《太上北斗二十八章经》

In former times, Emperor Ming of the Han went on an excursion to Mount Zhongnan and met a woman. She wore plain robes, her long hair hung loose, and her feet were bare. She sat upright on a stone and did not rise to pay her respects. The emperor asked, “I am the sovereign of all the people under Heaven. Who are you? Why are you discourteous when you see me?”

The woman replied, “I am an attendant official of the imperial chariot of the Jade Emperor of Vast Heaven, and a stellar official among the Seven Primordials of the North Pole who keeps the registers of names. Who are you, that you should require me to salute you?”

When Emperor Ming of the Han heard this, his expression changed completely. He at once kowtowed and begged pardon, saying, “I am the sovereign of all the people under Heaven, yet I have never met a true immortal. Today I am fortunate to encounter you, and I bow before the holy perfected one. That I may behold your compassionate countenance must be an affinity formed in a former life, not a karmic bond that begins only today. I earnestly beg you, Yuanjun, in your compassion, to transmit the true formula, so that I may cultivate body and mind and preserve my nature and life, and also govern the state. I hope that all the ministers will believe, receive, and put it into practice. I beg you, Yuanjun, not to withhold the precious methods of the Dao (the Way), but to expound them once more. I will spread them throughout the realm, so that they circulate among the mountains and rivers, and all the myriad people may, like me, have the good fortune to encounter this sacred teaching.”

The emperor kowtowed again, then rose and drew near to look. He saw clouds and mist shrouding the woman’s head; her body and feet shone with roseate light, and auspicious Qi (vital energy) rose five feet. Seven holy perfected ones manifested under Heaven, and auspicious radiance spread across mountains and rivers, so that the myriad people together shared in this auspicious teaching. After kowtowing again and again, the emperor rose and looked closely. He saw the seven holy perfected ones dwelling above the clouds and rose-colored mists, with two officials behind them.

Yuanjun said, “I am not one holy perfected being, but seven. Those two stellar officials are the stellar officials of the Northern Dipper who record the good and evil of the human world. They are named Zuofu (Left Assistant) and Youbi (Right Aide).”

Emperor Ming of the Han asked, “What is each of the seven stars called?”

Yuanjun replied, “The first is called Tanlang (Greedy Wolf), the second Jumen (Great Gate), the third Lucun (Sustained Prosperity), the fourth Wenqu (Civil Song), the fifth Lianzhen (Pure and Chaste), the sixth Wuqu (Military Song), and the seventh Pojun (Army Destroyer).”

Thereupon he paid reverence and intoned the names of the seven perfected sages.

I sincerely take refuge in and pay homage to the Seven Primordial Star Lords of the Central Heaven’s Northern Dipper (Zhongtian Beidou Qiyuan Xingjun), the divine lords of the seven principal stars of the Northern Dipper, who dispel calamity and relieve adversity, cleanse transgressions, and prolong life. I also pay homage to all the holy perfected ones of the stars of the Central Heaven’s Northern Dipper, and to the seven star lords who preside over extending life and protecting destiny, resolving disaster and hardship, supporting the weak, dispersing misfortune, and adding to the span of life, together with the lord of the teaching and former sage, the Lord Emperor Hanming (Hanming Dijun), who was reverently invited to expound this scripture. I respectfully pray that the natal yuanchen of the Heavenly Capital (Tianjing Benming Yuanchen), the stellar spirits who govern each person’s root destiny and fate, will in compassion look down upon this prayer offered through the recitation of the scripture.

Star Lord Tanlang (Greedy Wolf), Chapter One

At this time the Primordial Sovereign of the Great Dao (Dadao Yuanjun) said to Shengming: “If you now wish to obtain my true Dao (the Way), and to use it to cultivate the self and nourish life and to order the state and the household, you must be impartial and even in heart and conduct, and act according to the path of uprightness. Heaven and Earth will examine clearly; the sun and moon will look down in compassion; the stars will protect and bless; ghosts and spirits will withdraw. Upright ministers will assist the ruler, and the people will be free of distress. People from the four seas and eight directions will come joyfully to court, and the common folk will not contend with one another. In this way a person’s body and lifespan can grow, the allotted years increase, and every part of the body is harmonized and unobstructed; the ruler’s blessed destiny endures and remains secure, and the Qi (vital energy) of the Dao moves of itself.”

Star Lord Jumen (Great Gate), Chapter Two

The Primordial Sovereign said to Shengming: “If you now wish to seek my methods of the Dao in order to cultivate the self and nourish life, you must never depart from the true Dao through all twelve double-hours of the day. Only then can your life and your allotted years be lengthened.”

The Primordial Sovereign said further: “If you can hold to the Dao, destiny rests in your own hands and is not wholly fixed by Heaven. If you lose the Dao, the stars will not protect you; calamities of every kind will follow one after another; life will be hard to sustain for long; and disaster and affliction will come in their train.”

Star Lord Lucun (Preserved Emolument), Chapter Three

The Primordial Sovereign said to Shengming: “If you now wish to seek my Dao, you must stay far from craving for wealth and sensual beauty, and put away the discriminating mind that divides self from other, together with greed and anger. Honor your elders and care for those younger than you. Take wisdom and good faith as the root, and place ritual propriety and righteousness first. Do not kill living beings at will, and do not go against the natural order.”

Yuanjun (a revered deity of Daoism) said to Shengming: If you now wish to obtain my Dao (the Way), you should cast off craving for wealth and for sensual beauty, and put away the greed and resentful anger that arise from drawing too sharp a line between yourself and others. Respect your elders and care for those younger than you; take clear-sighted wisdom and good faith as your foundation, and give first place to ritual propriety and righteousness. Refrain from taking life, and do not covet pleasure.

The emperor respectfully reported: I seek the methods of the Dao in order to set my household in order and cultivate myself; others, too, may benefit from this. Let the common people be spared worry and distress, let them not heed improper words, and let ruler and ministers not fall into discord. Let my own person flourish and accord with the Dao, so that the myriad people naturally come to peace.

Star Lord Wenqu, Chapter Four

Yuanjun said to Shengming: To seek my true Dao now is no ordinary bond of destiny. You have passed through many kalpas; you once came down from Heaven above, and only today have you met us star lords—truly a cause for joy. To practice in this way can bring endless benefit to the myriad people of later generations.

Abundance and dearth, hardship and joy in the world are not registered and arranged by the Tiancao (the celestial office that oversees documents and allotted destinies). They are produced by the human heart itself, and have nothing to do with what Heaven and Earth have predetermined. You must abstain from illicit desire and must not indulge in disordered sensuality. When this is achieved, male and female and Yin-Yang can be properly matched, the light of the Dao will appear, and Heaven and Earth will naturally be in harmony.

Star Lord Lianzhen, Chapter Five

Yuanjun said to Shengming: If a person seeks my true Dao, cultivation should be carried on through the twelve double-hours of the day. Let the Azure Dragon on the left and the White Tiger on the right each rest in its proper place, so that the dragon’s chant raises clouds and the tiger’s roar gives rise to wind. Press the tongue against the upper palate, click the teeth forty-nine times, and rub the numinous place with both hands (in Daoist cultivation, rubbing the hands and similar methods are used to guide the breath, gather the spirit, and nourish Qi (vital energy)). Then visualize a red ox plowing the field nine times, in correspondence with the Vermilion Bird in front and the Dark Warrior behind, and visualize the divine generals of the Six Ding and the Six Jia guarding you at your side, with celestial warriors and strongmen keeping watch before and behind. Alone, ride the white dragon and the yellow Qi (vital energy of yellow color) and pass in through the gate at the crown of the head.

Cultivated in this way, the countenance does not age and the hair does not turn white, and teeth that have fallen out grow anew. One ascends to audience at the Golden Portal (the abode of the Celestial Emperor) and descends to look upon Kunlun; lifespan is lengthened, ruler and ministers are brought into harmony, and the myriad people are without contention. The radiance of the Qi of the Dao (the breath of the Dao) shines forth, and Heaven and Earth are naturally harmonious.

Star Lord Wuqu, Chapter Six

Yuanjun said to Shengming: As sovereign of the people, if you set your resolve to seek my method, I will bestow upon you the De (Virtue/Power) of the celestial mechanism, strengthening your body and mind and lengthening your life, so that the state is secure, the people live in harmony, and lifespan is extended.

Within the twelve double-hours of a day, a person is sometimes joyful, sometimes fearful, sometimes happy, and often suffers. The human body is formed of bone, blood, and the like, and may also be understood through the Five Phases (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth). When the Five Phases flow smoothly, the myriad things can grow, and the Qi (vital energy) of the Dao (the Way)—the transformative circulation of the Dao—is likewise harmonious. If Metal and Wood run counter to each other and Water and Fire overcome each other, a person’s condition is not smooth; body and lifespan can hardly flourish; the Qi of the Dao is discordant; the household is unsettled; and calamity draws near. Even if Heaven and Earth cannot give aid, once a person is personally out of balance, every kind of misfortune follows.

