About Shinto

Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion that recognizes the sacredness and interdependency of all beings. It is an inclusive and celebratory faith that believes in the fundamental goodness of all beings, and is dedicated to the practice of living in harmony with each other and with Nature.

Shinto teaches that certain deeds create an impurity that one should want cleansed for peace of mind and good fortune. Therefore, purification rites are a vital part of our practice, as are good luck and purification charms for persons and houses.

Where Nature and the Spiritual world intersect there is sacredness, and at these places we may commune with, and venerate, Kami.

One aspect of Kami are the divine forces of nature. Creations of nature that exhibit a particular beauty and power such as waterfalls, mountains, boulders, animals, trees, and even grasses may have a resident Kami and thus deserve respect.

Individual Kami are also associated with qualities or phenomena such as growth, fertility, and production; wind and thunder; the sun, mountains, rivers, trees, and rocks; animals; and ancestral spirits.

Especially outside of Japan, "Neo-Shinto" is becoming a popular term to describe Shinto when it is combined with non-Japanese faiths. Practitioners of this faith look to local phenomena to find the unique sacred spaces and Kami of the lands that we live in, and combine the rituals of many cultures to venerate the Kami.

At the Sacred Cedar Shrine we combin Shinto and Neo-Pagan traditions, and venerate Ki No Kami (木の精神), the Sacred Tree Spirit.

If you would like more information, or would like prayers said for you or a loved one, please email us.