My Weather Wishes For The Tanabata Star Festival

Last updated on: July 7, 2018 at 8:34 pm by Megan Manson

My Weather Wishes For The Tanabata Star Festival 2018-07-07T20:34:37+00:00 Megan Manson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

July 7th is the Japanese festival of Tanabata, sometimes known as the Star Festival in English. It celebrates the meeting of the two stars, Altair and Vega (called Orihime and Hikoboshi in Japanese), who are said to be lovers. You can read more about the story of Tanabata here.

The most well-known Tanabata tradition in Japan is tying pieces of colourful paper with wishes on them, called tanzaku, on to bamboo. It’s believes that on the night of Tanabata, if the skies are clear and no rain falls, the wind will bring the wishes up to Heaven where the gods may hear them.

In my household, it’s become a tradition to make Tanabata wishes. My husband and I do this every year. Tanabata is quite close to our anniversary, and considering the romantic nature of the Tanabata myth, it is a particularly cherished festival for us.

Although you traditionally only write one wish for Tanabata, this year I made five (my husband made one). I tried to pick a colour for each tanzaku that would be a good fit for the intention of the wish. This had the unintended consequence of creating a rainbow, which also seems fitting seeing as July 7th was also Pride In London this year.

This year, all but one of my wishes were connected to the weather. This actually fits the tradition of Tanabata fairly well. At Tanabata, one is meant to wish for good weather so that the stars Orihime and Hikoboshi can cross the Milky Way to meet. The Milky Way is called Amanogawa in Japanese, which means “river of Heaven”. If it rains, it’s said that the Milky Way floods, so Orihime and Hikoboshi cannot meet.

With apologies for my terrible handwriting.

My first wish (in orange) was a fairly standard Tanabata wish, for the health of my family.

My second wish, in tan, was for the floods in Japan to stop. At time of writing, 35 people have died and 50 are missing as a result of heavy rain and mudslides in Western Japan. I just wanted to pray that no further people were harmed and that everyone can return safely to their ordinary lives soon.

My third wish, in yellow-green, was for the boys and coach trapped in the Tham Luang caves in Thailand to be rescued. Like the rest of the world, I’ve been heartbroken by their story. Their situation sounds increasingly dire, especially since one of the brave rescuers died while trying to help them.

Those last two wishes were prayers for the rain to hold off in Western Japan and around the caves in northern Thailand to give the people a fighting chance. But my next wish, in green, was slightly different – for global warming to stop. The UK has seen some incredibly hot and dry weather, and while we’re taking full advantage of it, it makes me nervous too. I can’t help but worry this is the beginning of what will happen to the UK as a result of climate change. I hope the deities can help us humans in finding solutions to stop and possibly reverse climate change before it’s too late.

My fifth wish, in blue, is connected to this – I wished for rains to come to where I live in Kent. It might be a break from tradition to pray for rain at Tanabata, but we’re currently experiencing a water shortage in Kent because we haven’t had any rain for a long time. I think we could really do with some soon.

As you’ve probably guessed, the last wish is by my husband, who can’t write Japanese! But the sentiment is certainly in the Tanabata tradition.

There’s no bamboo where I live. The UK isn’t exactly well-known for bamboo forests! So instead, I hung our wishes out on the ivy growing in our garden. Like bamboo, ivy is hardy and fast-growing, and in the Pagan tradition it’s associated with magickal powers. So I hope this is a good substitute.

July 7th looks like it’ll be a clear night. Here’s hoping our prayers reach the Heavens…

Shinto & Japanese Religion

Previous Post

July 1, 2018

Pagan & Shinto News: 'Internationally significant' Neolithic ritual site found in England

Next Post

July 8, 2018 Pagan & Shinto News: Princess Ayako To Marry At Meiji Shrine In October

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art, Craft & Expression Musings & Miscellaneous Nature & Science News & Reviews Ritual & Festivals Secularism, Politics & Human Rights Shinto & Japanese Religion Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which queen visited Solomon to test his wisdom?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Queen Vashti Queen of Sheba Queen Jezebel Queen Esther