Chapter Seven: Stellar Lord Pojun

Yuanjun said to Shengming: Seeking the method of the supreme sages is neither difficult nor easy; the key lies in a person’s own heart.

Pojun asked the Emperor, “Can one yet come to understand?” The Emperor replied, “Such an opportunity is very hard to meet, and it is not easy to grasp the principles spoken by the true immortals.”

Yuanjun said: What is round can become square, and what is square can become round. The human body is composed of the Four Greats (the basic constituents of the human body), and within them lies a profound and mysterious true method. In the twelve double-hours of each day, the left hand grasps the right and the right hand grasps the left, and one exhales nine times. When a great use is needed, take fire; when a small use is needed, take water. When a small use is needed, take fire; when a great use is needed, take water. Cultivated in this way, the practice can keep the body sound and healthy so that the hundred misfortunes do not arise, increase one’s years together with blessings and emolument, allow fortune and longevity to continue through the generations, bring peace and orderly calm to family and state, and let the Qi of the Dao become harmonious of itself.

Chapter Eight: The Northern Primordial Compendium of the Great Dao

The Beidou Yuanjun of the Great Dao (the Way), stellar deity of the Northern Dipper, universally admonishes the multitudes of heaven and of the human world, saying: Accumulating a myriad of good deeds brings good causes; committing many evil acts means bearing the corresponding bitter fruits. Those who do evil are often driven by external things, drifting through the cycle of birth and death and sinking into the sea of suffering.

Those who cultivate the Great Dao, by contrast, can constantly become masters of the myriad things, unshaken by the rise and decline of the four seasons. I return the myriad things to emptiness and stillness, and do not let external things entangle me. Those who are stirred by external things give rise to craving and anger, just as clouds and mist sweep across the moon, or as the bank seems to move when a boat moves; to cling to external things will in the end harm oneself. One should understand these two principles: the mind must transcend external things and not be bound by them. In this way, ruler and minister each find their joy, the common people suffer no hardship, the state is clear, still, and at peace, ghosts and spirits submit in reverence, fruit trees flourish, the five grains yield abundant harvests, the sun and moon lend their aid, the stars extend their protection, the Qi (vital energy) of the Dao—its primordial energy—shines with brilliant light, and heaven and earth are naturally peaceful and harmonious.

Beiyuan Tongzhang, Chapter Nine

The emperor asked the Yuanjun: “The superior immortals have charge of the name-registers of the celestial realm and patrol day and night—what, in the end, do they administer? How many bureaus (administrative offices) are there? I see the radiance of the sun and moon and the movement of the stars, arrayed as constellations, yet I do not understand the principle in this. I earnestly beg that the Yuanjun’s auspicious cloud-carriage linger long, and that the crane-like steps pause for a while, so that divine light may shine upon us. If I can understand the Dao of the superior immortals, I shall not forget this day’s encounter with a lofty Perfected (an exalted immortal who has attained the Dao). I wish to enjoin all under heaven to build palaces and abbeys, that they may long serve as ancestral temples, and to compile the name-registers of the Daoist teaching.”

Beiyuan Tongzhang, Chapter Ten

The Yuanjun said: “Above, I administer the ranked immortals of the various heavens; in the middle, I administer the ghosts and spirits of the Five Marchmounts and the Four Rivers (the great rivers of the four directions); below, I administer the specters of the underworld, the jailers of Fengdu (the legendary capital of the netherworld), and the work of compiling the registers of the Dao.”

Yuanjun said, “I preside over the immortals of the many heavens in the upper realm, the ghosts and spirits of the Five Sacred Peaks and the Four Great Rivers in the middle realm, and the shades of the underworld courts and the jailers of Fengdu in the lower realm. Within the Three Realms, all living beings—whether born from the womb, from eggs, from moisture, or by transformation—fall under my authority. In the human world, through each day and night, birth and death succeed one another without cease. Poverty or honor, wisdom or dullness, the length of the fated spans of ghosts and spirits, the increase or decrease of lifespans, disaster and violent harm, together with jailers and prisoners, the dragon spirits who send rain, the abundance or scarcity of the five grains, the illnesses of the people, and the affairs of mountains, rivers, waters, and lands—all must pass the scrutiny of the three thousand six hundred bureau lords in the archives of the Northern Prime. Through one day and one night, there is not the slightest error. Heaven and Earth show no partiality; good and evil each meet with their corresponding results.”

Northern Prime Governing Chapter Eleven

The Emperor asked Yuanjun further, “Within the Three Realms, every kind of animal falls under Yuanjun’s jurisdiction. I, as sovereign of the people—am I also governed by the higher immortals?”

Yuanjun replied, “The immortals of the many heavens and the star marshals of the Celestial Net (the divine generals who command the constellations of the heavenly realm) are all registered and administered by me—how much more so are you! Formerly, in the Primordial Heaven, you served as Tianpeng, Chief Marshal of the North. While seated in that place you gave rise to a thought of the strange and illusory scenes of the human world. No sooner had this thought arisen than you were born as a sovereign among humankind. Now you have forgotten that former thought and come into accord with the sacred Dao (the Way), and so you have been able to meet us and realize the root of the Dao. The moment you suddenly grew clear and still, the Qi of the Dao (the primordial vital energy of the Dao) of itself restored your original mind. In the future, should your heavenly blessings be complete and your merit and virtue fulfilled, when you meet Tianpeng once more you may still return to the rank of Lord of Heaven.”

Northern Prime Governing Chapter Twelve

The Emperor said, “I see that Yuanjun’s countenance is joyful, and my heart is at ease. Today the assembled ministers and my kindred have all grasped the intention of turning toward the Dao. In the future, should heavenly blessings be complete and merit and virtue fulfilled, when I meet Tianpeng once more I may still return to the rank of Lord of Heaven.”

The Celestial Emperor said, “I see that the Yuanjun’s countenance is joyful, and this truly gladdens me. Today the ministers and their households have all been able to meet the exalted immortal and to hear the root and the full course, from beginning to end, of the great Dao (the Way). I respectfully follow this teaching, cultivating every kind of good deed throughout the twelve double-hours, and returning once more to the original source of the great Dao. I worry only that the common people do not know by what means they may lengthen their years, remove their transgressions, increase their blessings, and dissolve calamity.”

The Yuanjun of the Northern Chronogram of the Great Dao (the Lord of the North Pole Star) said, “I possess divine power, and I also possess divine spells. Whenever the people meet with danger, the suffering of illness, fear, or entanglement by adversaries and privately pray to be delivered; when they encounter strange portents such as the crying of crows, wangliang and chimei (the mountain and river sprites of legend), orphaned souls and lingering spirits, or the ghosts of those who died in battle, by drowning, by hanging, or from wounds; when they suffer curses laid upon the fields, epidemics sent by celestial talismans, or the assault of pestilence; when, in childbirth, mother and child can scarcely both come through in safety; or when the ghosts and spirits of the City God and the altar temples fall from their proper station, and mediums practice rites of suppression and prayer to avert misfortune, recklessly employing methods contrary to the right order and thereby calling forth every kind of inauspiciousness; and likewise amid the kalpic calamities of heaven and earth, poor harvests of the five grains, and similar circumstances—in all these one may pray for disaster to be dispelled. Those who seek rank, fame, and profit, or who seek children, may also, on gengshen days and jiazi days, and on the day each month when the Northern Dipper descends, bathe and purify themselves, face north and burn incense, and with sincere heart write my name and title together with ‘□□□□□□□ Star.’ Then the host of demons will perish of themselves, the hundred calamities will disperse of their own accord, and all affairs will turn auspicious, attaining qian yuan heng li zhen (the auspicious formula of the Classic of Changes, meaning that the course of Heaven proceeds smoothly and all matters prosper), in good fortune and peace. Should any ghost or demon refuse to submit, let its head be broken into seven parts. The command: Om hum zhan ba—swiftly, swiftly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!”

Northern Prime Unified Chapter Thirteen.

Yuanjun (the Primordial Lord) says: If living beings meet with danger, illness, and suffering, blocked at every turn and unable to find a way out, then the men and women of the household, parents, relatives and friends, or old acquaintances may, also in response to the seasons of Heaven and the movement of Qi (vital energy), fast, keep ritual purity, and bathe together. At midnight, in the zi hour, facing north—or standing instead in the center of the courtyard—they should write seven memorial petitions, submit them to the Celestial Bureau (the offices of the heavenly realm), and recite my name. On the petitions they should write my title: “□□□□□□□ Star.” In the Celestial Bureau under me, each Stellar Lord commands three thousand six hundred stellar officials, thirty-six thousand divine lords, and the Four Duty Merit Officers (divine clerks who keep watch by the hours and transmit documents). They will at once present the memorials at the Golden Portal (the palace gates of the Celestial Emperor). Every calamity, adversity, and long-enduring hardship will withdraw, and evil ghosts will be destroyed. Those who do not believe will have their heads split into seven pieces.

