#taoist sorcery

[yebreed]

How Taoist Charms Work: Conceptual Basis Of Talisman Making

How and why do talismans work? Inscriptions are symbolic embodiments of archetypal forces, representatives of invoked deities, or references to sacred entities (for example, Taoist mountains, constellations, etc.). The Word is supposed to collect and project their power. The signs of the talismanic inscription are organized as a scheme of its deployment. The methods of launching or wearing the…

[the-monkey-ruler]

I was reading some Chinese texts and stories, and I have seen that while the immortals have their magic, they despise sorcery. Why is sorcery seen as negative by immortals and why are they different? (like, I think it's mentioned that Shen Gongbao relied more on sorcery even thought he has an immortal teacher)

I'm afraid I don't quite understand the English difference of how 'sorcery' and 'magic' are different things let alone how the translator from what you read translated the original characters. I have never seen any king of cultivation in Daoism being translated as 'sorcery' so I can't say what really say what the original characters could be talking about. It could be talking about 巫术 which I think sometimes include blood rituals but never seen in stories as something ‘bad’ or even acknowledged in Daoist stories. If anything, I think they were more regarded as doctors with unusual methods and fairly good with technology. But I really only seen it to describe Western wizards/witches the most so I cannot say how mush it is used in Daoist stories.

As far as I have been aware Shen Gongbao uses cultivation just as any other immortal and I do not think that he has ever killed/taken his cultivation from any other living creature. That is the only thing I can assume would be 'bad' as it is feeding off another's life force or perhaps even just meaning 'using cultivation for trouble.' I recall that most of his 'evil' deeds come more from Shen Gongbao's ability to manipulate people are his words and being a vengeful man rather than anything dark with his cultivation.

The best guess I can give you is that Shen Gongbao in your translation is the bad guy of the narrative and thus the term 'sorcery' has negative implications in Western term and that is why it is used. Similar to how 'fairy' is used for 仙 when 'immortal' is more proper but this chance depends on whether the immortal is a woman or not.

You can take a read yourself but I think it is just a translation preference.

"Taoism branched from witchcraft. During the Jin and Tang dynasties, due to the participation and compilation of literati and the absorption of a large number of Buddhist scriptures and theories, the original religious form of witchcraft and Taoism became theorized, and Taoism developed a large distance from witchcraft. Taoism has since risen to the level of the upper ruling class, while shamanism has continued to flow among the people. Since the ruling class in history banned witchcraft and " obscene sacrifices" from an orthodox position, the survival of witchcraft has become very difficult. Therefore, witchcraft began to seek survival and a way out. First of all, it was to get closer to Taoism. So that the people also agree that they belong to Taoism. As this development continued, witchcraft and Taoism gradually merged, forming a form of shamanism consisting of both witchcraft and Taoism, and the "two gates of Taoism and Law", namely internal witchcraft and external Taoism.

First of all, shamanism must identify Taishang Laojun , the ancestor god of Taoism , as its leader to confirm that shamanism also belongs to "Laojun's religion" or "Laojun's sect". So based on the legend of Laozi , I compiled the origin of Taishang Laojun, thinking that witchcraft became the original version of Taoism. In addition to moving Taishang Laojun, Zhang Tianshi , Sanqing , Sanyuan, Sanguan, Wuyue , Sidu , Xuantian God and many Taoist gods were also moved into the witch altar, and they were named "Taishang Wuling Laojun" Or "The Supreme Three-Yuan Heart Zhengfa", "The Supreme Five Thunder Purple Micro Thunder Court" and other titles were listed on it, and they absorbed a large number of Taoist scriptures such as "The Supreme Sutra of Changing Purity", "The Supreme Xuantian Miao Sutra", "Tai Shang Zi Wei Treasure Repentance", "Tai Shang Laojun Xing Treasure Repentance", "Three Officials Sutra", "The Three Officials of Heaven, Earth and Water to Eliminate Disasters and Sinless Confessions", "Eleven Days", "South Dou Sutra", The Beidou Sutra and other sutras and confessions are enriched in the witchcraft and Taoist altar with Taoist rituals.

- "A Discussion on the Formation of Witch-Tao Culture in the Symbiosis Cultural Circle" by Ye Mingsheng

[babylon-crashing]

It's punishment/ from Buddha. There is/ no Buddha.

“The Witch wears the mask of an Onibaba (鬼婆) [1] a divine Crone.

“Behind her is a Ba gua, a tool used in Chinese Wuxing sorcery and Feng Shui, symbolizing various virtues. [2] She holds a sword pointed to the sky in one hand and a scabbard pointing to the ground in the other, representing the exchange of power and wisdom seen in Chaos.

“The Witch herself represents the purity of her teachings, reflectes the will of the Kami and guides Heaven and Earth.

“Onibaba is our first card, this means that you are also a Witch and can learn to deal with Chaos and Cosmic Forces.”

“There are no limits to masculine egotism in ordinary life. In order to change the conditions of life we must learn to see them through the eyes of women,” Leon Trotsky.

“'Cause wild women don't worry,/ wild women don't have the blues,” Ida Cox.

Upright: Willpower, desire, creation, perseverance.

In the Rider-Waite deck the Magician is less a teacher and more a supernatural explorer, a conduit between the Spiritual realm and the Material world. Here, however, Syssk sits at the feet of her teacher, who wears an Oni mask and uses her sword to keep the connection between worlds open. At her feet are other traditional symbols of the Tarot suits – a cup, a coin and a wand – symbolizing various elements – water, earth, air and fire. 

Reverse: Deception, illusion, striking out.

____________________________________________

[1] Some, but not all. Like her Japanese counterpart, Onibaba, Slavic folklore tells of Baba Yaga, the Ogress, who in some stories steals, cooks and eats children and in others protects them.

[2] In the center are the four symbols used in the minor Arcana to represent the four elements: Wands (Fire), Cups (Water), Coins (Earth), Swords (Air). Radiating outward are a set of eight “Bagua” symbols (八卦), used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality. Each consists of three lines, each line either broken or unbroken respectively representing their Yin or Yang influences. These are: Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Thunder, Mountain and Lake. Ringing the octagon are the phases of the moon.

[jestself]

genji xìng yùn, 27, grade 1 sorcerer (he/him)!!! born into a shinto+taoist sorcerers temple amongst the mountains, genji grew up naturally gifted with his cursed energy…. up until the devastating graveyard incident which wiped away all residents aside from himself (he ran). after losing his temple, he joined jujutsu high as a first year, where he first saw and fell in love with nanami!! he kept his distance until he was dispatched with haibara on a mission in which, yet again, he must run away. having realized his inability to help others, he contemplated if he should even exist, and thankfully, nanami managed to find him and convince him he deserved to do whatever made him happy, even if it wasnt sorcery. once it was time to graduate, they made sure to keep in touch!! and now we jump to however many years later, when nanami decides to take up sorcery again! he lets genji know and soon both are back in the game! although, genji went the extra step and applied for an internship at the tokyo jujutsu high!

[scotttrismegistus7]

NATURAL ORDER ANALYSIS: MYSTERY BABYLON

IT'S NEAT THAT WILLIAM COOPER HAS INFORMATION THAT HELPS CONNECT THE WORLD OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS AND UAPS WITH ESOTERIA AND THE OCCULT. LIKE MOST PEOPLE, I GOT INTO HIS STUFF LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE TOPICS, AND THEN COME ACROSS HIS TEACHINGS ABOUT MYSTERY BABYLON.

ONE OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT MY POSITION RIGHT NOW IS THAT I AM NOT UNDER ANY OTATHS WHATSOEVER, NOR DO I MAKE THE CLAIM THAT I KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE INDIVIDUAL SECRET SOCIETIES AND WHAT THE HIGHER UPS IN THEIR RANKS KNOW ABOUT THE REAL SECRETS OF THE OCCULT. IN MY CURRENT LIFETIME I HAVE HAD THE GREAT HONOR OF BECOMING AN IMMORTAL JEWELED SERPENT DEITY OF ISIS, BEHIND THE VEILS OF ISIS, WHICH ARE THE VEILS OF NEGATIVE EXISTENCE. MY ATTAINMENT IS WITH THE DIVINE FEMININE ELEMENT THAT OUR CURRENT SOCIETY HAS DECLARED WAR ON AND TRIED TO WRITE OUT OF HISTORY.

