While best known for her dominion over foxes and rice, Inari isn't only a fox-kami. She is also a fertility goddess (of all types: agricultural, animal, reproductive, sexual, human, financial, etc.); She is the protector of commerce, trade and rice; She is known for granting wishes and desires; She is a goddess of healing; She is patron to warriors, blacksmiths, actors, theaters, prostitutes, firemen; and on the shore She is a fishing patron. She is also a kami of luck, change, transformation, and of boundaries and crossing them.

Her worship in Japan was officially founded in 711 C.E. but scholars believe that it began centuries before that. Her first place of worship was Inari Mountain, which is the southernmost peak of the Higashiyama chain to the east of Kyoto. It has three gently rounded peaks that rise only 700 feet above sea level and are covered in dense cedar forests. Today, more than one third of all Shinto shrines in Japan are devoted to Her, more than to any other Shinto deity. Her shrines number between 32,000 and 40,000 according to two polls that were taken. While Inari worship is one of the most widespread forms of traditional worship in Japan, she is also one of the few kami that is worshipped at both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Inari is worshipped by thousands of different names chosen by individual devotees, Inari is adapted by each follower to fit what they most need from Her. According to the shrine priests She is a different kami to each devotee, shaped by what each person brings of his or her own character and understanding of the world.

The first recorded story of Inari is in the 8th century document Yamashiro fudoki. A man named Irogu one day chose to use a rice cake for his target practice. When his arrow pierced the target the cake transformed into a white bird that flew to the top of the mountain. Irogu followed the bird and discovered that where it perched rice was growing (ine-nari). The characters used to first represent Inari were phonetic and had no particular meaning and the current kanji meaning "carrying rice" was first used in 827 C.E. in the Ruiju kokushi.

Like most things with this kami Her sex is changeable. Originally She was genderless, then as time went on She became associated with the female because of Her status as a fertility deity, then Buddhist tradition made Inari male. In feminine form She is depicted as being very beautiful with long, flowing hair and riding on or accompanied by a white fox. She normally holds at least one of these items in Her hands: a sheaf of rice, a sickle, a sword, a jewel, or a key. The last two also find representation on Her foxes; either somewhere on their body, in their mouths, on their tails, or under their front paws. As the Buddhist kami Dakiniten or Hakushinkoo Bosatsu (White Dragon King Boddhisattva) He appears and an old man, eight feet tall and very muscular. Although externally human, internally He is an avatar. The only difference between Dakiniten's foxes and Inari's is that sometimes Dakiniten's foxes are winged.

In 842 C.E. Inari's first branch shrine was established in the present day Takekoma Inari in Miyagi prefecture. When a kami is re-enshrined their spirit is divided, this is called kanjo. The kami will remain at the original shrine but parts are divided off with specific rituals. It's kind of like lighting an unlit candle from a burning one, there will be two flames but the first flame is in no way diminished or made lesser. The removed spirit is then moved to the new shrine. This can done for people’s homes and anyone can have this honor regardless of income or status. According to one shrine that holds a yearly festival for those who own a re-enshrined Inari in their homes, they mailed out 80,000 invitations to holders.

It took a little over two centuries for Inari's rank to reach top grade. In 942 C.E. this honor was finally awarded by the Emperor Suzaku when Inari quelled rebellions in the East and West. Her temples were then included among the top 7 of 22 shrines selected by the court for Imperial patronage. Much later in 1194 Emperor Gotoba granted Imperial permission for all of Inari's Shrines to hold Her rank, so now when She is re-enshrined Her Imperial rank of shoichi goes with Her.

Inari's Symbols

Her three main symbols are the fox, the wish-fulfilling jewel, and a sheaf of rice. Other symbols include the red torii, a red worship hall, a rock altar, cedar, and fried tofu. Statues of Her foxes can be purchased from shops near shrines and there is also a 'cute' mascot version of Her fox that adorns key chains, notebooks, coin purses, plush toys, etc. Unlike the stone versions, the plushy mascot isn't considered sacred.

