Betwixt and between

Half way between the Solstice and the Equinox, a precarous position.  In America people stare at woodchucks, in Europe it used to be bears, as they comunicated with the spirits deep in the earth.  In Japan we throw partched beans at the devils, and call out loud for good luck.

Some shrines have events, sumo wrestlers and the like throwing beans to the crowds that gather to catch lucky beans.  In my old shrine they used to throw knives and scissors  at the visitors..  When one of the locals told me I could not believe it, "They throw scissors out into a crowd of people expecting to catch lucky beans?"

He said, "Oh yes.  And I was very luck last year!  I caught a kitchen knife!"

It took a while for me to untangle the story, but it turns out that that part of Tokyo was famous for knife and scissors makers, and as a special teat they throw folded up pieces of paper good for a new knife or scissors, a hand made kitchen knife, quite a treat.