《太上三五傍救醮五帝断殟仪》

If a household suddenly meets with calamity or misfortune, and someone at home develops a goiter, a boil, or a malignant sore (疔疮) and stays ill for a day or five days, this is taken to mean that the Five Emperors (Wudi), the deities of the front and rear of the dwelling, have failed to protect the residents. If the neighbors on all sides also suddenly fall ill with epidemic disease, it is taken to be the work of the plague demons who travel through the world. The scripture lists the names of these demons, among them Li Ziao of Yunzhong, Zhang Yuanbo, Liu Yuanda, and Wuwan Gui.

Whenever a household is struck by seasonal epidemic disease, it may recur once within the following three years. One should consult the almanac of ritual dates, choose an auspicious day, and invite a Daoist priest to the home to hold a jiao offering (a rite to petition the gods and ward off disaster). If circumstances permit, a Zhaijiao (purification ritual) of spirit-invoking incantations may be held, lasting either one day and two nights or three days and three nights. If this cannot be managed, a single priest may be invited to perform the rite of offering to the Five Emperors. The required items are listed below:

One and a half taels of genuine frankincense, divided among six censers; six tables; five brushes and five ink sticks; a length of silk in each of the colors of the five directions; five hand towels, each four chi and two cun long; five plates of "destiny-and-stipend rice," each holding one dou and two sheng; one dou of wine; forty wine cups; five portions of offering money, each of one hundred and twenty coins; and a bundle of paper, of which five sheets serve as money and wealth offerings and five are used to secure the seat.

The offering trays must also hold forty portions of cakes and pastries, walnuts, dried jujubes, dried fish, venison jerky, and seasonal fruit. In addition, prepare one bowl of cogongrass-incense broth, twelve lamps, and six peachwood tablets, each one chi and one cun long and two cun wide.

The ritual master faces north and clicks the teeth thirty-six times, then enters the altar space and performs the rite of purification. Next, the master seals the Gate of Ghosts, recites the incantation that guards and protects the spirits, then burns incense and lights the censer to invite the deities to descend.

The disciples put on their caps, robes, and sashes as the rite requires. Before the altar, they sincerely make their declaration, perform the prostrations, and offer incense, awaiting the response of the spirits.

On such a year, month, new moon, and day, your servant, a disciple of Dongyuan, respectfully submits this petition on behalf of the disciple so-and-so:

We respectfully invite the Azure Emperor of the East, Lingweiyang, together with Lord Goumang and the Consort of the Azure Emperor, to descend.

We respectfully invite the Red Emperor of the South, Biaonu, together with Lord Zhurong and the Consort of the Red Emperor, to descend.

We respectfully invite the White Emperor of the West, Zhaoju, together with Lord Shaohao and the Consort of the White Emperor, to descend.

We respectfully invite the Black Emperor of the North, Ye Guangji, together with Lord Xuanming and the Consort of the Black Emperor, to descend.

We respectfully invite the Yellow Emperor of the Center, Hanshuniu, together with Lord Xuanyuan and the Consort of the Yellow Emperor, to descend.

We respectfully invite the descendants of the Five Emperors, as well as the Gongcao spirits who oversee documents and canonical records (divine officials responsible for delivering documents and recording merits and faults), to descend; and we further invite the Black Emperor of the North, Ye Guangji, together with Lord Xuanming and the Consort of the Black Emperor,

We respectfully invite the Yellow Emperor of the Center, Hanshuniu, together with Lord Xuanyuan and the Consort of the Yellow Emperor, to descend.

This liturgical text issues an invitation to the Celestial Emperors of the Five Directions and their associated spirits during a Zhaijiao (zhāijiào, purification ritual), entreating them to descend to the ritual altar.

