. In Izumo, Shimane, I took a pilgrimage to Izumo Taisha in October because Japan’s 8 million kami are said to meet there during that month. While Izumo might be famous for the god Ōkuninushi, there are a lot of shrines dedicated to Susanoo, his wife Kushinadahime, and the story of Yamata no Orochi.

So how did I learn about Benzaiten?

I knew a smidgen about her before coming to Japan thanks to anime (hello, Noragami!) and knew she was the only female member of the Seven Lucky Gods. I studied more about her when me and a couple friends took a weekend trip to Hiroshima in July. The main goal was to go to Miyajima, the island known for Itsukushima Shrine…which contains a temple dedicated to Benzaiten.

Images of Itsukushima Shrine from depositphotos.

So, here’s the thing….I might’ve messed something up in this post. I shared a photograph I took of the torii gates and paired it with the omamori I got from Itsukushima Shrine. I was absolutely, positively certain the omamori depicts Benzaiten, because she’s a beautiful woman who plays the biwa, and Benzaiten is revered on the island. However, upon doing more research, I found out that Itsukushima Shrine is dedicated to three female deities, and none of them are Benzaiten. Benzaiten is revered at Daiganji Temple on the island of Miyajima, a hop, skip, and a jump from Itsukushima Jinja. However, this article says that Benzaiten is worshipped at Itsukushima, so now I’m all sorts of confused.

So…either my omamori is of Benzaiten, or of one of the three female deities that make up the island.

At the time of securing the omamori that may or may not depict Benzaiten, I started looking into the goddess. In addition to being one of the Seven Lucky Gods, she is the goddess of all things that flow.

• Money
• Water
• The Arts
• Music
• Love
• Wisdom
• Luck
• Words
• Speech
• Eloquence

Not only is she affiliated with the biwa, but she is also associated with islands, rivers, the sea, snakes, dragons, and comets. In my goshuin post, I shared that while I lived in Japan, I continued to look for and visit shrines honoring Benzaiten. The one closest to me, Aso Hakusui Ryujingongen, has goshuin depicting Benzaiten and her beautiful white snakes. The shrine has two blessed snakes — a white one, which is used for special ceremonies as well as private ones–and a gold (technically yellow) snake that is more open to the public and is used to bless you for money. I’ve done the gold snake ceremony a couple times at the shrine–you put your wallet on a velvet pillow, then the snake rests on the wallet, then you put your hands on the snake, and the Shinto priest blesses you. There is a donation expected, but it can be whatever amount. I always gave them ¥1000 not really for luck, but more as a donation to the upkeep of the shrine. It’s one of the coolest religious ceremonies/blessings I’ve ever experienced.

So…yeah. I sought out white snake shrines honoring Benzaiten. Visited a few islands that revere her (often called Bentenjima). Collected art, omamori, cute little statues and papier-mâché figures of her. i chose to make her my patron goddess of writing while I lived in Japan, because I needed the power of her flow–the flow of words to keep coming as I write.

While Tenjin was a god recommended to me (the deified poet and scholar Michizane no Sugawara) for support in writing, I settled on Benzaiten because of her overall affiliation with the arts and creativity. Tenjin is more of an academic and scholarly kami. And unlike Tenjin, Benzaiten grants good luck towards money, too.

I’m a writer who doesn’t want writer’s block and wants to make money off of my books. Ta-da! Benzaiten, I choose you! Let financial stability, boundless creativity, and a fountain of words flow to me and out of me.

See? A perfect kami for writers.