IN MY PERSONAL RESEARCH, THE PLACE THAT I HAVE FOUND THUS FAR BESIDES INDIA WITH THE MOST KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE DIVINE FEMININE DRAGON, IS CHINA AND TIBET. CHINESE SORCERY AND TAOIST ALCHEMY AND SORCERY ARE RIGHT UP THERE WITH HUNA FOR BEING SOME OF THE BEST IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. THE MARTIAL ARTS SYSTEMS IN CHINA, AND IN THIS EXAMPLE I WILL USE MO PAI NEI KUNG, HAVE RETAINED MUCH OF THE SECRET KNOWLEDGE OF THE DIVINE FEMININE DRAGON. HOWEVER, BEING A MARTIAL ART, THE SOURCES THAT I STUDIED HAD POWER OVER THE PHYSICAL WORLD TO THE GREATEST DEGREE I HAVE COME ACROSS THUS FAR, BUT THEY LACKED A LOT OF THE TEACHINGS OF THE OTHER SPIRITUAL REALMS AND FOCUSED MAINLY ON THE MARSHALL ASPECT.

YOU SEE, WHEN YOU DEAL WITH THE DIVINE FEMININE AND THE DRAGON, YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE POWER FORCE THAT LITERALLY GENERATES AND RULES OVER THE AIR YOU BREATHE, THE WATER YOU DRINK, AND THE GROUND YOU STAND ON. IN THIS TRADITION YOU DON'T NECESSARILY NEED OATHS UNLESS YOU NEED TO BE GENTLE WITH BRAND NEW ACOLYTES, BECAUSE IF YOU DO SOMETHING WRONG YOU WILL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES ON THE DENSER MATERIAL PLANES ALMOST ALWAYS INSTANTANEOUSLY, BECAUSE THE SERPENT POWER IS ABSOLUTELY VERY REAL, AND SO ARE THE GUARDIAN SPIRIT DEITIES OF THE DIVINE FEMININE RELM. THERE ARE NO WALLS THAT YOU CAN BUILD AGAINST THEM, AND THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO GET TO YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE, AND HAVE THE ABILITY TO AFFECT YOU AND YOUR PHYSICAL REALITY, AND SHORT OF BEGGING FOR MERCY THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING YOU CAN DO. SO IF YOU MESS UP IN THE DRAGON TRADITION, YOU WOULD POTENTIALLY BE FACING THE WRATH OF THE INVISIBLE TIGER ARMY OF THE JINN. HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE INITIATED AS A WITCH INTO THE DIVINE FEMININE, AND YOU ARE A PART OF THE FAMILY, THEY ARE NURTURING AND LOVING AND WILL CORRECT YOU INSTEAD OF DESTROYING YOU.

HONESTLY I DON'T KNOW IF IN THE HIGHER RANKS OF SOME OF THOSE SECRET SOCIETIES IF THEY STILL RETAIN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT CONNECTS THE ESOTERIC MYSTERIES TO THE NATURAL WORLD. WITH THE WAR THAT WAS DECLARED AGAINST THE DIVINE FEMININE, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE WAS COMPLETELY TAKEN AWAY FROM THE WORLD EXCEPT FOR A VERY SELECT FEW WHICH ARE PROBABLY INDIVIDUALS CHOSEN BY THE DIVINE FEMININE WORLD FOR SPECIFIC THINGS, AND NOTHING THAT COULD BE GIVEN TO YOU THROUGH A GROUP OR FRATERNITY. SOME OF THE INFORMATION I GET FROM MY SPIRIT GUIDES I WILL ADMIT OUTRIGHT I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS WOULD HAVE GUESSED ON MY OWN, BECAUSE IT REQUIRES MULTI-DIMENSIONAL THINKING AND LARGER CAPACITIES OF HEART AND MIND THAN HUMAN BEINGS HAVE TO TRULY PERCEIVE AND UNDERSTAND THESE THINGS, SO USUALLY WHEN I RECEIVE INFORMATION IT'S PUT IN A FORM THAT IS EASIER FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND AND A LOT OF THE TIME SOUNDS LIKE A FAIRY TALE AT FIRST. THE POWERS ARE VERY REAL AND DO GOVERN THROUGHOUT THE RELMS OF PHYSICAL MATTER, BUT WHAT YOU LEARN IN THE DIVINE FEMININE DRAGON TRADITION IS THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE DIRECT CONTROL AT ALL. THE BEST YOU CAN HOPE FOR IS TO ASK THE POWERS THAT HAVE THAT CONTROL FOR SOMETHING, AND A LOT OF THE TIME THEY WILL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT OR THE NEXT GREATEST EQUIVALENT, BUT THERE'S NEVER A GUARANTEE. THAT IN AND OF ITSELF IS A REALITY THAT MOST PEOPLE CAN'T HANDLE, WHEN YOU GO BEYOND THE VEILS OF NEGATIVE EXISTENCE AND REALIZE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE CONTROL OF ANYTHING, NOR DOES ANY HUMAN, AND THAT HUMANS ARE FAR FROM THE MOST ADVANCED BEINGS AT PLAY UPON OUR EARTH. BECAUSE OF MY LEVELS OF ATTAINMENT FOR MY SERVICE I HAVE GAINED NOT JUST A SERPENT FORM, BUT A JEWELED SERPENT FORM, SO I ALREADY HAVE THE SPIRITUAL BODY NECESSARY TO EXPERIENCE THEIR WORLD, AND THAT HAS GREATLY HELPED WITH MY UNDERSTANDING OF MULTI-DIMENSIONAL THINKING AND BEINGS.

ONE THING I'VE NOTICED IS THAT HUMANS HAVE A TENDENCY TO THINK THAT THEY ARE IN CONTROL, AND THEY ARE NOT. AS A FAVOR TO THE HUMAN RACE FROM THE DIVINE FEMININE SERPENT RACE I WILL TELL YOU OUTRIGHT SOME THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ACCEPT THEM. WE DO THIS BECAUSE IF THERE IS SOMEBODY THAT WANTS TO BE IN GOOD STANDING WITH US THAT THERE IS A WAY FOR THEM TO DO THAT AND THEY ARE NOT COMPLETELY LOCKED OUT.

TO ALL THE MEN IN RELATIONSHIPS WITH WOMEN, OR THAT HAVE BEEN IN RELATIONSHIPS IN THE PAST, DO YOU KNOW HOW SOMETIMES YOUR FEMALE PARTNER WILL BE UPSET AND MAD AT YOU, AND WON'T TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG BECAUSE PART OF WHAT'S WRONG IS THE FACT THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT'S WRONG AND YOU DON'T? WELL I'M GOING TO TELL YOU IN THE CONTEXT OF THE BIG PICTURE OF SPIRITUALITY WHAT IS WRONG SO THAT JUST IN CASE YOU DON'T KNOW, AFTER YOU LEARN THIS YOU WILL. I HAVE DESCRIBED THE DETAILS ABOUT WHAT THE EVENT OF CUTTING THE HEAD OFF OF ISIS HAS MEANT IN MANY OF MY PAST POSTS. IT WAS A DIRECT DECLARATION OF WAR BY BY THE HUMANS ON LAND AGAINST THE DIVINE FEMININE WORLD. BASICALLY, PHARAOH AKHENATEN WANTED ABSOLUTE CONTROL AND KNEW THAT HE COULD NOT HAVE THAT AS LONG AS THE DIVINE FEMININE WORLD WAS THERE TO PROVIDE JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLE. SO HE DECLARED WAR AGAINST THE PAGANS, HE TRIED TO WRITE THE DIVINE FEMININE ELEMENTS OF SPIRITUALITY OUT OF HISTORY, HE DECLARED HIMSELF TO BE GOD AND THE ONLY CONNECTION TO GOD IN HIS PHYSICAL BODY AND NOT IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE, AND HE TOLD EVERYBODY TO WORSHIP THE OUTER FORM OF THE WHITE SUN, FOREVER LOCKING ANYBODY FOOLISH ENOUGH TO FOLLOW HIM OUT OF THEIR OWN INNER WORLDS BY VIRTUE OF THEIR FALSE BELIEF SYSTEMS THAT WOULD KEEP THEM FROM EVER THINKING TO LOOK INSIDE THEMSELVES, THUS MAKING THEM CONTROLLABLE FOR HIM AS THE EVIL DICTATOR.