We respectfully invite the descendants of the Five Emperors; the Registrar of Records (a divine official in charge of documents); the Director of Destiny and the Director of Registers (deities who oversee human lifespans and the registers of emolument); the Marshal Who Loves Life; the Great Spirit Who Dispels Impurity; the Left and Right Secretaries; the Preceding and Following Presidents of the Secretariat; the Jade Maidens Who Extend Life; the Senior Officer and the Minister of Works; the Erudite Who Records the Years; the Upper and Lower Grand Masters; the Minor Officials of Emptiness and Nothingness; the Lord Who Erases Death and Fixes Life; the Lord Who Dispels Decline and Frees from Calamity; the Lord Who Preserves Life and Adds to the Allotted Years; the Lord Who Cures Illness and Dispenses Medicine; the Messenger of Floating Clouds; the Masters of Thunder and Lightning; the Lord of the Four Provinces and Nine Grains; the Immortal Officials of the River; the Jade Maidens of the Rivers and Lakes; and all the deities who devour demons and eat ghosts, who gather in plagues, slay and shatter ghosts, sweep away inauspicious forces, settle the six viscera, and transfer names and fix registers. With modest offerings we present sacrifices to you all, and we report this matter to Heaven and Earth.

I respectfully report to the great spirits of Heaven and Earth and the immortal officials of the Five Emperors, as well as the true officials of the local earth, the Water Emperor of the Nine Rivers, the Twelve Maidens of the Streams, the River Earl and the water officials, the Seven Spirits beneath the earth, the lords of the land, and the senior officials who protect people on the Five Sacred Peaks and the Four Great Rivers, the divine officials who add to the allotted years, the officials who convey orders on the left and right, the lords who pardon transgressions, and all the spirits. I ask that each of you hold your jade tablets and listen to my account.

Now a disciple of the household of so-and-so has lived for years in unrest. Members of the household suffer from goiters and malignant boils, and deaths do not cease. Undertakings go badly, official posts cannot be advanced, wishes are hard to fulfill, and calamities arise without cause. After divination and calculation, we found that on all eight sides and four quarters there are malign forces from the lower realms, plague-bearing ghost soldiers, and the demonic evils of the Eight Divisions, recklessly harming the good. In every household only the sounds of mourning are heard, and no joyful music; old and young alike are sorrowful, and many suffer undeserved misfortune. Nothing we see or hear is an auspicious sign. Day and night we are fearful and do not know where to turn for help.

I have heard that Lord Lao (Laojun) established the teachings and transmitted them to the immortals and the perfected, and that they were passed on among ordinary people, leaving wondrous methods for dispelling disaster and relieving hardship, by which ghosts may be driven out and people saved. Now we have set up an altar here, presenting wine and dried meat and preparing offerings for the Five Emperors, and by ritual divination we have obtained nine chapters. Today is auspicious and the hour is fitting, bright as the sun, the moon, and the three luminaries. Of the various foods, we dare not taste any first; the clear wine and pure meat are sweet and fragrant. We respectfully invite the Emperors to enjoy these offerings and to bestow boundless blessings.

May the ancestors of seven generations ascend to Heaven, may calamities and transgressions be dissolved, may they enjoy a life of peace and beauty, and may their rank rival that of the immortal kings. May the living be prosperous, honored, healthy, and at peace, with a household full of descendants. May the ancestors of thirty-six generations and our departed kin also ascend to the Southern Palace and enter the blessed land of lasting joy, far from the Three Evil Paths (hell, hungry ghosts, and animals), never again falling into the suffering of boiling cauldrons, and forever parted from the trees of swords, the freezing ice, and the iron beds, never again meeting the bronze pillars, the ox-headed demons, or the A-pang demons. May plague and illness vanish from generation to generation, may the hundred ghosts be subdued and driven beyond the sun, may disasters be dissolved, and may auspiciousness and prosperity be preserved for a long time.

The Five Emperors are the masters of all the gods and the kings of the myriad spirits. They can remove evil karma, distinguish firmness from softness, make withered trees flourish again, and give words the power of frost and snow. May the Emperors disperse official calamities and free us from illness, harmonize spring, summer, autumn, and winter and the myriad things of Heaven and Earth, and govern the seasons, the solar terms, and the workings of nature. Yin-Yang, the Five Phases, and all the phenomena of Heaven and Earth follow the natural order. The Northern Dipper arranges the constellations of every direction: Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei, and Ji belong to the east; Jing, Gui, Liu, Xing, Zhang, Yi, and Zhen belong to the south; Kui, Lou, Wei, Mao, Bi, Zui, and Shen belong to the west; Dou, Niu, Nü, Xu, Wei, Shi, and Bi belong to the north; and Kui, 𩲃, and 𩵄 are assigned to the Five Phases of the center.