In the Celestial Bureau under Yuanjun’s command, each Stellar Lord commands three thousand six hundred stellar officials, thirty-six thousand divine lords, and the Four Duty Merit Officers. They will at once present the memorials at the Golden Portal, so that every calamity, adversity, and long-enduring hardship withdraws and evil ghosts are destroyed. Those who do not believe will have their heads split into seven pieces.

Yuanjun commands: Demon-souls, O demon-souls, be destroyed! Ǎn hōng zhǎn bá—carry this out at once in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

Northern Primordial Unified Chapter Fourteen

Yuanjun says: If sprites such as the wangliang and the chimei, together with souls of the dead that will not disperse, weep day and night, fill people with terror, bring on calamity, endanger human life, drain blood and flesh, frighten boys and girls, and cause every kind of distress that disturbs the living, then one should fast, keep ritual purity, and bathe at home, and write my title: “□□□□□□□ Star.” I command that every demonic evil destroy itself and that all manner of calamities disperse of themselves, so that everything returns to qian yuan heng li zhen (a phrase from the Classic of Changes, signifying auspiciousness and smooth good fortune) and to peace and harmony. If the various ghosts and specters do not submit in belief, their heads will split into seven pieces. The command: Ǎn hōng zhǎn bá—carry this out at once in accordance with the statutes and ordinances! Write “□□□□□□□ Star.” I command that every demonic evil destroy itself and that all manner of calamities disperse of themselves, so that everything returns to auspiciousness and all affairs are peaceful and harmonious. If the various ghosts and specters do not submit in belief, their heads will split into seven pieces. The command: Ǎn hōng zhǎn bá—carry this out at once in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

Northern Primordial Unified Chapter Fifteen

The Yuanjun (Primordial Lord) said: If someone is cursed by an enemy, has their name buried, or has forbidden talismanic characters written against them; or if someone fashions an effigy of straw or wood and a wizard, defying proper law, works evil arts, so that all manner of ill omens arise and dreams turn strange and upside down; or if unclear claims to fields and property, a falling-out among friends, affection turned to harm, the torment of imprisonment, or oppression by officials who prey on the people leave one trapped in such straits with no way out—then, so long as one makes a vow with a sincere heart and recites my name, “□□□□□□□ Star,” the Qi (vital energy) of the Dao (the Way), its breath and power, will at once descend upon the body, and every calamity will immediately disperse. I command Marshal Tianpeng, the Four-Eyed Elder, and eighty thousand celestial soldiers and stalwarts to come and protect them. Standing thirty-six zhang tall, they shake bells and issue commands, intoning: “Ǎn, Hōng—cut and smite! Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.”

Beiyuan Tongzhang (Northern Primordial Unified Chapters), Chapter Sixteen

The Yuanjun said: If the realm is unsettled and calamities strike one after another from all four quarters; or if one encounters the destined disasters of Heaven and Earth, the celestial dragon sends rain yet the soil cannot bring crops to maturity, the five grains fail, famine continues year after year, the age is in turmoil, sovereigns go to war, bandits rise in swarms, fires break out on every side, floods inundate and sweep all away, and the roads are cut off—then sovereigns, ministers, and common people alike should each make a vow with a sincere heart, observe pure fasting and bathing (abstinence and ritual cleansing of the body), and prepare seven vermilion memorials (petitions written with a vermilion brush), each setting forth their own circumstances and bearing my name, “□□□□□□□ Star.” If at midnight, in the hour of zi, they pay homage to me three times, the Four Duty Envoys (divine officers who keep watch by the hours and transmit documents) will swiftly deliver the memorials to the gates of the Golden Palace (the palaces of the celestial court). The star officials will then render judgment. I command the Great Sage Tianpeng Zhenwu of the North, the Four-Eyed Elder, and eighty thousand celestial soldiers and stalwarts to come and protect them. Standing thirty-six zhang tall, they shake bells and issue commands, intoning: “Ǎn, Hōng—cut and smite! Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.”

Beiyuan Tongzhang (Northern Primordial Unified Chapters), Chapter Seventeen

The Yuanjun said: If someone lives in a village, the open wilderness, or some such place, ...

The Yuanjun (Primordial Sovereign) said: If someone living in a village or in the open wilds, or within the walls of a prefectural or county town, or in its streets and lanes, encounters a pestilence brought on by a celestial warrant, and the host of spirits of the Five Pestilences spread poisonous sickness so that every kind of epidemic Qi (vital energy) runs rife, all of this is administered separately, by direction and by prefecture and county, through the merit officers and the Grand Year recorded in my registers of the Seven Primordials, together with the divine clerks who preside over the year, the month, the day, and the hour in question, each according to a fixed allotment. Some illnesses break out in the morning and bring death by evening, leaving people frightened and uneasy, with nowhere to pray or to confess their faults.

If there are pure companions of the Dao (the Way), or men and women who believe in the Dao with sincere devotion, and each of them, with a true heart, burns incense, faces north, performs three acts of worship, and recites my name … star, the four duty merit officers will submit the petition at the gates of the Golden Portal. I shall command Marshal Tianpeng, the Four-Eyed Elder, and eighty thousand celestial soldiers and strongmen to descend into the world, seize the registers of the celestial warrants of the Five Pestilences, and swiftly bring peace and harmony to every household, advantage in every affair, and prosperity to the family gate, so that the Qi of the Dao circulates of itself. The bell is shaken and the command given: Om! Hum! Slash and expel! Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

Northern Primordial Unifying Chapter, the Eighteenth

The Yuanjun said: If there are devotees who sincerely believe in the Dao, or ordinary people … the Qi of the Dao circulates of itself. The bell is shaken and the command given: Om! Hum! Slash and expel! Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

Northern Primordial Unifying Chapter, the Eighteenth

The Yuanjun said: If devotees who sincerely believe in the Dao, or ordinary people, have no offspring, then on every Gengshen and Jiazi day, and on days when the Perfected of the Dipper descend or that are connected with one’s personal destiny, they should burn incense and observe purification and abstinence, reciting my true scripture (Jing) and my name … star. Through all twelve double-hours the incense and the lamps must not be allowed to fail, and fresh flowers, tea, and fruit should be offered continuously. One may persist for seven times seven days, forty-nine in all, or for one hundred days. In this way good fortune will be obtained, and the joy of bearing children will arrive.

Keeping the registers in the Celestial Bureau, I record a grade according to each person’s circumstances and bestow an intelligent boy, granting him a lifespan of one hundred years, free of calamity and obstruction, pure and possessed of De (Virtue/Power), to assist the sovereign; or I may assign someone to the Dao of Kun, so that a girl of regular features and exceptional fortune and virtue is born. This is the result of divine power acting freely of itself. I command that the primordial Qi between Heaven and Earth be harmonious and freely pervasive. Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

The Yuanjun (Primordial Sovereign) said: Some people have parents, brothers, wives, sons and daughters, and other kin who were seized and thrown into prison and died under punishment; or who fought and killed one another while contending over wealth and sensual allure, long sunk in suffering and unable to be reborn; or who, in childbirth, were parted as mother and child and after death had nowhere to rely, lingering long in the dark underworld (Youming), their solitary souls unable to disperse and never having received deliverance, sunk in the ghostly destiny (the path of ghosts), not knowing when they might escape. These departed souls depend entirely on their kin’s sincere faith and prayers for salvation.

When a Gengshen day or a Jiazi day arrives—days that Daoism regards as suitable for cultivation—kin may, at the zi hour in the middle of the night, sincerely burn incense, recite the Yuanjun’s sacred name, “□□□□□□□ Star,” set forth the true circumstances of the deceased, face north, and perform toward the Yuanjun the rite of three sets of three bows. The Yuanjun will then call upon the duty officers beneath the Golden Portal who are charged with transmitting memorials, together with the Four-Eyed Elder Xi (Simu Laoxi), and have them inform the Merit Officers Who Record Birth and the Primordial Chronograms Who Record Death—the divine clerks who keep the registers of life and death. According to the deceased’s allotted span, and in light of the karma they have made, these officers will help the deceased attain a higher rebirth. In the rite one shakes a bell and works the method, reciting spells such as “Ǎn hōng zhǎn fá; quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.”

