Daoist Magical Healing Tradition

Beyond TCM. The Daoist Magical Healing Tradition.

By Jason Read

In this article I plan to explore other avenues of healing in the wonderfully diverse world of Daoism.

The popular western approach to the Taoist healing arts has been quite limited until recently with improved access to traditional teachers and academics increasingly translating previously unknown texts.

If I mention the words “Chinese Healing” the usual image is one of acupuncture needles, massage (tui na), cupping therapy, herbal medicine and moxibustion. Of course these are all wonderful methods which are generally categorised as Traditional Chinese Medicine. These methods are indeed employed throughout the Far East, yet it is only a fraction of the picture. Why this is so is perhaps because they are the most acceptable to the occidental way of thinking. It is the easiest for the western mindset to grasp and graft on spurious and often ill fitting scientific theories as to why they work. They are easily rationalised.

Despite these modern attempts to put TCM in the scientific model there is an esoteric foundation that represents the real basis of not only TCM but other arts of healing you may have only touched upon or simply never heard of.

I am not here to try and convince you that this world is real or relevant to your own work, only that it exists and that you at least temporarily, with an open mind, read this article. With that caveat out the way, let’s crack on.

To understand the roots of the Chinese healing arts we have to cast our minds back thousands of years, before there was Daoism. Let us go to one of the Southern Provinces, say, Sichuan. We see a shaman, a Wu yi, dressed in colourful robes billowing in the winds in an explosion of reds, blues and yellows. A steady bell rings in a hypnotic pulse as the shaman steps in the pattern of the Big Dipper, she is literally chanting love songs to attract the attention of the Lord. The Lord suddenly appears as in trance she is whisked to a world of incredible beauty, a world apparently in the stars, purple mists of numinous power swirl in veils. The Lord answers her questions about the illness infecting her village. …

It is from this shamanic scenario that Chinese healing is rooted. The above flight of fancy is not my imagination but is based on The Nine Songs of Qu Yuan.

From Shamanism emerged various ideas about the magical body. In dreams and trances the Wu Yi became aware of energy. All of nature was empowered by the great Cosmic Breath. … Qi, and

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everything had a spirit body nourished by this cosmic pulse of Qi.

Illness was the result of disharmony with the cosmic rhythm. Perhaps you offended the Gods, the spirits or the ancestors. Illness is a spiritual condition.

Little has changed.

In many Chinese communities today, illness is still considered a spiritual condition. No, but wait, you say, we know about germs and viruses, we know all about psychiatric illness. True, but the magician would tell you that you are just looking at the effects which are the result of causes you are not aware of. That is not to say that antibiotics and the like are not necessary, but the root of the illness could be addressed with root methods such as spells and herbs. Treating the symptoms is really just trimming the branches so to speak.

Illness has a broader definition too. Not only is it obvious illnesses such as cancer, pneumonia or psychiatric conditions like depression but also spiritual ones that manifest as poverty and ill luck.

As well as the TCM practitioner, there are other healers in the Chinese community. One example is the Tang Ki. Tang Ki or Jitong which translates roughly as Child Medium. It is the return of the shaman. The Tong Ji is a vessel for a particular deity or God. The medium is described as a child in the sense he or she is an innocent and passive vessel through which the deities are born and express themselves through. You will often see Tang Ki exhibit childlike attributes such as drinking milk from a baby bottle and the like. Tank Ki is not orthodox Taoism but a folk mystery reacting to Temple authoritarianism.

Typically for example our fellow is down on his luck and sick to the bone. He goes to visit the local Tang Ki. The Tang Ki seethes into a trance and the deity offers a prescription, often herbal remedies accompanied by spiritual acts. magician, the Fang Shi or Master of the Method/Law.

The Master is trained in herbalism and acupuncture but also possesses a skill set that goes far beyond the Tang Ki or conventional TCM doctor. He can call on the Gods, use his own powers developed through years of alchemical cultivation, travel to the spirit worlds, divine causes through face reading, palmistry

IMAGE PROVIDED BY JASON READ

and astrology, write fu talismans, call spirits to aid his will and so on.

Often these wizards are trained in family lineages and are not attached to Temples. They are often in lineages such as Maoshan, Fengyan, Yinshan and Lushan. The Maoshan here described is not the same as the Orthodox Maoshan Order also known as Shanqing.

For example in face reading, the Maoshan Master may notice you have an affliction that indicates some inherited negative karma or perhaps you have a poor link to your ancestors. Consequently you have reoccurring misfortune and a lack of ability to find wealth and joy in your life. You feel depressed and cannot “get it together.” The master will prescribe a talisman that you carry or even burn to ashes and drink. One example of diagnosis and the solution talisman is here shown.

Another common diagnosis is Soul Shock. This is one of the first methods learned by most Taoist magicians.

The theory is that trauma can dislodge parts of the soul leaving you somehow incomplete. This can be due to serious trauma, sudden fright and even nightmares. At minimum there is confusion, depression and night terrors and at worst coma. The theory that certain kinds of Yin spirits delight in scaring people is that they can feed off that fear and soul energy discharge is true in this light.