May the spirits advance and shift the seasons and regulate cold, heat, warmth, and coolness, so that the Five Phases operate according to their relations of overcoming: Metal overcomes Wood, and Wood is broken; Wood overcomes Earth, and Earth is hidden away; Earth overcomes Water, and Water ceases to flow; Water overcomes Fire, and Fire loses its light; Fire overcomes Metal, and Metal perishes. May the spirits punish ghosts and goblins so that they flee far away, and cure illness so that the sick recover at once. Those who seek office should serve the public and abide by the law. May the spirits secure our dwelling so that the house is as firm as adamant; may the ghosts indicated by the talismanic orders perish immediately; when the spirits slay evil influences, those influences will naturally collapse; when the spirits heal illness, the sick will recover; when the spirits guard travelers, they will journey in safety; when they secure the graves, descendants will flourish; when they protect the plowing and sowing, the five grains will fill the granaries; and when they judge the nature of illness, unfitting afflictions will no longer arise.

Heaven has nine chapters, and humans have evil karma. May this evil karma be cast away to the remote wastelands of the eight directions, and may the plague and jaundice be swept out of the streets, lanes, and villages, and out of the household of the disciple so-and-so. Except for our own kin, may all plague ghosts hurry away and depart to distant places; and when the ghost commanders lead the hundred ghosts to make camp, may they too be seized and cast into boiling cauldrons. May the spirits devour the goblins and sprites so that their forms dissolve. Lord Lao himself gives the command to destroy all that is inauspicious; no spirit can obstruct it, and no ghost dares to resist. May the Emperors descend and bring ten thousand years of good fortune; may spirits of the five directions assist us wherever we go and return. May official calamities disperse, and may ghosts and bandits hide away and not appear. The disciple bows again.

Next, incense is offered and tea is presented, and the disciple prays: "Which ghost or evil dares to block the way? As the Divine Lords descend, may ten thousand years of good fortune follow. Whether going out or returning, entering or dwelling, may the Five Spirits protect and support me. May lawsuits and calamities dissolve, and may ghosts, demons, and thieves hide and withdraw." The disciple bows again.

Next, incense, tea, and wine are offered.

With reverence, the disciple invokes the Five Emperor Lords and the other divine beings: should there be any malign essences (jing), the Five Wen (five kinds of plague-bringing ghosts and evils), ghostly qi, or any evil influences that hide their traces, change form in endless ways, and linger without departing,

then the Five Devouring Generals are respectfully asked to descend and display their mighty divine power, spitting divine fire to burn through the ghosts' heads and consume their bodies, wiping out the very root of the evil. This must be carried out at once, exactly in accordance with the statutes and ordinances recorded in the Edict of Nüqing.

From the seven generations of ancestors down to this present life, the disciple, named so-and-so, has committed countless deliberate transgressions and other grave offenses, and humbly begs for pardon. May the Ten Evils and Five Rebellious Sins of the East be removed, those committed in life by so-and-so's ancestors, both paternal and maternal, which have not yet been absolved.

With reverence, the Seven Lodges of the East (Horn, Neck, Root, Room, Heart, Tail, and Winnowing Basket), together with the divine lords of the directions of Jia, Yi, Yin, Mao, and Chen, are invited to preside over the absolution of Mou Jia (the one praying), and to pardon in full the grave Ten Evils and Five Rebellious Sins of the South, committed in life by so-and-so and not yet absolved.

With reverence, the Seven Lodges of the South (Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Spread Net, Wings, and Chariot), together with the divine lords of the directions of Si, Wu, Wei, Bing, and Ding, are invited to preside over the absolution of Mou Jia, and to pardon in full the grave Ten Evils and Five Rebellious Sins of the South, committed in life by so-and-so and not yet absolved.

With reverence, the Seven Lodges of the South (Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Spread Net, Wings, and Chariot), together with the divine lords of the directions of Si, Wu, Wei, Bing, and Ding, are invited to preside over the absolution of Mou Jia, and to pardon in full the grave Ten Evils and Five Rebellious Sins of the West, committed in life by so-and-so and not yet absolved.

