The shamanic roots of Taoist practice • Explains the principles of the Taoist Medicine Wheel, including the Five Elements, the animals of the Chinese zodiac, and the trigrams of the I Ching • Includes exercises from the “Wheel of Love” to access the Tao of Ecstasy • Contains illustrated teaching stories about the Eight Immortals Thousands of years ago the immortals known as the Shining Ones shipwrecked on the Chinese coast. Passing their shamanic practices--such as ecstatic flight and how to find power animals and spirit guides--on to the indigenous people, they also taught them the wisdom of the Medicine Wheel. From the Taoist Medicine Wheel came the principles of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the Eight Forces, the Chinese zodiac, and the I Ching. The Taoist Medicine Wheel can also be found at the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine and the esoteric sexual practices of Taoist Alchemy. In the Taoist Shaman, Master Mantak Chia and Kris Deva North explain the shamanic principles of the Taoist Medicine Wheel, how it is oriented on the Five Elements rather than the Four Directions, how it relates to the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac and the trigrams of the I Ching, and how it aligns with the Eight Forces of the Pakua. Through illustrated teaching stories, the authors show how the energetic principles of each of the Eight Forces are reflected in the Eight Immortals. Revealing the wheel’s application to sacred sexuality, they offer exercises from the “Wheel of Love” to strengthen and deepen relationships as well as providing a means to access the Tao of Ecstasy.

Delve into the Magickal Side of I Ching Divination The Book of Changes (I Ching) is more than just an oracle--it is also an incredibly powerful tool for theoretical and practical magick and meditation. With this book, the magician can learn to use the primal elemental forces of the universe as they are revealed in the ancient Hexagrams. For the first time in a study of esoteric practices, Magick, Shamanism & Taoism provides the regular Chinese word-characters for the Hexagrams as well as representations of their archaic antecedents, based on the earliest known examples of Chinese calligraphy. This opens up the potential for creating interesting and authentic variants for talismanic magick. The I Ching is comparable to the well-known Qabalistic Tree of Life. Like the Qabalah, it comprises a "cosmic map" that seeks to define categories for all the possible permutations of elements and circumstances existing in the universal cycle of creation and destruction. Those familiar with the Qabalah will find this to be a perfect complementary system of universal symbols. This book is primarily concerned with the Book of Changes and its links to Taoism, the magickal practices of the Chinese Wu, and related schools of thought. My ambition has been to open up the I Ching so that it can be approached on several levels, all of which are important aspects of the overall whole. Whereas most books on the I Ching focus on the system's oracles as a means to divination, my work builds on that important base to include the potential for magickal rites and meditations, blending traditional ideas with contemporary experimentation. In this way, it allows for a greater personal appreciation and assimilation of the primal elemental forces that underpin the Trigrams and Hexagrams. In doing so, it not only describes the basic tools appropriate for Chinese-style magick, but also explains the symbolism and esoteric theory behind their use. Parallels that I have drawn between Taoism and other worldviews such as shamanism, Ninjutsu, Shinto, Thelema, and Tantra help to broaden and explain fundamental occult concepts. Hexagram correspondences bring together interpretations of the figures with related symbols, gods, ritual instruments, and appropriate magickal workings in a way never before attempted in a work on the I Ching. -Richard Herne

Chinese Shamanic Cosmic Orbit Qigong is an advanced form of Qigong from one of China’s esoteric traditions. Never before written about in the West, this form offers great cumulative benefits from regular daily practice. Master Wu describes the practice in detail, including the meaning and significance of the Chinese names for each movement, with its shamanic roots, and provides the mantra, visualization, and mudra for each as well as explaining the therapeutic benefits and talismanic aspects. The book is fully illustrated, and there is a handy reference quick guide at the end showing the entire orbit. This unique book will be essential reading for advanced students and practitioners of Qigong and anyone interested in Daoism, or the ancient wisdom traditions of China.

For the first time, the great depth and diversity of Taoist spirituality is introduced in a single, accessible manual. Taoism, known widely today through the teachings of the classic Tao Te Ching and the practices of t'ai chi and feng-shui, is less known for its unique traditions of meditation, physical training, magical practice and internal alchemy. Covering all of the most important texts, figures, and events, this essential guide illuminates Taoism's extraordinarily rich history and remarkable variety of practice. A comprehensive bibliography for further study completes this valuable reference work.

This elegant and lucid introduction to the traditions of Taoism and the masters who transmit them will reward all those interested in China and in religions.

Myth and Meaning in Early Daoism examines some of the earliest texts associated with the Daoist tradition (primarily the Daode jing, Zhuangzi, and Huainanzi) from the outlook of the comparative history of religions and finds a kind of thematic and soteriological unity rooted in the mythological symbolism of hundun, the primal chaos being and principle that is foundational for the philosophy and practice of the Dao as creatio continua in cosmic, social, and individual life. Dedicated to the proposition that ancient Chinese texts and traditions are often best understood from a broad interdisciplinary and interpretive perspective, this work when it was written challenged many prevailing conceptions of the Daode jing and Zhuangzi as primarily philosophical texts without any religious significance or affinity with the later sectarian traditions. While controversial and at times playfully provocative, the methodology and findings of this book are still important for the ongoing scholarship about Daoism in China and the world.

Isabelle Robinet's Taoist Meditation is the first and only scholarly study to discuss the ancient Mao-shan Taoist tradition of visionary meditation while, at the same time, helping to clarify the little understood relationship among the early Taoist classics, the Buddhist tradition, and the later Taoist religion. Most importantly, Taoist Meditation is a pioneering study that fully and accurately describes the unique visionary cosmology, bodily symbolism, astral journeys, internal alchemy, meditational techniques, and ritual practices of the Mao-shan or Shang-chi'ing (Great Purity) movement--one of the most important foundational traditions making up the overall Taoist religion. This English version of Robinet's work is more than a simple translation.Taoist Meditation presents a significantly expanded edition of the original French text which includes up-to-date bibliographies of Robinet's work and other Western scholarship on Taoism, additional illustrations, and a newly compiled list of textual citations.