《太上七星神咒经》

Huanglao Yuandi (the Primordial Emperor of Huang-Lao), a venerated deity of Daoism, asked Tianlao on the Terrace of the Purple Court and Golden Portal of the Jade Cavern of Highest Clarity (Shangqing): “Why do the common people of the lower realm meet with calamity and disaster?”

Tianlao answered: “In remote antiquity, when chaos had not yet divided, heaven, earth, and the myriad things were originally one undifferentiated whole. After heaven and earth had each settled in their proper places, the Five Phases (Wuxing) patrolled the world, inspecting states that did not follow the correct Dao (the Way) and also observing those who brought inauspiciousness. All living beings who dwell between heaven and earth have lives bound to the mandate of Heaven. When the movements of the stars produce clashes and offenses, and when anomalous signs such as comets strike against one another, they give rise to warfare, floods and droughts, and wandering displacement. If one can know of disaster beforehand and avoid it, one may preserve oneself; if one goes against the portents of calamitous change, one may suffer harm, with baleful misfortunes following one upon another, the people dying and sinking into suffering.”

The Primordial Emperor said: “The common people suffer. How could I bear this? How should they be rescued so that they may escape disaster?”

The Imperial Lord Tianlao had them recite the Divine Incantation of the Seven Stars, a Daoist spell associated with the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, together with the Pace of Yu (Yubu), a stepping method in Daoist ritual in which one treads the stellar net and paces the Dipper. Recited seven times each day while facing east, it can dispel calamitous changes in heaven and pacify misfortunes on earth. Demonic evils, gu-mei—sprite-demons that harm people by sinister arts—wangliang—legendary sprites of mountains and rivers—and poisonous Jing (essences) will all withdraw of themselves, be subdued, keep far away, and dare not harm anyone. Those who cultivate the Dao may thereby dispel the Qi (vital energy) of heterodox disorder and prolong their lives; every kind of calamity will also disperse along with the incantation. You should treasure this incantation in a golden casket, guard it with care, and not transmit it at will. If it is passed to an unsuitable person, the celestial realm will send down punishment.

Thereupon Tianlao spoke the incantation:

“The great sun rises in the east and sends forth a bright, dazzling radiance. Numinous Shen (spirits) guard me, making my household auspicious and its statutes securely established. The star Lucun, one of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, protects and bestows favor; its light shines, and its majestic bearing is firm and vigorous. I hold to the way of Jiji, After Completion, raising it aloft and commanding a vast power. I have not yet crossed the realm of Jueming, Severed Fate, and so the water ghosts still remain in their own locality. The Three Primordials (Sanyuan)—the three kinds of primordial Qi of heaven, earth, and humanity in Daoism—fill the whole body, and the eight spirits form a protective barrier. Those who oppose me shall die; who dares to collide with me and resist? By the statutes and ordinances of Huang-Lao, depart swiftly to a distant place. The Northern Spirit presides over the records and forever cuts off the inauspicious. Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!”