With reverence, the Seven Lodges of the West (Legs, Bond, Stomach, Mane, Net, Beak, and Three Stars), together with the divine lords of the directions of Shen, You, Xu, Geng, and Xin, are invited to preside over the absolution of Mou Jia, and to pardon in full the grave Ten Evils and Five Rebellious Sins of the North, committed in life by so-and-so and not yet absolved.

With reverence, the Seven Lodges of the North (Dipper, Ox, Girl, Emptiness, Rooftop, Room, and Wall), together with the divine lords of the directions of Hai, Zi, Chou, Ren, and Gui, are invited to preside over the absolution of Mou Jia, and to pardon in full the grave Ten Evils and Five Rebellious Sins of the Center, committed in life by so-and-so and not yet absolved.

Note: The original text repeats a passage after the invocation of the South, and the directions and the lodges listed are in places confused; the above is translated literally from the existing text.

Respectfully, I petition the Seven Stars of the Central Dipper, Kui, 𩲃, and 𩲆 (star deities of the Northern Dipper associated with expelling evil and averting calamity). I ask that you preside over the explanation of this disciple's transgressions, so that all of them may be forgiven. If, during the three months of spring, blue pestilence demons (spirits that bring epidemic disease) should take advantage of the flourishing Qi (vital energy) of Wood to unleash poison and harm good people, I ask that you restrain them.

Respectfully, I petition the Lord of the White Emperor of the West. I ask that you slay those wicked spirits who recklessly spread poison. If, during the three months of summer, red pestilence demons should take advantage of the flourishing Qi of Fire to unleash poison and harm good people, I ask that you restrain them.

Respectfully, I petition the Lord of the Black Emperor of the North. I ask that you slay those wicked spirits who recklessly spread poison. If, during the three months of autumn, white pestilence demons should take advantage of the flourishing Qi of Metal to unleash poison and harm good people, I ask that you restrain them.

Respectfully, I petition the Lord of the Red Emperor of the South. I ask that you slay those wicked spirits who recklessly spread poison. If, during the three months of winter, black pestilence demons should take advantage of the flourishing Qi of Water to unleash poison and harm good people, I ask that you restrain them.

Respectfully, I petition the Lord of the Yellow Emperor of the Center. I ask that you slay those wicked spirits who recklessly spread poison. If, during the months of seasonal transition, yellow pestilence demons should take advantage of the flourishing Qi of Earth to unleash poison and harm good people, I ask that you restrain them.

Respectfully, I petition the Lord of the Green Emperor of the East. I ask that you slay those wicked spirits who recklessly defy and offend, cut off every baleful influence, and cause them all to go into hiding. Only then can there be peace under heaven, with ghosts and spirits no longer rising to cause disorder, with favorable winds and timely rains, and with the common people living in contentment. This disciple, relying on the profound kindness of all the deities, bows once more.

Then offer incense and wine.

Once more I invoke the Lords of the Five Directions and the other deities. This disciple knocks his head to the ground and earnestly begs for "one life and one living, one deliverance and one release" (a plea to preserve life and be freed from calamity), so that ghosts and spirits no longer rise to cause disorder, the winds and rains come in their proper season, and the common people live in contentment. This disciple, relying on the profound kindness of all the deities, bows once more.

Then offer incense and wine.

Note: In the original text, the directions, seasons, and Five Phases correspondences are muddled. For example, the spring section is followed by the "White Emperor of the West," and the White Emperor appears again in the summer section. The translation above follows the original as it stands and makes no corrections.

This disciple respectfully addresses the Five Emperors (the Heavenly Emperors of the Five Directions), bowing with head to the ground to beg for the grant of life, and for help in passing through calamity and escaping suffering. On behalf of So-and-so, this disciple prays for the dispelling of misfortune, that their hun and po souls may be settled, their life guarded, and their illness healed. We beseech you to protect So-and-so's entire household, old and young alike, from the peril of a life running out and of disasters arising without warning. Remove their calamities, add to their allotted years, and prolong their lives.

