《秤星靈臺祕要經》

Essential Secrets of the Astral Altar Scripture: A Vernacular Interpretation

Analysis of Five Phases Attributes:

The Wood phase represents uprightness, the Fire phase embodies intensity, the Earth phase symbolizes benevolence and harmony, the Metal phase manifests as cautiousness tempered with integrity, while the Water phase governs humility and yielding.

Ritual for Averting Misfortune Stars (Disaster-Averting Techniques):

The Classic of Human Relations records that the Shen-You direction (southwest-by-west) constitutes the Eight Killings' inauspicious position, where the appearance of Mars is particularly ominous. Guo Pu (styled Jingchun, the renowned Eastern Jin dynasty occultist) noted that Mars descending in the western quadrant foretells an untimely death, hence he devised this counteractive method.

Procedure:

1. Preparation:

• Purify a designated purification chamber (not an ordinary latrine) with incense offerings.
• Restrict access to the practitioner alone.

2. Ritual Execution:

• Perform the rite with disheveled hair, standing in the chamber while gripping a ritual sword.
• If undisturbed for one ke (15 minutes), place the sword within to complete the exorcism.
• If witnessed, both practitioner and observer face calamity (as when Guo Pu was discovered by Huan Xuan, fulfilling their mutual doom prophecy).

3. Key Considerations:

• Originally a secret transmission as treasured as the Golden Casket Scripture.
• Later documented in this text by Monk Yixing (Tang dynasty master) and Li Quan (Tang Daoist).
• Fearing exploitation by mercenary sorcerers, the author excised detailed instructions during the Qianning era (Emperor Zhaozong's reign).

Mars Aversion Method:

1. When Mars transits one's natal palace (astrological birth position), select an auspicious date.

2. Abstain from desires beforehand, dwelling in meditation at dawn.

3. At noon (11am-1pm), enter the chamber naked with sword to perform the rite.

4. Depart weeping softly after completion, returning to bathe and rest in seclusion.

5. Interpret dream omens; repeat twice to dispel misfortune.

Official/Calamity Neutralization Technique:

1. Carve a cypress-wood effigy matching one's height (3 chi 2 cun).

2. Dress it in personal garments.

3. At Mars' appearance, summon one's name with disheveled hair and sword.

4. Have servants ignite flames beside the effigy while shouting "Cypress Man!"

5. Meditate in stillness afterward, visualizing charitable acts to accumulate hidden virtue.

Critical Taboos:

• Compensate craftsmen generously for secrecy.
• Garments must match the effigy's proportions exactly.
• Exclude all Buddhist clergy, poultry, or dogs from witnessing.
• Saturn transiting the natal palace invites family deaths, financial ruin, and loss of status.

(Note: "Chamber" denotes a ritual purification space, not a mundane latrine; "embodied visualization" refers to Daoist imaginal cultivation techniques.)

This scripture primarily explains Daoist rituals for averting calamities (disaster prevention), divided into two methods: dispelling Mars calamities and dispelling Saturn calamities.

[Dispelling Mars Calamities Method]

1. Preparation materials: Seven red sesame seeds, five red rice grains, three red adzuki beans, seven strands of red horsetail hair, and a small amount of red copper filings, all placed in a red pouch tied to the arm.

2. Advanced methods:

• Draw an image of Mars for worship
• Recite the "Scripture for the Salvation of Humanity" (Duren Jing) and "Calamity Dispelling Scripture" (Xiaozai Jing)
• Wear red headbands and cinnabar ornaments

3. Special day practices:

• Ride a red horse wearing red clothes, drawing blood from seven points on the body
• Collect blood from a red donkey
• Construct an octagonal altar with arrows tied with four-colored ribbons at the four corners
• Mix human blood, donkey blood with sandalwood powder and scatter on the altar
• Light five red sesame oil lamps

4. Additional methods:

• Burn fruitwood and licorice corresponding to the current year
• Wear a red copper bracelet on the left arm
• Place a water vat at the southern altar, erect a pole at noon to hang a red flag
• Bury six jin (approx. 3kg) of red charcoal

[Dispelling Saturn Calamities Method]

1. Preparation materials: Seven black sesame seeds and seven black beans placed in a black silk pouch tied to the left arm.

2. On the first day of each lunar month:

• Cook porridge with black sesame juice, consume a portion yourself
• Distribute the remainder to the poor, Daoist priests, and Buddhist monks

3. Special reminders:

• Treat spiritual practitioners and ascetics with kindness
• Never harm filial children under any circumstances

Important Notes:

• All rituals must avoid cloudy or rainy days
• Perform operations discreetly—if witnessed, the efficacy will be lost
• Bamboo figurine method: Create a human figure from bamboo, dress it with clothes and hat, face the calamitous star's direction, then discard the figurine into a latrine

(Note: The mentioned "Jiuzhi Jing" and "Baoming Jing" are Daoist scriptures; "five fruitwoods" refers to five types of fruit-bearing trees; "scarlet" and "black" refer to specific ritual colors)

Secret Essentials of the Astral Altar Scripture (Chengxing Lingtai Miyao Jing) - Vernacular Interpretation

On Elderly Health Cultivation:

The elderly should avoid excessive entertainment and maintain a simple lifestyle. For them, sorrowful weeping is more beneficial than indulging in music. According to the Jiuzhi Jing, one may cast a statue of the Saturn Deity (7 inches tall) from plowshare iron, enshrine it in a black porcelain urn, and place it at the bedside. On every You day (Rooster day in the earthly branches), drip black sesame juice on the statue's head at dawn for one full year. Alternatively, one may draw Saturn's image for worship, offering seasonal black fruits as the most effective tribute. Recite the incantation: "Jihuan (Saturn's epithet) is my sovereign, I your servant seek protection to avert calamities," then perform ritual bows. The offerings may be consumed afterward, with sour and bitter foods being particularly suitable. Reference the Bayang Jing for additional practices: wearing realgar and cinnabar, burning benzoin resin, dressing in black garments, avoiding defiled temples, abstaining from beef, and refraining from using horn utensils.

