Practical Chinese Magic

by Jason Read

The book you now hold in your hands is a training book for a
real Taoist School somewhat unknown in the West and misunderstood in Asia.
In the West, academics tend to focus on either philosophical Taoism or its manifestation in a distant historical past. In actuality Taoism has moved with the times and has a new vocabulary of which the academic scholar has no inkling. Yet, all Taoism is rooted in over 5000 years of history. One may read an academic text on Tang Dynasty rituals and terminology and think that is how modern Taoists work, which mostly, just isn’t the case. Taoism in Asia has developed and evolved.
This is particularly true in folk Taoism which is as far removed from Taoist orthodoxy as much as say Gnosticism is from the Catholic Church.
After my studies with teachers in China and Malaysia. and having returned to the United Kingdom, I looked for books on the subject in English., I found not many at all. Academic works were highly impractical and focused on the past or the Daoist Canon. Most other works were the usual texts on Qigong, alchemy and very westernised approaches to Taoism. There was very little actual material on real Taoist magic, and those that were published were either mostly guesswork or so unwieldy as to be impractical. In other words there was a deficit of actual workable material for those who want a way in. Thus the idea of this series of books was born.
The main focus of this volume is to introduce the reader to the real training methods, theory and spells used by the Chinese schools of magic. It is not an academic study nor a piece of missionary work from some Buddhistic-Taoist mix, such as Quanzhen or other orthodox Taoist ‘churches’.
Here you will meet the methods of the Chinese schools of magic, their Gods, their methods and their way of working. If you are wondering why there is no bibliography, that’s because the sources are an oral tradition and currently not in print.
I hope it opens the door for you and takes you beyond what you imagined Taoism to be.

Genres: Taoism

531 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 8, 2022

Reviews

[Steve Cran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have long been interested in far eastern spirituality and martial arts and I have been interested in magic. My main beef with any magical system is that it is too complicated. I mean like if I want to do a money spell, it would be like never mind easier to spruce up my suit , dust off my resume and go job hunting. I found Chinese magic to be complicated. What is so difficult are the longevity of ritual and the hand mudra’s all that stuff is hard to understand.
The school of magic this gentleman works with is the Taosist Maoshan school. Often times magic was separate from the official religion of Taoism. Not every Taoist subscribes to magic. Certain magics could be taught in the temple. Most magic though was kind of informal folk magic practiced by the common people as opposed to high ritual in the temple. There are 4-5 other schools of Taoist magic. It must be noted that Maoshan magic preceded the oncoming of Taoism. Taoism and Taoist magic have absorbed element from Buddhism that came from India. As the Chinese migrated to different lands, they took their magic with them. The magic took on the local flavor of where the people migrated to.
Taosism and Taosist magic operate on the principle of Chi or bodily energy. Our bodies produce energy that travels through meridians on our body. Energy can be directed and stored. There are objects meant for storing chi so that it can be used later. Another aspect of Chinese magic is fu talismans. Artists who make these are called Fulus. The amulet or talisman can be used for repelling evil or attracting wealth or love.
Much like western magic there is reverence for the ancestors and gods. Ancestors can be biological, or they can be ancestors of the magical school, otherwise known as lineage. As in Western Magic offering to the gods and ancestors are given. The Chinese have gold money which is burned and given to the gods. There is also red money that is burned to the ancestors. This gives the ancestor money to spend in the afterlife which is pretty like western tradition. Also, like western magic tradition there is spirit flight.
Similar to the witches sabbat Taoist do some meditation that transports them to a mountain for a party or spiritual experience. Wudang Mountain is the most famous as it has a Taoist monastery. The Taoist do not ingest any chemicals or anoint themselves with flying ointment.
In Taoism there are also methods of divination. Most notable is the I-ching. The querent throws the bague or tangrams to get a reading. The different bagua means different things. If you are checking out different magical systems, then give this book a read. Honestly though I do like the idea of burning fake money to a deity or ancestor. Fu talisman are something to investigate.

[Doctor Purple · Rating 3 out of 5]

a mixed bag - beginner’s intro

It’s not clear, not straight forward, but a mosh of a sect’s version of Taoist magic but very light on details and very heavy with narrative overview with glimpses of some practical magic with folk lore. The anti-Chinese bias makes me think that it’s an offering of one cia officer gone astray. He wants to both claim there is an extant school but also pretend that there is a Chinese prevention of culture and religion, which is patently false if you actual live and work there. So the jabs against China made no sense except American political propaganda.