J is for junk drawers and Japanese animation

A typical junk drawer. Image borrowed from the interwebs.

I know they don't seem related, but for me they are. Unpacking reminded me of the many opportunities for magick hiding in my junk drawers. Yes, plural as in three. Just one won't do. I have one in the end table in the living room that tends to hold earphones and cases for my cell phones along with the remote controls. It will also occasionally contain stray items found on the living room floor while vacuuming. The second lives in the kitchen. This one will have scissors, tools, and take-out menus along with more stray bits. After all, they wouldn't be called junk drawers without the stray, random items we don't know where to put but don't want to throw away. And they all have at least three or four pennies. The third one I'll get to in a minute. That's kind of where the Japanese animation (a.k.a. anime) comes into play.

The beauty of the junk drawer is that it unknowingly contains wonderful things that can be used in spells. I recently wanted to refresh my wish jar by taking out the wishes that came true or were no longer things for which I wished. I like to include something small for each element and to represent my most important wish or goal. This time around I pulled from my supplies a shell I collected in Florida, a chunk of dragon's blood, and a feather I've saved from my time living on the farm in Joshua. From the living room junk drawer I used a penny and stones I "collected" on one of my walks along the river. Truthfully, my shoes did the collecting. I pulled them from the tread in my walking shoes. :) The rest were found in the desk containing the third, and largest, junk drawer. My wish is for courage to write. For that, I have a copy of the One Ring (yes, that one) that fell off a bookmark, alphabet glitter, and dried petals from a rose from my grandmother's funeral. That should give me the strength of Frodo to accomplish such a big task, the right words, and my grandmother watching over me. Without my random bits from the junk drawers, it might not be so "me."

Okay, to the third drawer itself. That one contains LOTS more potential for magick. This is also where the Japanese animation relates. The third drawer, in the desk in my room, is a wide range of personal and nerd junk. I have old watches that need new batteries, lots of bookmarks, pages taken from old Llewellyn page-a-day spell calenders, greeting cards, trading cards, sci-fi convention memorabilia, and action figures. Lots and lots of little action figures. There is Legolas, Mulder and Scully, a Mars rover, and Lt. Carey from Star Trek: Voyager (still mint on card). I had to keep that last one. The character survived all seven seasons just to be killed in the finale before they all made it home. That pissed me off and I kept it for his sake. I know, silly but that's how my brain works. All the others are from my obsession with anime.

The human InuYasha

Pretty much all the shows I watch have some sort of magick to them. My very first love, Ranma 1/2, is the story of a boy cursed to change into a girl when splashed with cold water. Hot water changes him back. It's weird but I love it still. Later, came InuYasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale (a magick well that transports a girl to the past and a half demon to her future), Fullmetal Alchemist (alchemy, enough said), Naruto, Bleach, and many others. The beauty of this is that I can use my action figures in spells. Ranma works for the spells to Goddess and God, male and female. InuYasha is a half demon (with adorable dog ears) who loses his demon powers on the night of the new moon so lunar workings are great with his different forms as the focus, which form will depend on the current cycle. As an alchemist, my figure of Edward Elric is a focus for more energy. Naruto's demon fox chakra (or energy) burns red like fire instead of the characters' usual blue. He's great for fire spells or for bringing out hidden abilities (like the demon fox placed inside him). And Ichigo Kurasaki in Bleach is a Soul Reaper, helping good souls pass on and cleansing hollows (or tainted souls) so they too can pass. He's great for spirit work. So, while I may eventually find the lock for the mystery key, where the screws came from, or collect up the pennies to spend, my junk drawers will always contain something magickal.