Looking into the esoteric arts of other worthy systems, especially Buddhist and Daoist, is always of great interest to me as it enhances my own upasana, on account of the universality of certain principles which constitute the core of most of these esoteric systems. Several of my close acquaintances accuse me of being slightly partial towards Taoism than compared to Buddhism and that is probably true, and not without a reason. The Taoists are known for not only their internal arts but also for their sorcery. Sorcery, like Tantra, is an oft-abused word, but according to one of my Western Daoist teachers who is also a priest of the controversial Maoshan sect – the aim of sorcery is, like that of Tantra, transformation. It is up to the practitioner, how the transformation is affected and how it is utilized.
Talismans ( 符籙 ) or Fu form a core aspect of Taoist sorcery. Several years ago, my local Taiji instructor introduced me to a Taoist Priest, who we instantly recognized as a charlatan, who sold these Fu to gullible people at exorbitant rates. There were talismans for everything from ghosts to improving business. Those who watch Chinese martial arts movies would be familiar with such talismans which are written on paper or on a cloth using specific ingredients and burned, worn, or placed on an altar. It was only later that I got a deeper insight into the art of Taoist Talismans.
Very much like in Tantra, for the incantation to work, the Daoist should have the required accomplishment energetically – without which the ritual is more or less fruitless. The Daoist sorcerer approaches it all via three components: the spirit and its realms, the material world, and the energy/consciousness/chi which bridges these two. The sorcerer brings the three together by employing the aspect of prayer or invocation, a specific method, and a specific intent. The ritual always involves prayer for assistance invoking the Tao, a specific deity or specific forces of nature, and for protection – to be able to access the spiritual realm. Then there is the practical aspect of the method, which utilizes elements of the material or manifested world, for the transformation is to be effected on this plane. It could be specific objects, chants, talismans, mudras, etc. These work according to the Law of Correspondence where everything is related through energetic patterns and make the spell become operational on the material realm. These objects are most of the time simply energetic links or the material manifestations of the higher energies or forms that are invoked in the incantation. Intention or Yi is of primary importance as this is what connects the two realms, matter and spirit, making the incantation functional.
For example, in the case of a certain healing spell related to the Yellow Emperor, the sorcerer first employs a specific breathing technique to activate a specific kind of yang force. He then invokes the mighty Yellow Emperor Youxiong shi through prayer and a specific magical incantation (a mantra) to access his energy. The channeled energy is brought down the central channel to the lower dantien, several finger widths below the navel. While fixing the eyes on the Celestial Third-eye between the eyebrows, a specific talisman is drawn on the upper palate using the tongue. The upper palate relates to the element of the wood and the tongue, connected to the Shen of the heart, aids in the projection of the desired intention into the material world through the agency of the talisman. The drawn talisman is energized through heavenly and earthly Qi exhaled through the upper and lower regions of the body, united at the upper palate through the tongue which completes the microcosmic circuit. The energized talisman is swallowed and this manifest Chi is combined in the region of the spleen with the energies of the liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys (Hun, Shen, Yi, Po, and Zhi). The bundle of energy is exhaled out of the mouth while reciting a specific verbal or mental formula or mantra, directed towards the person in need of healing.
In some rituals of the Thunder Magic of Maoshan, the talisman (image above) is written on the left palm using the Daoist sword-finger and projected. The talisman listed below is employed in a ritual to invoke the Daoist Immortals associated with the tremendous energy unleashed by the Thunder, which can cure massive plagues.