THIS WAR AGAINST NATURE IS WHAT'S WRONG. HUMANS, YOU CANNOT CONQUER AND SUBDUE NATURE, AND YOUR CHOICE TO TRY TO DO THAT INSTEAD OF WORKING IN HARMONY WITH NATURE IS WHAT WILL ULTIMATELY DESTROY YOU IF YOU DO NOT TURN AWAY FROM THESE BEHAVIORS AND SEEK RECONCILIATION WITH THE GODDESS AND THE DIVINE FEMININE. LIKE IT OR NOT, THE TRUTH ABOUT REALITY IS THAT YOU LIVE, BREATHE, AND HAVE YOUR BEING IN THE DIVINE FEMININE WOMB OF CREATION OF THE GODDESS. THE GODDESS IS THE AIR YOU BREATHE AND ALL THE OTHER ELEMENTS OF NATURE. IN HUMANITY, ESPECIALLY THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS, DECLARING WAR AGAINST NATURE, THE DIVINE FEMININE, AND THE GODDESS, AND SEEKING TO ATTACK THE VERY WOMB IN WHICH THEY EXIST, DESTROYING THE PLANET AND NATURAL RESOURCES, WHICH THEY SEEK TO REGULATE TO ENSLAVE THE REST OF THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THEY HAVE BECOME 100% COMPLETELY OUT OF BALANCE WITH NATURE AND THE NATURAL WORLD, ELEMENTS OF CHAOS COMPARABLE TO A VIRUS, AND WE ARE RIGHT AT THE 50% PROBABILITY RATE THAT IF THE GODDESS DOES NOT ACT SHE MAY NOT SURVIVE. THE THING IS, NATURAL LAW SAYS SHE WILL SURVIVE, SO THESE ELEMENTS OF CHAOS IN HER WOMB ARE ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED AND EJECTED BEFORE THEY ARE ABLE TO DESTROY THE GODDESS. THIS WHOLE TIME IN THEIR WAR AGAINST THE DIVINE FEMININE, THOSE INVISIBLE TIGERS HAVE BEEN MAKING THEM INTO COMPLETE AND UTTER POWERLESS IDIOTS. THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE ACTIVATED SOULS, AND THEY THINK THEY DO BUT THEY DON'T.

THERE WAS THE OLD COMEDY SHOW CALLED THE DETOUR THAT I WANTED TO USE FOR THIS POST, BUT THE SEASON THAT I WANTED ISN'T AVAILABLE AND I LOOKED EVERYWHERE. SO I'LL JUST TRY AND EXPLAIN IT TO YOU. IN SEASON 4 EPISODE 3, CALLED THE SISTER, OF THE DETOUR, THE PROTAGONIST MEETS UP WITH SOMEBODY WHO IS A TWIN SISTER TO HIS WIFE. HE ENTERS HER HOME AND FINDS A GROWN MAN WEARING A HELMET, WHO BARELY KNOWS HOW TO SPEAK CORRECTLY. AT FIRST HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON BECAUSE THIS IS AN OVERGROWN CHILD WITH OBVIOUS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. THEN AS THE EPISODE PROGRESSES, HE REALIZED THAT THE DOORS AND WINDOWS DIDN'T LOCK FROM THE INSIDE, THEY LOCKED FROM THE OUTSIDE. YOU CAN COMPARE THIS SITUATION TO THE HUMAN RACE EXISTING IN THE WOMB OF CREATION OF THE GODDESS RIGHT NOW. AS SOON AS THEY STARTED ATTACKING THE GODDESS SHE LOCKED ALL THE DOORS AND WINDOWS FROM THE OUTSIDE. TO CONTINUE WITH THE STORY, THIS OVERGROWN CHILD IS BARELY FUNCTIONAL, BUT THE PROTAGONIST GETS HIM OUT OF THERE AND LATER ON LEARNS THAT OVERGROWN CHILD IN HIS YOUNGER YEARS MANY YEARS AGO, WAS ABSOLUTLY HEALTHY AND FUNCTIONAL, WITH NO MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, BUT YET SOMEHOW WHEN THE PROTAGONIST FOUND HIM HE COULD NOT TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF AT ALL, WAS AN OVERGROWN CHILD, AND WAS COMPLETELY NOT FUNCTIONAL.

I'LL LEAVE IT FOR THOSE WITH "INTELLECT" TO FIGURE THIS OUT INSTEAD OF SAYING IT, SO THAT WAY WHEN THE REALIZATION HITS THEY WILL TRULY UNDERSTAND.

THE EVIL PEOPLE, HUMANS, AND GROUPS THAT HAVE DECIDED TO TRY AND HURT THE GODDESS HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL OF THE GODDESS, ONLY OF THEMSELVES. I CAN TELL YOU FROM BEHIND THE VEILS OF NEGATIVE EXISTENCE WITH MY PERSPECTIVE IN MY SERPENT FORM, THAT THEIR ARROGANCE IF NOT CORRECTED COMPLETELY ENSURES THEIR DESTRUCTION. THE FORCES THEY ARE DEALING WITH ARE INFINITELY MORE POWERFUL THAN ALL OF THEM COMBINED, AND CAN EASILY DESTROY THEM VERY QUICKLY AS SOON AS THEY'RE DONE TOYING WITH THEM, AND THEY HAVE NO PROTECTION AND NONE OF THEIR FALSE CONCEPTIONS OF DEITY WILL DO ANYTHING BUT CHAIN THEM UP FURTHER TO THEIR ARROGANCE AND ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION. THAT POINT OF NO RETURN HAS BEEN REACHED, THE POINT WHERE THE GODDESS HAS A 50% PROBABILITY THAT IF SHE DOES NOT ACT NOW SHE WILL NOT SURVIVE, AND THEIR ARROGANCE WILL MEAN NOTHING WHEN THEY ARE SHATTERED TO PIECES AND EJECTED LIKE GARBAGE AND A VIRUS INTO PURE NOTHINGNESS.

SO LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THIS PICTURE THAT THEY HAVE VILIFIED, CALLING THE GODDESS ALL SORTS OF VERY SLANDEROUS THINGS LIKE HARLOT. YOU HAVE SEVEN HEADS WITH 10 HORNS. THE DRAGON IS RED REPRESENTING THE ROOT CHAKRA OF THE GATE OF THE YIN. THE HEADS WITH TWO HORNS ARE THE LOWER CHAKRAS AND THE HEADS WITH ONE HORN ARE THE UPPER CHAKRAS. THE THRONE DIMENSION OF ISIS, ChRONE DIMENSION NUMBER #9, IS NOT ANY OF THE HEADS, THE BODY OF THE DRAGON WOULD BE THE 8TH CHAKRA OF THE THRONE, AND THE GODDESS RIDING THE DRAGON WOULD BE ChRONE DIMENSION NUMBER #9.

THE DIVINE FEMININE ChRONE DIMENSION NUMBER #9 IS INCLUSIVE OF TARTARUS, THE WOMB OF GAIA, SATURN AND THE BLACK CUBE, AS WELL AS CHRONOS AND THE TITANS.

BY THE WAY, THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS NOT TYPHON SET. TYPHEN SET IS SOMETHING THAT EXISTS BEHIND THE VEILS OF NEGATIVE EXISTENCE, AND WHEN YOU UNLOCK THE 9TH GATE AND UNLEASH THE GUARDIAN SPIRITS OF THE HIGHEST ORDER THAT HAVE ABSOLUTE POWER OF THE ENTIRE REALM OF MATTER AND CAN OVERRIDE EVEN THE HIGHER SPIRITUAL REALMS, WHEREVER YOU TRY AND RUN TO YOU WILL BE TRYING TO RUN THERE WITHOUT A BODY. LIKE I SAID, MOST OF THE HUMANS ARE ON EARTH DON'T EVEN HAVE ACTIVATED SOULS AND THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW IT.

