《上清靈寶大法(一)》Vol. 35

The Master says that the Numinous Treasure Dao (Lingbao Dao) places the salvation of beings in the netherworld first. Practitioners should accumulate merit, practice good deeds, and embody the aim of Yuanshi Tianzun (Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning), whose boundless compassion extends to the universal salvation of all beings. Summoning the wandering souls and delivering the dead from the netherworld is among the most important methods of this tradition.

The yin souls of the dead sink into darkness and for a long time cannot see the light of day, so one must establish a rite of deliverance (jianba zhaijiao) and perform this great method. First, one uses the Primordial Ancestral Qi (yuanshi zuqi, the qi of the primordial origin), together with ritual objects such as the Chaotic Red Script, the Jade Tablets, and the Golden Talismans. These gather Yin and Yang and harmonize the Four Images (the four basic forces that constitute heaven, earth, and all things). The male and female are distinguished by the union of the feminine and masculine, of Kan and Li (symbolizing water and fire, Yin and Yang), so that the clear qi rises, the turbid qi settles, and one thereby comprehends the profound principle. Then one circulates the qi of the Northern Dipper and the Five Phases, and proceeds to the Mysterious Altar (xuantan, the ritual space where the rite is performed) to clarify the mind and settle the spirit, turning inward to observe the origin and leaving no attachment in the heart. Next, one ascends to deliver souls in the Southern Heaven and, using the Ancestral Qi of the Three Heavens, refines the dead and transforms them into human form.

Tianyi Beizuo (Heavenly One of the North Throne) and Taiyi Ziwen (Supreme One's Purple Script) are offices within the Great Dipper Palace of the Central Dipper. Lady Xuanming (Xuanming Furen) governs the Seven Origins and is also called the Spirit of Xuandan Taiyi (Mysterious Elixir Supreme One). She dwells in the Nine Heavens and gathers all spirits, serving as the chief minister who oversees the summoning of the netherworld bureaucracy. The souls of all beings beneath the Nine Earths, whether living or dead, fall under her management. Among the mortals of the lower turbid world, those whose life span and allotted fortune are exhausted belong to Xuanming's jurisdiction. Lady Xuanming must issue talismans to the Yuefu (Mountain Offices) before a soul may be retrieved, and she presides over the essential mechanisms of death.

Beneath her command are seven Jade Maidens, each in charge of affairs of life and death, who keep records according to the life registers fixed at each person's birth. The souls of all the wronged and those who died violently are likewise governed by these Jade Maidens. Below the supreme office are also two Great Sages of the Divine Tiger, male and female, who govern the souls of kings, nobles, officials, and commoners throughout the world. Each has twelve thousand Soul-Seizing Officers (sheyun li) who carry out their orders. Among them are three Soul-Pursuing Envoys, who transmit the commands of Taiyi, carry the Xuanming Jade Tablets and the Taiyi Joint Warrants, and ascend to the various heavens and descend to the Three Officials (sanyuan: Heaven, Earth, and Water) as well as the true offices, the Water and Fire Bureaux, to inspect and govern the netherworld prisons and to retrieve the souls.

This method is not transmitted to ordinary people. After it was passed down from Bilu Cavern, Master Liu obtained its highest vehicle, and Ye Jingneng obtained its middle vehicle. Therefore, the teaching and transmission presented here cannot be compared with the ordinary Central Dipper arts.

The Great Leader Dao (Dakui Dadao) can seize and govern the human hun and shen (the ethereal and corporeal souls and the spirit), and it is entirely without error. It also contains methods for summoning and commanding spirits in general. One may recite this method while seated, and the beings summoned will arrive at once. To perform spirit-tiger (shenhu) and similar techniques, one must study the great method carefully and take care not to err in matters of the netherworld.

Preface: The Five Dipper Mysteries (Xuanfan Wudou)

The Master said: The Eastern Dipper (a constellation name) governs the number of a person's lifespan. It is the repository where the azure yang gives birth to qi, and it is presided over by the Nine Qi Heavenly Lord, the Ancient of the Blue Spirit (Qingling Shilao).

The Western Dipper governs a person's registry of names. It is the repository where the white spirit nourishes the pure essence, and it is presided over by the White Spirit Pure Elder (Haoling Sulao).

