Category: grimoire

Secret Book of the Three Sovereigns

On By benebellIn free download, Fu talismans, grimoire, personal spirituality, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, Tinkering Bell, traditional witchcraft8 Comments

Also known as the: 三皇文 (sān huáng wén); 三皇經 (sān huáng jīng); 三皇内文 (sān huáng nèi wén); Version transmitted to Ge Hong: 小有三皇文 (xiao you sān huáng wén)

Is the Seal of the Nine Immortal Realms 九老仙部印圖 from the Secret Book of the Three Sovereigns 三皇內文遺秘, which is now canonized in the Daozang, or Taoist Canons, part of the lost, legendary grimoire, the Book of the Three Sovereigns 三皇文?

According to lore, during the Three Kingdoms Era (220 – 280 AD), the Taoist mystic and later an ascended master Bó Hé 帛和 finds this text buried inside a stone wall atop Mount Xīchéng 西城山. From Bó Hé’s teachings arose of the earliest traditions of Taoist magic: the School of Bó Taoism 帛家道 (bó jiā dào), or The Way of Bó. Popular among the upper class during the Jin (266 – 420 AD) and Wei (386 – 534 AD) dynasties in the northern central plains of China, the tradition focused on study of the Book of Three Emperors and formulated their own approach to talismanic magic, invocation of gods, and alchemy.

Then, around 300 AD, atop Mount Songshan 嵩山, the Taoist occultist Bao Liang 鲍靓 receives this text painted on silk, as transmitted to Bó Hé. Bao Liang was a renowned master of various occult practices, from astrology and alchemy to necromancy. He married his daughter Bao Gu to the alchemist Ge Hong.

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The Guan Yinzi

On By benebellIn Fu talismans, grimoire, I Ching, I Ching The Oracle (book), Magical in the Mundane, personal spirituality, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, traditional witchcraft14 Comments

also known as the Wen Shi Zhen Jing: Sutra of Magical Spells and Aphorisms for Attaining Primordial Truth

The more recognized naming convention for the sutra is the Guan Yinzi (闕尹子) or Wen Shi Zhen Jing (文始真經) attributed to the gatekeeper who Laozi encountered.

The Guan Yinzi (or Wen Shi Zhen Jing)

According to lore, the gatekeeper at the Western Pass, named Yinxi 尹喜, later given the name Wenshi (文始), transcribed the teachings of Laozi and that text became the Tao Te Ching (道德經). Alternate tellings have Laozi writing the teachings down into two books himself, which the gatekeeper then receives.

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Ba Gua: The Eight Trigrams

On By benebellIn feng shui, grimoire, I Ching, Magical in the Mundane, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, traditional witchcraft9 Comments

This video lecture course is an overview of the eight trigrams (八卦, Bā Guà). It is part of a companion course series leading up to the release of my third book, I Ching, The Oracle.

Ba Gua Correspondences Table

My goofy mnemonic for remembering the order of the trigrams

Timestamps provided in the video description box (you’ll have to watch on the YouTube platform). Apologies, the editing and audio are a bit choppy. The timing of the slides and voiceover narration are off in a few places.

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Taoist Magic for Beginners: How to Get Started

On By benebellIn feng shui, free download, Fu talismans, grimoire, I Ching The Oracle (book), Magical in the Mundane, personal spirituality, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, traditional witchcraft10 Comments

This is a companion write-up to the above video.

Continuing from what I said in the video chat, if this is something you seriously want to do, then start by getting that three-ring binder. Though I think organizing it into eleven sections is sufficient, I noticed you can’t buy packs of just eleven binder dividers. They come in sets of 12, so that’s fine. Having a final “Miscellany” tab is always a good idea anyway.

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On Esoteric or Tantric Buddhism

On By benebellIn free download, Fu talismans, grimoire, Magical in the Mundane, personal spirituality, Tao of Craft (book), traditional witchcraft6 Comments

The above video commentary is a short introduction to esoteric Buddhism, covering the distinctions between sutra-based Buddhism and tantric Buddhism. As noted at the end of the video, this write-up will give instructions to the “homework assignments,” practica [I don’t know why I’m such a nerd and called these “homework assignments”] intended to give you a firsthand experience with Buddhist folk magic.

Timestamp 11:39 Addendum: Oops, I cut out too much of the raw video chat and omitted the part where I talked about where I was going with this. =) So if you were left confused, it’s not you, it’s me. =) Continuing from what I am saying at this timestamp, if tantric esoteric Buddhist cultivation is characterized as a “shortcut” to the destination but one that’s far more dangerous and riskier terrain, then endeavoring to take this route all but requires a highly skilled guide to help you navigate the tougher terrain. It’s not a route you’d want to go at on your own or, worse yet, with a guide falsely self-proclaimed as a lama or spiritual leader who will lead you astray, or who isn’t equipped to help you deal with mara. Thus, the framing of the question shouldn’t be “is it open or closed,” but rather as “what, really, would be the most assured path for you?” Can you fully trust someone else’s claim of endowing you with the empowerment you’re seeking?

Taipei Katok Ten Directions Buddhist Association

As a beginner-level introduction, these practices are intended to be general enough for all, so you’ll be encouraged to piecemeal neutral elements often found in esoteric Buddhism and graft it onto your preexisting practice, and most importantly of all, your local environment.