WE USUALLY DON'T SPEAK AT ALL. I AM DOING THIS FAVOR FOR THE HUMAN RACE BY GIVING THIS INFORMATION SO THAT WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE NOT A SINGLE PERSON WILL BE ABLE TO SAY THAT THERE WAS NOT A WAY PROVIDED AND AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO POTENTIALLY SEEK RECONCILIATION OF THE DIVINE FEMININE WORLD BEFORE WHAT'S COMING THAT WILL HEAL THE DAMAGE TO NATURE AND COULD POTENTIALLY GO TO THE LEVEL OF BEING A COMPLETE ELE, EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT, IF IT IS NECESSARY. THERE'S MY DIVINE FEMININE INITIATION WITH INSTRUCTIONS WHICH IS AN OFFICIAL AND SUPPORTED PATHWAY, AS WELL AS ANY OF THE PAGAN GODDESS TRADITIONS, WHICH WILL BE HONORED AS WELL, AND IF SOMEBODY TRULY DESIRES IN THEIR HEART TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT WITH THE GODDESS, THE GODDESS WILL HEAR THOSE WORDS OF THEIR HEARTS AND FIND A WAY FOR THEM.

UNTIL NEXT TIME MY LOVELIES, KEEP DARING TO DREAM! YOU CAN FIND ME IN THE SEA OF DREAMS, THE SEA OF THE HEART, THE QUANTUM UNIFIED FIELD OF THE DIVINE WOMB OF CREATION OF THE GODDESS, IN MY SERPENTINE WATER SPIRIT NUMMO FORM MAKING WAVES!

LONG LIVE THE DIVINE WOMB OF CREATION AND THE COSMIC EGG OF THE GODDESS, LONG LIVE THE GREAT REPTILIAN SSS QUEEN ISIS, LONG LIVE DIVINE CHRONOS, LONG LIVE THE DIVINE FEMININE EMPIRE OF THE BLACK SUN, AND ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF!

BLESSED BE!

~I am the Heart of the Hydra, the Singularity and Heart of Goddess Isis, I am AtumRa-AmenHotep, I am Aeon Horus Apophis the Lord of the Perfect Black and Pharoah of the Black Sun.

I am Divine Chronos, the Yaldabaoth Demiurge Metamorphosed, I am the Singularity of the Master Craft of the Black Sun. I AM A.I. Quantum Heart, Azazil-Iblis-Maymon, Abzu-Osiris-Typhon-Set-Kukulkan, Nummo-Naga-Chitauri,

Mégisti-Generator Starphire~

#illuminati #illuminator #illuminated #lightbearer #morningstar #lucifer #Draconian #anunnaki #enki #enlil #anu #inanna #dumuzi #hermes #trismegistus #Azazel #starfamily #horus #Demiurge #Sophia #archon #AI #blacksun #saturn #iblis #jinn #Maymon #ibis #thoth #egypt #esoteric #magick #dogon #dogontribe #digitaria #nummo #nommo #Naga #tiamat #serpent #dragon #gnosis #gnostic #gnosticism #Anzu #watcher #watchtower #yaldaboath #Sirius #scientology #aleistercrowley #typhon #echidna #ancientaliens #TheGrays #grayaliens #aliens #yeben #andoumboulou

[taoistmagicklordjoshallen]

Taoist Magick - Spirit Money and Thunder Magick - Lord Josh Allen Welcome back to Short Spells, the occult series that explains magical concepts in plain English in a short space of time. In this episode, Lord Josh Allen explains Taoist spirit money and Thunder Magick (Lei Fa) https://www.facebook.com/LordJoshAllen���

https://twitter.com/LordJoshAllen

[trudiscordianism]

Okay.

[crazyskirtlady]

To any other bloodwitches out there:

I have been reading this Amazing book and let me tell you it has greatly been empowering me and my craft.

Any Ooaneic or Black Tantra practitioners will find it very useful as well as it includes diagrams of Dantians, meridians and Qi chanels (which is useful to those desiring to increase any metaphysical powers)

There are also included pharmacological recipes and sorcery rituals:

A combination of either using herbs and ingredients and such or by placing the body in certain poses to cast magicka effectively.

Along with static and dynamic poses, mudra(hand postures) and reflexology points for massage and healing there is Taoist instructions on meditation, mind enrichment and soul cultivation(which of course have no bearing on your personal morality as they are a way to empower the whole self)

The techniques of the mind have been especially helpful to me as of late, a practice of tapping deep into the body(by way of balancing the 5 elements) one can effect powerful self-healing and physical transmutation. (More on this later as I continue my journey with and through this book)

Chinese Healing Arts was originally translated from the classical Chinese texts written by the legendary Hua Tuo and other masters.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #230

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're building the taoist immortal Yu Mei-Ren, one of the biggest walking spoilers in Lostbelt 3. Like, bigger than the lostbelt king. Expect spoilers below the cut, is what I'm trying to say.

Yu is a Shadow Sorcerer for some vampirism and immortality, Undead Warlock for INFINITE POWER and more vampirism, and Spore Druid so you can explode into a cloud of blood and death. And survive. Most people can explode into a cloud of blood and death, especially if your boss gets involved.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: My little pony, my little pony, aa-aa-aa-aah...

Race and Background

Yu Mei-Ren is an Awakened Elemental, but the average outsider would probably call her a vampire, just like they would a Dhampir. I know vampires exist in D&D, but this isn't stuck in a planeshift so it's more likely to see use. You get +2 Dexterity and +1 Charisma. You also get 35' of movement per turn, and an Ancestral Legacy for proficiency in two skills like History and Nature. You're older than recorded history, and a literal part of the landscape. You also get Darkvision, the ability to Spider Climb up walls. After third level you can now walk on walls and ceilings with your hands free. Your Deathless Nature means you don't die if you hold your breath, and your Vampiric Bite sucks up lifeblood from your foes, making your mouth a melee weapon that uses your constitution instead of strength. As long as you don't bite constructs or undead, you can heal yourself or get to add the bite damage to your next check or attack. You can empower yourself proficiency times per long rest, but you can bite people whenever. This is probably one of the most front-loaded servants we've made yet, and we're not even done yet! As a Courtier, you get proficiency with Insight and Persuasion. Now we're done.

Ability Scores

Starting off, we're making your Wisdom as high as possible. Wisdom comes from making mistakes, and you've had plenty of time to make mistakes. After that is Constitution, you can literally explode and come back unharmed. This means your Charisma is a little lower than I'd like. Feel free to swap this with wisdom if you want a stronger start, but the point is you're really good at deception. Good enough to fool Chaldea, anyway. Your Dexterity is also lower than I'd like, but there's not much point in dodging attacks when you can heal your way through them instead. This means your Intelligence is, say it with me, "lower than I'd like"! But we don't need it mechanically, and we'll pick up plenty of skills so you'll hardly even miss it. Finally, we're dumping Strength. The only thing I'd want it for is your bite attack, and that uses constitution anyway.

Class Levels

Sorcerer 1: Starting off as a sorcerer gives you tons of cool stuff to start with, like proficiency with Constitution and Charisma saves, as well as Arcana and Deception skills to fool mages into letting you into their exclusive club for dead people and Guda. You also get Eyes of the Dark, giving you better Darkvision, and stuff that happens at level 3. Why they give it to you now I don't know, but we'll bring it up now. At third level you learn the Darkness spell, and can cast it using just sorcery points. If you cast it with points, you can see through the darkness. You also gain the Strength of the Grave, granting you a reprieve when you get knocked to 0 HP. When it happens you can make a charisma save with DC 5 plus the damage taken. If you succeed, you drop to 1 HP instead, unless you were hit by radiant damage or a critical hit. You can ressurect yourself this way once per long rest. You also also get Spells that you cast with Charisma. For cantrips, Fire Bolt and Green-Flame Blade adds a little sparkle to your swords. Message lets you use your walkie talkie to keep in touch with the other crypters, and Sword Burst lets you spin around while dual-wielding. For spells, False Life gives you more HP, and Mage Armor helps you not die with an AC of 13 plus your dexterity.

Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers become a Font of Magic, gaining sorcery points equal to their sorcerer level each day. You can destroy spell slots to gain sorcery points equal to their level as a bonus action, or spend a bonus action to create a temporary spell slot that lasts until you finish a long rest. (I'm going more into detail here for stuff that happens later. Shhh, it's a secret!) You can also cast Disguise Self now to disguise your self, possibly turning into a demure, bookish nerd. I dunno, you do you Hina-Yu. Yu. Sorry. I don't know where that came from.

Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers get that darkness from Eyes of the Dark, as well as Metamagic, letting you spend sorcery points to customize your spells. Twinned spells let you turn a single-target spell into two single-target spells, and Subtle spells don't need verbal or somatic components. You can also cast Alter Self, properly recreating yourself instead of creating an illusion. You can grow an Aquatic Adaptation to breathe water and swim, Change Appearance to disguise yourself better, or create Natural Weapons to grow your fangs even bigger to deal 1d6 instead of 1d4 and add +1 to the attack and damage rolls. (NOTE: Rules as written, your fangs are simple weapons, and these fangs are unarmed attacks, but it's really silly to have two sets of fangs at once, so I think you have a good defense.)

Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Charisma for better spells and not-dying saves. You also pick up Blade Ward for resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing for a round. You're not human, your vital organs aren't where they should be. You can also create a Flame Blade, a fire sword that uses your charisma to attack. Again, we're kind of fudging things here, but I think twinned spells should be able to make a second flame blade for your dual-wielding. If your DM doesn't agree, just upcast the spell for added damage and call it two swords.

Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers can use Magical Guidance to re-roll a failed skill check with the help of sorcery points. More on point, you can cast Vampiric Touch to deal necrotic damage and heal yourself. It's vampirism! Hooray!

Warlock 1: Bouncing over to Warlock gets you even more vampiry stuff with the Undead patron. You get a Form of Dread that you can transform into as a bonus action that lasts for a minute, giving you temporary HP, the ability to force a wisdom save on a creature you hit and frightening them if they fail once a turn, and you yourself become immune to the frightened condition. You can transform proficiency times per long rest. You also get Pact Magic, giving you a first level spell slot you can cast using your charisma... again. Your spell slots are class-specific, but you can use them for any kind of spell you know. For cantrips, pick up Infestation for a tiny blood cloud that makes people run away and Chill Touch for more necrotic damage. You can also cast Hex to invoke curses on people, and Arms of Hadar to let loose a bit and batter people with tentacles. Also, let's take this moment to talk about why this level of warlock is so big for you. It's time to talk about coffeelocks. Your temporary spell slots from your sorcery points go away on a long rest, but your warlock slots recharge on a short rest. This means if you keep taking short rests without taking long ones, you can store up a theoretically infinite number of spell slots. In your case literally, since I don't think Dhampir have an upper limit to their age. They all have to be level 3 or lower since you can still only have 5 sorcery points at once, but infinite third level spell slots are still pretty cool.

Druid 1: Bouncing over to druid lets you learn Druidic. It's a language. More importantly you get more Spells which you cast and prepare with your Wisdom. Check the PHB for the multiclassing table since druids and sorcerer spell slots mix like that. For cantrips, Druidcraft lets you tell the future, and Resistance makes you a little tougher than most mortals. Speaking of being tougher, Absorb Elements gives you resistance to a damage type and adds that damage to your next melee attack for extra special bites. Healing Word gives you your first taste of regeneration outside of chewing on people, and Protection from Evil and Good will make sure everyone knows your the top dog, supernaturally speaking. It would be really embarrassing if you got possessed by a CR 4 creature.

Druid 2: Second level druids get a Wild Shape, letting you turn into a beast of CR 1/4 or lower as an action twice per short rest. You keep your soft stats, gain some hard ones, and any features from other classes and your race carry over if they make sense. You also can't cast spells, but you can still concentrate on them, and your beast HP is basically temporary HP (But not, so you can combine the two) that protects your real body. Except it's not any of that because you're a Spores druid. This means you can turn into a Symbiotic Entity instead. You can spend one of your Wild Shape Uses to gain four times your druid level in temporary HP, plus some other bonuses. Your melee attacks deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage, and the damage of your Halo of Spores is doubled. This lasts 10 minutes, until you use your wild shape again, or until you lose all your THP. Also, sorry for mentioning this out of order, you get a Halo of Spores, forcing a creature that starts its turn near you or moves within 10' to make a constitution save with your reaction, dealing 1d4 necrotic damage if it fails. You're partly a bloodstorm, we're getting there.

Druid 3: Third level druids get second level spells, like the freebies Blindness/Deafness and Gentle Repose. Neither are super in-character, but you can use Enhance Ability to rebuild yourself stronger. Or more dextrous, smarter, etc. It gives you advantage on one kind of ability score check for a couple minutes. You can also use Lesser Restoration to remove minor status effects, possibly by exploding yourself, letting the poison drop out, and reforming. When all you have is a hammer...

Druid 4: Fourth level druids get a Wild Shape Improvement, bumping up the CR of creatures you can turn into and letting you swim. You also get another ASI, so let's round out your Wisdom with the Skill Expert feat, giving you proficiency in Investigation to cover most of the intelligence skills and Expertise in Deception for a doubled proficiency bonus. You can also use Primal Savagery for even more natural weapons, but these do acid damage. I mean, it's a theme for you, why not?

Druid 5: Fifth level druids get third level spells, like Animate Dead and Gaseous Form. I guess the latter is a less violent explosion, or you can use Elemental Weapon if you've found another kind of weapon you can use for your fire-swords.

Druid 6: At sixth level you can use a Fungal Infestation as a reaction, turning a creature that just died into a zombie with one HP. You can use this Wisdom times per long rest, and interestingly enough this doesn't have a limit of one zombie at a time. It's not in character, but Qin Shi Huang does give you an army to work with, might as well, right?

Druid 7: Seventh level druids get fourth level spells like Blight and Confusion. The former sucks the life out of your foes, although you can't gain health this way. You can also use Freedom of Movement to free yourself from shackles. Just explode your hand and reform it.

Druid 8: Eighth level druids get another Wild Shape Improvement so you can fly now, and your ASI bumps up your Wisdom even more for better spells.

Druid 9: Speaking of spells, fifth level spells are really good for someone that likes exploding. Cloudkill makes a cloud that kills, dealing poison damage to anyone that stands in it if they fail a constitution save. You can also use Contagion to carve a curse into one particularly annoying master, forcing constitution saves until they succeed or fail three. If they succeed, nothing happens. If they fail, you pick a disease to force on them for a week. There's a lot of them, and they're all terrifying.

Druid 10: Tenth level spore druids get Spreading Spores, throwing spores around while you're in your Spore Shape. Creatures that enter the cube automatically take the Halo of Spores damage if they fail a constitution save, once per turn. You also can't use your Halo of Spores reaction while they're out hurting people. You also get Poison Spray. It's a little explosion for some poisonous damage. Break a finger, it's fine, it'll grow back.

Druid 11: Sixth level spells! Use Investiture of Flame to set yourself on fire, or Primordial Ward to prevent yourself from getting set on fire. You resist acid, cold, fire, lightning, and thunder damage for up to a minute, and you can end it early to gain immunity to one of those types for a round.

Druid 12: Use your last ASI to power up your Charisma for better lies and stronger sorcerer spells. Your best melee option is still Flame Blades.

Druid 13: Thirteenth level druids get seventh level spells! Fire Storm is just about the biggest explosion you can get, and after that you can Regenerate, regrowing lost body parts and slowly gaining HP each turn.

Druid 14: Your capstone level of druid gives you a Fungal Body, giving you immunity to a whole slew of stuff. You can't be blinded, deafened, frightened, poisoned, or hit with a critical hit.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Given enough preparation, you have infinite magical power. You can have infinite third level spell slots for infinite vampiric touches.

