Shikigami
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In the Japanese culture, Shikigami are spirits summoned to serve or protect an Onmyoji, much like the western concept of a wizard's familiar. Shikigami can take the forms of birds or other small animals, and the more powerful of the shikigami can even take possession of a person. The range of abilities possessed by a shikigami is dependant on the Onmyoji's capabilities.
It is said that an Onmyoji can summon up to one or two shikigami at a time. There are legends that the powerful Onmyoji Abe no Seimei is able to summon and use twelve shikigami simultaneously.