《雲笈七籤》Vol. 31

“Receiving life and receiving one’s mandate” describes how, once a person is born, the body already contains divine beings, each with its own role. The scripture then introduces the Lord of the Great Tenuity, Taiyi, and the twenty-four perfected spirits within the body, along with methods for visualizing and guarding them.

The blended Qi (vital energy) gives rise to all things. Its essence spreads and gathers to form the body, while the blockages and openings within it are governed by twenty-four spirits. Only with their command can the body free itself from constraint. If practitioners visualize these spirits as the scripture directs and remember their names, they can calm and protect the whole body and preserve their original Jing (essence), the vital energy received at birth.

To dispel knots and blockages in the body, one should first offer prayers, then withdraw into seclusion for quiet cultivation. These numinous spirits are the source of the subtle movement of Qi and the conditions that allow the body to take form. The spirits are linked to the Dao (the Way), as if surrounded by clouds and mist, and carry the warm, gentle breath of life’s beginning. When cultivation is complete, jade chariots and dragon steeds can be summoned; the spirits assemble in ranks and unite in body and form with the practitioner. The scripture says that from then on, the practitioner ascends to Heaven each day. This is the practice of visualizing the twenty-four spirits of the Perfected One Taiyi and the Lord Xuanyuan, following the Shangqing path of riding the wind and ascending aloft.

In daily practice, settle the body, quiet the mind, regulate the breath, and relax the limbs. Close the eyes and turn inward. Do not cling to the body; focus solely on the spirits. After burning incense and purifying body and mind, visualize and guard the true spirits, as though seeing the twenty-four spirits shining brightly. Practice in this way for eighteen years, and the Most High will command the Lord of the Great Tenuity and the Five Spirits of Taiyi to bring forth the Lord of the Way of Blended Mystery. The Lord will then travel with the twenty-four Perfected Ones in chariots and on horseback, riding the wind and gathering clouds, ascending in a single breath and entering the heavens in broad daylight. This passage describes the attainments promised by the scripture.

During spirit-visualization practice, avoid mixing with unsuitable people. Withdraw from worldly affairs in a quiet inner chamber, gather the spirit, and keep the mind empty and still, visualizing inwardly and maintaining silent concentration. When the hun (soul) and spirit are settled and the body is firm, all manner of harm will be kept at a distance, ghosts and demons will retreat, calamities will vanish, and blessings and celebrations will become too numerous to count. Before beginning visualization, click the teeth together twenty-four times, then turn the mind to contemplation.

The scripture next lists the names, courtesy names, appearances, and colors of some of the spirits in the body:

• The brain spirit is named Jueyuanzi, courtesy name Daodu. It is one cun and one fen tall and pure white.
• The hair spirit is named Xuanwenhua, courtesy name Daoheng. It is two cun and one fen tall and black.
• The skin spirit is named Tongzhongzhong, courtesy name Daolian. It is one cun and five fen tall and yellow.
• The eye spirit is named Xujiansheng, courtesy name Daotong. It is three cun and six fen tall and wears clothes of five colors.
• The spirit of the neck and bone marrow is named Lingmugai, courtesy name Daozhou. It is five cun tall and wears white clothes.

The spirit of the spine is named Yili Fu, with the courtesy name Daozhu. Its body is three and a half cun tall, and it wears plain clothes the color of white jade.

The spirit of the nose is named Chonglong Yu, with the courtesy name Daowei. Its body is two cun and five fen tall, and it wears blue, white, and yellow clothes.

The spirit of the tongue is named Shiliang Zhi, with the courtesy name Daoqi. Its body is seven cun tall and is bright red all over.

These are the Eight Scenic Spirit-Boys of the upper body, the spirits who guard its different parts. First, memorize their names. Visualize them all in the form of infants, as if they were inside your body, each settled in its proper place. After completing the visualization, tap your teeth eight times and swallow your saliva eight times, then recite this prayer softly:

“Eight Spirits of the Upper Realm, enter my body together. The Lord Emperor, the Mysterious Mother, and the Five Spirits each manifest their forms, transform and circulate, and return to the True Dao. A thousand chariots and ten thousand riders ascend together to the Court of the Celestial Dawn. Baiyuan and Wuying nourish Taibin through the Dao; the Eight Numina guard the body, while Jade Radiance bears the smoke. In a trance, come and go ten times, and proceed straight to the Gate of the Sun.”