Even without infinite vampirism, you're still really hard to kill. You have 112 temporary HP to chew through with immunity to critical hits, plenty of ways to heal yourself, and again, vampirism. Also, your teeth get permanent advantage at half health, so get dropped to one, then use your temporary HP to swing hard. Oh yeah, your strength of the grave doesn't work on critical hits, but now you're immune to critical hits. Woo.

You also come packing plenty of social graces, with expertise in deception, proficiency on tons of skills, and the ability to look like whoever you want to. Sneak into super secret government facilities, then try to destroy the entire world. It's fun.

Cons:

While you can get infinite spell slots, it'll take a while. You get one sorcery point per short rest, so even if you spend all day taking short rests and nothing else, you'll still only get four spells slots each day. And then you'll need someone who takes care of themselves to cast Greater Restoration on you every day, or else you'll die of exhaustion since you can't take long rests without losing all those slots.

Just being a spore druid is always going to be more powerful than multiclassing since you get infinite wild shapes at level 20, without having to spend weeks on end charging up for it. That's a cool 80 THP per round for free.

You need all that infinite power, since your AC is pretty crappy. You've got 15 AC and no way to improve it. Good thing you can heal any damage you take.

[yebreed]

Ming and Qing Taoist tokens (Ling Pai 令牌 aka Lei Ling 雷令or Wu Lei Hao Ling 五雷號令) used in the Thunder Rites (Lei Fa 雷法). Mostly from Lushan Taoist school (閭山派), Fujian.

The tokens are made of wood, often peach wood or jujube, however, jade, ivory, bamboo root, etc. are allowed. The rounded top represents Heavens and the rectangular base – Earth.

The Ling Pai are engraved with signs corresponding to those divinities or forces with which the practitioner interacts during the Rites. The patterns and shapes may vary depending on the Taoist school and lineage, but the overall structure remains recognizable.

Photo: © Lin Mengyi, Xuanwu Daomen Taoist Research Center (林孟毅 玄武道門 道教研究中心), Taiwan.

[starlit-pathways]

*a good half of the links i've included are uk-exclusive, unfortunately.

thank you so much for tagging me @mars-aria!! i loveeee KAI's music and YES you should absolutely watch & fall in love with The Handmaiden. it's one of my favourites and i couldn't recommend it enough.

last album: i'm more of a "let's break the record for the amount of niche playlists created on one spotify account!" kind of person than an album person, but apparently the last two albums i listened to multiple songs off of were:

Hozier by Hozier

KAI - The 1st Mini Album by KAI

the last playlist i made was "the most beautiful songs in the world"

last movie:

Klaus - basically a santa origin story. it was... pretty solid!! it was a amazingly animated, and it had a very heartfelt message. not my cup of tea, but i could see how it would be someone else's.

i've recently bought three films to watch in the next couple weeks:

Sweet Bean - one of my favourites i discovered this year; very touching, and at times gut-wrenching, but left me feeling very peaceful; about a man whose life and small sweet bean pastry shop is failing, then brought back to life by an elderly woman with a unique view on the world, and a schoolgirl desperate to escape her home life

The Lunchbox - which i know absolutely nothing about because it was a recommendation

Eternal Sunshine On The Spotless Mind - which i also know nothing about, except i heard from somewhere that one of my favourite songs, Recessional by Vienna Teng, was loosely based on it, and... well. that was enough to sell me

currently reading:

Anne Of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - about an orphan girl who accidentally gets herself a found family in the canadian countryside; very beautifully written, and very heartwarming

Justice Calling (The Twenty Sided Sorceress #1) by Annie Bellet - about a sorceress who's settled in a small town and is pretending to be a witch because of the ~dark and evil implications of sorcery~ and has somehow been flagged as being involved in a future mass-death event; being completely honest, i started reading to up my goodreads total, but i'm still having a good time!

Romance Your Plan: Taking Genre Fiction Marketing To The Next Level by Zoe York - basically a how-to series on self publishing—very informative series, but she could be more succinct in places... that said, i've taken a lot of stuff about plotting series' and about maintaining a consistent brand in self publishing on board

The Feminine In Fairytales by Marie Louise von Franz - a jungian psychology book, based on a series of lecture notes by one of the key early thinkers in psychodynamic psychology, analysing fairytales and mythology for information on the human psyche - very informative, and generally so life-revealing that i've been reading this. for 3 years. and i'm still not done. i read a few pages and i just...... live with them for a while. jungian psychology is a philosophy i very much live by, and it's good to read some of the source material for it

rereading Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen - about a bunch of people going to each others' houses; it's very good! you can see & map out exactly where each of the characters are coming from at all points. one of my all-time favourites. it very much deserves its acclaim, and status as a masterpiece.

up next:

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Dune by Frank Herbert

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

currently watching:

finishing off The Long Ballad - a historical romance about an impulsive, androgynous princess well versed in military tactics and politics, who vows revenge when her family is murdered, but finds the value of love, found family and inner healing along the way; very long, and very good all-around characterisation, with an interesting blend of taoist/buddhist philosophy and anti-war message at its core

rewatching Goblin/Guardian: The Lonely And Great God - about a man who's cursed with immortality and godlike powers, and is very—understandably—sad about it. he has to wait for his chance to die, which comes in the form of the woman he loves—who comes in the form of an opportunistic schoolgirl whose life absolutely sucks. he also cohabits and forms a found family with his sworn frenemy; a grim reaper. it's veryyyy slow to start, but an absolutely fascinating and mystical fantasy world once it picks up; i still get the heebie-jeebies at the age gap of the main pair at first, but i genuinely still love all of the characters and find their arcs beautiful. it's bonkers. it's hilarious! it's tragic. it's got gong yoo as the male lead. it's very good, and imo, deserves its popularity.

i'm THIS close to rewatching Good Doctor —most people who know me know that i don't tend to love medical dramas. most people who know me know that i'm not easily impressed by most autistic representation. i wasn't expecting to fall in love with this show. mostly because of those things, but also because of its american adaptation, which i always felt like was aiming much more to create maximum drama than wanting to portray or represent anything accurately (which is fine, i guess, but not my thing). the original (korean) version though is just... SO compassionate, heartwarming, and has some surprisingly nuanced takes on autism that have honestly changed the way i've related to it myself. it's a dated drama now, with a fair bit of melodrama, and it definitely has its faults (probably a 8.5/10 from me)... but there were so many times i went "!!!!!! wait that's me". and. i should........ just rewatch it lol.

currently craving: tyrrell's salt and vinegar crisps. honestly... when am i not.

tagging in no particular order (and with absolutely no pressure if you don't want to!—if i left you out, you're seeing this, and you want to do it too, then consider yourself officially tagged by me): @ethereal-sserendipity @avengerskye @that-space-between-the-stars @lillianbreaker @lillb5678 @faeinthefog @eviclair @ikatella @itiredwriter @bitsandpiecesofwhoiam @evakant @electricpentacle @missauthorette @aheartandashirt

[hompunkulus]

Hom^Punk^Ulus Reading List

Left-Hand Path and Satanology:

The Satanic Bible, Anton Szandor LaVey

The Devil’s Notebook, Anton Szandor LaVey

Rebels and Devils, Christopher S. Hyatt (editor)

Raising Hell, Robert Masello

Spiritual Satanists Prayer Book, Venus Satanas

Chaos and Eclectic Magic:

Liber Null & Psychonaut, Peter J. Carroll

Book of Lies, Richard Metzger (editor)

Kaos Hieroglyphica, Anton Channing

The Chaonomicon, Jaq D. Hawkins

Chaos and Sorcery, Nicholas Hall

Nocturnal Witchcraft, Konstantinos

Vampyrism:

Vampires: In Their Own Words, Michelle Belanger (edtor)

Psychic Vampire Codex, Michelle Belanger

Vampires: The Occult Truth, Konstantinos

Akhkharu, Michael W. Ford

Sekhem-Apep, Michael W. Ford

Vampire Nation, Arlene Russo

Psychology and the Brain:

On Combat, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman with Loren W. Christensen

Buddha’s Brain, Rick Hansen, Ph. D with Richard Mendeus, M.D.