If So-and-so is ensnared by calamities like a net spread across heaven and earth and has not yet been freed, we beseech the Emperors to swiftly sever these entanglements, and may every malevolent spirit and wicked ghost be destroyed. If the hundred ghosts have wrongly seized and registered the men and women of So-and-so's household, leaving their souls and spirits (Shen) unsettled, we implore once more the Lord Who Prolongs Life, the Lord Who Secures Birth, the Lord Who Removes Death, and the Lord Who Brings Rebirth of the Five Dippers of the five directions. May they welcome back the scattered hun and po, so that each hun has something to rely on and each po something to cleave to. Help them return to the body, so that the soul and spirit dwell peacefully within it and the six viscera (the internal organs) are brought into harmony.

We beseech the Eastern Dipper (the eastern constellation) to lengthen the allotted years, the Western Dipper to record the name, the Northern Dipper to erase it from the register of the dead, and the Southern Dipper to enter it in the register of the living. We also ask the spirits who govern the settling of the soul and the span of life to continue adding to the allotted years. We further ask the Star Officials of Longevity to strike the name from the book of the dead and enter it in the register of long life.

If any fierce or rebellious ghosts between heaven and earth linger in So-and-so's home, among the village lanes, or before and behind the doors, spying out blood sacrifices and plotting to harm people, we beseech the Three-Five Great Generals to descend at the head of one hundred thousand officers and soldiers, to subdue the demons and bring under control the ghosts that devour people.

We beseech the Three-Five Great General Who Subdues and Devours Plague-Ghosts to descend at the head of one hundred thousand officers and soldiers. We beseech as well the Three-Five Great General Who Subdues Epidemics and the Three-Five Great General Who Subdues Zhu-Afflictions (inherited curses), together with the Great General Who Subdues and Devours Essences (Jing) and the Great General Who Subdues and Devours Evils. May each descend with their own officers and soldiers to subdue pestilence, malign influences, and wrongdoing spirits.

I humbly invite the Great General who subdues the qi of poison and harm and devours all that is poisonous, to lead one hundred thousand officers and generals, each bearing their own duties, and descend together.

I humbly invite the Great General who subdues ghosts, demons, and malevolent spirits and devours them, to lead one hundred thousand officers and generals, each fulfilling their own duties, and descend together.

I humbly invite the Great General who subdues baleful qi (qi) and devours it, to lead one hundred thousand officers and generals, each fulfilling their own duties, and descend together.

I humbly invite the Great General who subdues the qi of poison and harm and devours all that is poisonous, to lead one hundred thousand officers and generals, each fulfilling their own duties, and descend together.

I humbly invite the Great General who subdues ghosts, demons, and malevolent spirits and devours them, to lead one hundred thousand officers and generals, each fulfilling their own duties, and descend together.

I humbly invite the Great General who subdues fierce and malignant influences and devours them, to lead one hundred thousand officers and generals, each fulfilling their own duties, and descend together.

Here, "humbly invite" (shangqing) is the language used for summoning deities in a jiao (醮) ritual, a Daoist rite in which an altar is set up to petition the gods. The phrase "one hundred thousand officers and generals descend in full official array" means that the Great General leads a host of divine generals to descend, each carrying out their respective duties.

We respectfully invite the Five Emperors of the Five Directions (the five celestial sovereigns who guard the five quarters), the Great General Who Slays Ghosts, and one hundred thousand officers and generals to descend, solely to attend to the affairs of the household of Mou Jia. We beg the gods to unite their efforts and gather in every kind of ghost and specter: the wandering Wangliang ghosts of village lanes and house courtyards, and the ghosts of hidden corpses and of those killed by punishment. Then gather in the ghosts of doors and gates, wells and hearths; the Five Voids and Six Drains (malevolent spirits who bring emptiness and loss); the ghosts of ill-omened funeral music and rebellious violence; the ghosts of boys and girls; the ghosts of the Overseer of Calamitous Earth; the ghosts who sing and dance alone and laugh and make mischief; the ghosts of poison-sorcery and wild, heterodox ways; the ghosts of mountain spirits, cliff and rock, and the hundred specters; the Eight Divisions of ghosts who spread sickness; and the ghosts who call out human souls, each bearing a name.

