B is for Blood

This is the first Friday of my joining the Pagan Blog Project, and so I have the pleasure of posting my very first topic of discussion starting with the letter "B".  It took a while to come up with a subject, since I don't often interact with or think of things starting with that letter.  Most of the week, I had no idea what I was going to write about.  But while walking back from class today, and discovering the body of a car-struck vole (and acting as a brief, impromptu psychopomp for said vole), I thought of the importance of blood.

B is for Blood

Blood is something spiritually significant to me.
However, it is also a point where my beliefs conflict.  Although personally I regard blood as something very strong, Shinto disagrees with me.  The taking/spilling of blood is looked down upon in Shinto, and considered unclean.
It does make a lot of sense; especially in the early times of humanity.  We didn't have things like antibiotics back then, so if you had an open wound and it happened to get infected (also likely, since germ theory didn't come about until very much later) you would probably lose the use of that limb, or maybe die.   Additionally, you can definitely (even in these modern times) catch disease by someone else's infected blood coming into contact with a scratch or open wound of yours.
Despite that, I do use blood for a number of spiritual things. (Carefully)
Blood is a very powerful life source, so if I want to make my intentions clear to the spirits around me, and to the spiritual realm, I will use my blood to draw symbols on a significant thing (such as a stone, leaf, crystal, bone, or untreated/raw wood) I'm working with.  What I draw depends on what I'm asking or praying about, and who I'm trying to contact. 
For instance, if I'm asking something of the fox gods, I'll give them an offering (usually of food, but sometimes also a sacred item with a symbol or picture drawn in blood on it) ring a bell, bow, pray, clap, and bow again.  I will not do this if I'm praying to the deer gods, or other strictly herbivorous animals, as I feel that would definitely hold true to the "offensive" opinion on blood, and may put me in a sour standing with those animals.  In that case, I will use my breath to convey an equal meaning for them, as I consider them to be interchangeable in power and meaning (and "breath" also starts with "B"! ).

For those reading, what are your opinions on blood?  Do you use it for anything? (Why/why not?)

Remember to wash your hands, disinfect, use bandaids, and otherwise exercise extreme caution when working with blood. I also do not encourage or condone excessively harming yourself on purpose (cutting).  Please think of the feelings of your loved ones and your future self, and seek help for yourself instead of turning to self-harming methods.

I hope you enjoyed following along, and I'll continue with the second week of "B" next Friday, the 25th.

Well wishes,
Cloudfoot