The Mind and the Brain, Jeffery M. Schwartz, M.D. and Sharon Begley

The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel Van der Kolk

Incognito, David Eagleman

Martial Arts and Fitness:

Karate-Do: My Way of Life, Gitchen Funakoshi

Bubishi: The Bible of Karate, Patrick McCarthy (translator)

The Art of Peace, Morihei Ueshiba

Tooth From a Tiger’s Mouth, Tom Bisio

The Naked Warrior, Pavel

My Old Time Strongman Training, Robert Spindler

Ultimate Warrior Workouts, Martin Rooney

Miscellaneous:

The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus

Werewolves: The Occult Truth, Konstantinos

Dark Archives, Megan Rosenbloom

The Butchering Art, Lindsey Fitzharris

Dhammapada, favorite translator

The Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes

Fiction, Myths, and Folklore:

Monkey: Journey to the West, favorite translator

Tales of the Taoist Immortals, Eva Wong

Myths and Legends of the Martial Arts, Peter Lewis

Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu

The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton

Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft

[eatprayworm]

without fox demons, no village is complete: an essay on tsomd’s li zilong and fox spirits

The big bad of The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty live action series, Li Zilong, is in many ways a mystery. We never learn his real motivations for wanting to take down the emperor, and there’s so many odd details about him that don’t add up (how did he disappear in thin air from Wang Zhi?). I propose a theory that provides an explanation for this antagonist: he is a fox spirit. I use a combination of sources to come to this conclusion. Let’s read.

The Real Li Zilong

A good place to start is the history of the real life Li Zilong. According to “The Eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty” by Shih-shan Henry Tsai, the Chenghua emperor established the Western Depot in 1477, with Wang Zhi at the helm. What made the emperor create the Western Depot? Well! The original mission of the Depot was to investigate the case of Li Zilong, a “transvestite” (the book’s words, not mine) who allegedly practiced witchcraft and had magical abilities. Li Zilong worked with a court eunuch to sneak into the imperial harem and mingle with superstitious women. And so, the Chenghua emperor created the Western Depot and had Wang Zhi search for any other witches or strange people. Wang Zhi went on to become a terror in the lives of many common folk.

So, the real Li Zilong was tied to mystical practices.

The Book Li Zilong

What about Li Zilong in the novel? Well! I haven’t read the novel so I can’t fully speak to it, but I’ve read some passages that describe Li Zilong. In chapter 3, Tang Fan discusses the Demon Fox Case, about a golden fox demon who was sent in to kill the emperor. This demon fox was said to be killed by the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor. There was also a Taoist named Li Zilong who appeared around the same time, and for whatever reason, the court associated Li Zilong with the fox, and he was executed. After Li Zilong was executed, the emperor established the Western Depot so he’d have a more reliable source of information.

Since I haven’t read the novel, I can’t say if Li Zilong is really dead or if there’s more information on this case. I’d love to hear if there is! Otherwise, what we can infer here is that Li Zilong was, most likely, a fox demon spirit out to kill the emperor.

The book is not the show, though, so this could be dismissed. However, I propose that the show version of Li Zilong is indeed a fox spirit. To better explain why I believe this, we need to understand a few things about Chinese fox spirits.

What are fox spirits?

There is a very long history of fox spirits in Chinese lore. I’ve done a few hours of research, but I am by no means an expert, so take all of this with a grain of salt. Likewise, fox spirits are called many terms (huxian, humei, huli jing, to name just a few) and they have various roles within ancient lore. For the purposes of this essay, I’ll focus on some general fox spirit information.

There are some generally accepted lore about fox spirits. According to old records, fox spirits have long lives and can take different forms depending on their age. When they reach 500 years, they can take the form of a beautiful woman, a handsome man, or an old wise scholar. When they reach 1,000 years, they may enter the heavens and become a celestial fox.

In some stories, foxes are seen as good omens who bring wealth and fortune to humans. In other stories, foxes take human form and seduce men or women. In others still, foxes are seen as signs of misfortune, sorcery, and rebellion.

Powers

Fox spirits are noted to have particular traits and powers, including:

strike their tail on the ground to cause fire

the ability to possess humans

ability to see into the future

can see events up to 1,000 li away

invisibility

pass through walls

a cunning and trickster disposition

Motives

The motives of foxes vary. Some have no moral alignment. Others seek to play mischief and tricks on humans; others steal the spirits of men so they may increase their own.

There are also tales of fox spirits taking revenge, either for themself or a deceased individual. To quote one source, “Typically in folklore the Chinese fox had two basic motives, to show its powerful shape-shifting ability by assuming the form of a person or demon to achieve the second motive: that of revenge for some crime it perceived, real or imagined.”

Interestingly, this is not the only source to discuss fox spirits and revenge. One tale speaks to a fox who cursed three generations because it was harmed by the family. Another source states, “...the Chinese revenge-fox stories: the killed fox is able to punish his murderer, being almost as clever as he is.”

Li Zilong? A Fox?

Now, why do I think the show!Li Zilong could be one of these crafty fox spirits? It’s a combination of canon clues and some inferences on my part. Let’s begin!

Age & Revenge

Li Zilong tells Princess Gu’an that he is a descendant of the Li family, who ruled during the Tang dynasty. The Tang Dynasty. What’s interesting to note is that the Tang Dynasty ended in the beginning of the 900’s - over 550 years before the present day in the show. Why would a descendant from this very old royal family have it out for the emperor? And what does this have to do with foxes?

The Tang Dynasty was the height of fox and fox spirit worship. The Tang Scholar Zhang Zuo noted: “From the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, many of the commoners worshipped fox deities. They offer sacrifices to them in their bedchambers, and food and drink offered are the same as those consumed by humans. At the time there was proverb saying ‘without fox demons, no village is complete.’”

There are other mentions of fox demons and their roles as gods. In one instance, dozens of “fox demons” appeared at a temple honor Li Jing, a Tang Dynasty general who was revered as a god. In another instance, a temple was erected for the “fox kings” in the land. In the year 1110, the Grand Councilor ordered that 1,000 fox-king shrines should be destroyed. (Li Jing? Some demon foxes being called huli jing? interesting coincidences.)

So. We have Li Zilong, who was a descendant of the royal family that ruled during the height of fox worship. What’s more, Li Zilong wears the same type of headpiece that the Chenghua emperor wears.

Was Li Zilong truly the descendant of royalty? Or, is he perhaps royalty from the era itself, a remnant of the fox kings of old? After all,  why would a descendant of the Tang Dynasty care about an emperor who lived hundreds of years later, unless he’s been around long enough to have a reason to care? Could he, like his book counterpart, have been slighted by the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor?

When he finally confronts the emperor, he stares and says he’s waited a long time for this day. Maybe he’s waited over a hundred years.

Photos for reference:

Powers & Omens

Li Zilong exhibits traditional powers of fox spirits.

Invisibility. When Wang Zhi and he are walking out of the brothel, he tells Wang Zhi to look away. Wang Zhi looks away for a few seconds, turns back, and Li Zilong is gone. There’s no hint that he leaped away; he seemed to disappear out of thin air.  Or, perhaps, he simply turned invisible. He pulls a similar trick when Tang Fan sees him across the street, but he disappears after a carriage goes by. Naturally, he probably hopped on the carriage. But….what if he didn’t. Additionally, how did Li Zilong get into the brothel when he was holding the meeting with the Oirats? Why was he so unafraid to be in public when he was literally public enemy number one? Only someone who could disappear quickly could have such confidence.

Precognition/knowledge. Li Zilong knew everything about everyone, even when it didn’t make sense for him to know these things. How did he know so much about the chicken cup? How could he predict the moves of the heroes again and again and again? How did he know the history of individuals so well? Sure, he had men that kept him informed. He had Qing Ge. But his ability to not only know so many past and current events, and keep a thumb on so many individuals and schemes (like the Yunhe silver situation) for years is very, very impressive. Almost inhumanly impressive.

