Kikyō's powers and abilities
Immense Spiritual Power: Kikyō is a highly respected priestess with innately strong spiritual powers. Kikyō has had formal training as a priestess and the average demon is no match for her.[5] Her sister Kaede has even noted that Kikyō is exceptionally powerful, even for a priestess. So great were her spiritual powers, demon slayers entrusted Kikyō with the task of guarding and purifying the Shikon Jewel. By means of her vast spiritual powers, she is able to perform several powerful mystic spells or enchantments (e.g. the high-level mayose spell). Kikyō can also combine shards of the Sacred Jewel through prayer. Even after her revival, Kikyō retained her immense spiritual powers, and in death her power allowed Kohaku to survive the removal of his piece of the Shikon Jewel.
Kikyō using her spiritual powers offensively.
Spiritual Energy Projection: Kikyō can perform a technique in which her enemy is touched directly and destroyed with spiritual power. Kikyō can cast away the average demon with a single blow, as seen when Kikyō, who was not even completely aware, quickly defeated Urasue. If she is in close range, she can even attack with spiritual power from her finger. Kikyō demonstrated this when she used her finger to smash wood with her spiritual power, intimidating Kagome.[6] On another occasion, when Kikyō and Kagome were trapped alone in a cave together, Kikyō concentrated spiritual power in her palms in order to destroy demonic insects that were attacking them.[7]
Spiritual Barrier: Kikyō can focus her spiritual power into energy shields or screens. Under a barrier, she creates areas that neither humans nor demons can break into. When a human makes a barrier, even an ascetic monk must concentrate hard, but in Kikyō's case, she can maintain a barrier in her sleep.[8] Until when Kikyō gets Midoriko's soul, it makes her barrier even stronger that it causes Kagome can't go through it anymore.[9]
Time Barrier: This strong ability was only utilized unconsciously by her teenage reincarnation's own possessions from the modern era in the Castle Beyond the Looking Glass movie to save Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kohaku from succumbing to legendary the Mirror of Life's time-stopping ability. It was this that prompted the demon masquerading as a tennyo to devour Kagome, in order for her to acquire one of such spiritual abilities.
Kikyō using her powers to paralyze Kagome.
Spiritual Immobilization: Kikyō is able to seal another's will, words and action with her spiritual power. When paralyzing someone, she could also make them invisible to everyone else but her. Kikyō sealed Kagome's movement by just touching her forehead lightly with her fingers.[10][6]
Spiritual Reflection: If her opponent is less powerful than her, Kikyō can attack without using her own spiritual power and instead return her enemy's released spiritual power back at them. Kikyō has successfully reflected curses and spells back at Tsubaki, who unleashed a shikigami serpent on Kikyō, and an ascetic monk named Seikai, who attempted to seal her with a "Demon Binding Spell."
Kikyō purifying the miasma in Miroku's body.
Purification Abilities: As a trained priestess, Kikyō can use her spiritual powers to send the evil or unsaved to heaven, and purify malevolent forces (e.g. demonic energies or miasma). She can even concentrate these purifying effects through tools (i.e. arrows). Despite being imbued with a tainted shard of the Shikon Jewel by Naraku, Kikyō did not fall prey to its negative influence and was able purify the shard with ease. Her purification powers are as such that the purifying light she imbued into Kohaku's Shikon Jewel shard was still effective enough to threaten Naraku even after her death. Although, Magatsuhi, the evil force inside the Shikon Jewel, could overcome this purification and was able to corrupt Kohaku's shard.
Shikigami Creation: Kikyō can create human-like Shikigami to perform various tasks for her; her most used Shikigami were called Kochō and Asuka. Another Shikigami Kikyō had created was referred to as Saint Hijiri and was specifically empowered by her spiritual energies. She used Hijiri as a distraction so that she could take the time to fully recover from the miasma-filled wounds Naraku had inflicted upon her at Mount Hakurei. Kochō and Asuka originally stayed by Hijiri's side, but after St. Hijiri was destroyed by Kagura, they went on to help Kikyō directly.