Her main symbol, the fox, isn't mentioned for approximately the first three hundred years of Her worship. Also there is no narrative in Shrine tradition to tell how the fox became Her messenger. The most popular belief is that since many foxes are seen in the fields when it's time to plant rice, that the fox began to be seen as the herald for the kami. Since foxes feed primarily of mice and rodents they help protect the rice. Visually the color of the red fox is very similar to the color of ripened rice and their tail resembles a full sheaf of rice. The traditional folk story states that originally the fox would eat the ripened rice and this so angered Inari that She intervened and laid a geas on the fox to protect the crop. After performing its duty for a season and doing an excellent job Inari make the fox her messenger to reward it.

The other main symbol of Inari is the wish fulfilling jewel. This jewel is said to be round, white, and the size of a mandarin orange. It emits a soft light and at night it glows as bright as a candle. The jewel can be present on its own or, more usually, with the fox. It is said that the jewel is what allows the fox to shape shift. Fox-fire is also considered to be a form of the jewel, as it is sometimes described as a "fiery pearl." This pearl is often described by Western writers as "a pear with three flames emitting from it". Its main job is to fulfill wishes of anyone lucky enough to have one, although it's never been stated if it brings one wish or many. It will also grant wealth to the owner and if stolen from a fox the return of the jewel will indebt the fox to you for life. In my visions Inari normally shows me the jewel from the top instead of the side (as usually depicted) and it looks like a spiral. The jewel also represents spiritual wealth and the cessation of desire, as you will have all that you will need.

On the earthly plane another jewel of Inari is a ball of fox fur, either from real foxes or spirit ones. There is one shamaness in Japan who has a spirit fur jewel, she has no pets, nor do animals enter her home, yet on the altar cloth white fox hairs will appear and these she carefully saves in a small box. I have an entirely skeptical nature and was never really sure about the fur jewels until it happened to me. After performing a full moon esbat I was cleaning up my ritual room when I found several black hairs attached to the handle of my athame. Now I do own cats, but these hairs are longer than cat hairs and a different shade of black. The skeptical part of me wonders if I'm right, but I have to think that these are hairs from one of my spirit foxes.

Dragons also fall under Inari's influence. Many people when confronted with a vision of Her describe in dragon form or using dragons as Her attendants, many of Her names deal with dragons, like the Buddhist version of Hakushinkoo Bosatsu. Those people troubled by spirit foxes often complain of harassment by spirit snakes and dragons, indeed at Inari's Mountain there are both foxes and dragons roaming in the ether there. The dragons also carry Her jewel, except instead of white or pearlescent, it often glows with a golden light and looks similar to a topaz or citrine. All in all this helps to balance Inari within the four elements; the fox is associated with the earth, where they live, and with fire for sexuality and fertility. The dragon links Her air and water, the common dwelling places for dragons. The main difference in these two avatars is that people can travel to the dragon’s realm and bring items back with them, but to gain access to what a fox owns one must enter into a relationship with the fox. No human can journey to the fox realm, we cannot pass that gate.

Communicating with Inari

As with all kami there are two ways to speak with Inari. You can contact Her either through dreams or a miko (literally "divining woman"; a shrine priestess or shamaness). Priests at the shrines are very businesslike and are there to keep the 'correct' forms of worship going. The shamaness or miko on the other hand works with the mystical, magical aspects of the kami. When a miko speaks for a kami it isn't indicated with violent seizures or wild dancing as one might expect; but through subtle, mild changes in the miko's voice, her eye movements, or the rhythm of her voice. Also, unlike the priests, shamanic initiation is a hard ordeal. Often the woman suffers terrible problems; she is usually afflicted with debilitating illness until the kami is finally able to spontaneously speak to or through the woman.

I don't know why, but the miko's are always women. It is said that in the ancient days of Japan they were Empresses as well and they ruled the land with the voice of their God. Men can be initiated by the kami as healers but it is rare that this happens. And although miko's are dedicated to their primary kami they can also serve and worship other deities. Paying homage to a deity out of respect, even though it isn't your main kami is known as hyokeiho, literally meaning 'surface worship'.