When beginning the visualization, first call each spirit’s name three times. After reciting the prayer, call each name three times again, making the sound with your mouth. Follow this same method for the upper, middle, and lower parts of the body.

At dawn, noon, and midnight, regularly visualize the twenty-four spirits in order, and recite the prayer and call their names as described above.

The Scripture of the High and Supreme Precious Rules for the Spirits of Illumination says that there are different ways to tap the teeth. Tapping the teeth on the left and right sides is called “striking the Heavenly Bell”; tapping the teeth on the right side is called “beating the Heavenly Chime”; and tapping the upper and lower teeth together in the middle is called “sounding the Heavenly Drum.” Tapping the teeth is a practice used in Daoist visualization and prayer, and each of the three methods has its own purpose. When suddenly confronted by danger or evil spirits, strike the Heavenly Bell thirty times. When passing through the mountains, seeking protection from evil, and praying to the mighty spirits, beat the Heavenly Chime. When visualizing, contemplating the Dao, seeking the True Dao, and summoning spirits, sound the Heavenly Drum. Though tapping the teeth is a single action, it has distinct forms involving the left and right sides and the upper and lower teeth.

Thus, in the face of danger, the sound of the Heavenly Bell inspires awe; in the mountains, the ring of the Heavenly Chime can subdue the mountain spirits; and when spirits are summoned, the vibration of the Heavenly Drum brings their solemn response. Mysterious sounds have their own rhythms, and subtle responses arise from within. They must not be treated as though all were the same, nor improvised by chance. In every invocation and undertaking, the teeth should be tapped according to these directions, for the sounds of the bell, chime, and drum are distinct. The rules of Daoist practice must not be violated or misapplied, and methods of cultivation must not be mixed up or thrown into disorder: violation and error lead to the failing of confusion, while disorder brings disturbance and ruin. This is not a matter devoid of hidden connections. If practice lacks proper order, the Dao is difficult to cultivate and its results difficult to verify; the root cause is that the path to seeking the truth has not been followed correctly. The final phrase in the original, “treading the tracks …,” appears incomplete, so its meaning cannot be determined.

If you do this, you may instead incur many faults in the secular world. Strike the Heavenly Bell thirty times, saying that you have no other purpose. The person offering the prayer performs this method alone, solely to dispel ill omens. If there is some specific matter that must be addressed, follow the corresponding method.

The number of times you click your teeth need not be exactly thirty.

The spirit of the throat is named Bai Liu Fang, with the courtesy name Dao Tong. He is eight inches and eight tenths tall and wears a nine-colored robe.

The spirit of the lungs is named Su Ling Sheng, with the courtesy name Dao Ping. He is eight inches and one tenth tall, and pure white throughout.

The spirit of the heart is named Huan Yang Chang, with the courtesy name Dao Ming. He is nine inches tall and bright red.

The spirit of the liver is named Kai Jun Tong, with the courtesy name Dao Qing. He is six inches tall and blue-green in color.

The spirit of the gallbladder is named Long De Ju, with the courtesy name Dao Fang. He is three inches and six tenths tall, and blue, yellow, and green.

The spirit of the left kidney is named Chun Yuan Zhen, with the courtesy name Dao Qing. He is three inches and seven tenths tall. His color changes unpredictably among five colors: white, red, and blue-green.

The spirit of the right kidney is named Xiang Di Wu, with the courtesy name Dao Sheng. He is three inches and five tenths tall, and white, though at times he also appears black.

The spirit of the spleen is named Bao Yuan Quan, with the courtesy name Dao Qian. He is seven inches and three tenths tall and bright yellow.

