In my town… or "Where the Wild Things Are"

Foxes dance in the cold grey light, Birds startled burst into flight. Who can say why the foxes dance? Why they spin, caper and prance? Wendy Hibbs

Last evening an unexpected guest showed up and sat by our front door. Naturally I’m used to seeing the occasional raccoons, possums, and recently a Cooper’s hawk, visiting my backyard sanctuary however, a gray fox? I’d be foolish by stating I was wasn’t moved, but in reality little fox or kitsune sure made for a night of conversation. As one who follows mythology and auspicious signs, I found myself researching the web for lore about foxes, or in Japanese, referred to as ‘kitsune.’ In Japan, you will find many shrines guarded by kitsune, who is viewed as the protector of rice crops for farmers, and for good fortune. There is a Shinto temple guarded by kitsune near my grandmother's house in Chofu, Japan, and we would pass by it on our way to the market each morning. You would often see the townspeople stop and offer a prayer as they passed by as an offering.

On one website I found the following: Japanese lore;the magical shape-shifting fox (kitsune 狐) Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others—as foxes in folklore often do—other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives. Here the symbolism is two-fold. First, rice is sacred in Japan, closely associated with fertility (the pregnant earth) and with sustaining life. Inari and Inari's foxes must therefore be placated -- otherwise it would be disastrous to the livelihood of the nation's farmers and people. Once very common throughout Japan, foxes were nevertheless seldom seen since they moved at night; dead birds, broken fences and chicken's blood were the only evidence of their nocturnal passages. It may have been the difficulty of seeing a fox, or of keeping it in view for any period of time, which led to the notion that they undergo actual physical shift. A fox might skulk into the farmyards looking like a fox, but exit in an entirely different form -- as an old woman, a boy, a demon, or a princess. In Japanese lore, they live a sort of mirror image of human society, with fox lords and ladies, servants and laborers -- standing on hind legs, dressed in human clothes, and carrying out their mystic rituals by lantern light in the middle of the forest. To the end of mitigating the powers that these worrisome animals possessed, shrines were erected, and the fox-god, Inari, became the most popular roadside divinity, honored with a clap of the hands on passing by, or with a gift of flowers, sake, or fried tofu (aburage, believed to be a favorite food of foxes). Even today, it is common to see a little street-corner shelter with a ceramic fox image housed behind a grill, offerings carefully placed in front to ward off all dangerous eventualities. Foxes have to be placated, for they are potentially disastrous to the livelihood of the farmer. They are also constant and salutary reminders of the fox-like characteristics that lie at the root of human behavior as well (http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/oinari.shtml).

And yet another: “If Fox has called on you, you may soon find the following show up in your life: An awakening and a keen awareness on how to advantageously use camouflage, shapeshifting and invisibility in your day-to-day life, how to swiftly and skillfully manipulate your surroundings or out-maneuver an opponent, and how to travel between worlds with ease. You may also find yourself experiencing an enhanced and stronger connection to your children and family in a protective way. And when Fox enters your life (and you WILL know exactly when he does, as you begin to move in a quicker manner and yet with a stealth and intuition beyond compare), you will find that you will begin to have an uncanny sense of self-preservation, an emerging ability to more quickly sense danger (and thus be able to avoid it), and an increase in practically all of your senses...both physical and metaphysical, and magickal. More info was found at: https://www.google.com/search?q=grey+fox&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ygMQUdrwLcSt0AHD04GABQ&ved=0CK4BEIke&biw=1173&bih=803 http://www.coyotes.org/kitsune/kitsune.html