《靈寶領教濟度金書》Vol. 239

This passage records a fertility ritual called the "Supervising Birth Offering" (Jiansheng Jiao) from the Daoist scripture Lingbao Lingjiao Jidu Jinshu. The ceremony, led by Daoist priests, involves devotees praying to various deities overseeing childbirth.

At the outset, the presiding priest (identified as "the officiant of such position") and assisting clergy (the assembly of altar officials) reverently petition the birth-related deities of the Nine Heavens. These include: the Supreme Sovereign of Spontaneous Life-Generation from the Limitless Dao of the Nine Heavens (highest birth deity), the Great Supervisor of Birth of the Nine Heavens, the Holy Mother Guarding the Birth Chamber (goddess protecting parturient women), deities governing embryonic souls, along with local earth gods and household deities of destiny.

The text describes how these deities compassionately nurture all beings, using the dual forces of Yin and Yang to create life. The devotee (identified as "offering official so-and-so"), having passed fifty years without offspring, suffers constant distress. Thus they establish this purification altar to confess transgressions and seek divine favor, hoping to receive auspicious signs of heavenly granted progeny to continue their lineage.

Key ritual components include: first invoking deities through "Pacing the Void" (a sacred Daoist liturgical movement); then "Declaring Ritual Status" to establish the officiant's authority; followed by the "Initial Offering". Throughout, priests repeatedly burn incense and offer prayers with utmost devotion.

Notably mentioned are the "Merit Officers of the Southern Chang"—legendary Daoist functionaries overseeing fetal differentiation—and the "Six Jia Talisman Attendants", protective spirits governing pregnancy. Together these deities form Daoism's unique pantheon of birth deities, reflecting ancient sacred interpretations of human reproduction.

The Divine Officials of the Celestial Birth-Supervising Bureau (the Daoist celestial institution governing fertility) and all responsive and manifesting deities of awesome power! Hear the pleas of devotees seeking offspring—the flourishing of families is a blessing bestowed by Heaven, and the prosperity of households relies entirely on divine protection. Without auspicious signs from the celestial realm, it would be difficult for virtuous descendants to be born in the mortal world. With utmost reverence, we gaze upon your majestic presence—adorned with sacred swords and jade ornaments, your boundless hidden virtue (Yin De) discerns good and evil, and through the subtle workings of your mysterious power, you determine the granting of blessings. Your towering divine might radiates vast and profound compassion.

Today, a certain devotee (the ritual officiant) who has established this altar to pray for blessings, though advancing in years, has yet to be granted a child. For a long time, they have burned incense before the divine images, holding a sincere heart as if offering a single fragrant petal while gazing upon the Lion Throne (the honored seat of the Daoist altar), beseeching the protection of the Nine Radiance Divine Candles (symbolizing divine guidance). Now, with the maplewood altar reopened, they purify themselves through fasting and ablutions, earnestly praying for the descent of divine light. They repent of their transgressions to demonstrate their utmost sincerity, desiring only to bear a son blessed with both fortune and wisdom, one who will inherit the brilliance and intellect of his ancestors.

We humbly beseech the Celestial Birth-Supervising Bureau to issue decrees to the Mysterious Offices (the underworld administration), mobilize the Cinnabar Bureau (a celestial institution), and dispatch the Sixty Jia Divine Generals (the heavenly guardians of the sixty-day cycle) and the True Deities of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) to protect the wife of the devotee seeking offspring: may her five organs be harmonized and at peace, may the fetus develop healthily, may the ten months of pregnancy pass safely and smoothly, and may she be shielded from all calamities. When the child reaches its first year, may it be seen thriving with vigor. May this child bring glory to the family and honor to the ancestors—all through the boundless grace of the deities, vast as heaven and earth.

(Second Offering Segment)

We, the altar attendants, once again burn incense to reverently announce:

All mighty spirits of the Celestial Birth-Supervising Bureau! The utmost sincerity of mortal pleas ascends straight to the heavens, praying for noble souls to be reborn as infants. Without the profound accumulation of virtue by ancestors over generations, or the planting of vast good roots in past lives by the supplicant, how could one obtain the blessing of a child’s rebirth? Today, the devotee has cleansed their heart and swept away past transgressions, making them worthy of receiving divine favor. We implore the Nine Heavens to bestow blessings and the realms of Yin and Yang to show mercy, mobilizing the divine officials of all departments to unite in protection. May the wife of the supplicant: receive auspicious signs such as the dream of a colorful unicorn or the jade swallow alighting in her bosom (omens of fortunate birth), may nursing and nurturing proceed without hindrance, and may the son born be free from calamities and enjoy a long life.

This passage describes the concluding scene of a Daoist purification ritual (zhaijiao), where the officiating priest (referred to as "the practitioner in position") performs the final devotions and sends off the deities.

First, the priest beseeches the deities for blessings—prosperity for the family lineage (outshining ordinary folk), illustrious status (with grand mansions and successive generations of excellence), the Five Blessings, and longevity (triple lifespan as companion). Humbly acknowledging his inadequate virtue (the highest De [virtue] appears as non-virtue), he earnestly prays for divine compassion (may your discerning gaze be diligent), demonstrating sunflower-like devotion (fervent as sunflowers turning toward the sun).

The text then addresses potential astrological misfortunes (the solitary and widow stars, six harms, and three punishments) that might affect marriage and family harmony, pleading for special celestial grace (may your profound mercy bend downward). This would ensure all descendants—whether of primary or secondary wives—achieve distinction (jade-playing boys without distinction of birthright), securing the clan's flourishing continuity (jade-leaning hopes for ancestral temples). The priest emphasizes this as genuine prayer (this constitutes true supplication), not self-serving petition.

As the ritual nears completion, the priest burns incense to announce (reverently burning incense to report above) celestial phenomena—the Silver River tilting westward, the Jade Dipper turning eastward—signaling the deities' processions (phoenix banners) preparing to return to heavenly paths (celestial thoroughfares), with divine carriages (dragon canopies) about to depart. Expressing profound reluctance to part (boundless attachment), he performs the full kowtow (reverently touching head to ground twice) to ceremoniously send off the deities (respectfully seeing off).

The conclusion features the "Returning Chariot Hymn" (farewell ode to deities) and the burning ceremony (incinerating offerings to dispatch the spirits). The entire passage showcases the complete liturgical sequence of human-divine communication in Daoist ritual—from devout petitioning to ceremonial farewell—embodying the sacred protocols connecting mortals with the divine realm.