The Southern Dipper governs a person's vital activity. It is the Great Abyss of the Red Flame and Cinnabar Spirit (Chiyan Danling Taiyuan Fu), and it is presided over by the True Elder of the Cinnabar Spirit (Danling Zhenlao).

The Northern Dipper governs a person's death. It is the repository of the Central Harmony of the Desolate Extreme (Yujue Zhonghe Zhi Fu), and it is presided over by the Mysterious Elder of the Five Spirits (Wuling Xuanlao).

The Great Leader at the center of the Dipper oversees all the spirits. It is the repository that supervises all the spirits, and it is presided over by the August Elder of the Yellow Spirit (Huangling Huanglao).

As for the Eastern Dipper fixing a person's span of life, this means that a person receives one qi at birth, and the lifespan is overseen by the Five Emperors, who examine life and death, the Director of Destiny (Siming) who sets the allotted term, and the officials who keep and register the records. Lifespans differ in length. The great limit is called "longevity" (shou), and a smaller unit of life-count is called "suan" (counting unit). At birth, the register usually records a lifespan of one hundred and twenty years. Each three days counts as one suan, so a year amounts to about one hundred and twenty suan, and twelve years make one ji (cycle), which totals one thousand two hundred suan.

The Director of Destiny examines merit. If the merit is great, the Director memorializes Heaven and adds suan to the person's count: as many as three hundred and sixty, or as few as one hundred and twenty. If the examination finds that wrongdoing has accumulated to a full measure, the suan are deducted. If the wrongdoing is not yet expiated, the suan are further reduced and the years of life are shortened. Reductions and additions of life each follow fixed grades, and there is not the slightest error in them.

The sovereign who fixes the suan in the Eastern Dipper is governed by the star Tanlang. The Director of the Ministry of Destiny records in the command documents (minggi, the official writs concerning fate) the appearance of each man and woman, along with their good and evil deeds and their merits and faults. The sovereign who registers names in the Western Dipper keeps a record of names, and is governed by the star Jumen.

The sovereign of the Southern Dipper who oversees the descent of the spirits and the upward birth of life distinguishes the spirits, sends down the primal qi, and determines a person's wealth, poverty, nobility, and humble station. He also presides over the transformation of births within the land of China, and is governed by the stars Lucun and Wenqu.

The sovereign of the Northern Dipper, who governs the falling of life into death, is in charge of a person's merits and faults and karmic offenses throughout life, and of the length of their lifespan. This continues until destiny and blessings are cut off and the person returns to the long night after death. This matter is governed by the star Wuqu.

All of these matters concerning this life and the life after death, including the registering of names, the fixing of suan, the upward birth, and the downward decline, are overseen by the Great Leader at the center of the Dipper, and the Great Leader is governed by the stars Pojun and Tiangang.

Spirit Tiger Governance

The affairs governed by the stars are, in general, overseen by the Mysterious Offices of the Five Emperors (the divine bureaus that manage the netherworld), which determine the assignment of the hun-souls of beings in the four births and six paths throughout the ten directions. Yuanshi Tianzun established the Palaces of the Seven Primal Stellar Lords within the Palace of Mysterious Exemplars. Each palace has Spirit Tiger officials and clerks. Lady Taiyi governs the Origin of the Soul, and the male and female Spirit Tiger seals govern the corresponding duties. Beneath them are the Jade Maiden Ladies, who keep the registers, manage matters of birth and death, and oversee the affairs of the hun and po souls. If anyone defies or neglects these duties, Lady Taiyi memorializes the Dipper Office, which in turn sends a flying memorial to the Jade Emperor. Rewards and punishments are carried out impartially, without the slightest favoritism. Practitioners of the Dao must not fail to understand these matters.

The Lords of the Spirit Tiger

The Lady of the Northern Dipper Taiyi, Mysterious Darkness, and the Seven Yin; the Lady Inner Consort of Mysterious Darkness; the Lady Purple Origin of Taiyi; the Lady Northern Blessing of Tianyi; the Lady Jade Tablet of the Spirit Tiger; and the Lady Spirit Tiger of Primordial Chaos.