These are the eight youthful spirits of the body’s middle region. Visualize each one in turn, recalling their names and appearance. Each resembles an infant, faintly visible within the body and settled in its proper place. After completing the visualization, click your teeth eight times and swallow the saliva in your mouth eight times, then softly recite the incantation:

Eight spirits of the middle region, transform four times and fly through the nine heavens;

Refine the soul and align the body, so the bright radiance shines as one.

The Sovereign Lord loosens the knots; the embryo is refined and returns through the four gates.

Reach upward to the Mysterious Mother; disperse the spirits and stride with power.

May I join with the Eight Spirits, ride together in one carriage, and pass through the same gates;

With a thousand carriages and ten thousand riders, ascend to the Great Subtlety.

The spirit of the stomach is named Tong Lai Yu, with the courtesy name Dao Zhan. He is seven inches tall and yellow.

The spirit of the colon is named Zhao Teng Kang, with the courtesy name Dao Huan. He is two inches and four tenths tall and yellow-red.

The spirit of the small and large intestines is named Peng Song Liu, with the courtesy name Dao Chu. He is two inches and one tenth tall and red-yellow.

The spirit of the torso, the abdominal region of the trunk, is named Shou Hou Bo, with the courtesy name Dao Xu. He is nine inches and one tenth tall and wears a nine-colored robe.

The spirit of the chest and diaphragm is named Guang Ying Zhai, with the courtesy name Dao Zhong. He is five inches tall and white.

The spirit of the two flanks is named Bi Jia Ma, with the courtesy name Dao Cheng. He is four inches and one tenth tall, and red-white.

The spirits of the left Yin and left Yang are named Fu Liu Qi, with the courtesy name Dao Gui. They are two inches and three tenths tall, and blue-green, yellow, and white. Men should visualize the left Yang; women should visualize the left Yin.

The two spirits, Yin on the right and Yang on the right, are named Baobiaoming, with the courtesy name Daosheng. Their bodies are two cun and three fen tall. Their forms are blue, yellow, and white. When a man visualizes them, he regards them as the spirit of Yang on the right; when a woman visualizes them, she regards them as the spirit of Yin on the right.

Visualize the eight Jing spirits of the lower body, the deities within the body, and contemplate their names in order. They all resemble infants, faintly appearing within the body, each settled in its proper place. When you have finished, click your teeth eight times and swallow saliva eight times, then quietly offer this prayer:

“Eight spirits of the lower realm, disperse your forms and transform into numinous beings. Purple vapor rises in abundance; contain the Origin and guard the essence. The Primordial Father Emperor of Great Unity brings forth the Seven Bright Ones and releases me from the registers. The Director of Destiny records the living soul and steadies the hun and po souls. The Five Radiances nurture illumination. A thousand chariots and ten thousand riders travel with me. First I arrive at Great Simplicity, then bow northward to Shangqing.”

The Inner Spirit of the One Dao is named Daiwuma, with the courtesy name Daojisheng. The spirit is one cun and two fen tall and is purple. When a man visualizes it, he calls it the “Inner Spirit of the One Dao”; when a woman visualizes it, she calls it the “Numinous Spirit of the True Origin.” This spirit is the numinous being of the profound root and the foremost spirit that guards the Central Palace. Next, visualize it seated calmly in its place like an infant. When you have finished, click your teeth twenty-four times and swallow saliva twenty-four times, then quietly offer this prayer:

“True Inner One above the Mystery, nourish the body and attend the dawn. Govern and gather the guiding principles, through nine measures and eight revolutions. Within the Dipper stars, light shines; nine tiers of palace halls stand in array. May the Emperor flourish in harmony; nine paths and seven swallows. Saliva flows forth; inner essence is regulated and poured into the spirits. The Five Viscera blossom, restoring the person from old age to youth. A thousand chariots and ten thousand riders ascend to Heaven with me. I go to court at the Great Steps and bow high to Yuchen.”

This spirit is the precious spirit of the whole body. Its name is Nei, and its courtesy name is Huasheng; it is formed from the spirit. Without knowing its name, one cannot attain the immortal Way. If, when undoing knots within the body, you do not first pray to it, the knots cannot be undone. If they remain bound, the three hun souls will lose their stability, the Inner Spirit of the Upper Origin will be harmed, the Five Elders will lose their sight, and the Emperor will grow distant. A man visualizes it as a boy spirit; a woman visualizes it as a female spirit. The two have the same name.