It is often the miko's who perform the sacred dances to help calm the spirits and they also help the priests perform exorcisms of prank playing kitsune. One thing to keep in mind is that not all fox-spirits are under Inari's care... there are some neutral kitsune as well as evil-tempered kitsune. Not all foxes are divine messengers, just as not all Wiccans are witches. There are many translations of miko that say that the woman is a virgin; however, that isn't always the case. I find it hard to believe that a Goddess of prostitutes would demand that her priestesses never know the joys of sex, don't you?

In recent times miko's have begun to fill a new role as ikigami -- a living kami. This is when the incarnation of a deity is in the body of a living woman. These women don't 'claim' to be the kami, but the kami will overtake the body and personality of that woman to issue decrees, messages, and to instruct Her followers. I, personally, believe that this is what happened to the Empress-miko's of old. It's just been so long that everyone has forgotten except for the kami. Because of all of these reasons and because of Her broadest meaning of growth and change that Inari has able to stay relevant through over thirteen centuries of worship.

However, this doesn't mean that not anyone can interact with Inari! I certainly do and I was never trained to be a shrine maiden. Like many Gods, Inari speaks with those who approach her with a clear heart. She is just as vibrant and active here in America as she is in Japan. You just have to know how to look for her.

Watashi no O-Inari-sama

I have been working with Inari for a little over a decade now, yet even when I wasn't aware of Her, She was aware of me. My first direct experience with Her was when we were living in Altoona and I came across Her name in a book. I felt a shock run through me, but didn't really give it any thought. A few weeks later I was at work when suddenly the world faded away and I saw myself as a young girl who was descended from me. She was in an attic holding a sword, and she realized that it was my sword and that I had been a witch. It all fell into place for her and she knew that it was her destiny too. Her patron was my patron: the fox goddess Inari. Stunned by this, I took my break early, went home and pondered this vision. As I slowly came to terms with it my spirit foxes appeared, laughed happily and promptly vanished. I, too, laughed and went back to work with a light heart sure that everything was right in the world.

Thinking about my experience in the following weeks it dawned on me that I had been traveling towards Her all my life. As a child, whenever we were in the car I would "see" black foxes flanking the car wherever we would go. These would eventually become my spirit foxes. My fascination with the moon is my fascination with Her jewel, which appears to me as either the moon or a spiral. One of my longest totems has been the fox, and several members of my family from Japan have "mentioned" my connection to Inari within my hearing. However, they never discuss it directly with me. It's kind of strange for me to learn that my life has been moving in this direction for so long and I never knew. Within Inari worship almost every devotee has a shinja taiken, a believers narrative. This can be an account of a strange happening, a vision of the kami, an important dream, or something similar. Usually these tales are highly private and rarely shared beyond a small, select group or the family circle but I feel it is appropriate to share mine here.

Part of my first Craft name came from Her, a gift from right before I began teaching. She was rather insistent with it and I was rather stubborn and kept saying 'no'. After dealing with my little temper tantrum for a while She chose to hit my weak spot - my husband. He woke up several nights in a row after having the same dream; in his words a "pretty lady kept asking for you but was calling you by a different name." When asked to describe said lady... well it fit Inari to a T. Nya became my Craft name because of that and as I began to research the name it certainly was fitting for my time in the Craft then. The name itself is a shortened form of Nyateneri, the only character I have read about to have a fox familiar. While my name was pronounced 'nigh- ah', in Japanese nya (said 'knee-ah') is the sound a kitten would make. Nya is also a Celtic divination system, so my name blended many things that call to me: foxes, cats, Celts, and peering into the future.

Although I have left that name behind, I find that there was much that I learned from having it. I don't feel like I have cast off the gift that Inari gave to me... it was what I needed at that time, now that I have out grown that name it is time to move on. For me, part of what Inari does for me is that she keeps me from stagnating. Whenever it appears that I may be falling into a rut, my laughing fox-goddess is there to shake up my life. It is part of Her trickster nature to keep me on my toes, her laughter is one of the few things that keeps me motivated.

