<This is an introductory primer to the ancient, refined art of shamanic journey to the Spirit World or World of the Kami>

Note: Kami = Spirit, Non-human personality and intelligence, minded entity of nature.
Gateways between this world and the spirit world can be opened at will by those who know how. This is easier in some places than in others. It is easier at some times then at others. A variety of factors determine one's success at breaking through to magical consciousness, to the perception of Shinto, to the mystical experience of entering into the Kami infused world.
Purification of the body and mouth in clean water is highly recommended before attempting to open a Torii gate. A Torii gate is a physical representation of a gate or door way that serves as the physical symbol or "ground" for the shamanic action that you will under take.
The Torii gate must be fashioned of "natural" materials (stone, wood or plant fiber.)
The Torii gate is ideally erected at a personally chosen spot of great natural beauty and privacy. Spots that are frequently traveled by humans should be avoided. You should choose a wilderness spot that resonates with you and "feels right".
(However, it is also advisable to create a small, private gate and shrine in your own home, in a quiet, sun lit area that you cleanse and fill with healthy green plants.)
You should ritually cleanse this area by gently and unobtrusively tidying it in ways that enhance its aesthetic appeal, without damaging any living thing. You may for example wish to respectfully remove fallen dead branches or rearrange a few stones in a pleasing way .
Next you should sweep the area with a ritual brush made of natural twigs or leaves. The boundary of this impromptu shrine must be demarcated in some way, traditionally through laying down a circle of salt (to ward of malevolent Kami) or by laying down a string of hemp in a circle around the periphery.
You should now have the following scenario: You stand, ritually bathed, inside a ritually cleansed area or natural beauty and privacy, either naked or clothed in simple, loose fitting, natural garments. In the center of this area, or "node" is your Torii gate or portal to the Shinto world, which is not a separate place at all but a pervading, interconnected and overlapping realm of experience and agency.

You should now Clap three times, to attract the attention of the Node's resident Kami and intone a greeting. You may or may not wish to use a high, strained voice when speaking with Kami, or some kind of vibration such as is employed by the Golden Dawn and others.
For example "greetings Kami of this sacred node! I come in Peace! I come in friendship! I wish to be refreshed by the spiritual waters of Shinto, and i come now to commune with you"
Remember, you are not intoning a magic spell, you are engaging in conversation with one or more non human entities.
You may wish to employ meditation or plant based drugs to enter more deeply into the spiritual realities you wish to access. Fasting, drumming, chanting, dancing, singing, and mirror gazing can also assist in contacting and perceiving the Kami. When a Kami appears to you, always exercise utmost etiquette and respect. As a general rule, you should always bow when greeting or saying farewell to a Kami. You should refer to plant like Kami, as well as Kami representing natural phenomenon like lightning or wind, as grandfather or Grandmother. Mammal like Kami should be referred to as brother or sister, birds as uncle or aunt, lizards and insects as uncle or cousin. If unsure of how to address a Kami, just ask.
Feel free to request a boon or blessing from a Kami who appears to you. Never request the harm of injury of another person. Blessings of love, bountiful crops, health or healing and sexual virility are particularly likely to be addressed.
A different, extremely powerful gateway into the world of Kami is through lucid dreams. First, learn how to become lucid at will, and develop the basic techniques of this incredible discipline.
Now, when you next become lucid, summon a Torii gate into whatever environment you occupy through an effort of will and visualization, or else intend to find one and set off in exploration.
In either case once you have found or summoned a Torii gate in your lucid dream, shout as loud as you are able "I go now to the Land of Kami!" or "I go now to the realm of Shinto!" and pass through the gate.
Now you will appear in a magical, fantastic world populated by spiritual beings of a wide variety of forms and magnitudes with whom you may converse and interact in a wide variety of ways. Much can be learned from these beings, but remember, they should not be thought of as all knowing or benevolent gods! Kami are created beings, like humans, and have a vast array or personalities and powers.

Some are tricksters, and a rare few are malevolent. Basic magical practices and experience in astral projection, meditation and visualization will serve you well in the Shinto realm.
Another way to enter the Shinto realm is through mirrors, either in waking life or in dreams. In waking life you may enter a trance state while gazing at a mirror by candlelight, and thus enter into the Shinto realm by passing through the mirror.
Alternately you may astral project out of your body and float through a mirror in your house to enter the Shinto realm. It helps to focus on or speak aloud this goal as you do so. You may also enter any mirror you find in a dream and use it as a substitute Torii gate.
The most amazing, gorgeous and refreshing location in the Kami realm is the Perfect Forest, a celestial abode of ancient forest and nature gods that is renowned for its healing and regenerating energies. I highly recommend seeking out this realm and in fact i never intentionally go elsewhere.
This region is marked by dense, thick rich green moss and proliferating ferns, cycads and colourful fungal growths. The air is thick with scents of evergreen and pine and fresh clear water abounds below the impenetrable canopy of gigantic, immortal trees.