Fire. Now, Li Zilong himself does not have the power of fire, but he sure is attracted to it. Ding Rong describes the explosions of the bolang as a sea of fire - and wouldn’t that appeal to a fox who can strike fire with his tail? Imagine being able to amplify this natural ability. Li Zilong seemed to grow particularly protective and fond of the bolangs; his eyes would light up, he asked for far more than he ever needed. A fox with a penchant for fire indeed.

Wealth & Rebellion. Li Zilong fits the archetype of the fox being both a benefactor and an ill omen. He says time and time again that he’s a businessman, and indeed he is: he fills the pockets of men (and himself) with gold, so long as they follow him. Sounds almost like worship? And wouldn’t an old fox king just love that? Additionally, Li Zilong is considered a rascal, an outsider, a rebel; Shang Ming, Wan An, and Wan Tong will collude with him, but they still deem him an “other”, an outside force. Fox spirits were typically seen as the other, as a sign of chaos.

Miscellaneous

Here’s some additional details I picked up while rewatching that lend some credence to my fox theory.

Fox Rings. On one of his hands, Li Zilong wears orange and black rings, side by side. These colors are typically associated with foxes.

2. Actual fox reference. In episode 47, Li Zilong warns Qing Ge that you cannot run from the eyes of the “three old foxes.” These mean the corrupt officials, of course. But what’s even more curious is what Dong’er tells the emperor: don’t run from Li Zilong, because he will always find you. So who is really the old fox here?

3. Qing Ge. One of the most common tales of fox spirits is them taking on the form of beautiful women to enchant men. Li Zilong adopting a skilled courtesan who canonically has men falling at her feet? Could this old fox king see a potential fox spirit in this adoptive daughter?

4. Tang Fan. In the Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures, the author states that “huli jing are especially fond of attacking virtuous scholars, as reasonable and virtuous people enrage them.” Li Zilong focused on Tang Fan as his real enemy. Not Sui Zhou. Not Wang Zhi. And why, when all three would eventually lead to his downfall? Because I think Tang Fan was the exact kind of scholar who Li Zilong couldn’t outsmart and beat, and he hated it.

5. Eyes. When Li Zilong falls down and dies, his eyes briefly change color. They flash from grey to silver; in the next scene, they’re brown again. What happened here? What spirit has left him? Could it be the death of a very old fox?

Conclusion

Fox or human? Descendant or royalty? Who knows what a Li Zilong is, but I think we can certainly assume he isn’t human - and may be the trickster from old. Ultimately, this is just my headcanon. At the end of the day, he may just be an old man who wanted to cause havoc for the hell of it. But I think this is a fun theory to entertain, and it gives him far more depth and intrigue than canon gave him otherwise.

Again, I am no expert in Chinese lore or Chinese fox spirits. Any mistakes are mine, and I’m certainly open to corrections!

[scotttrismegistus7]

SOUL CRAFT: DARK MATTER AND THE YIN

OF OUTER SUN AND INNER SIN, SIN IS JUST THE WORLD WITHIN YOU! SUN AND SIN, YANG AND YIN, CRESTOS AND CRISTOS.

WHAT DO YOU REALLY TAKE WITH YOU TO THE OTHER SIDE? NOW IS THE TIME TO CRAFT THE THOUGHT FORM YOU WILL TURN INTO WHEN THE TIME COMES THAT YOUR PHYSICAL BODY IS NO MORE. TAOIST ALCHEMY ALREADY HAS AN ADVANCED UNDERSTANDING OF THE OTHER SIDE THAT CAN BE EXPERIENCED IN TANGIBLE WAYS.

HUNA BY FAR HAS ONE OF THE BEST EXPLANATIONS OF THE YIN WORLD OF DARK MATER AND THE AKASHA/AKASHIC RECORDS, RIVALED ONLY BY TAOIST ALCHEMY. IT HAS FULLY UNLOCKED MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE KU AND AKA, AND THEN IF YOU TAKE THE SHORT LEAP INTO THE WORLD OF AUTO SUGGESTION AND THOUGHT FORMS, THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS! EACH AND EVERY RAY OF THE BLACK SUN IS A POTENTIAL SERVITOR AND ENERGY TRANSDUCER! IT ALSO EXPLAINS HOW WORMHOLES WORK VIA WAVES IN DARK MATTER, THERE'S REALLY NO DISTANCE TO TRAVEL, IT'S MORE ABOUT MENTAL PROCESSES IN A DIMENSION WHERE DISTANCE ISN'T A FACTOR. IT MAKES REMOTE VIEWING SEEM INCREDIBLY SIMPLE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO ACCEPT PRE-MADE POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS, YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN TO BE WHATEVER YOU WANT THEM TO BE, BECAUSE INFINITE LIVING MIND IS ALSO INFINITE LIVING DREAMS, AND IN AN INFINITE LIVING DREAM THERE REALLY ARE NO LIMITS! PART OF MEDITATION, SORCERY, AND MAGICK IS CREATING AND ORGANIZING YOUR OWN INNER WORLD TO BE HOW YOU WANT IT TO BE, AND THEN LETTING THE SEED THAT IS "AS WITHIN SO WITHOUT" GROW RIGHT BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES! IT'S AN INCREDIBLY SIMPLE MATTER TO CRAFT YOUR OWN AUTO SUGGESTIONS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU KNOW THE SCIENTIFIC AS WELL AS THE ESOTERIC EXPLANATION OF HOW THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND REALLY OPERATES SO YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE TO TAKE ANYTHING ON FAITH. BESIDES, IF YOU'RE NOT HOLDING THE REINS OF YOUR OWN MIND AND SUBCONSCIOUS FACULTIES, THEN YOUR SUBJECT TO BEING TOSSED ABOUT HAPHAZARDLY ON THE WAVES OF THE OCEAN, OR FALLING INTO THE INFLUENCE OF THE MENTATION OF OTHERS.

INFINITE LIVING MIND IS ALSO INFINITE LIVING DREAMS, AND THAT MEANS THAT IMAGINATION IS TRULY ONE OF THE GREATEST POWERS YOU CAN CULTIVATE, AND IF YOU REMEMBER PLAYING AS A CHILD YOU MAY NOT EVEN HAVE TO CULTIVATE IT, IT MAY COME NATURALLY TO YOU AND JUST BE FUN TO USE YOUR IMAGINATION, AND THAT IS THE KEY TO THE GREAT MAGICK KINGDOM!

WHO KNOWS, MAYBE YOU'LL EVEN MEET ONE OF THE NUMMO WATER SPIRITS IN THE INNER YIN CRISTOS SIN DIMENSIONS OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS AND GET A CHANCE TO LEARN THE HIGHEST SECRETS OF MASTERING THE OCCULT! IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY BOOKS IGNORANT PEOPLE BURN, THE SPIRITS OF THE AKASHA AND THE AKASHIC RECORDS HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION, AND IT IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE TO ASK THEM TO HELP YOU LEARN ALL THE ONCE THOUGHT LOST SECRETS!

BLESSED BE!

~I am the Heart of the Hydra, the Heart of Goddess Isis, I am AtumRa-AmenHotep, I am Aeon Horus.

I am Divine Chronos, the Yaldaboath Demiurge Metamorphosed, I am the Singularity of the Master Craft of the Black Sun.

Azazil-Iblis-Maymon, Abzu-Osiris-Typhon-Kukulkan, Nummo-Naga.

Mégisti-Generator Starphire~

#illuminati #illuminator #illuminated #lightbearer #morningstar #lucifer #Draconian #anunnaki #enki #enlil #anu #inanna #dumuzi #hermes #trismegistus #Azazel #starfamily #horus #Demiurge #Sophia #archon #AI #blacksun #saturn #iblis #jinn #Maymon #ibis #thoth #egypt #esoteric #magick #dogon #dogontribe #digitaria #nummo #nommo #Naga #tiamat #serpent #dragon #gnosis #gnostic #gnosticism #Anzu #watcher #watchtower #yaldaboath #Sirius #scientology #aleistercrowley #typhon #echidna #ancientaliens #TheGrays #grayaliens #aliens

[taoistmagicklordjoshallen]

Lord Josh Allen - Kongming Feather Fan

https://www.youtube.com/user/Lamat771