Visualize the twenty-four spirits at midnight. Remove the pillow, lie flat, hold the hands in the Firm Grip posture, relax the body, regulate the breath, and quietly contemplate the spirits within the body settled in their places, while focusing your thoughts on the Emperor. Close your eyes and look inward, envisioning them as though they were appearing before you. If their forms seem incomplete, burn incense, sit upright, close your eyes, hold the Firm Grip, place both hands on your knees, focus your thoughts on the spirits, and offer the prayer according to the prescribed method. When visualizing the spirits at dawn or midday, sit upright as well, and do not let others see you.

All these methods require inward visualization, performed with the eyes closed.

At midnight on the first day of each month, after visualizing the spirits, visualize a white sphere appearing between the eyes, about the size of an egg. In a moment, it becomes two bright mirrors, each nine inches in diameter. Visualize the mirrors shining from front and back through the upper body, illuminating its twenty-four spirits until they all appear clearly. After a long while, silently recite this blessing in your heart:

“Bright and precious mirrors, divide your forms and scatter flowers; illuminate the original spirit and subdue the myriad demons. I fly through Highest Clarity, wearing a cloud scarf, commanding a thousand numinous beings, sealing mountains and summoning rivers.”

Do this once a day for the first five days. This is what is meant by “covering, examining, and gathering the inner essence, and inspecting and collecting the Five Spirits.” Practice it often and you will be spared calamities; in time, you will attain the rank of a high immortal.

The “Way of Brushing the Child” enables one to see the Emperor Lord and the Five Spirits clearly. Ordinarily, at noon on the gengwu day of a jiazi cycle, take one sheng of clear water and put one zhu of true cinnabar—an elixir used in Daoist cultivation—into it. Stir it to the left twenty-one times while reciting this prayer:

“Numinous current, cinnabar essence, bring forth the light of the eight illuminations. The spirits within my body, arrayed in their multitude, come forth and appear. Let me see clearly for ten thousand miles, and reach inward to the Nine Numinous Ones. Emperor Lord, reflect in the child; bring me to Highest Clarity.”

When you have finished praying, face east and wash your eyes with the water fourteen times. Do this regularly and you will be able to see the multitude of spirits clearly. Recite the prayer softly. If you wash your eyes in the direction of the moon’s position, you need not always face east.

Jing for Aiding the Multitude

The Lord on High spoke to Perfected Pu Guang: “The five kinds of blended Qi come together to form the body. Living beings receive consciousness through the causes and deeds of past lives, and the spirit then turns through successive lives. At the beginning of life, consciousness becomes stained and flows into harmful conditions. The person dwells on dim roads and in shadowy realms, obscured by filth and bound in bodily form by demonic prisons. Enduring hardship for a long time, they lose their bright nature. Thus they lose their way again and again, sinking into the sea of suffering, with no one ever seeking liberation.”

Perfected Pu Guang then asked: “Where does the principle of blended Qi come from? Who governs the bright nature within shadowy realms? From where do spirit and consciousness receive their bodily form? Are consciousness and spirit one, or are they two? If they are one, they should not have two names; if they are two, what does each do? Who, in truth, performs good and evil deeds? I do not understand. If the spirit is responsible, then the spirit is mysterious and unfathomable, without fixed location and beyond our grasp. How, then, can it commit faults and sins? If consciousness does evil, then consciousness must be different from spirit. If they are different, how can the punishment for sin implicate the spirit? I have heard the Venerable Spirit speak of good and evil in the Daoist teachings…”

Both kinds of karma—the actions and the results they bring—arise from consciousness. What fault, then, is there in consciousness itself? I am ignorant and truly do not understand. I beg you, in your mercy and compassion, to guide me out of confusion, so that all the causes and conditions accumulated over countless ages may benefit from this.