Spiritual Awareness: A result of her innate spiritual powers and training as a priestess, Kikyō can visually feel the presence of humans or demons, and distinguish between the divine or the demonic. She can also see through demonic auras and barriers, as well as perceive or sense the presence of shards of the Shikon Jewel.
Above-Average Endurance: Despite being fatally injured by Naraku disguised as Inuyasha, Kikyō was able to muster the strength in order to seal Inuyasha before ultimately dying in spite of having to walk a considerable distance with her wounds open and bleeding profusely.
Master Archer and Markswoman: Revered as a master archer by Inuyasha, Kikyō excels in the use of a bow and arrow. Due to her great marksmanship, she is capable of firing multiple arrows in rapid succession, striking a foe's weak points with extreme accuracy and directly hitting small targets at great distances, even precisely piercing Inuyasha near the heart with a single arrow, despite being fatally injured and him moving at high-speed through the air. Kikyō was able to teach her younger sister, Kaede, the skill of archery that led to her being a powerful priestess and archer herself.
With one finger, she expelled a bothersome imp and saved a seriously injured man.
Proficient Healer: Kikyō is an extremely skilled and experienced healer, equipped with an extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs. By using her spiritual powers to dispel pallbearers of the underworld or demons, she can further protect the lives of the sick or injured using her medical knowledge (just like Tenseiga).[11]
High Intelligence: Acutely perceptive, Kikyō can see right through enemies' aims and calmly analyze their positions or situations. She also has a wealth of knowledge.[12]
As an Undead Specter
Having had strong spiritual power in life, Kikyō was revived by the necromantic arts of the yōkai sorceress Urasue. After her resurrection, Kikyō's body was made of her own bones, which retained their spiritual power, and the soil from her gravesite. Kikyō since gained access to a number of other supernatural powers after her revival, all while retaining her skills as a priestess and spiritual powers.
Immortality: Upon being resurrected by Urasue, Kikyō gained a caliber of immortality. As she was the specter of a deceased human, Kikyō was immune to natural death (e.g. aging, diseases, mundane poisons, and other ordinary fatalities for humans) as long as she sustained her clay-body with the souls of the dead. For example, after being resurrected by Urasue, Kikyō returned in her injured state but was still able to put up a considerable fight against Inuyasha despite "bleeding" profusely from her open wounds. Kikyō has also survived falling from great heights.
Shinidamachū Command: Kikyō can summon and command serpent-like demons at will, using them to help sustain her clay body. In particular, she obtains information about the dead and has the shinidamachū deprive them of their souls before they ascend to heaven. Apparently, miserable women's dead souls are especially easier for her to absorb.[13] Kikyō can also use these creatures to ensnare others and obtain information.
Flight: By allowing her soul collectors to envelop her and carry her throughout the air, Kikyō can achieve a form of flight.[6][4]
Puppetry/Mind Control: Kikyō's soul collectors can steal the souls of the living, making them her mindless slave.
Barrier against Naraku: Kikyō put some of the soil from Onigumo's cave, which was saturated with the bandit's feelings for her, into her body. Acting as a barrier of earth, this served to nullify Naraku's demonic power by inducing a rush of Onigumo's feelings. Thus while Onigumo's heart still remained inside of Naraku, the latter could not freely harm her without being negatively affected as well.[14][15]
Teleportation: Kikyō has, on several occasions, suddenly appeared or vanished from the scene.[16][17] Whether this is an illusion or the result of her erecting and dispelling her barrier is unknown.
Psychic Link: Kikyō and Kagome seemed to have the ability to communicate telepathically towards the end of Kikyō's life. They first spoke mentally when Kagome was about to shoot her sacred arrow at a corrupted Sacred Jewel and once more when Kikyō was dying in Inuyasha's arms.[18]