Northern Primordial Unification Chapter, the Twentieth

The Yuanjun said: Some soldiers and civilians fight to the death in battle, binding one another in grievance and enmity, entangled and clashing, unable to be released. One may keep a fast and purify the mind, abstaining from wine, meat, and the five pungent plants (scallions, garlic, leeks, and other sharply fragrant vegetables), let the hair hang loose and go barefoot, face north, and recite the Yuanjun’s sacred name, “□□□□□□□ Star.” The Yuanjun will then issue orders to the Celestial Bureau (Tiancao), the office in heaven that manages affairs, dispatch Marshal Tianpeng, and command the Upper General of Xuanwu, the Great Sage Zhenwu, the Four-Eyed Elder Xi, and eighty-four thousand celestial soldiers and stalwarts to come. These celestial soldiers and stalwarts stand thirty-six zhang tall; they shake bells and work the method, reciting spells such as “Ǎn hōng zhǎn fá; quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances,” so as to help the departed souls undo their knots of grievance.

Primordial Unification Chapter, the Twenty-First

The Yuanjun says: When someone travels by boat on business and crosses rivers and streams, meeting shoals, wind, and waves so that the vessel can scarcely bear its cargo; or when one is at sea and for a long time no wind comes to carry the boat, day and night hard to tell apart, and one further encounters evil Jing (essences), jiao and shen (legendary water spirits), together with monsters, ghosts, and gods who raise the wind and work mischief, bringing obstruction and disaster—then one should at once write my name-title, “□□□□□□□ Star,” together with the Fulu (talismans and registers), and cast them into the water. I shall then command the celestial troops and mighty warriors, the local gods of water and of earth, Hebo (the River Earl, a water god), the water officials, and the City God together with the gods of temples and local shrines, to exert themselves in aid, so that the person may be freed from suffering and from evil spirits. If this is not believed, the head will split into seven pieces. Let peace come swiftly; let tranquility come swiftly. By the power of the imperial command: Om, Hum, Zhanba—quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

The True Talisman of the Most High for Rescue from Water Calamity

The Emperor commands the spirits and gods to manifest their response, so that the person may, in the Middle Heaven, be freed from suffering and from evil spirits. If this is not believed, the head will split into seven pieces. Let peace come swiftly; let tranquility come swiftly. By the power of the imperial command: Om, Hum, Zhanba—quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

The True Talisman of the Most High for Rescue from Water Calamity

The Emperor commands the spirits and gods to manifest their response: the Seven Perfected of the Middle Heaven (the seven perfected deities of the celestial realm). The divine talisman proceeds in obedience to the imperial proclamation and protects both person and boat in safety. Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances of the Great Emperor of the Northern Pole!

Beiyuan Tongzhang (Unified Chapters of the Northern Origin), Chapter Twenty-Two

The Yuanjun says: If there are men and women of pure, upright, and undefiled faith who for a long time keep the fast and observe the precepts, recite my name-title, “□□□□□□□ Star,” cultivate my methods, read my true Jing (scriptures), and continue in court worship for forty-nine days; or who throughout one lifetime and even across successive lives uphold the orthodox teaching and secretly accumulate De (Virtue/Power)—then in this present life they ought to ascend to the upper realm. The Tiancao (Celestial Bureau, the heavenly office that keeps the registers of names and administers rewards and punishments) has already recorded their merit.

When these people pass through villages, wards, and shrine-temples, they need not prostrate before the gods within the temples, for the gods are ill at ease and dare not receive their worship. The local ghosts and spirits are to be ordered to withdraw a thousand li and to retreat a thousand feet beneath the earth. If this is not believed, the head will split into seven pieces. By imperial command, let it be carried out swiftly: Om, Hum, Zhanba—quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

Beiyuan Tongzhang (Unified Chapters of the Northern Origin), Chapter Twenty-Three

Beidou Yuanjun (the stellar deity of the Northern Dipper) told the Celestial Emperor: When ordinary people perform the chaoyuan rite of homage—the ceremony of worship facing the deities—they should cleanse body and mind, so as to clear away the karmic obstacles accumulated in the past, still every kind of delusive thought and inverted notion, and harbor malice no longer. The foolish are to be regarded as one treasures a bright pearl in the palm; the pure and high-minded are to be regarded with the caution one shows a grain of sand in the eye, and must never be slighted or treated with disrespect.

If anyone’s heart and conduct are not good, or if that person has become entangled with enemies and kin of this life or of former lives, or if, through his or her own unwholesomeness, he or she meets with the death of wife and children, a lack of clothing and food, and no one to offer a recommendation; or again if household and realm are unsettled, if as common people they are burdened by the deeds of others, if they chase after fame and profit, and even in cases of relocating and reburying graves, breaking ground and undertaking construction, sending out troops to war, parents stricken with grave illness, calamities of flood and fire, the licentiousness of the wicked, or punishment at the hands of superiors—all such kinds of baleful misfortune—each should, with a sincere heart, observe purification and practice the Dao (the Way).

In the rite, one is to bathe in fragrant hot water, wear plain-colored garments and vermilion shoes, and prepare a wooden tablet one chi and two cun in length; the altar table is to be made of nanmu and coated with cinnabar; and an incense burner is to be prepared, seven cun and seven fen in height and two chi and four cun in length. One ascends to a high place, faces north, and with a sincere heart gazes afar toward the palace where Beidou Yuanjun resides, continuing until midnight, reciting the Yuanjun’s name and title, and performing the court homage three times, with three bows each time. From the first to the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, for seven days and seven nights without interruption, the rite is carried out with devotion: incense and lamps are set out, and one knocks the head to the ground in worship.

After the first court homage of three bows, one rises, takes the wooden tablet in hand, and states one’s intention, saying: “Your servant respectfully addresses Beidou Yuanjun and the stellar lodges of all the heavens; pray clearly perceive my sincere heart. Your servant sets out incense and lamps and knocks the head to the ground in worship.”

After the court homage of three bows is performed once more, one rises, takes the wooden tablet in hand, and states one’s intention, saying: “Your servant respectfully addresses Beidou Yuanjun and the stellar lodges of all the heavens; pray clearly examine Heaven and Earth, so that all ghosts and spirits, the hosts of heavenly dragons, and the common people of the world may each have the Qi (vital energy) of the Dao long enduring, and so that the myriad things of Heaven and Earth may of themselves be peaceful and in harmony.”

At the second worship of the Northern Dipper, after the rite of three bows, the disciple addresses the Primordial Lord of the Northern Dipper: This disciple’s parents passed away many years ago. I fear they have fallen into the dark netherworld, enduring the sufferings of hell, long sunk upon the path of ghosts, subject to the charges of the underworld offices, and unable to gain release and be reborn. Because of this, this disciple has also had no opportunity to repay the grace of Heaven and Earth, the kindness with which parents nurture their children, or the grace of instruction received from friends and teachers.

It is further stated: If this disciple’s parents are still among the living, I earnestly beg the Primordial Lord to employ the Qi (vital energy) of the officials and perfected beings of the upper realm, to look afar with the eye of wisdom, and to grant this disciple one chance to repay that kindness, so that relatives still in this world may receive blessing and protection, and those already deceased may transcend and be reborn; and I also wish that the kin may long remain close to Daoism and forever leave the realm of suffering.

At the third worship of the Northern Dipper, after the rite of three bows, the disciple addresses the Primordial Lord of the Northern Dipper: May this disciple’s living relatives receive blessing and protection, the deceased relatives transcend and be reborn, and the kin long remain close to Daoism and forever leave the realm of suffering.

At the third worship of the Northern Dipper, after the rite of three bows, the disciple addresses the Primordial Lord of the Northern Dipper: This disciple is only a mortal of the lower world. The allotment of life is governed by the upper realm, and the perfected immortals are charged with entering names in the registers. This disciple is often short of clothing and food; wealth and grain are continually lost without apparent cause, and undertakings are hard to bring to success. This disciple fears that this comes from karmic offenses accumulated from former lives down to the present, yet has had no way to set forth the case and confess those faults. Now, having had the good fortune to encounter the canonical methods of Daoism transmitted by the perfected immortals, I offer worship in accordance with the Keyi (liturgy) and ritual propriety. I earnestly beg the Primordial Lord to bestow upon this disciple a hundred blessings and a thousand auspicious signs, so that all affairs may proceed smoothly and reach fulfillment, and so that all things may each obtain what is fitting. This disciple knocks the head and bows once more.

Chapter Twenty-Four of the Beiyuan Tongzhang.