Gather in as well the ghosts of the Mingong stone sinkers, the nameless ghosts struck from the registers, the ghosts of dogs beneath trees, the ghosts who walk the night in violence and rebellion, the ghosts of mountain forests, altars of soil and grain, and rebellious, licentious shrines, the ghosts of the fallen generals of the four garrisons of the world, the headless and handless ghosts of battlefields and armies, and the ghost of Wu Zixu, Prince of Wu, the ghosts of the Red Eyebrow bandits, and the ghosts of the Three Kings and Five Hegemons and of defeated armies and slain commanders.

Gather in also the ghosts who bring dysentery and swelling; the ghosts who bring Luding spotted-yellow sickness, cramps, coughing, and vomiting; Li Ziao of the Clouds and the ghosts of a thousand spirits and ten thousand specters; the ghosts who shake bells, blow horns, and call out to people; the ghosts of the hanged and the drowned; the ghosts of the Qiang and Liao peoples, of the Six Yi, and of the Hu, Di, Man, and Rong; and the ghosts of the Blue Zhu of the east, the Red Zhu of the south, the White Zhu of the west, the Black Zhu of the north, and the Yellow Zhu of the center.

Further, gather in the ghosts of extinguished households; the ghosts of those who died suddenly of strange illnesses; the ghosts of bald-scalp and leprous disease; the ghosts who bring festering sores and foul stench; the ghosts of those who died in the marketplace or by beheading or strangulation; the ghosts born of the ill-omened cries of crows and magpies; the ghosts of those who died of hunger and cold; the ghosts who hide their forms and conceal their shadows; the ghosts of slanderous speech and reckless words; the ghosts of the six domestic animals; the ghosts who bewitch and oppress human souls; the ghosts of white bones with no one to bury them; and the ghosts of the newly dead who harm people and seize them.

Finally, gather in the ghosts with human bodies and the heads of rats, oxen, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, goats, monkeys, and dogs, and the ghosts with human bodies and "Du" heads (堵头).

This passage is an invocation and subjugation formula from a Zhaijiao (purification ritual). It lists, item by item, the ghosts, plague spirits, and various malign forces to be subdued, and petitions the divine generals to descend and protect the household of Mou Jia. Several lines in the original are repetitive, and the meanings of terms such as "Mingong stone sinker" (明公石碇), "Overseer of Calamitous Earth" (殃土长), and "Du-headed" (堵头) are unclear, so they are retained here as in the original.

These ghosts do not obey the prohibitions and statutes of the Covenant of Orthodox Authority of the Great Dao (the precepts and decrees of Daoism). They specialize in committing evil and spreading poison among the living, bringing lawsuits and calamities upon people, causing illness and even death, which wholly violates the natural order. We must rely on the power of the Lords of the Five Emperors and the Celestial Officials to seize, subdue, and bind the arms of these rebellious ghosts one by one, then escort them to the city to be hanged, utterly destroying their roots. May the world be peaceful and serene, the people live in contentment, and the five grains be abundant.

If the souls of an entire household, old and young, have been confined in the prisons of the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water (the Celestial Official, Earthly Official, and Water Official of Daoism) or of the hundred ghosts, and have not been released, or if they have been bound and detained by the hundred ghosts, we beseech the Five Emperors of the Five Directions, the Lords of the Seven Stars, and the Lord of Longevity, the Lord of Extended Life, the Lord Who Dissolves Calamity and Heals Illness, the Lord Who Repels Death and Restores Life, and the Lord Who Protects and Guards Life, to settle the souls of So-and-so, to spare them from harm by the Department of the Director of Destinies, to lengthen their lifespan, to increase the allotment of years bestowed by the Seven Stars, and to erase their names from the registers of death.

The decline and calamity of the Eastern direction, the color of azure, is extinguished from this day forth; the azure pestilence (the azure-colored plague ghost or pestilential qi) is cut off at once.

The decline and calamity of the Southern direction, the color of red, is extinguished from this day forth; the red pestilence is cut off at once.

The decline and calamity of the Western direction, the color of white, is extinguished from this day forth; the white pestilence is cut off at once.