The two Great Sage Spirit Tigers are as follows. The male spirit, who resides on the left and belongs to the Jade Office, governs the three hun-souls and the hundred joints of the body. He oversees the hun-souls and the Elder Lord, and is named [character illegible]. The female spirit, who resides on the right and belongs to the Wuluan Department, guards the seven po-souls and the blood and qi. She oversees the po-souls and the Chief Clerk, and is named Qiao [character illegible].

Both divine beings wear crimson robes, have faces the color of jujubes, hold jade tablets, wear shoes, and have the bearing of kings. They exclusively manage the stars of the heavens and the registers of souls for nobles and commoners alike. The name "Spirit Tiger" refers to the divine office through which the Heavenly Emperor governs souls, namely the Great Sage Spirit Tigers. On their left and right are stationed fifteen Flying Talisman Envoys who seize souls.

There are seven Jade Maidens. The first, who draws and seizes souls and governs the Office of Inverted Birth, is named Jiang Rengui. The second, who oversees the souls of those who die of ordinary illness, is named Jiang Renxi. The third, who oversees the souls of those who die of plague or miasma, is named Wang Zhenqing. The fourth, who oversees the souls of those who die of consumption, epilepsy, leprosy, and similar diseases, is named Zhai Puqing. The fifth, who oversees the souls of those who die by flood, fire, blade or battle, drowning, falling into a well, hanging, violation of the law, or other accidental violent death, is named Huang Wen [character illegible]. The sixth, who oversees the souls of those who die in miscarriage or childbirth, or from injury, fracture, or bloodshed, is named Chang Daoren. The seventh, who oversees the souls of those who die in obscurity, are struck by lightning, die wrongfully, or are bewitched by demons, is named Dong Xiqing.

All of these Jade Maidens wear fish-scale patterned sleeves, phoenix-crowns, and crimson shoes. They wear skirts decorated with feather patterns, jade ornaments, and carry registers recording life and death. They govern the deaths of the common people and the orderly or disorderly passage of their souls.

The Pursuing Soul Envoys number fifteen. The Upper Envoy is [character illegible] Hou.

Upper Envoy wears a purple embroidered robe and a chaotian futou (upward-facing headcloth). A red embroidered band is tied across the forehead, his complexion is purplish-black, a jade belt is fastened at the waist, and he carries a fishtail knife (yuwei dao). He holds a golden mallet in one hand and a talisman (fu) in the other, and wears green boots.

Middle Envoy Wei ▲ wears a red embroidered robe. His complexion is flushed red, and he has a jade belt, a fishtail knife, and green boots. In one hand he holds a battle-axe (yue fu), and a yellow forehead band is tied around his head.

Lower Envoy Zhang [?] wears a green embroidered robe and a purple forehead band. His complexion is purple, and he has a jade belt, a fishtail knife, and green boots. He holds a golden mallet in one hand, and the rest of his dress is the same as that of the Upper Envoy. These three envoys oversee people born in the years of the Rat (zi) and the Horse (wu).

Ding ▲, Hu ▲, and Zhuo Shenzhi oversee people born in the years of the Ox (chou) and the Pig (hai).

Wang Hu, Wang ▲, and Liu Zihe oversee people born in the years of the Tiger (yin) and the Dog (xu).

Zi Tian ▲, Ren ▲, and Zeng Yuan ▲ oversee people born in the years of the Rabbit (mao), the Snake (si), and the Sheep (wei).

Shao Gongquan, Ling Feizhen, and Kong ▲ [?] oversee people born in the years of the Dragon (chen), the Monkey (shen), and the Rooster (you).

All of the envoys above wear crimson robes and the chaotian futou.

The Seven Ways Meritorious Officials

Gao Tianzhen and Ran Wenmei hold the Way of Heaven. Hu ▲ and Xi Zhong hold the Way of Humanity. Xian Zhong holds the Way of Immortals... (see note below)

Correction to the line above, given the source text: Hu ▲ holds the Way of Humanity, and Suo Zhong holds the Way of Immortals. Zhai Chi ▲ holds the Way of Ghosts, and Zu Gongbi holds the Way of Spirits. Ge [?] holds the Way of Karma.

Each category of meritorious officials has one hundred and twenty members. In the Great Rite (da fa) actually used, these seven officers command them.

