[X]: Calligraphy and writing. Writing beautifully is very important in heian society, and it is believed that a person's character and soul can be seen in their skill at calligraphy. A letter written in beautiful characters will always matter more than a letter that is merely functional; and a poem, ugly written, will be considered far beneath a lesser poem, beautifully written.
[X]: Poetry and art. While not a major focus of your studies, every young man of good birth is required to learn how to compose beautiful poems, which form the basis of nearly every form of formal social interaction, from courtship to seeking allies to simply connecting with friends.
[X]: The rituals of summoning and communing with spirits and ghosts. These allow a practitioner to speak with hidden or trapped spirits, and summon forth gods and spirits to help with a particular task, and even bind them as shikigami, a role somewhere between patron spirit and familiar. While communing with spirits is a necessary part of nearly every Onmyoji's life and work, the summoning of spirits is a tightly controlled practice, and misuse of it in the form of necromancy or other improper acts can result in severe censure from the Onmyoryo, the bureau of divination.
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
[X]: I recite the mantra to Fudō Myō-ō, a powerful wisdom king, a god who destroys all evil and banishes all demons and evil spirits. This is more difficult and more involved than the kuji-in, but may be more effective, and rely less on my own spiritual strength.
[x]: I recite the chant my father told me, to awaken the small gods of various things, to talk to the carriage itself. Perhaps it knows what is going on? Or can help us?
[X]: The preparation and blessing of ofuda and omamori, small paper talismans used for blessing, protection, good luck, sealing away and a number of other uses. Onmyoji may also use them as part of rituals of banishment, exorcism and other spells. This involves very carefully, and beautifully, writing the correct prayers and mantras on paper or silk talismans, and blessing them with rituals and the invocation of the right divine spirits and patrons. That said. The training itself consists mostly of writing the same prayers and mantras over and over and over again, focusing on their meaning, as well as studying the rituals of their blessing and empowerment.
[x]: No! I don't give my talisman to Tomiko. I'm scared, this is dangerous, and i'm not very good at mantras! If i have to go do something, it'd be more dangerous without the talisman!
[x]: I perform the kuji-in mantra, the nine symbolic cuts, a mantra consisting of nine syllables, one of the most basic, but also most widely-used mantras, for dispelling evil and banishing evil, directly invoking divine warriors to banish evil. You've often seen your father recite this mantra to banish evil.
[x]: Yes! I give my talisman to Tomiko. I'm trained for strange things, after all, and know mantras to protect myself if there is something bad happening!
[X]: I stay up all night! Or at least until she asks me to return or we fall asleep! We'll definately get in trouble, of course, but we probably will anyway already, and why not enjoy this for as long as we can?
[x]: I decline. I don't think my mother is going to help me find out, so i return home to see if i can ask the hearth god for help. He must know, after all, he was there when it was delivered - he is always there.
[X]: I go to the shrine of Tenjin, a former disgraced nobleman now venerated as the god of knowledge. He was a patron of the arts in life and a great poet - perhaps prayers to him will help me know what to do?
[X]: Meditation and breathing exercises aimed at honing and expanding your mind, and making you more aware of supernatural energies and spirits. The exercises als focus on calming you down, and sorting through your emotions and thoughts to clear your mind and focus your will. While not all onmyoji deal with demons directly, your father emphasizes that if you plan on doing so, you will need a strong will and the ability to keep your mind clear from the lies of evil, deceitful spirits.
[x]: Divination by way of the stars, that is, astronomy and astrology. By observing the stars, using astronomical tools like a bronze armillary sphere, and referring to books on astronomy, I learned to predict the future for people, places, families, and the world in general. This is an exceedingly technical skill, moreso than a purely mystical one, but is nevertheless of the more commonly used skills among onmyoji, as divination of every kind is in high demand at the Heian courts.
[X]: Omu… Omu Mani Pa - Padome Fumu! I chant the great compassion mantra one last time at Jun-Dono. Perhaps it will help him until proper help arrives?
