sword blessing?

[Muramasa]

Re: sword blessing?

To be honest, I was just kidding about safety curse.

However, I wasn't kidding about making a sword more durable, because even the best swords got worn out after being used, resharpended and repolished, used in combat again and so on. After every togishi (sharpening) the less of the sword remains and a samurai would often replace his daisho (pair of swords) after they are battle worn.
I just want to prolong the service time of my blades.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: sword blessing?

I don't know of anything from a Japanese tradition. From what I know of European traditions from the time period I'm interested in (1400 - 1600), for the most part, swords were tools, and wear was expected. Some were better made than others, but they were still tools.

From what you've described, it sounds like your weapon is about as durable as it should be. Your teacher will show you the correct way to block an attack without gouging your blade. But, honestly, it's going to happen in a fight sometimes.

[Willow]

Re: sword blessing?

I've actually heard a few people ask about blessings to keep their swords sharp in the past, and I have yet to see anyone agree on a means to do so. I'd be interested to see what turns up on this thread.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: sword blessing?

A couple of things come to mind with this one.

First have you blooded the blade? One form of magical protection is to blood your blade so that it does not bite it's welder. If the sword is made for you it was not uncommon to have the smithy forge your blood into its make-up. It also serves in the context that a pulled blade should not be returned to the sheath without tasting blood less it require the blood of its welder. Sounds crazy but I've known a number of people that have been nipped by their blades. Granted a blade that is marked for ceremonial usage only is seldom blooded but mostly because the person using it is not a warrior so the blade is more of a toy than a weapon to them.

Some forms of protection also include the naming of a blade to bring it to life. A blade with no name is simply a piece of metal. For me I found that to dance a blade often reveals the blades name.

The difficulty with your position though is that most of the enchantments and protections your asking about are forged into the blade at the time of making. Seldom did a person simply grab a general blade except as a novice who used it as a meat carver and tried to beat you to death with it not use it as an extension of their arm.

I wrote this some time ago but it might help in what your looking at.

...................

Have you danced your tools? Seems like it might be a silly question I suppose but it amazes me the number of practitioners that have not done so. Oh yes they dedicate them. They consecrate them to who ever. They use them in this or that ceremony. Yet so few have actually danced them to understand them.

In my practice my primary tools are the staff and sword. The staff a length of some wood about 6 feet long. My sword a Japanese Samurai sword with it companion short sword. Yet reality wise they are nothing more than a length of tree and some folded metal. Yep, nothing more than that until I dance with them. Like Pinocchio they await the crafter's hand to awaken the spirit that lies within and allow it to become one with them.

In the dance one becomes one and merges with the staff or sword. We swing them, bend them, swirl them and twist and turn them about our bodies. In movement does the sword and staff become extensions of my arms or braces of my legs. In the dance do I hear them sing and feel them vibrate to the rhythm of life and the pulse of their essence. Flesh upon wood or metal like the kiss of a lover as one moves against the other.

Those who walked the warrior's path familiar with the various dances of our tools. Even today facets and remnants still remain of elder rituals and dances. Soldiers who sleep with their weapon in boot-camp to learn it's feel and energy. Ancient hunter societies where dances were done before the hunt where their ancient tools of bow and arrow or spear danced before the fires.

From my youth I recall the woman turning their kettles and large pots upon their end and dancing about them as they drummed the beat. Wooden spoons upon copper or cast iron as they raised the forces of their kitchen wares. Tools of their use made as one with them as they raised their calls and energy to dance thier tools. Names long silent spoken as each is called forth to take the beat with the dancers.

Yet today it seems to me that many have no idea of what it means to dance their tools. The stagnate usage of athame as it is raised high to mark the god then placed within their chalice. Wands moved to mark the spots or call the elements but dead within their hand. Simple pieces of steel or wood never awakened to have it's essence called out and felt. Oh yes adorned many times with trinkets and jewels but never awakened.

When was the last time you (collective) took your athame and danced with it. Held it pommel grasped then rolled the pommel between your fingers? Passed the blade between fingers or hand to hand as the blade was brought to life to heat cold steel. Raised on high then dropped down to twist behinds ones back or snake through legs and arm as it merged with your own energy? To become the serpents tongue as it tasted the air and sensed the currents.

What of one's wand? The simple piece of wood that is so much more when brought to life. One moment hard and stiff to the touch, the next almost snake like as it seem's to fold or bend as it is danced and played about the body. Moving in motion that is illusion before the eye, part real part spirit and a part that is almost etheral as it appears to pass through ones body instead of folding about it.

Even the simplest thing like cards danced as they are brought to life. Rolled through fingers and across them like some magical coin trick. Snaked up the arm or rolled through the air in the shuffle to charge the deck in energy.

So many dances that seem lost or unspoken of it the 101 books. The simple action of bringing to life those things that we use to be more than just cold steel, paper, wooden staves of various lengths. No each an item of power and purpose with an energy and presence all their own to merge with ours if we but take the time to dance the dance of awakening for them. To dance the dance of awakening to recharge and remind them and us of the energy and pull as we raise our tools.

Raise them in the dances of awakening.

So I ask, Have you danced your tools?

[Pól Mac an Gabhain]

Re: sword blessing?

I have dual swords and id like to know if there is a combinition curs blessing that would work for single edged dual swords if not then a suitable blessing for the two

There are shrines in Japan that would bless such things. I suppose if you can find a priest he could do it.

I mean there is a shrine in Japan that blesses electronics and there are more than enough Shrines to the likes of Hachiman for the purpose of blessing swords.

[StormBringer]

Re: sword blessing?