Two Attendant Boys

Xu Tiao, the Jade Storehouse Attendant Boy who Supervises Souls, and Kong Wanqing, the Jade Storehouse Attendant Boy who Guides Souls.

Each of these two categories has one hundred and twenty members, and these two boys command them.

Two Prison Envoys

Liu [?][?], the Envoy of the Yangyao Tongguan Altar, and Ming ▲▲, the Envoy of the Yinling Sheshen Altar.

Pursuing and Seizing Generals

Pursuing and seizing generals of the Four Gates: Song, Du, Zhang, and Ma. The Great General for Gathering Souls from Heaven is Wang Kai, and the Great General for Seizing Souls from Earth is Zheng Yu. The Envoy who Exhales is Zhang Hai, and the Envoy who Inhales is Liu Qing. The Soul-Supervising Envoy is He Bi, and the Soul-Guiding Perfected is Wang Jing. The Great General who Pursues Souls is Zhang Ji, and the Attendant Boy who Pursues Souls is Lei Zhen. The Envoy of the Clear and Serene Heavenly Cavern Perfected is Peng Danian. The Envoy of the Iron-Trace Terrace Light is Xu Chang, and the Envoy who Pursues Souls Swiftly is Wang Jing. The General who Appears Universally and Sees Clearly is Yuan Zhao, and the two Spirits of Blue and Black are Wang Xu...

In this passage, zi, chou, yin, mao and the other terms are Earthly Branches, used to mark the year of a person's birth. The phrase "people born in the years of Zi and Wu" refers to people born in the years of those branches. Gongcao (meritorious officials) are spirit clerks in Daoist zhaijiao (purification rites) who carry documents and perform official duties. Names such as "pursuing souls," "seizing souls," and "guiding souls" refer to the spirit generals and envoys listed in the scripture who are charged with pursuing, seizing, or guiding souls. The original text contains several missing or variant characters, which are retained here in their original symbols (▲) or marked as [?].

The officials who lift the hun soul and gather the po soul number one hundred and twenty-five in all. The envoys of the Thunderbolt, who bewilder the soul and send it into faint and flight, number one hundred and twenty. The talisman envoys who descend the perfected and summon spirits also number one hundred and twenty. Alongside them serve the Great Spirits of the Five Paths, the Envoys of the Six Jia who open the way, the local earth gods along the road to Mount Tai, and the envoys who keep watch over the coming and going of the dead. The Youths Who Examine Destiny and the Attendant Boys of Fate complete the company.

Divine Tiger Seals

The Master says: whenever one carries out the Divine Tiger jade-script talismans (fulu), each has its own seal, and the seal must be consecrated before it is used. A talisman without a seal is like soldiers without a general; a seal without a talisman is like a general without soldiers. The talisman, the seal, the qi (the breath and energy spoken of in Daoism), the formulas of incantation (jue fa), the pacing of the Dipper steps (bugang), and the methods of summoning the spirit-agents each must be present, and lacking any one of them leaves the rite incomplete and therefore not truly efficacious. For this reason the Lingbao methods insist on "ten completions," and no one has ever been heard of who disregarded these rules and still succeeded.

The Various Seals

The Seal of the Northern Ruler's Mysterious Norm Office: the male seal on the left, the female seal on the right.

The Divine Tiger Jade Talisman Seal, the Divine Tiger General Administration Seal, and the Great Ruler's General Supervision Seal.

All of the above seals are found in the Canon of Seal Scripts and Patterns (Yinzhuan guifan men).

The Method of Consecrating the Seals

The method holds that one should prepare tea, wine, and seasonal fruits, nine portions of each. On the "Nine Announcement Days," these are placed in a quiet chamber (a pure room used for ritual practice) and offered, and the seals are consecrated according to the prescribed rules.

The Seal-Consecration Incantation

Heaven's One of the Northern Throne, Supreme One of the Purple Origin, Northern Ruler of the Mysterious Norm, Divine Tiger Mysterious Elder, and the Jade Maiden, Great Sage within the Dipper: may the essential lights of the ten directions that pursue and gather the wandering souls descend and accompany me. In the space of a single breath, enter my seal; with the outgoing breath, move with the breath, transforming without end, yuan heng li zhen. Swiftly, as the Divine Tiger commands!