The Yuanjun once again told the Emperor: at the zi hour of midnight on the ninth day of the ninth month, the rite of paying homage to the Yuanjun should be performed. All who take refuge in this method, propagate the teaching in the world, and instruct and govern the beings of all under heaven may, by means of this method, deliver hungry ghosts, animals, and beings that are womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born, as well as prisoners and those suffering in the hells, helping them escape every kind of suffering. On the night of the ninth day of the ninth month, offenses and merits are registered. This is the moment when the deities of the Northern Dipper (Beidou) deliver beings in suffering and record sins and blessings, and it is also the time when the exalted perfected in the Imperial Chariot of the Northern Dipper (the venerable deities of the Northern Dipper) verify the registers. They record people’s clothing and food, fortune and emolument, poverty and wealth, nobility and low station, and the differing circumstances of bondservants and miscellaneous laborers; all of these are fixed and registered in the ninth month, and the records of good and evil are without error.

I set forth the teaching of this Jing (scripture/classic) so that the living beings of the world, ghosts and spirits, the common people, and beings that are womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born, together with hungry ghosts, may all receive instruction. If kings, ministers, soldiers, commoners, and every kind of person in the human world follow my teaching and pay homage on the night of the ninth day of the ninth month, I will, in the Yuan Palace (the immortal palace where the Yuanjun dwells), carefully verify the registers of names, determine whether they may be entered among the southern ranks of the immortals, and arrange the place of rebirth according to each one’s wish, settling even the finest distinctions. If they seek the methods of the Dao (the Way), the Dao of Heaven, upon hearing, will respond to what is sought; if they seek clothing and food or office and noble rank, they will obtain abundant blessings and emoluments, their own Dao-Qi (the vital energy of life that accords with the Dao) will long endure, and the myriad things will of themselves proceed smoothly.

At the zi hour of midnight on the first day of the ninth month, one should pay homage to the Star Lord Tanlang of the first palace of the Northern Dipper (the stellar deity of the first star of the Northern Dipper). Under the Star Lord Tanlang’s authority are three hundred and sixty stellar officials, three hundred and sixty bureaus, and three thousand six hundred departmental officers. He wears blue-green robes and a blue-green crown and vermilion shoes, and holds a blue-green tablet; there are also three thousand six hundred youths, dressed in blue-green, holding blue-green banners and bearing a floral canopy (the umbrella-canopy of the ceremonial regalia), who stand in attendance on the right. These regalia and the color blue-green symbolize the direction and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) attribute of Eastern Jia-Yi Wood.

The Tanlang Star Lord, one of the Star Lords of the Northern Dipper, presides over the judgment of affairs in the world of the living and the underworld. We pray to the Tanlang Star Lord of the Northern Dipper to register properly the births and deaths of all living beings in the human world and to treat acts of goodness with fairness. May the ruler of the state enjoy long life, may the ministers of the court serve with full loyalty, and may people live with one another in harmony and ease, spared exile, assignment to service on the frontier, or execution. May everyone be born in peace and come to a good end, never losing the heart that turns toward the Dao (the Way); may the clear and harmonious Qi (vital energy) long endure, and may the myriad things follow their natural course. Such a person may thereby accumulate three thousand six hundred and ninety portions of merit, and karmic offenses will gradually be eliminated. This command must be carried out at once.

On the second day of the ninth month, at the zi hour in the middle of the night, one pays homage to the Jumen Star Lord of the Second Palace of the Northern Dipper, one of the Star Lords of the Northern Dipper, who presides over longevity. The affairs of the human world under his charge include three hundred and sixty stellar officials, three hundred and sixty bureaus, and three thousand six hundred departmental officers. His attendants wear yellow caps and yellow robes, with red shoes on their feet, and hold yellow tablets in their hands. There are also three thousand six hundred youths, dressed in yellow and holding yellow banners, who symbolize the central Wu-Ji Earth—the Earth that, among the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), represents the central direction—and stand in attendance on the right.

The Jumen Star Lord presides over the judgment of affairs in the world of the living and the underworld. Your servant is clad in a yellow robe, wears red shoes, and holds a yellow tablet; there are also three thousand six hundred youths, dressed in yellow and holding yellow banners, who symbolize the central Wu-Ji Earth and stand in attendance on the right.

The Jumen Star Lord presides over the judgment of affairs in the world of the living and the underworld. We pray to the Jumen Star Lord of the Northern Dipper to register properly the just performance of good deeds in the human world. May the sovereign enjoy long life, may worthy ministers assist the state, and may people live with one another in harmony and ease, spared exile, assignment to service on the frontier, or execution. May everyone be born in peace and come to a good end, never losing the heart that turns toward the Dao; may the clear and harmonious Qi long endure, and may the myriad things follow their natural course. Such a person should be able to accumulate five thousand one hundred and seventy merits, and karmic offenses will be eliminated. This command must be carried out at once.

On the third day of the ninth lunar month, at the zi hour (midnight), one pays homage to the Stellar Lord Lucun of the third palace of the Northern Dipper, one of the stellar deities of the Northern Dipper. The Stellar Lord Lucun governs the fates of the orphaned and widowed, the lame, the blind, and others of their kind in the human world, and commands three hundred and sixty stellar officials, three hundred and sixty bureaus, and three thousand six hundred clerk-officials. The clerk-officials wear black caps and black robes, hold black tablets, and wear vermilion shoes; another three thousand six hundred youths, dressed in black and holding black banners, stand in attendance on the right. This ceremonial retinue corresponds to the direction and attributes of northern ren-gui Water.

The Stellar Lord Lucun adjudicates the affairs of the world of the living and the netherworld. The supplicant petitions the Stellar Lord Lucun: may the stellar lord impartially record the births and deaths of the human world, so that people may be spared imprisonment and death, as well as the sufferings of orphanhood and widowhood, poverty, and the extinction of the family estate; may people not lose the mind of the Dao (the Way), so that pure Qi (vital energy)—the clear and harmonious breath of which Daoism speaks—may long endure, and the myriad things follow their natural course. In this way one may accumulate five thousand one hundred merits and remove obstacles of sin, closing with the formula “quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances,” which signifies that the petitioned command is to be carried out at once.

On the fourth day of the ninth month, at the zi hour, one pays homage to the Stellar Lord Wenqu of the fourth palace of the Northern Dipper, one of the stellar deities of the Northern Dipper. The Stellar Lord Wenqu governs success and failure in the human world, and commands three hundred and sixty stellar officials, three hundred and sixty bureaus, and three thousand six hundred clerk-officials. The clerk-officials wear black caps and black robes, hold black tablets, and wear vermilion shoes; another three thousand six hundred youths, dressed in black and holding black banners, stand in attendance on the right. This ceremonial retinue likewise corresponds to the direction and attributes of northern ren-gui Water.

The Stellar Lord Wenqu adjudicates the affairs of the world of the living and the netherworld. The supplicant petitions the Stellar Lord Wenqu: may the stellar lord impartially record the births, deaths, and other affairs of the human world, so that people may be spared the calamities of licentiousness, inconstant success and failure, imprisonment, death, and extinction; may people not lose the mind of the Dao, so that pure Qi may long endure and the myriad things follow their natural course. In this way one may accumulate three thousand three hundred merits and extinguish obstacles of sin, and, with the formula “quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances,” petition that the command be carried out at once.

On the fifth day of the ninth month, at midnight in the zi hour, one pays homage to the Star Lord Lianzhen of the fifth palace of the Beidou (Northern Dipper). The gongcao are spirit-officials who administer affairs and belong to the Fire star; under his command are three hundred and sixty stellar officials, three hundred and sixty bureaus, and three thousand six hundred clerk-officials. They wear scarlet robes and red crowns, hold vermilion tablets, and wear red shoes. There are also three thousand six hundred youths, dressed in scarlet and holding red banners, who symbolize the Bing-Ding fire of the south and stand in attendance at the Star Lord’s right.

The Star Lord Lianzhen examines affairs of the Yin realm and the Yang realm and has charge of calamities in the human world connected with wind and fire. The petitioner prays to him: may the Star Lord duly record the matters of life, death, and disaster among humankind, so that people may be spared imprisonment, fires may be eliminated, prefectures and commanderies may be protected in peace, no ominous calamities may appear in the household, and people may remain safe and healthy; may the deities also guard the gates, so that public and private affairs alike proceed smoothly and good things are often encountered. One further prays that people will not forget the heart intent on cultivating the Dao (the Way), that pure Qi (vital energy) will long endure, and that the myriad things will each follow their own nature. In this way the petitioner should receive three thousand three hundred merits, and every transgression will be eliminated. The closing phrase “jiji ru lüling” is a Daoist formula in the manner of a legal decree, meaning that the command must be carried out at once.