The Lord of the Dao, the Most High, told Perfected Person Puguang: “When the five kinds of formless Qi come together, they form a vaporous, blended state. Through contact with the external world, beings perform actions that generate karma, and living forms arise from this. Form can alter the nature of the mind; when feelings and reason interact, the myriad things take shape. Transformation arises from consciousness, and Shen (spirit) acts through it. Consciousness and Shen are neither entirely the same nor entirely different. Why? Because their principles come from one source.

In their essential nature, the five inherent qualities harmonized together are consciousness. In their function, Shen perceives the external world, and this clear perception is wisdom. Without consciousness, how could Shen exercise wisdom? Without Shen, consciousness could not grasp the principles of things. This is like making a soup by combining water plants such as water shield: when the five flavors blend, how can one tell which flavor acts on its own? Without the plants, the flavor has no way to appear; without Shen, consciousness cannot function. Shen’s function is therefore like wisdom, while the plants and flavors, when blended, become soup.

Seen this way, where is there any fixed, unchanging darkness? Beings cling to things, and so they remain in ignorance; once they awaken, there is light. Light has no fixed abode: when one is deluded, it is called darkness. But where does darkness have a fixed location? Deep-seated craving is like a prison, confining the body. Without craving, there is no suffering of bondage, and no place in which to be imprisoned.

Consider an uninhabited place in the wilderness: where could the spirits of the twelve time periods, who govern the hours of the day, take up residence? Once walls are built, a dwelling appears, and only then can the spirits of the four directions manifest their powers. In the same way, the spirits within a dwelling are all in the prison of beings’ ignorance. When a spirit arrives, no one knows where it came from; when it departs, no one knows where it goes. If evil karma forms a prison, that confinement is the consequence of karmic force. When the consequences have run their course, there is no prison to speak of.

Wisdom may be great or small, and spirits may be exalted or lowly. If seeing a spirit means declaring that nothing has a location, then everyone should be a sage. Why is that not so? Because beings are not all alike. Perfected Person Puguang, you should now understand: the principles of light and darkness, Shen and consciousness, are all contained in what I have explained.”

On the True Parents

The Celestial Worthy said: “Breath continues without interruption, and many kinds of causes and conditions give rise to life. Good and evil, fortune and calamity, each have their own root. They are governed neither by Heaven nor Earth nor by other people; their source lies in the mind, and the mind arises from Shen. The body is not mine. I was born through the natural emergence of the void, took a temporary womb through causes and conditions, and came into being through transformation.

The parents whose womb I entered are not my original, true parents. My true parents are not the pair before my eyes, but beings who are revered, exalted, and supreme. The parents who raised me in this life are those to whom I entrusted myself through causes and conditions, and who bestowed on me the grace of their care…”

All forms of kindness and affection between old friends should be repaid with proper courtesy; hence the term “parents.” In truth, the form I have received does not really belong to me. It is merely a dwelling place: I borrow the body as a house in which to build and settle myself. The body is joined to me, allowing me to appear through changes that take both visible and invisible forms. Thus, those who have attained the Dao (the Way) no longer cling to the body or to what is formless. When body and Shen (spirit) unite as one, they become the true body and return to the original source of life. In this way, one returns to the parents from whom one was first born and thereby attains the Dao.

The Nine Yin Method of the Nine True Lords for Blending, Moving through the Realms, and Transforming into Myriad Forms while Hidden from Heaven

The Scripture of the Nine Yin of the Lord Emperor says: If you wish to transform your body, manifest yourself in several places, escape into hiding in the eight directions, conceal your body and shadow, enter the realm of darkness, summon all beings, and subdue evil spirits and deities, you should regularly observe purification and cultivate the practice, focusing your mind on the “Essence of the Lord Emperor’s Nine Yin.”

In the first star of the Northern Dipper is the “Palace of Supreme Height.” Within it is a Lord Emperor who governs transformation, concealment, and escape from calamity. His inner consort is named Taiyi Fadan, courtesy name Xingzheng. She wears a yellow brocade mantle, a vermilion-and-blue flying skirt, and her hair is arranged in a high, cloudlike coiffure.