Chant the incantation fourteen times while facing north, inhale twelve times, and then blow breath onto the seal. Visualize nine purple mysterious currents of qi descending from beneath the Northern Ruler into the seal, and then visualize the generals, following the incense smoke, entering the seal together with the purple mysterious qi. Then bow again and chant the incantation once more. When the chanting is finished, pour wine over the seal and place it face down in a clean basin, and after burning paper coins to ash, divide the ash into four portions and lay them on the seal. Afterward, store the seal in a clean place, wrap it in a red cloth bag, and keep it hidden from others. If it is seen by others, it will lose its efficacy. Only after twelve years may the petition be presented again and the seal be renewed. The old seal must be discarded in a cave that no one can reach.

The Method of Establishing the Yin and Yang Altars

The Master says: whenever a large-scale purification ritual (zhaijiao) is performed, select a room at the Gen gate in the northeast, establish the Divine Tiger Hall there, and arrange the desks for the officers facing south, with incense, flowers, and all other offerings fully prepared. Then……

The Yangyao Tongguan Altar (Yangyao tongguan tan), used for rites of yang-nature and the opening of passages, is set on the left of the purified main hall, and the Yinling Sheyun Altar (Yinling sheyun tan), used to gather the souls of the dead, on the right. Each altar should measure three chi and six cun on a side, and must be leveled and squared. Each receives its own altar placard, and tablets for the "Left and Right Prison Envoys" are set up around the room. White cloth hangings enclose the room to keep out dust.

First, the Hunyuan Jade Tablet (Hunyuan yuzha) is honored according to the rite. Then the altars are established, and tea, wine, and fruit are prepared, and offerings are made to the Divine Tiger Officers and Generals (Shenhu guanjiang). The master then transforms into the deities, paces the Dipper steps (bugang), and performs the summoning practice in sequence. With a sword, the master traces the ritual patterns in the earth: the male seal is placed at the center of the yang altar and the female seal at the center of the yin altar. Between the two altars stands a single table, on which a lamp is lit and the Guiding Child talisman and the various Divine Tiger talismans (fu) are placed. Two vessels of water are prepared, each steeped with a Divine Tiger Pursuit-Soul talisman and set beneath the tablet at the center of the altar. The officers are then addressed and asked to pursue the spirits and bring them to the altars to appear.

Next, three manifestation talismans are taken. One is burned together with the official summons document and the spirit money; one is sunk in the water; and one is swallowed by the master. Holding the talisman-water in the left hand and the sword in the right, the master recites the Tianyi Beizuo Incantation (Tianyi beizuo zhou) seven times, drawing the qi of the ghost gate into the water, and then sprinkles the water over the two altars. The remaining water is left on the table. The hall is then screened off with curtains, its doors are tightly sealed, and no one is permitted to come or go.

At the appointed hour, when the summons begins, the curtains are drawn back and banners are placed to the left and right of the two altars. Talismans such as "Tong Xian You" (Tong Xian You), "Shi Tong Yu" (Shi Tong Yu), and "Tong Mu" (Tong Mu) are burned, and their ash is dropped into the water, which is then sprinkled and also dabbed onto the child. The child is then directed to point into the distance, and after a while, it is said, one may glimpse the traces of the departed.

If a filial son or close kin is loyal, devoted, compassionate, and righteous, and his longing is sincere, he may see the spirit's form and may even converse with it, with questions and answers clearly exchanged, as though the dead person were still alive. If weeping startles the spirit and its soul scatters, the spirit will depart. If the living person's heart is joyful, however, the spirit's form will appear in full. Anger above all is forbidden. One must not summon the dead out of private motives or reckless impulse; beyond this, no other prohibitions apply.

The Setup of the Eight-Gate Summoning Altar

The master says that to manifest the summoned spirit, one should establish the Eight-Gate Summoning Altar at the center of the Divine Tiger Hall, placing it eight chi from the surrounding walls. Another account holds that one should choose an open, clean spot, spread fine yellow earth to level it into an altar surface four chi and nine cun wide, open eight gates around its edge, and tie a red silk ribbon from the left side, nine chi or one zhang in length.