The operation to deal with this is known as Fetching the Soul or Soul Retrieval. The process can be fairly intricate or fairly simple depending on the severity. If the person isn’t present at the right, a straw poppet is made to represent the patient and clothed in cloth made from their clothes. Qi laden personal items of the patient such as nail clippings, hair and so on are also used. The doll is bound with thread hung with coins to represent the seven parts of soul and the three parts of spirit. Invocations are made amongst clouds of sweet-smelling incense imploring the Gods to aid the soul to find its way back to the patient. A talisman for this ritual is shown here.

For more conventional illnesses, the Chinese masters have a whole selection to choose from. But how are they made and used?

The talismans are a kind of written spell usually on yellow rice paper. Their writing is not a simple matter and there are certain rules to be followed.

Timing is important. Certain days are forbidden, one of these being the 16th Day of the 5th Moon. This taboo time was related by the goddess Su Nu to the Jade Emperor as the time when Heaven and Earth conjunct their energies. There is a consequent lack of yang energy and so is the most unfortunate time for talisman making and other yangenergy depleting activities such as drinking alcohol or sex.

The favoured hour is between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., the Hour of the Rat. It is favourable to talisman making, meditation and neigong.

The magician will be equipped with an altar table with two red candles, incense and the Treasures of Writing. The Treasures of the Scholar are the block of ink, the brush, the grinding stone/inkwell and the paper itself. neigong, the magician will consecrate each item in turn to empower the tools of his art.

One such invocation translates as: ‘O this is not ordinary water! This is the miraculous water blessed by the Jade Emperor. The waters of Heaven, the waters of the Thunder! Quickly by the Law (of Heaven)!

This process continues with the consecration of the pen (actually a Chinese calligraphic brush), the ink block, the actual process of grinding the ink against the ink stone and the paper itself.

The writing itself is highly ritualised involving a preliminary called “warming” the pen. which activates the pen with the Qi of Heaven before writing.

As to the talisman (fulu) itself there are many varieties, but here I want to discuss the structure of a typical Maoshan Pai (Mao Mountain School) talisman. The Maoshan school, not to be confused with the Shanqing Orthodoxy which was also founded upon Maoshan, is perhaps the most famous of the fashi (Law Master of Magical Method) schools.

Looking at the diagram let’s discuss each section. Note, talismans are nearly always written from top to bottom and from left to right.

1. At the very top are three ’ticks’ or stars which represent The Three Pure Ones, the highest deities in Taoism.

2. The next section is usually the name of the deity called, and is thus called the Master or Head of the talisman.

Fu Ling, Chi Lung or Le Ling. No one really knows its exact meaning but it means in the magical language of the Taoists, “command” or “give power to…” Essentially it empowers the talisman with executive power.

4. Not all talismans have this part. This is called Binding the Fairy/Immortal Rope. Its curves represent the flow of gathering magical energy.

5. The Pillar of Heaven.

6. The Pillar of Earth.

7. Fire Wheel Stars protect and lend more power to the talisman.

8. Talisman body is the actual written spell or the command and intention (yi) of the magician.

9. The Gallbladder is a very important part of the talisman. It not only gives life to the talisman as a whole but ‘seals’ the talisman. Without this ‘wizard’s lock’ the power empties out or undesired powers rush in. There are many varieties of gallbladder, the two most common are pictured. The former invokes the power of the Twelve Earthly Branches (i.e. Rat, Ox, Tiger etc.) and the latter most often invokes the Five Thunders (wu lei).

10. For extra power we often superimpose on the gallbladder several characters known as the Flower Word. For healing talismans this is usually the symbol of the Five Elements (waxing).

Each part of drawing this talisman will require specific invocations. Talisman drawing is not just simply sketching out some picture and filling in the blanks but a complex interplay of Man (as magician) and Heaven (spiritual powers, astrological influences, Qi) which is intermeshed into the very substance of the talisman itself. It requires great skill and a capacity to enter a certain state of consciousness. It involves magical invocations, and actions such as stepping patterns and mudras. The most often used being the familiar Immortal Sword Hand.

Once completed, the magician will usually make offerings to the Gods or spirits which were invoked. Taoist magic consists of a reciprocal relationship with the spirit world. The magician allows the spirits to interact with the sphere of humanity and in return the magician offers them the essence of what they enjoy. This is usually food, drinks and spirit money. The spirit money is burnt to thank and further empower the spirits at the end of the ceremony.

Having completed the talisman the talisman is used in varying ways. It can be hung or pasted in the home or carried. Most often for healing talismans, it is burnt to ash. This ash is then mixed with water and drunk by the patient.

One common talisman used is the talisman of the Snow Mountain Fairy/Immortal (page16). As its name implies it helps cure fever. This is shown in the figure. The idea of course is to invoke the cool qualities possessed by this snow and ice wielding immortal to temper the fever of the patient.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY JASON READ

Jason has studied martial arts since age 15 in his home country of England. Jason worked in the military, martial arts training and studying Buddhism and Taoism. On discharge he traveled to Singapore, where he fell in love with the magical, or fangshi, tradition of cultivation. While studying martial arts and working in Shenzhen, China, he studied in the inner door of Maoshan Taoism.