I'm new here, but I have done this. First off, a few questions.. 1. What do you 'do' with the swords, are these wall hangers or full tang combat ready. 2. What kind of swords are they. 3. Be honest, what do you truly want them to do, mixing a curse/blessing just dosen't often work the way you may be thinking from movies and anime/games. 4. What sort of environment do you live in where you would need or have the desire to do this.. And you really might want to read up on occult/arcana/spiritual things first and gauge your expectations with a dash of patience.

[Muramasa]

Re: sword blessing?

My new (and main) sword which I call Kaminary Danto (Lightning Decapitation) is 1065 high carbon steel and I use it for target cutting (tameshigiri), technique practice and I would use it in real fight.
My old sword is a bit softer 1045 carbon steel and after it lost it's sharpness I decided not to resharpen it again. I just polished it instead and I use it for training when we practice sword to sword techniques.

[Muramasa]

Re: sword blessing?

How about buying two high quality, high carbon steel mass produced, swords of the same model? One is supposed to be enchanted by a pagan priest or a witch. Both should face the same challenge and if the spells are correct and functional, the enchanted sword should perform significantly better.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: sword blessing?

How about buying two high quality, high carbon steel mass produced, swords of the same model? One is supposed to be enchanted by a pagan priest or a witch. Both should face the same challenge and if the spells are correct and functional, the enchanted sword should perform significantly better.

Not sure i'd say there would be a significant difference between them. Even an un-enchanted sword is better in the hands of a skilled swordsman than in the hands of a non-swordsman. So give a swordsman a regular sword and he / she will still beat the enchanted sword due to skill and ability. One also has to consider that many enchanted swords are created as such not inscribed later with spells or glyphs other than to name them in most instances. As such no magical spell is going to change the basic structure and balance of the sword once it is created. Not even sure one can truly claim that an enchanted sword will change the abilities of the welder.

Now I suppose one might argue about cold forging versus hot forging of the metal in the swords creation. Hot forging changing the chemical structure of the blade through heat and pressure while cold forging basically force used to beat it into form and shape. Historically most blades hot forged and exceptionally gifted smiths highly sought out with the future welder often staying the hole time for the sword creation and perhaps even providing blood to the blades creation.

Blade wise though I'd say a Damascus blade or hand crafted Japanese blade are probably the best forged and cost the most.

Now if they are sister / brother blades I suppose one might see a difference between them. But I am not to familiar with sister / brother blades being forged or how they are actually forged other than it's usually an extra long blade that is split into two pieces and forged together.

- - - Updated - - -

My new (and main) sword which I call Kaminary Danto (Lightning Decapitation) is 1065 high carbon steel and I use it for target cutting (tameshigiri), technique practice and I would use it in real fight.
My old sword is a bit softer 1045 carbon steel and after it lost it's sharpness I decided not to resharpen it again. I just polished it instead and I use it for training when we practice sword to sword techniques.

I can't tell you what its makeup is but the sword that best fit my hand and balance just happened to be a mass produced Samurai sword for the Japanese enlisted during WWII. Nothing fancy about it and its sort of loose in its handle today with some dings upon the edge but it's still the one I turn to. I have a better forged set of swords (Samurai style) long and short that are more ceremonial but I tend not to use them for anything else except ritual things.

[Corvus]

Re: sword blessing?

I would think you'd bless a sword the same way you'd bless anything. How you bless things is up to your faith. Usually someone would ask a god or spirit to do what the person wants to the item and that would be that. It's my understanding that blessings for metal are usually done while the metal is being foraged to increase their effectiveness. You've described some activities that are just plain beyond the scope of magic as we understand it.

How about buying two high quality, high carbon steel mass produced, swords of the same model? One is supposed to be enchanted by a pagan priest or a witch. Both should face the same challenge and if the spells are correct and functional, the enchanted sword should perform significantly better.

It's tempting fate to try to test magic because magic will do what magic damn well pleases. It's not like science. It's debatable if magic is even held to scientific laws. Spells don't behave exactly the same way in all instances because magic is a very temperamental and living thing connected to it's caster and to the universe.

Obviously swords are very important to you. Perhaps you should look at ancient foraging techniques? in the past the creation of metal tools was a very much magical process surrounded with superstitions. By looking into it you may find something of a magic nature which today would be explained by other means.

I would also like to point out the irony of your name. Muramasa was a violent and insane swordsmith who supposedly passed his evil and anger into his swords. Legend holds that Muramasa swords need to taste blood once drawn and will compel their owns to murder or suicide. They're contrasted with the swords of Masamune who's swords were said to be incredibly beautiful and sharp and are recognized as amazing pieces of craftsmanship. Myths say that these blades impart calmness and peace on their holder. The myths of Muramasa and Masamune swords are similar to what you asked about with a blessed and a cursed blade.

[Muramasa]

Re: sword blessing?

That's exactly why I like Muramasa, because his swords were supposed to be bloodthirsty. I would like to learn the craft and to forge samurai swords myself, like Nagayoshi and Muramasa.
There is also a legend that Muramasa use to say "Wield it like an angry god". God's technique is supposed to be perfect, even under great rage.
What I want is an enchanted (blessed) sword with supernatural durability which cuts everything in it's way, even if it causes bloodlust.

[Muramasa]

Re: sword blessing?

Not sure i'd say there would be a significant difference between them. Even an un-enchanted sword is better in the hands of a skilled swordsman than in the hands of a non-swordsman. So give a swordsman a regular sword and he / she will still beat the enchanted sword due to skill and ability. One also has to consider that many enchanted swords are created as such not inscribed later with spells or glyphs other than to name them in most instances. As such no magical spell is going to change the basic structure and balance of the sword once it is created. Not even sure one can truly claim that an enchanted sword will change the abilities of the welder.

That's why I would make a tameshigiri device which would use two pairs of laser beams and photosensitive timers which would be used to measure the speed drop after slashing thru the target (usually a rice wara, or maybe a soft clay manikin).