Using a five-chi measuring cord, mark out the ritual ground and set up eight gates. Each gate receives two iron stakes, making sixteen in all, each six cun long. Write the names of the eight gates on white placards, draw eight talismans (fu), and insert the stakes with a placard and talisman at each gate. At the center of the altar, place a clean basin filled with immortal-medicine water (xianyao tang), and soak in it the tablets inscribed with the words "Iron Traces Terrace" (Tieji Tai) and "Treasure Light Seal" (Baoguang Zhang).

Bind a figure of the deceased from clean grass, dressing it in the clothes and cap the person wore in life. Place inside the figure the Great Brahma Hidden Words (Da Fan yinyu), and set on its head the Ascension Certificate (Shengtian daquan). Hang the figure from the hook of a steelyard frame so that it hovers about three to five cun above the ground.

Before the ritual begins, make a soul-summoning banner (zhaohun fan) of white silk seven chi two cun long, one male and one female banner, each three chi six cun in length. Tie each banner to a bamboo pole eight chi four cun long. The male banner stands on the left of the altar and bears the words "Iron Traces Terrace." The female banner stands on the right and bears "Treasure Light Seal." On the appointed day, when the summoning rite is performed, have a boy and a maiden each hold a banner, standing to the left and right of the officiant.

The officiant summons the spirit of the deceased and the attending generals according to the rite. Hold the banner in the right hand and form the soul-summoning seal (zhaohun jue) with the left. Click the teeth nine times, whistle three times to the left and call three times to the right, then chant the Soul-Summoning Incantation, the Yin-Yang Dou Zhang (Yin-Yang Dipper Chapter), and again the Soul-Summoning and Soul-Pursuing Incantations, while visualizing and performing the ritual methods. Then cover the grass figure with the banner. If the yin spirit arrives, the banner will grow heavy, the bamboo pole will bend, and the weight of the figure will press down to the ground. At this point, the spirit is led forward to bathe, change clothes, worship the true deities, and receive salvation.

If the refining-and-salvation rite (liandu) is held long after the person's death, and there is concern that the deceased fears the living yang energy and that the hun and po souls are scattered, then again use the banner to draw the souls back and gather them at the soul altar. Open the Gate of Death, lead the spirit in, and then close it. Next, take water from the altar and sprinkle it with a willow branch throughout the altar in all ten directions. In this way, the deceased who receives the sacred water can recover a complete body and soul, and become able to see images and manifest a form. When the guiding and refining of the spirit is complete, open the Gate of Life and lead the deceased out of the altar.

This method is used for rites such as the Taiyin Liandu (Great Yin Refining Rite). Another account holds that whenever a Divine Tiger Altar (Shenhu tan) is set up, the Fuluo Wupian (Five Chapters of Dispersal and Settlement) must be laid out to guard the five directions. This is a diagram of the Great Fuli Earth of the Supreme Deity, and once it is placed in the center of the altar, the spirits respond immediately to the summons. Without this document, the divine clerks lack the proper credentials and cannot come. During the rite one should recite the Three Chapters on the Demon King (Mowang sanzhang), and burn two chapters of the Eight Majestic Dragon Texts of the Red Writ Jade Characters (Chishu yuzi bawei longwen) inside the chamber. This is because the divine clerks are not true beings transformed from the original ancestral qi of Heaven's source...

Spreading Forth the Five Sections of the Red Writing Jade Script (Chishu Yuzi)

The jade script is not ordinary writing and may not be used to summon spirits. Only the second chapter, "Xuan Du Zhi Jin Yuan Shi" (Mysterious Capital, Utmost Prohibition, Primordial Beginning), may be used. To summon the Celestial Sovereigns (Tiandi Shangdi) and the myriad spirits of the Three Realms (Sanjie), this chapter must also be used. When the myriad sages see the text of this chapter, they all see jade light and come forward.

The practice of the Supreme Way of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Shangdao) depends entirely on refining qi (lianqi) and storing the spirit (cunshen), which means visualizing and holding the spirits in mind. One must be able to visualize the true body of Yuanshi (Primordial Beginning) and come into correspondence with it before one can attain the Great Dao (Dadao). Those who are confused about this will only exhaust the body in vain and may instead incur punishment, so one must be extremely careful.