On the sixth day of the ninth month, at midnight in the zi hour, one pays homage to the Star Lord Wuqu of the sixth palace of the Beidou. The Star Lord Wuqu has charge of gold, silver, grain, and material wealth in the human world. Under his command are three hundred and sixty stellar officials, three hundred and sixty bureaus, and three thousand six hundred clerk-officials. They wear white robes and plain crowns, hold white tablets, and wear vermilion shoes, each carrying documents and registers. There are also three thousand six hundred youths, dressed in white and holding white banners, who symbolize the Geng-Xin metal of the west and stand in attendance at the Star Lord’s right.

The Lord of the Wuqu Star presides over the judgment of affairs in the world of the living and the netherworld. Your servant respectfully petitions the Lord of the Wuqu Star of the Northern Dipper: May you skillfully register the wealth and property of the human world, so that people learn to benefit others and do not give rise to thoughts of harming them, and so that they may be spared the mingling of calamities such as imprisonment and death. We pray that the true deity of the Northern Dipper bestow blessings, causing the natal star to send down auspiciousness, so that clothing, food, and official emoluments increase and the Yuanchen—a person’s natal star—jointly extends protection. We further pray for divine shelter, so that people do not lose the heart of the Dao (the Way), so that clear and luminous Qi (vital energy) endures, and so that the myriad things follow their natural course. Such a person should obtain two thousand four hundred merits, and the obstacles of sinful karma should be removed. Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

On the night of the seventh day of the ninth month, at the zi hour of midnight, one pays homage to the Lord of the Pojun Star of the Seventh Palace of the Northern Dipper. The Lord of the Pojun Star is charged with registering matters in the human world that involve injury, violence, punitive killing, beheading, and imprisonment. Under his authority he commands three hundred and sixty stellar officials, three hundred and sixty bureaus, and three thousand six hundred departmental officers. They wear white robes and plain caps, hold white tablets, and wear vermilion shoes. There are also three thousand six hundred youths, dressed in white and holding white banners. These ceremonial attendants correspond to the west and to the seasonal timing of the stems geng and xin, which belong to Metal; they are also linked to the stellar palaces and lunar lodges that correspond to the generation and transformation, the flourishing and the decline, of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in heaven, earth, and the human world, and they are responsible for spreading auspicious signs and attending on the right.

The Star Lord Pojun presides over the pivot of the Dipper (the hinge of Beidou, the Northern Dipper) and is charged with judging the affairs of the world of the living and of the netherworld. Your servant respectfully memorializes and prays to the Star Lord Pojun of the Northern Dipper, together with the Heavenly Lord Tiangang, Great Sage and Dharma King; the Venerable Star Lord of the Imperial Seat of the Inner Enclosure; the Lord of Longevity and Emolument, Terrace Aide of the Outer Enclosure; the Lord Who Prolongs Life and Protects Destiny; the Lord Who Delivers from Adversity and Dispels Calamity; the Lord Who Upholds Those in Decline and Scatters Misfortune; the Lord Who Increases the Allotted Years and Brings Harmonious Balance; the Generals of the Seven Primordials; the Celestial Empresses of the Nine Palaces; and the other deities. Your servant first prays to be pardoned for every fault and offense of past lives and of this life, and next prays for the deliverance of ancestors, deceased kin, and the souls of the dead bound to your servant by grievance, that they may be freed from the suffering of lingering in the netherworld. May your servant be spared affliction, ever meet with good conditions, and remain untouched by calamities of every kind; may spirit-essences rest calm and settled, whatever is sought be gained, and wherever one goes, all proceed smoothly.

Your servant further prays that the deities beneath the Palace of Pojun duly register the allotted destinies of the people of the world, so that the many disasters of injury, violence, confinement, imprisonment, and death do not come to trouble them. Your servant still prays for Heaven’s protection, that your servant may not lose the heart of the Dao (the Way), that clear and harmonious Qi (vital energy) may ever abide, and that the myriad things may of themselves come into harmony. Whether trading from a shop or traveling abroad to trade, may public and private affairs alike be auspicious and smooth, descendants flourish and prosper, and all matters be endowed with De (Virtue/Power) in its aspects of prosperous success, smooth favor, suitability, and correct firmness. Such a person ought to obtain three thousand eight hundred merits. In strict accordance with the celestial statutes, let this be carried out at once!

On the eighth day of the ninth month, at the zi hour, one pays court to the Star Lord Zuofu (Left Assistant) of the Eighth Palace of the Northern Dipper. The Star Lord Zuofu is charged with judging the affairs of the world of the living and of the netherworld, and with entering the name-registers of servants in the human world. Under him are three hundred and sixty stellar officials and three hundred and sixty bureau officials, each holding the written registers and managing the allotted destinies, life and death, and spans of life of the servants and horses of the world. Your servant prays to the Star Lord Zuofu of the Northern Dipper, asking that he duly register the allotted destinies of the servants of the human world, so that people may be spared the calamities of imprisonment and death; may people retain their human form, may clear and harmonious Qi circulate of itself, and may all affairs be harmonious and smooth.

On the ninth day of the ninth month, at the zi hour, one pays court to the Assistant Star Lord of the Northern Dipper, praying that he duly register the allotted destinies of the servants of the human world, so that people may be spared the calamities of imprisonment and death; may people retain their human form, may clear and harmonious Qi circulate of itself, and may all affairs be harmonious and smooth.

On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, at midnight in the zi hour, one pays homage to the Stellar Lord of the Right Assistant (Youbi Xingjun) of the ninth palace of the Northern Dipper, one of the stellar officials of the Northern Dipper. The Stellar Lord of the Right Assistant adjudicates the affairs of the world of the living and the netherworld and registers the name-rolls of servants and slaves in the human world. Within his bureau he oversees three hundred and sixty stellar officials and three hundred and sixty clerical officials (divine clerks charged with documentary affairs), each of whom keeps the registers and is responsible for recording the commissions, lifespans, and fixed allotments of life and death of servants and slaves throughout the world. One prays that the Stellar Lord of the Right Assistant may properly register the life-registers of human servants, so that they may be spared the sufferings of confinement and imprisonment, may not lose their human form between life and death, that clear and harmonious Qi (vital energy) may long endure, that the myriad things may follow their natural course, and that all affairs may be brought into harmony.

By command of the Supreme Thearch (Shangdi), I issue this Fulu dispatch (talismanic warrant) and summon the True Lord Who Receives Affairs, Celestial Talisman Marshal of All Heaven, together with the plague-spreading demon kings who take turns in twelve-year rotation; the hosts of the Five Plagues of the eastern Wood Jing (essence), under the stems Jia and Yi; the hosts of the Five Plagues of the southern Fire Jing, under Bing and Ding; the hosts of the Five Plagues of the western Metal Jing, under Geng and Xin; the hosts of the Five Plagues of the northern Water Jing, under Ren and Gui; and the hosts of the Five Plagues of the central Earth Jing, under Wu and Ji. Also summoned are every kind of ghost and Shen (spirit) throughout the world that acts under orders, the spirit-kings of the twenty-four Qi (vital energies), and the demon kings of the seventy-two seasonal pentads. All plague-spreading ghosts and spirits governed by the Dongyuan Sanmei stand ready for dispatch.

If the seasonal fortunes of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) clash—when Metal and Wood overcome each other, the people suffer beheading and exile; when Water and Fire overcome each other, the people die violent deaths or are harmed by tigers and wolves; when Water and Earth overcome each other, the people die of yellowing illness, or are even burned by fire. For such calamities and anomalies arising in a locality, I command the demon hosts to descend year by year and month by month, to go separately to the prefectures and counties, and to patrol the Daoist abbeys, Buddhist monasteries, and common households of each place, examining people’s faults and their store of blessing. If anyone does not practice the good law, that person is to be struck down by celestial thunder, or punished by burning and by flood.

Whether officials or the wealthy, if they accumulate not the least good deed, but instead constantly do evil and suppress the worthy and good; or if clerks, jailers, village heads, and the like abuse the king’s law and use wickedness to oppress the good, so that the common people have nowhere to cry out and their superiors fail to investigate—then, for all who refuse to do good, I command Simu Laofang Yaoling Zhanbazha to lead the hosts of the Five Plagues, moving back and forth through the human world to carry out punishment. If anyone does not revere my statutes, but slights, mocks, or insults them, that person will be utterly destroyed and die.

The Yuanjun further said to the Emperor: “Every year, on the ninth day of the ninth month, at the zi hour of midnight, if someone on that day leads the whole household in fasting and purification and in practicing the Dao (the Way), wearing clean, plain garments, preparing various celebrated incenses and plain-colored memorials (documents used to petition the deities), bows three times in succession to the Northern Dipper, and states and recites prayers according to each person’s wishes, I will personally examine the matter in the Palace of the Seven Primordials (the palace of the stellar lords of the Northern Dipper).