The decline and calamity of the Northern direction, the color of black, is extinguished from this day forth; the black pestilence is cut off at once.

The decline and calamity of the Central direction, the color of yellow, is extinguished from this day forth; the yellow pestilence is cut off at once.

If today falls on a "Establishing" (Jian) day, whatever is sought will be fulfilled as wished, and blessings and celebrations will be lofty and abundant, with nothing left to regret.

If today falls on a "Removing" (Chu) day, after blessings are sought, calamities will disperse, ghostly bandits will be wiped out, and blessings and celebrations will extend on and on in surplus.

If today falls on a "Full" (Man) day, one will keep company with the Emperor Lords, moving and resting at ease, and all affairs will be joyful.

If today falls on a "Balanced" (Ping) day, blessings will be full and abundant, and nothing will be left to regret.

If today falls on a "Removing" (Chu) day, after blessings are sought, calamities will disperse, ghostly bandits will be wiped out, and blessings and celebrations will extend on and on in surplus.

If today falls on a "Full" (Man) day, one will keep company with the Emperor Lords, moving and resting at ease, and all affairs will be joyful.

Today falls on a "Ping" (Balanced) day: blessings are abundant and joy overflows. The spirits descend, and whatever is prayed for will be fulfilled.

Today falls on a "Ding" (Settled) day: Heaven and Earth rejoice together, the spirits are tranquil and flourishing, and the whole household is free from illness and misfortune.

Today falls on a "Zhi" (Held) day: all manner of blessings gather and arrive, bringing wealth, honor, and happiness, with no cause for aversion or envy.

Today falls on a "Po" (Breaking) day: transgressions may be broken and cleared away. The spirits bestow blessings, dispel calamity, and avert disaster; as the deities descend, fortune and emolument grow ever deeper.

Today falls on a "Wei" (Danger) day: may one long preserve purity, tranquility, and Wuwei (non-action). After praying for grace and blessings, all that is wished for will be fulfilled.

Today falls on a "Cheng" (Accomplishment) day: may men and women alike enjoy health and long life, may wealth accumulate, and may the five grains yield a bountiful harvest.

Today falls on a "Shou" (Harvest) day: may every household be free from worry, may gold enter the gates of the home, and may the family line continue unbroken through the generations.

Today falls on a "Kai" (Opening) day: the immortal officials descend together, and True Qi (the pure and orthodox primordial energy spoken of in Daoism) shelters and protects, so that calamity does not arrive.

Today falls on a "Bi" (Closing) day: may the hundred ghosts disperse, may the dwelling be at peace, and may ghosts and spirits lie still.

Next, offer wine and burn incense.

Once more, invite the Five Emperors, the Seven Star Lords, and the other divine beings, together with the immortal officials and attendant host whom I have summoned, to take their seats in advance and share in the offerings. May the deities bestow blessings as weighty as Mount Tai, and dispel calamity as swiftly as lightning vanishes. May fortune arrive with the deities, and may the celestial spirits bring deep grace. Petition and response connect in an instant. The prostrations and expressions of thanks are complete, the toast of wine has been offered, and the words of invocation will not be repeated; there is nothing more to say.

May the deities make ready their dragon chariots with reins and bridles, and prepare their divine horses, arriving like surging clouds and departing like swift wind. May they bestow blessings as weighty as Mount Tai and swiftly dispel calamity; may fortune arrive with the deities, and may the celestial spirits bring deep grace. Petition and response connect in an instant. The prostrations and expressions of thanks are complete, the toast of wine has been offered, and the words of invocation will not be repeated. May the deities make ready their dragon chariots and prepare their divine horses, arriving like surging clouds and departing like swift wind and rain.

When the deities are welcomed, may they come from afar; when they are sent off, may they depart in peace. Whether they come from the east or the west, may each return to their own palace. If petitions are made in the future, we humbly beg them to descend once more. My disciples and I, in reverent trepidation, bow our heads to the ground and respectfully bid them farewell.

Then chant the Hymn of Sending Off the Deities.

Then chant the Twelve Vows.

Then chant the Hymn of Studying Immortality, and close the altar according to the usual rite.