Methods for Dispelling Malefic Stars (Anyao):

Fashion a serpent-shaped bracelet (with the serpent biting its tail) from butcher's knife iron to wear on the arm while dressed in red. Avoid nighttime eating and walking in dark places. Take one peck of elevated earth to place beneath the bed, and another peck of yellow earth to cook and feed to silver-feathered geese or ducks - this is most auspicious.

Neutralizing Jupiter's Influence:

Place seven white hog bristles in a white cloth pouch tied to the left arm, while abstaining from pork and killing. Alternatively, cast a one-ounce silver statue of the Jupiter Deity for worship. During scripture study periods, avoid entering temples, attending funerals, or visiting the sick. Making offerings to accomplished ascetics is beneficial.

Essential Fate Principles from the Dongche Xian Ge:

Human nobility or baseness is determined by stellar configurations, with different life phases governed by varying celestial influences. When Rahu (north lunar node), Venus, Jupiter, Sun, Ziqi (Jupiter's emanations), and Moon conjoin (indicating celebratory events); but encountering Mars or Saturn brings peril (Saturn bodes ill for night births, Mars for day births - either may prove fatal); if these stars form 120-degree trines, calamity occurs without mortal danger; while Yuebo (dark moon) causes domestic turmoil and mental dullness.

The Essential Scripture of the Stellar Spirit Platform primarily discusses celestial influences on human affairs. In modern terms:

When Ketu (one of the Nine Luminaries in Daoism, governing misfortune) occupies an unfavorable position, people must exercise special caution. If it transits through the lunar mansions of Kui or Lou (two of the Twenty-Eight Constellations), it may trigger relocations or career changes. However, when Ketu appears during the Piscean period of the Bi Mansion, it might conversely bring promotions, as this is considered an auspicious position.

Constellations are divided into Yin-Yang positions: Rahu in a Yang palace (representing active directions) brings swift blessings, while in a Yin palace (passive directions) its effects slow; Ketu operates inversely, exhibiting strong influence in Yin palaces but weaker effects in Yang palaces. If one's astrological chart shows no benefic stars in the three primary and four secondary directions, decision-making becomes hesitant.

Special attention is required: if the Career Palace (the stellar sector governing professional life) encounters void periods, life-threatening dangers may emerge around ages 46-47. Even when benefic stars appear but are mixed with malefic ones, sudden mishaps can occur during favorable circumstances. When dominated by calamitous stars like the Moon's Apogee (Bo) or Ketu, coupled with conflicting stellar influences, accidents often happen during unemployment periods.

Day-night distinctions exist: when Saturn governs daytime or Mars rules nighttime, encountering them may bring promotions and wealth—particularly favorable in Fire-element Yin palaces or Earth-element Yang palaces. If the Auspicious Purple Qi star appears in one's life period, it surpasses other stellar influences, potentially granting significant authority. Having two benefic stars in their exaltation positions (where celestial bodies exert strongest power) within one fate cycle can extend lifespan by four years—though delayed blessings will correspondingly postpone these effects.

(Note: "Period" refers to major fate cycles; "exaltation" indicates a star's position of strength; "harmonic alignment" denotes favorable stellar aspects—all specialized terminology in traditional astrological divination.)

This scripture primarily explains methods for determining auspicious and inauspicious omens through astrology, divided into two sections:

The first section discusses how to interpret fortune and misfortune through planetary movements:

1. When malefic stars (evil luminaries) retrograde or linger, they tend to bring calamities, while direct motion lessens the severity. If two malefic stars coincide within the same fate cycle, the disaster will be particularly grave.

2. If the subject enters a fate cycle influenced by malefic stars while simultaneously encountering their birth year or annual affliction by such stars—especially within the "Five Weak Palaces" (five vulnerable astrological houses)—major misfortune may occur within that month.

3. Stars exert their strongest beneficial influence when positioned in one's natal palaces (Seven Strong Palaces), bringing blessings; their power diminishes in weak palaces, increasing the likelihood of misfortune.

The second section details specific astrological calculation methods:

1. It lists the corresponding years for each palace: 15 years for the Mao (卯) palace, 10 for Chen (辰), 11 for Si (巳), 11 for You (酉), 15 for Wu (午) being the most potent, 7 for Shen (申), 8 for Wei (未), 4.5 each for Xu (戌), Hai (亥), and Zi (子), and 5 each for Chou (丑) and Yin (寅).

2. An example illustrates: for those born during daylight, when Mars occupies the Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, or You palaces during its void period (kongwang), a 25-year major life limit approaches; otherwise, ruin may befall them in foreign lands.

3. Human life is calculated on a 100-year baseline, but actual lifespan fluctuates according to stellar influences. Calculations begin from the natal palace (starting at 15 years)—auspicious stars add years, while malefic stars halve them.

Notes:

• "Seven Strong Palaces" refer to seven dominant astrological houses; "Five Weak Palaces" denote five vulnerable ones.
• "Void period" (kongwang) is an astrological term indicating a star's loss of efficacy.
• "Trine" (sanhe) describes the 120-degree angular relationship among three palaces in a chart.
• These calculations must be applied in conjunction with specific birth details and planetary positions.