Beneath the Golden Portal of the celestial palace are perfected officials on duty who are responsible for the year, month, day, and hour, together with the divine clerks who handle affairs among the celestial officers. At the proper time they report what this person has memorialized and the words that have been set forth, swiftly distinguishing good from evil and assessing merit and fault. The living may have their lifespan increased; blessings and official fortune arrive of themselves, and descendants through the generations may receive this favor. The dead may ascend to the celestial realms, leave suffering behind, and be reborn on a good path. If one seeks fame and profit, these are obtained according to what is deserved; if one seeks redress of a grievance, the case is sent to the judges of the Mount Tai bureau in the underworld and transferred to the Bureau of Swift Report for verification and disposition.

Heaven and Earth are impartial and without selfishness. If the ruler of a state sets up an altar and pays homage to the Northern Dipper, every region of the realm will be at peace, distant lands will come to court, the five grains will be abundant, fruit trees will flourish, the people will live in harmony, Heaven and Earth will protect them, and the stars will respond with reverence. If a person who cultivates the Dao in purity and stillness sincerely pays homage to the Northern Dipper, the ward where that person dwells will not meet with various demonic calamities. If this person devoutly accumulates merit and pays homage for one, two, or three years, or for a full eighteen years, the Nine Mysterious and Seven Ancestors (nine generations of ancestors and seven generations of kindred) can all be delivered and reborn in good places, and kin still living in the world can also receive blessed recompense. If anyone does not believe in and revere my teaching, that person’s head will split into seven parts and life will be cut off.”

Chapter 25: The Charge of the Northern Dipper

Cultivators of the highest rank forget the bodily form and devote themselves wholly to seeking the true meaning of the Great Dao. The Great Dao is mysterious and subtle; it presides over all under Heaven and changes with the circumstances of things so as to respond to them. It can cause the numinous tortoise to manifest forms, observe affairs, and foretell good and ill fortune; it can also cause sweet rain to descend from Heaven and universally moisten the myriad things.

Chapter 25: The Charge of the Northern Dipper

Those of superior spiritual capacity who seek the Dao (the Way) forget bodily form and outward desires, and pursue the Dao’s true nature and profound subtlety. The Dao governs the world and carries out its teaching in step with the transformations of things; it can also manifest omens, discern affairs, and foretell good and ill fortune. Heaven sends down sweet rain that nourishes all things universally. The Dao benefits the people of the world and comes to the aid of living beings, yet it makes no display of itself and appears naturally. Heaven and Earth embrace and nurture the myriad things. This is what the scripture means by “the superior person seeks the Dao.”

Those of middling spiritual capacity who seek the Dao are greedy for fame and profit, and what they learn remains on the surface. They abandon their responsibilities at home and think only of enjoyment; pulled along by external things, they suffer all their lives, and disaster reaches even their descendants. Their food and clothing are excessively extravagant, wasting what Heaven and Earth produce. The Three Offices (Sansi—the divine offices in Daoism charged with examining and recording the good and evil of the human world) therefore send down punishment, making them poor and causing them to suffer through successive generations. Such people, life after life, enter the underworld after death, with no day of release. This is what the scripture means by “the middling person seeks the Dao.”

Those of inferior spiritual capacity who seek the Dao treat the Dao merely as a means of seeking a way forward, and they covet wealth and sensual beauty. They speak of past and present, yet their minds are confused and their conduct is not upright. They prize the enjoyments of clothing and food but do not understand the root of the Dao, and so they revolve through birth and death and sink into the sea of suffering. The Three Offices deliver them to the underworld offices (Mingcao—the bureaucracy of the netherworld), causing them to fall into the bodies of oxen and horses and to be reborn again and again; after death they remain trapped in the cycle of transmigration, never encountering the true Dao and never hearing of wholesome deeds. This is what the scripture means by “the inferior person seeks the Dao.”

Chapter 26: The Entrustment of the Northern Dipper (Beidou Fuzhu Zhang)

The Primordial Lord of the Northern Dipper of the Great Dao (Dao, the Way) again solemnly told the Emperor Lord: “On the days, in appointed seasons and months, when I descend from the celestial palace into the human world, I lead the immortals of the many heavens, together with the Four-Eyed Elder and the duty-envoys of the twelve double-hours, down to the lower realm. We inspect kings and nobles, great ministers, officials of prefectures and counties, and ordinary people; we also inspect monks, nuns, Daoist priests, and laypeople. We further inspect the ghosts and spirits of mountain forests and community shrines, the River Earl and the water officials, and heaven and earth, mountains and streams, the Yangtze, the Yellow River, the Huai, and the Ji, tree-spirits, rocky caves, bridges, and ancient trees. Things that through long ages have become sprites change into every kind of goblin, specter, flood-dragon, and water monster, drinking human blood and harming human lives. Dwellings and tombs, and such matters as breaking ground to build and fixing the orientation of a house and courtyard—if they offend the stars of heaven or the lodges and luminaries of the earth—likewise fall within this inspection. Every good thought held in the human heart is perceived as well.

The intent of the Great Dao is to bestow rescue and protection impartially: to relieve the poor and supply them with clothing and food, and, when someone falls ill, to give medicinal decoctions. We also question the divine kings, community commanders, household earth gods, the Director of Destinies, and the Stove Lord within each jurisdiction, together with the deities who preside over the seventy-two prohibitions. We inspect those who dwell in a house, including devout men and women, the old and the young, seniors and juniors, servants and maidservants, and outsiders lodging there. If someone resolves to pay homage to the Primordial Lord of the Northern Dipper—that is, to face the Primordial—and reverently practices the method of the Northern Dipper, that person will lack neither clothing nor food, will have a lengthened life, and will not meet the calamities of arms and warfare or the sufferings of illness, and will be granted eleven thousand eight hundred merits, ever guarded by auspicious stars. All the dragon-spirits of the jurisdiction in which the dwelling stands may likewise obtain thirty-two thousand merits and eighty-eight thousand emoluments and ranks, leave the path of ghosts, be reborn in the celestial palaces of the upper realm, enjoy the bliss of celestial beings, and in turn be transferred to serve as stellar officials and True Lords.

All who build houses and choose an orientation and the sitting-direction of a courtyard may obtain great peace; what the heart wishes will be fulfilled, and celestial deities will protect them. If kings, ministers, and civil and military officials hear the method entrusted by the Northern Dipper, give rise to reverence, look toward the Northern Dipper from afar and pay homage, praying for the peace of the state and the household, they too will receive blessings, all their affairs will proceed smoothly, and celestial deities will protect them. If the members of a common household believe with one mind, bathe so as to purify body and mind, and devoutly pay homage to the Northern Dipper, the Celestial Offices will register their blessings and the underworld will cancel their name-registers; the Southern Dipper will enter their lifespans, and the Yuanchen, the stellar deity who governs a person’s fate, will protect them together. The Great Emperors of the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water, and the host of Perfected of the Three Bureaus, will jointly memorialize the Great Emperor of the Northern Culmen, reporting the merits they have accumulated. Three days after the memorial arrives, the Four-Eyed Elder dispatched by the Dipper Pivot of my Northern Bureau, leading three thousand six hundred case offices, will record the particulars of merit and fault and present them to the Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Emperor of the Golden Portal of Vast Heaven. I myself will petition that they obtain the rank of True Lord of Impartial Registration of Life and, governing the people of the lower realm together with me, dispel every kind of venomous Qi (vital energy), protect living kin and the myriad spirits, bless descendants, remove calamity, and send down good fortune. All of this is true and not empty.

If anyone does not practice the good Dao, keeps scales and measures unfair, harbors hidden malice, widely creates evil karma, and plots to harm good people, the assembled deities will strike that person from the registers of the good. Blessings, emolument, and lifespan will also be reduced; the offenses will be entered on the books and the person sent into hell, forever losing a human body, cycling through birth and death, and finding deliverance hard to obtain. Even upon emerging from hell, such a one may be incomplete in the six faculties and suffer every kind of distress: mind and spirit darkened, clothing too scant to cover the body, food too little to fill the stomach, or long confinement in hardships like those of a prison.”

Yuanjun (Primordial Lord) spoke further to Dijun (Imperial Lord): All the people of the world, if they set their hearts on doing good, will receive the karmic reward that good deeds bring; if they set their hearts on doing evil, they will call down the misfortune that evil deeds bring. The words of the Great Dao (the Way) are true and not empty. Should anyone refuse to believe, I will order that those who defy the statutes be subjected to punishment: I dispatch the Five Thunder Messengers in the heavens to destroy them with thunderbolts, dispatch the Grand Commissioners of the Five Pestilences to spread malignant disease and wipe them out, and further dispatch the host of stellar deities who wield raging fire under the Flame Emperor of the South to burn them away and sweep them clean. [The Five Thunders, the Five Pestilences, and the like are names within the Daoist hierarchy of deities and divine generals.]