In the second star is the “Palace of the Central Origin.” Within it is a Lord Emperor who governs the protection of pregnancy and the transformation of the body. His inner consort is named Taiyi Sanweng, courtesy name Luozhuying. She wears a red brocade mantle, a green feathered skirt, and her hair is arranged in a high, cloudlike coiffure.

In the third star is the “Palace of the True Origin.” Within it is a Lord Emperor who governs the Six Escapes and Seven Concealments. The palace is also home to the Mother of the Cinnabar Elixir of the Upper Origin, named Taiyi Xuyi, courtesy name Zhongshuangzhao. She wears a blue-green brocade mantle and an ornate flying skirt embroidered with feather patterns, and her hair is arranged in a high, cloudlike coiffure.

In the fourth star is the “Palace of the Hidden Pivot.” Within it is a Lord Emperor who governs the concealment of the body’s shadow and the hiding of its radiance. The inner consort of the Central Origin is named Taiyi Qilie, courtesy name Hengdanpan. She wears a purple brocade mantle, a yellow feathered skirt with patterned designs, and her hair is arranged in a high, cloudlike coiffure.

In the fifth star is the “Palace of the Guiding Spirit.” Within it is a Lord Emperor who governs changes of bodily form and transformations of the shadow. The eldest daughter of the Northern Dipper is named Taiyi Yushu, courtesy name Chouqiulan. She wears a vermilion brocade mantle, a purple-and-blue flying skirt, and her hair is arranged in a high, cloudlike coiffure.

In the sixth star is the “Palace of Bright Order.” Within it is a Lord Emperor who governs the concealment of traces and the dispersal of multiple forms. The middle daughter of the Northern Dipper is named Taiyi Qijing, courtesy name Baodingling. She wears a vermilion brocade mantle, a blue flying skirt embroidered with patterns, and her hair is arranged in a high, cloudlike coiffure.

In the seventh star is the “Palace of the Converging Pass.” Within it is a Lord Emperor who governs the division of the shadow and transformation into myriad forms. The youngest daughter of the Northern Dipper is named Taiyi Yumo, courtesy name Tianfan. She wears a vermilion brocade mantle, an ornate blue feathered skirt, and her hair is arranged in a high, cloudlike coiffure.

In the eighth star is the “Palace of the Emperor’s Seat.” Within it is a Lord Emperor who governs the manifestation of the sun and moon, water…

In the Fire Dipper and the River Dipper, each resides a High Sovereign Lady. The Left Lady of the Fire Dipper is named Great One Stone Qizhu, with the courtesy name Falling Lush Blossoms. She wears a purple brocade mantle and an embroidered skirt of vermilion-feathered flight, and her hair is styled in a cloudlike coiffure. In the Supreme Venerable Palace, where the ninth star is located, stands a mountain of golden stone transformed from the Emperor Lord. The Right Lady of the River Dipper is named Great One Tiao, with the courtesy name Cloud-Nurtured Mystery. She wears a green brocade mantle and a splendid skirt of kingfisher feathers, and her hair is likewise styled in a cloudlike coiffure.

When offering prayers to the nine Emperor Lords above, as well as the Hidden Consorts and the gods of the Nine Yin who dwell in the palaces of the Nine Stars and Dipper, speak only their titles and names. Do not mention details of their appearance, such as their robes or coiffures. A practitioner who knows the Emperor Lords and the gods of the Nine Yin can ascend to the Morning Heaven and become a Perfected One of Shangqing. It is said that, while alive, such a practitioner will also be spared all weeping and calamities for the rest of their life. The spirit of Great Yin protects the essence of all living beings. It can be visited, can divide itself into multiple forms and transform, and can unite with Heaven and Earth.

These nine Consorts of Great Yin are spirits in the Emperor Lord’s Yin Palace. Practitioners cultivate the Dao by untying knots, presenting talismans and entering their names in registers, calming the Hun soul and controlling the Po soul, transforming life and nurturing the spirit, circulating the Dao’s Qi, and extending and nourishing Jing and Qi in pursuit of long life. Without knowing the names of the imperial consorts, or understanding how to unite with them through the method of the Nine Yin, one cannot become an immortal.

