Magic in the World of Amahara

Oriental

Shinto

Shinto is a belief system centered around the concept of animism - that every describable aspect of the world, from seasons and weather down to the finest workings of clockwork, is managed by a vast community of gods and spirits. It is the national religion of Amahara and its clerics, the shrine maidens, practice its most revered magical art - that of mediating interaction between the human realm and the spirit realm. In this way, it is essentially a very highly developed form of shamanism tempered by the concepts of bureaucracy and order imported from the Middle Kingdom. The magical practitioners of the Shinto religion are the shrine maidens (miko) who might, depending on time period and region, be expected to fill all the traditional duties of witch, shaman, wisewoman, healer, oracle or priestess. Using elaborate rituals, dances, and other traditional methods of attracting spiritual attention, a shrine maiden may summon and interact with gods and spirits who may be asked to do any number of things. One important distinction from most other forms of magic is that the miko has relatively little personal power inherent to herself - the spirit does all the heavy lifting. The effectiveness of Shinto rituals, while potentially dramatic, therefore require the cooperation of the spirits. This can be more difficult to achieve in areas outside of Amahara until shrines have been set up, the local gods enshrined, and people taught to worship them appropriately.