Each year, according to the seasons and the months, I descend to tour and inspect the astral fields of every region, examining the gods of rulers, the gods of altars and temples, the dragon gods of residences, and the Directors of Fate within the jurisdictions of states, commanderies, prefectures, counties, towns, and markets. The Four-Eyed Elder (a patrolling deity possessed of spiritual powers) inspects the City Gods, the local Earth Gods, and the numinous spirits of every place; the altar commanders of the Nine Provinces, the altar officials of the Ten Continents, and the deities who keep the registers of allotted life likewise record, month by month and at the proper times, the good and evil of the human world and submit detailed reports to the Celestial Bureau. On this basis the court of Heaven sends down misfortune and blessing, and is never partial.

The twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth days of the first month, the third and seventh days of the second month, and the twenty-third and twenty-sixth days of the third month are the days of the spring inspection. At that time celestial thunder, celestial fire, and the seasonal epidemics of the Five Pestilences carry out punishment, so that the wicked suffer illness and die. If anyone cultivates the Dao and seeks the true, single-minded and undeviating in practice, I record merit for that person, bestow blessing, and lengthen life.

The seventeenth and twenty-seventh days of the fourth month, the fifth, thirteenth, and twentieth days of the fifth month, and the fourth and eighth days of the sixth month are the days of the summer inspection. The various deities go their separate ways to spread rain, and at the same time record the relative weight of good and evil. For those who accumulate good, the blessing they receive is doubled; for those who accumulate evil, their share of blessing is reduced by four-tenths.

The fourth and twenty-fourth days of the seventh month, the eleventh, nineteenth, and twenty-seventh days of the eighth month, and the third and eighteenth days of the ninth month are the days of the autumn inspection. When the deities gather in the five grains of the human world, they likewise record and tally good and evil separately, and on this basis increase or diminish fortune and misfortune, showing no private favor even in the slightest matter.

The tenth and twenty-sixth days of the tenth month, the first, ninth, seventeenth, and twenty-fifth days of the eleventh month, and the twentieth day of the twelfth month are the days of the winter inspection. The deities examine the good and evil, both open and hidden, of the people of the four quarters under Heaven. At midnight, the hour of zi, on the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, the Taisui deity of the old year and the Taisui deity of the new year hand over their charge to one another, and they verify the directions together with the Three Killings and the twelve classes of taboo.

Regardless of whether one’s station is noble or humble, anyone who turns to the Dao with a sincere heart may pray for aid. Whether one is in the path of ghosts, the path of animals, or the path of hell, or a woman hopes to be reborn as a man; whether one has lain long ill in bed, been robbed upon the road, or been falsely accused, or has met with the calamity of lawsuits, disputes among neighbors, or long imprisonment from which there is no escape; whether one has encountered pestilence, been cursed by a shaman, suffered discord among brothers or disharmony between husband and wife, been entangled by fame and profit, or been without children, or finds oneself in dire circumstances, meets with calamity from flood-dragons and water monsters, has in building a house mistakenly offended the year, month, day, and hour, or by the orientation of seat and facing offended baleful stars and malign killers, or in sending out troops for battle encounters all manner of unclear dangers—on the day when the true deities of the Northern Dipper descend, one may observe the purificatory fast with a sincere heart, burn incense and pay homage, face north, and with single-minded reverence declare one’s wish.

The immortal officers of the transcendent bureaus under my charge who keep the case records will weigh how much and how heavy the good and the evil are, and on a person’s behalf dispel calamity and send down blessing. If the burden of transgression is deep and grave, the offices of the underworld will send down punishment, and it is to be feared that one will lose one’s human body; if the merit of good deeds is profound, I record “fifteen thousand eight hundred benefits of goodness,” so that one’s work in the Dao is pure and one’s merit complete. Thereupon the hosts of true immortals of my Bureau of the Northern Dipper will memorialize in person the Jade Emperor, Lord on High of the Golden Portal of Vast Heaven, requesting that an imperial decree and a talismanic mandate be issued. Tianpeng the Great Sage and Chief Marshal, Zhenwu the Protecting Sage and his generals, together with the Four-Eyed Elder and the retinues endowed with spiritual powers, will all manifest transformed dharma-bodies fully thirty-six zhang in height and, at any time, receiving the command, rescue the people, not daring to disobey the order.

I proclaim this scripture in order to save both the living and the dead, so that the dead and those who have suffered wrong may all obtain deliverance, and so that good people still living may increase in blessing and longevity; those who cultivate and study the way of immortality may also be entered early upon the registers of the immortals. This is the great response that can be brought about by reciting the scripture, paying homage to the Yuanchen, and worshipping the Northern Dipper.

If any ghost or spirit does not believe and submit, but defies my words, its head will burst and its body split asunder, and it will be destroyed. I command that deviant demons be cut down at once—quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

Yuanjun (Primordial Sovereign) once again admonished the Emperor Lord (Dijun), saying: “If in a lifetime to come you are able to attain the fruition-rank of an exalted perfected one and supreme immortal, you ought to annihilate the demon clans. I command you to strive with all your might to cut them down. You must carry this out swiftly, and you must not disobey or err!”

Yuanjun further said to the Emperor Lord: “If in a lifetime to come you are able to attain the fruition-rank of an exalted perfected one and supreme immortal—Great Marshal Tianpeng (a guardian divine general of Daoism)—I command that the consecration of the crown and revelatory instruction be bestowed upon you, so that you obtain sagely and luminous wisdom. You ought to receive eighteen thousand kinds of wholesome benefit, cultivate the pure and tranquil practice of the Dao (the Way) and supreme, wondrous merit, widely propagate my methods of the Dao, and govern and edify the common people of the human world so that they obtain benefit. All these good deeds arise from the sagely and luminous one’s broadly sowing fields of merit, that is, from the accumulation of good causes.”

Yuanjun praised this scripture, saying:

When the Scripture of the Northern Dipper (Beidou Jing) is enshrined in the home, household and nation are naturally at peace;

When the Scripture of the Northern Dipper is enshrined in the home, the span of life is naturally lengthened;

When the Scripture of the Northern Dipper is enshrined in the home, the dead are able to attain deliverance;

When the Scripture of the Northern Dipper is enshrined in the home, lawsuits and calamities do not arise;

When the Scripture of the Northern Dipper is enshrined in the home, the five grains naturally yield abundant harvests;

When the Scripture of the Northern Dipper is enshrined in the home, no demons or strange beings can intrude;

When the Scripture of the Northern Dipper is enshrined in the home, the night is naturally peaceful and secure.

The scripture then goes on to say that, when the Scripture of the Northern Dipper is enshrined in the home, the dead are able to attain deliverance; lawsuits and calamities do not arise; the five grains naturally yield abundant harvests; no demons or strange beings can intrude; and the night is naturally peaceful and secure.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Entrustment of the Northern Dipper

Yuanjun (Primordial Sovereign) said: “I now bestow these teachings upon you one by one, to serve as protection and support. All that is spoken here is true, and its worth surpasses gold and jade. The sacred edicts and auspicious verses of Haotian Yuhuang Shangdi, the Jade Emperor of Vast Heaven (the celestial sovereign venerated in Daoism), shine as radiantly as the sun and moon and as brightly as the stars and the Dipper. I now bestow them in order to bring order to the human world. May all people turn toward the good Dao (the Way), and may every person return to the root and attend the Primordial—that is, return to the origin of life and pay court to the primordial Dao.

“I say further to the Emperor: you must carefully protect and bless the people, and forever preside over the teaching that runs through heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, so that it may circulate in the world and spread far and wide. Do not forget the merit contained within it. The preceding chapters have already explained these matters one by one; none of this is empty speech. We now proclaim this by the edict of the Supreme Deity. The Supreme Deity summons us to return; we shall linger no longer, and each of us will go back to the immortal capital. This Jing (scripture/classic) must not be treated lightly. One should burn incense in a pure place, with a heart of utmost sincerity, wearing Daoist robes and plain-colored garments, and recite it with single-minded reverence, as if facing me and hearing me expound it.”

When the Emperor had finished listening, he knocked his head to the ground and bowed again, then took leave of the assembled immortals. The sacred cortege returned to the immortal palace. The Sagely Sovereign, Minghuang of the Great Han (Emperor Ming of Han), immediately ordered the responsible offices to send the scriptural text to the famous mountains, blessed lands, and Daoist abbeys of the various commanderies and counties, to have it copied and transmitted to both the human world and the celestial realm, so that people might believe, receive, and put it into practice.

Here ends the Taishang Beidou Ershiba Zhang Jing (Scripture of the Twenty-Eight Chapters of the Northern Dipper of the Most High).