You will encounter enormous animal and plant like spirits in this realm, but this is a blessed realm and nothing can harm you here.
Once one enters the Kami realm, whether waking or dreaming, one enters a place where the rules of time are different. It is possible to explore this realm for weeks or months within the course of a single night's sleep.
Swords are also important tools of this practice. There are two main uses for the sword in Shinto. The first is the sacred sword which can be used to mark the boundaries of the Node or sacred space, symbolically cutting it away from the profane world. The second is the dream sword which you should learn to summon at will when astral or dreaming. This sword will prove useful in the Kami world, although mostly as a symbol and only very rarely should one attack a being found in this realm.
Before one is able to deeply enter into the actual experience of the Shinto world, and enjoy the magical, psychedelic and mysterious landscapes that it holds, a few preparations may be required.
One, you must develop a nearly impeccable diet. Pollution of many forms is abhorrent to the Shinto spirits. You must eat ONLY wholesome, natural foods and you must abstain absolutely from all red meats. You should drink large amounts of clear, unflourinated water and red or white tea. You should abstain from all coffee, sugar, butter, etc and you should eat only the meat of the fish or wild poultry.
You must wash your body frequently and abstain from all synthetic cosmetics, washing instead with herbal elixirs, preferably tea-tree or hemp oil, or else fragrant florals.
You should usually not enter a Node or Torii gate when plagued by physical infection or injury, nor when troubled by unbalanced thoughts or violent, hateful or fearful emotions.
If you are beset by such things, meditate and heal before attempting to transition to the other world.
A very important practice for developing the ability to travel to the magical world is talking to plants, rocks, water and natural phenomenon on a daily basis. Communicate with natural things around you, speak to them, touch them and hold them, resonate with them. Until you can learn to talk in all seriousness to plants, you will have difficulty making the transition. Don't worry if it is difficult at first, have fun with it and you will progress.
Spend time in nature. The energies of pure air and natural beauty will charge you up like a battery, fill you like a vessel, and empower you to make the transition to the Kami world. The more time you spend alone in nature the more easily you will see the Kami and speak with them.
Play with children and animals. Children are alive with the spark of Shinto, being freshly reborn from the Kami world. Spend time with them, listen to their dreams and "imaginings" and some of there purity of vision will rub off on you.
Animals are Kami themselves, though most westerners are blind to it, so learn to communicate with them on a deeper level, treat them with love and respect and speak to them in your native tongue or if you are able the shamanic or angelic tongue.
As you travel in nature, carry with you strips of course hemp paper. When you come to a place of beauty or a tree, plant or stone of special presence, honour the Kami resident there by tying a strip to a branch or elsewhere. If possible, speak to the Kami and learn its true name, then write that name in ink on the strip of paper, preferably in a personal code.
Honour the Kami in all things and they will show themselves to you more easily. Disrespect the Kami and they will close themselves off from you.
Central to honouring the Kami is honouring all of mother earth and living sustainably and in harmony with men and nature. When your internal vibration is peaceful and harmonious the transition is easy and when one is truly at peace one is half in the Kami world at all times.
Why travel to the Kami world?

This world is rich in magic, beauty and adventure. You can experience things there that defy the imagination, and learn deep personal and metaphysical lessons. I will not say more, as no words can describe the magic of the Shinto realm nor the deep refreshment that can come from communion with the Kami that reside there. I only hope that some of you will let your curiosity and faith carry you to the place where you will behold these truths for yourself
Remember that the formula I have revealed here are only a fraction of the ancient and venerable methods of this shamanic journey, and others may be substituted to suit your needs.
Remember that the experience of Shinto, or the Kami world, is the basis and source of all the worlds primal animistic religions. Each part of the world was born of Shinto and at one time was in communion with the Kami and dealt with nature as integrated parts of a global society of minded spirits.
In order to survive the global transformation we are undergoing, we must reconnect with the historical moral and environmental values of Shinto and the ancient earth centric animist techniques and understandings, but in a newly informed and empowered way.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Taoism is completely compatible and fundamentally akin to Shinto. The study of Taoism and the Tao Teh Ching IS the study of the "way of the Kami" or Shinto. The more you live in accordance with Taoism, the more easily you can enter into the Kami world and the more harmonious will be your experiences there.
Also the Tao Teh Ching contains many encrypted hints on how to transition into the magical world. "by yielding, move..."

Final Notes: A gateway may be fashioned in either the traditional shape (shown in several pictures in this thread) or in the shape of a circle.
Also: I use the name Shinto to the ancient practice of communing with and entering into the parallel spiritual world and encountering the non human intelligences of nature. Other applications of the word Shinto exist and may not be applicable to what i refer to here.
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Everything I post is fiction.
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