Being a fox goddess She of course has responsibility over real and spirit foxes. Both types like to possess people, either to deliver oracles/messages from Inari or to play tricks. Fox possession in Japan is called kitsune tsuki (the words for "fox" and "moon") and you have the other half of my name old Craft name. The Japanese are famous for punning and layering meanings within words, so new surprises pop up all the time in my name! However, in 2003, I went through a thorough upheaval in my life and have found the Nya no longer truly represents me or where I’m going on my path. However, if you notice at the top of all of my pages I keep a representation of Foxmoon around. I might one day go back to that part of my Craft name, but I’m not certain of it.

Inari is an interesting deity as She has as many names as She does worshippers, each person is encouraged to discover the unique face that She reveals to them. For me She is a high spirited woman who is reminiscent of my mother in personality. With Her I feel free to be rather brash and oftentimes lippy. In my secret heart I know She understands that this is how I show affection with family and She is family to me. Indeed, in Her triformis form I see Her as being an amalgam of me, my mother, and grandmother; something that helps me to see the divine within all of the women of my family.

I have also always been drawn toward Triple Goddesses and when I first became aware of Inari I was certain that my love affair with them was over. The Japanese aren't exactly well known for their Triple Goddesses. Imagine my surprise when I learned that Inari was such a goddess... She is a Maiden in the spring with the planting of the rice, summer sees Her as the Mother nurturing the growing grain, and with the harvest in the fall She is the Crone. Fox dens, homes of Her totem animal, are seen as both a tomb and a womb as their small homes are often found in mausoleums and fox kits are born there. Every Inari shrine has a fox hole, either natural or man-made, as a part of the shrine.

Working with Her has been an interesting time for me... I am never entirely certain of how my ideas will mesh with what She has planned for me. I have learned to take obstacles and setbacks a little more in stride and to laugh a little more at them. She helps me to keep in mind that I need to relax a little and not be so uptight about things not running perfectly. I'm not anal; I just want rituals to be moving experiences and there are times when I forget that they are supposed to be fun. At times, I marvel with her patience with me and my lack of faith. Once I turned thirty I found myself battling depression and when things would take a turn for the worse I would feel hopeless and lost. At those times I feel her presence keenly, she doesn't come to me as a nurturing mother, but more as a sad-faced woman. I know she is there and still believes in me even if I am feeling like the world will end, eventually things start to get better and I am grateful for her intervention.

She is also a trickster, something that means I am always expecting a wrench in the works. At times I think I rely too heavily on that fact and don't give enough consideration and seriousness to certain ideas or situations. I tend to see the hilarity before anything else. To remind me of her divine, laughing nature I have a picture on the wall of my ritual room that personifies Inari for me. It is a close up of what is supposed to be a fox yawning but it more closely resembles a vulpine laughing her ass off. My Goddess.

I have learned that since I have begun working with a male patron as well that it has only managed to deepen the connection I have with her. I may turn to him for mundane matters but when the poop hits the fan I know that she's there, she's supporting me, holding me, and watching my back. Anything I need, she is. And that will never change. I'm just learning to delegate, Inari holds certain aspects for me but there are others that are more defined under Lucifer's domain; and vice-versa. I also expected her to be a little more 'jealous' (yes, I am guilty of humanizing my patrons) over ownership of me. I didn't think that she and Lucifer would play nicely but the reality is that they completely complement each other. I also think it's funny that both of my patrons can be rather androgynous and have divisions in both the sexes.

Over all, I find that Inari pushes me towards deepening my spirituality and encourages me to allow the priestess that resides in me to bloom. She wants me to be slightly unbalanced, leaning toward the spiritual side of life, allowing Lucifer to firmly ground me in the mundane. She creates the Mysteries that I want to unravel, while Lucifer is the voice of reason telling me that I need to eat, sleep, and go to work in the morning. All in all a nice counter-point, and I still have the free will to pull the covers over my head and ignore them both. Something of which I am frequently guilty.