Taipei Katok Ten Directions Buddhist Association

Just like esoteric Buddhism takes on the indigenous practices and magical systems from the land it touches, be that Bön folk magic syncretized with Buddhism in Tibet, Taoist mysticism with Buddhism in China, Shinto in Japan, or tantric Buddhism melded with Tai and Hmong shamanic practices in Southeast Asia, you’ll be working with features of esoteric Buddhism syncretized with what’s native to you.

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Egyptian Gods and Goddesses (1870), 12 Prints

On By benebellIn create your own deck, divination, free download, grimoire, Magical in the Mundane, personal spirituality6 Comments

Download zip file:
Twelve Ancient Egyptian Deities

These twelve images are sourced from an 1870 publication, Bilder-Atlas – Ikonographische Encyklopädie, a multi-volume compendium of reference books in German. The images are formatted to print at 5.0” x 7.0”, but the resolution isn’t the sharpest. Nonetheless, they still printed okay.

Oops! Please ignore the typo.

After you unzip the file, you’ll see four folders for four different versions of the twelve images. I’ve included the originals, a version where I converted the images to a warmer sepia tone, then two versions with borders for printing.

I’m sharing the files here for those who are fascinated by these sorts of finds.

If you want about 3 mm of patterned border to show and you’re using makeplayingcards.com to print your deck, then go with the 6 mm margin files.

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Asian Wheel of the Year: Lunisolar Astrology

On By benebellIn astrology, feng shui, Fu talismans, grimoire, I Ching, numerology, Taoism3 Comments

Is there an Asian “Wheel of the Year”?

Maybe. Sorta.

Consider these eight solar terms, their dates based on solar longitude (the path of the sun) and how they compare to close equivalents in the pagan Wheel of the Year:

The Four Beginnings  四立
1. 立春 Start of Spring Feb. 3–5
2. 立夏 Start of Summer May 5–7
3. 立秋 Start of Autumn Aug. 7–9
4. 立冬 Start of Winter Nov. 7–8

Equinoxes & Solstices  分/至
5. 春分 Vernal Equinox Mar. 20–22
6. 秋分 Autumnal Equinox Sep. 22–24
7. 夏至 Summer Solstice Jun. 21–22
8. 冬至 Winter Solstice Dec. 21–23

I apologize in advance if my mode of presentation here is going to be a bit overwhelming. In retrospect, I should have taken more time thinking on pedagogy and how best to organize this material so it’s less everything-all-at-once. =)

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Oracle of Novice Witches Look-See

On By benebellIn deck review, grimoire, oracle deck, personal spirituality, traditional witchcraft2 Comments

Oracle of Novice Witches is a 50-card deck featuring 24 witches and wizards from history and folklore, 13 tools of the craft, and 13 animal familiars. The deck was created by Francesca Matteoni and with art by Elisa Macellari.

The full-color guidebook accompanying the cards features a profile summary of every witch and wizard depicted. Entries for the tools of craft define each tool’s purpose and how it’s generally used. For the familiars, animal symbolism and correspondences are provided.

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The Corpus Hermeticum / Divine Pymander (text download)

On By benebellIn Etteilla Tarot, free download, grimoire, Magical in the Mundane, personal spirituality8 Comments

I’m currently reconstructing an Etteilla tarot deck, and as part of my process, I’m deep-diving into the Divine Pymander (one version of the Corpus Hermeticum) because Etteilla was reportedly obsessed with the Pymander and gave that text a great deal of sacred authority.

And so to do a proper Etteilla deck, I thought I had better get myself familiarized with this text that he personally placed so much importance on.

(Kinda like how, in order to get into Eliphas Levi, I had to first get into the Key of Solomon– hyperlinked Key of Solomon will take you to a free text download)

So I compiled the 1650 Everard translation of the Divine Pymander and the 1906 Mead translation of the Corpus Hermeticum tractates together into a book for convenient referencing. These texts date back to the 2nd century AD, if not earlier, and are discourses in the form of Socratic dialogues on the nature of God (divinity), humanity, the mind, alchemy, and astrology. You’ll also find a lot of crossover with Gnostic doctrine.

As far as I can gather, the Pymander and the body of texts referred to as the Corpus Hermeticum are the same, except there are more tractates, or books, in the Pymander than there are in Mead’s 1906 translation of the Corpus Hermeticum. Since both are included in this compiled book, you can do your own due diligence. In this text download, I’ve also included a few inserts from the Nag Hammadi discovered in 1945 and now added to the Hermetic corpus.

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Working with My 2022 Metaphysician’s Day Planner

On By benebellIn grimoire, personal, personal spirituality, promotional1 Comment

So if you saw me share this video earlier but it was the same video as the one on the Day Planner pre-order page about how to upload to Lulu, then you saw the wrong video. I took that down and re-uploaded with the correct video. Serves me right for naming both video files “2022 day planner how-to.” Totally confused me this morning when I went to upload to YouTube.

THIS video walks you through how I’m filling in the different page sections of the day planner. Sorry, it’s been one of those weeks. I’m frazzled and fried. Going to go take a nap now. Thanks.

BA GUA (EIGHT TRIGRAMS) PRINT-OUT

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