Eight Majesties Dragon Text (Ba Wei Long Wen Zhang) (see the section "Zhen Rang She Zhi Men," Gate of Suppression and Control)

Yang Yao Tong Guan Altar Diagram (Yangyao Tongguan Tan Tu)

This altar is used to draw in the dead who are being presented for deliverance, including ancestors of past generations, the dead both near and far, and all soul-consciousnesses (hunshi).

Yin Ling She Hun Altar Diagram (Yinling She Hun Tan Tu)

This altar is used to draw in those who died of illness, died violently, died by self-harm or by being killed, were imprisoned and left stranded, or have long sunk into the netherworld, as well as all soul-consciousnesses in the Nine Darks (Jiu You).

Eight Gates Soul-Summoning Altar (Ba Men Zhao Hun Tan)

Once the hun and po souls have been summoned, the ghost gate is opened to let them enter through the human gate, and then the ghost gate is closed again.

Eight Gates Placard Talismans (Ba Men Pai Fu)

These mark, respectively: the Human Way (Rendao), the Buddhist Way (Shidao), the Immortal Way (Xiandao), the Earth Way (Didao), the Karmic Way (Yedao), the Divine Way (Shendao), the Ghost Way (Guidao), and the Animal Way (Xudao).

These placards are written on yellow paper, each one chi and four cun high (about forty-six centimeters). When the dead touch this talisman, their hun and po enter the altar. It is said that everyone present can see the traces of its manifestation.

Tie Ji Tai Guang Bao Zhang (Iron Traces Terrace Light Treasure Seal)

(The light of sun and moon shines over the eight directions; the Iron Traces gleam like gold, the light-treasure terrace seal; majestic radiance flares, sweeping away yin and transforming yang; the hun and po return to infancy, shen and qi pass through the constant; the Eight Gates lead into the hidden, and none pass into death or harm; when the spirits are summoned, none may hide.)

This seal is written in cinnabar (dansha) on yellow silk two cun wide. Separately, take one fen each of poria (fuling), fushen, asparagus root (tianmendong), ginseng (renshen), and rehmannia (dihuang), decoct them into a liquid, and soak the seal in a basin of it, then place the talisman inside the Eight Gates altar. After the summoning, sprinkle water over the four sides of the altar. The texts say that if the yellow talisman makes the dead whole in body and brings their hun and po into view, one will be able to see their shadows and forms; this is called a treasure of ghosts and spirits (guishen zhi bao). Another account holds that one should write the seal on blue silk with cinnabar, seven cun long and two cun four fen wide, to summon the sinful souls of the Avici Hell (Wujian Diyu).

Two Altar Banner Talismans (Tan Fan Er Fu)

Tie Ji

Tai Bao

Guang Zhang

These two talismans are written with a mixture of orpiment (cihuang) and cinnabar (chenshā) on both sides of a banner, which is then set up inside the Eight Gates altar.

Place the summoning ritual on both the left and right sides of the altar. For the living, summon with the Iron Traces (iron ritual implements or talisman traces; the exact referent is unclear). For the dead, summon with Precious Light.

During the summons, chant the Yuhuang Jue (Jade Emperor Formula) and circulate the northern qi (qi of the north).

Summoning Banner: Taiyi Returning-to-Truth Soul-Gathering Talisman (Taiyi Fanzhen Sheh Hun Fu)

(Grand Lord of the Supreme Purity) (Purple Qi Ford) (gathers essence and assembles the souls)

(The messenger arrives and presents the talisman) (one true summons) (the hun and ling souls unite)

Purge the defilement of the Shuangling (Clear Spirit), Fushi (Hidden Arrow), Feidu (Flying Poison), Taiguang (Womb Light), Shigou (Corpse Dog), Tunzei (Swallowing Thief), Choufei (Foul Lung), Youjing (Hidden Essence), and Queyin (Sparrow Yin).

(Supreme Jade Decree) (the talisman unites and penetrates the netherworld) (the messenger who gathers souls)

(Let the wandering souls return and gather, and restrain and subdue the winds and fires.)

(Restore their original forms) (return to Fengdu, the Netherworld City) (let them not linger.)

(Through non-action they transform of themselves, and the power of the Great Dao deepens.)