The space one inch inward from between the eyebrows is called the Hall of Light. The Hall of Light is one inch across and around, and is the usual dwelling place of the Emperor Lord’s nine Consorts of Great Yin. On each odd-numbered day of the lunar month, observe purification. When life-giving Qi is flourishing, burn incense and enter a quiet room. Sit or lie as you please, close your eyes, and rest quietly for a short while. Then visualize the following in sequence:

First, visualize the Emperor Lord seated in the Purple Chamber of Taiji. Next, visualize the Five Spirits of the Great One within the Six Directions, the Nine Stars of the Northern Dipper within your heart, and the nine Consorts of Great Yin in the Hall of Light. Then visualize the Lad of Taiwei, Qian Jingjing, standing facing the Emperor Lord, holding the Five Talismans in his left hand and the Five Registers in his right. Visualize yourself standing behind the lad. Next, visualize the nine Consorts of Great Yin rising from the Hall of Light into the Purple Chamber of Taiji. They line up horizontally in sequence and stand behind you. The Five Spirits of the Great One also rise from the Six Directions into the Purple Chamber of Taiji, line up horizontally in sequence, and stand behind the nine Consorts.

When these visualizations are complete, the Emperor Lord and all the spirits suddenly merge into one and manifest a tremendous transformation, together becoming a single person. This person resembles a newborn infant and is named the Child of Unceasing Change, with the courtesy name Transformation. In his left hand he holds the Nine Stars; the sun rests on his head, and the moon is held in his mouth.

The light of the Nine Stars shines upon and permeates the whole body, making it clear and luminous inside and out. One can sense this transformation within oneself. The whole body turns crimson and glows like a flame; the distinction between inner and outer disappears, and both shine brilliantly. This is the Lord Taiyi, the Daoist deity, mingling and transforming with the Qi of the Nine Yin, revealing countless forms.

After completing the practice, click the teeth together twenty-four times, swallow the mouth fluids nine times, then softly recite the invocation:

“The divine light of the Grotto Heaven shines back upon Purple Clarity, the celestial realm. The Nine Mornings of Dark Yin vanish into the hidden depths of the Northern Dipper. The Lady and the Three Maidens disperse their forms; within, the divine consort transforms the myriad things, becoming lightning in an instant. Thunder roars, dark mists flow; through nine transformations and ten transmutations, Elixir Qi arises and azure radiance surges forth. Taiyi’s Nine Maidens unite and transform, their forms never fixed. They leap and fly, vanishing into the empty palaces. They wear dark brocade capes and splendid sleeves, with flying skirts of purple feathers. Hidden talismans hang at their left, tiger patterns at their right; flames fill their mouths, the Northern Dipper crowns their heads. They hold the severing banner and wield the Eight Winds. Riding fierce winds from all sides and auspicious clouds, they roam freely among the celestial courses. The Seven Primordial Ones retreat into concealment; mountains, rivers, and peaks revolve. The Five Luminaries, sun, and moon lose their radiance, and the constellations fall out of their proper order.

“They divide and transform their bodies into a hundred forms, entering a thousand places. In fire, they become fire; entering a forest, they become the forest; dwelling in water, they become water; entering a mountain, they become the mountain. Whatever is sought arrives at once, and whatever is summoned appears before the eyes. In an instant, all can be made to accord with one’s wishes. Whatever the gaze falls upon appears immediately. A thousand kinds of things come in response to the heart’s intent and words.

“The Lord appears within my body. The Most High Jade Morning and Wuying, the Daoist deity, share their radiance with me. The Four Patterns and Baiyuan, the Daoist deity, endure forever, nurturing and protecting my body together with Heaven and Earth. When I open my mouth and speak, things transform and move according to my will. Jade attendants serve at my side; Jade Radiance holds a towel. The divine consort presents incense, and the Four Perfected ride together in one carriage. All affairs and all things take shape just as I speak.”

The recitation is complete.