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Magick, Shamanism & Taoism : the I ching in ritual & meditation PDF

361 Pages·2001·87 MB·English
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Red Dragon, Yellow Horse The I Ching in Ritual & Meditation The Red Dragon of Heaven descends from the light of the sky. The Yellow Horse of Earth comes forth from the darkness of the Underworld. Uniting in ecstasy, clashing in war, from their play arise all life and death. This book is primarily concerned with the Book of Changes and its links to Taoism, the magickal practices of the Chinese Wu, and related schools of thought. My ambi tion has been to open up the I Ching so that it can be approached on several levels, all of which are important aspects of the overall whole. Whereas most books on the I Ching focus on the system's oracles as a means to divination, my work builds on that important base to include the potential for mag ickal rites and meditations, blending traditional ideas with contemporary experimen tation. In this way, it allows for a greater personal appreciation and assimilation of the primal elemental forces that underpin the Trigrams and Hexagrams. In doing so, it not only describes the basic tools appropriate for Chinese-style magick, but also ex plains the symbolism and esoteric theory behind their use. Parallels that I have drawn between Taoism and other worldviews such as shaman ism, Ninjutsu, Shinto, Thelema, and Tantra help to broaden and explain fundamental occult concepts. Hexagram correspondences bring together interpretations of the fig ures with related symbols, gods, ritual instruments, and appropriate magickal work ings in a way never before attempted in a work on the I Ching. -Richard Herne About the Author Richard Herne (Great Britain) has been actively involved in the study of many East ern and Western magico-spiritual philosophies for twenty years. He teaches Thelemic pagan philosophy and is an official representative for the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition based at the University of Sheffield. To Write to the Author If you wish to contact the author or would like more information about this book, please write to the author in care of Llewellyn Worldwide and we will forward your request. Both the author and publisher appreciate hearing from you and learning of your enjoyment of this book and how it has helped you. Llewellyn Worldwide cannot guarantee that every letter written to the author can be answered, but all will be for warded. Please write to: Richard Herne % Llewellyn Worldwide P.o. Box 64383, Dept. 1-56718-207-0 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383, U.S.A. Please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for reply, or $1.00 to cover costs. If outside U.S.A., enclose international postal reply coupon. Many of llewellyn'S authors have websites with additional information and resources. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.llewellyn.com The I Ching in Ritual & Meditation Magic/(, Shamanism & rr'aoism Richard Herne 2001 Llewellyn Publications St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0383, U.S.A. Magick, Shamanism & Taoism: The I Ching in Ritual & Meditation © 2001 by Richard Herne. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, includ ing Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Edition First Printing, 2001 Book design by Donna Burch Cover illustration © 2001 Mark Busacca Cover design by Lisa Novak Editing by Andrea Neff The quoted material on page 33 originally appeared in Aleister Crowley's book The Holy Books of Thelema, York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, 1983, pp. 60-61. The quoted material on page 83 origi nally appeared in Aleister Crowley's book Liber Aleph, York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, 1991, p. 57. Used by permission. The original black-and-white illustrations in this book appear courtesy of artist Tanith Hicks. Permission to use this artwork is gratefully acknowledged. Illustrations of mudras (pages 91-95, 144, and 155-156) by Carrie Westfall. The original Chinese character illustrations in part 4 were drawn by the author. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Herne, Richard, 1969- Magick, Shamanism & Taoism: the I ching in ritual & meditation / Richard Herne. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-56718-207-0 1. Yi jingo 2. Taoism. 1. Title. PL2464.z7 H47 2000 299'.512582-dc21 00-052029 Llewellyn Worldwide does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business transactions between our authors and the public. All mail addressed to the author is forwarded but the publisher cannot, unless specifically instructed by the author, give out an address or phone number. Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guar antee that a specific location will continue to be maintained. Please refer to the publisher's website for links to authors' websites and other sources. Llewellyn Publications A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. P.O. Box 64383, Dept. 1-56718-207-0 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383, U.S.A. www.llewellyn.com Printed in the United States of America Acknowledgments My great thanks go out to all the friends and many other kind people of the Island and elsewhere, too numerous to mention all by name, who have given me their en couragement for this book. Special acknowledgment, though, must go to Tony and Fiona Trowbridge (yes, it's here at last!), and Frater D. in the north of Alba (Keep up the great work, and I hope this helps your quest!). As always, my deepest love and gratitude are reserved for Tanith, for so many rea sons that it would be impossible to list all of them. Thank you for your artwork, your magickal masks, and your continual support. Without your assistance and much val ued trust in my work, this book might never have been written. Contents List of Figures and Mudras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Preface .......... . .... . ................ ... Xl PART ONE History and Philosophy Chinese Magick and Taoism .......................... 3 The Philosophy of the Way . ... .. .................... 27 PART TWO The Temple and the Magickal Tools Introduction . 37 The Temple ..... 39 The Ritual Sword . . . 43 The Robe .............. . 47 Equipment for Making Talismans. 49 The Bell . . . . . . ... 53 The Magick Mirror 55 The Drum ... 59 The Spirit Wand 61 The Fan .... 65 The Ritual Light 69 Incense 73 Mudra 77 Contents PART THREE Practical Magickal Work Introduction . . . . . . . 83 Banishing and Purification: Assuming the Form of Fudo 89 Stone Warriors . . . . . . . . . . 97 Consecration of the Ritual Tools . 101 Investigating the Hexagrams . . 103 Pathworkings . . . . . . . . . . 107 Chi-Kung and the Cosmic Winds .. . . . . . .. . . 109 The Magick of Talismans .. .. . 115 Mu-Jen ...... . 123 The Gate of Dreams 129 In 0 Musubi .... 137 Invoking the Dragon Force . 141 Working with the Astral Body. 147 The Mountain Invocation 155 K'un Meditation . 159 Ch'ien Meditation 163 The Trigram Wheel ...... 165 PART FOUR The I Ching Hexagrams Hexagram Table .... 171 Introduction . . . . . . 173 The Sixty-Four Hexagrams 175 Appendices A: The Eight Taoist Immortals ..... 305 B: I Ching, Tarot, and the Qabalah .. 315 Vlll Contents C: Pronunciation of Chinese .. 319 D: A List of Gods, Goddesses, and Spirits 321 Chronology of the Chinese Dynasties 329 Glossary . . .... . ...... . 331 Selected Bibliography and Further Reading . . 337 Index ... ... . .. . . .... . 341 List of Figures and Mudras 1. Lao-Tzu riding upon a water buffalo into the West (from a Sung dynasty incense burner) . . . . . . .. . ........ 10 2. Chang Tao-ling, founding father of religious Taoism (based on traditional Chinese paintings) . . . . . . . 19 3. The Tai-Chi, representing the primal unity of Yin and Yang 28 4. The fang-sheng. .. ....... . ..... . 42 5. The ritual sword. . 45 6. Two types of ritual fans 67 7. Examples of Chinese lanterns 71 8. Fudo, god of wisdom and fire 90 Mudra 1. The Fists of Anger . 91 Mudra 2. The Triangle of Fire . 92 Mudra 3. Sword in the Scabbard ...... 92 Mudra 4. Sword drawn from Scabbard; Scabbard placed on head ... .. . 93 Mudra 5. Sword in the Scabbard .. . .. . 94 Mudra 6. Sword drawn from Scabbard, ready for use 94 Mudra 7. Sword in the Scabbard . . . . . . . 95 9. Chinese characters for shih kan t'ang . . 98 10. The Seal of Lao-tzu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 IX

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