Incantation:

The Northern Emperor descends, the divine elixir appears, and all the immortals gather to behold the sacred countenance. May the registers of Fengdu be lowered, so that the retribution of good and evil turns like the wheel of rebirth. May the sufferings of hell be briefly opened, so that the souls under punishment may leave the mountain of knives.

What is the reason for this? What karmic retribution keeps the souls of the dead cut off for so long at the passes of the dark netherworld? May you have compassion for the lost dead, so that when they have nothing to lean on, they may still have something to hold. For this reason, I have specially demonstrated the essential formula of this true talisman and proclaimed it in the world to save all living beings.

Swiftly, swiftly, as the statute commands.

The above talisman method follows the Northern Emperor Formula and employs the northern qi.

Great Commander Summoning Spirit Talisman

(Terrace Light, Clear Spirit, Hidden Essence) (supporting infants, so that their omens are steady) (transforming and generating primal qi, stars flying and moisture falling)

Banner-Crown Talisman

(Heavenly Spirit, Earthly Essence, Human Talent, Ghostly Clarity) (Clear Spirit, Terrace Light, Hidden Essence) (Corpse Dog, Hidden Arrow, Sparrow Yin, Swallowing Thief) (Flying Poison, Clearing Defilement, Foul Lung)

(The three qi transform and generate) (the three hun souls return to spirit) (summoned three times, they arrive swiftly)

(Not bound by the register of death) (yang qi descends, yin qi dissipates, the ears and eyes open clearly)

(Dongshan) (liberation) (yuan, heng, li, zhen)

The Master says: the summoning banner may be made of white silk with a lined interior, three feet six inches long. Write the talisman at the top of the front face. On the body of the banner, write "Taiyi Returning-to-Truth Talisman" in ink, then cover it with the characters for "union talisman" written in cinnabar. Use the Jade Chief's jade seal, and write the deceased's name beneath the talisman. At the two feet of the banner, write the year, month, day, and hour of the deceased's birth and death. Write "the three hun souls all come, the seven po souls all arrive," and at the two hands write "treasure banner for transferring the spirit," which guides the soul forward. The final line of the original, beginning with the word he (union), is incomplete.

The talisman's spirit should be guided by good intentions and should no longer disobey the commands. On the talisman, write the forms of the sun, moon, and Northern Dipper neatly at the top, and seal the name "Great Chief Supervisor Talisman" (Dakui Zongjian Fu) in seal script on its body. With both hands, write the names of the two holy spirits, and daub them in vermilion (zhusha) over their personal names, then stamp the talisman with the "Seal of the Great Chief Supervisor" (Dakui Zongjian Yin).

With both hands, write the names of the Three Ethereal Souls (sanhun) and Seven Corporeal Souls (qipo): Embryonic Light (Taiguang), Prolonging Life (Yanming), Brightened Spirit (Shuangling), Increasing Emolument (Yilu), Hidden Essence (Youjing), Cutting Off Death (Jueshi), Corpse Dog (Shigou), Lurking Corpse (Fushi), Sparrow Yin (Queyin), Swallowing Thief (Tunzei), Flying Poison (Feidu), Eliminating Filth (Chuhui), and Foul Lungs (Choufei). In the left hand, write: "Male Left Jade Bureau Controller of the Three Souls and Hundred Joints; Great Sage Lord of the Soul, Lord Elder He." In the right hand, write: "Female Right Martial Phoenix Guard of the Seven Souls and Blood-Qi; Great Sage Lord of the Corporeal Soul, Lord Official Qiao."

This is the male banner talisman (nan fan fu) used on the Yang altar, and also the female banner talisman used on the Yin altar.

Secret Incantation for Summoning the Soul by the Divine Tiger:

Yang spirit, return! Remaining Yin spirit, come beneath my banner. Tianpeng of the Northern Dipper, command the Black Warrior to open the gates of the netherworld, so that the Three Souls do not scatter and the Seven Souls do not decay. By the power of this golden talisman, I draw in your spirit and bind it to the spirit banner. May you follow the Supreme Dao and ascend to the ranks of the immortals. Swiftly, as the statute commands!

Great Methods of the Shangqing Lingbao, Scroll 35