The Golden Elixir Blog

This passage of the Cantong qi is reproduced from Fabrizio Pregadio,  The Seal of the Unity of the Three: A Study and Translation of the Cantong qi , the Source of the Way of the Golden Elixir (Golden Elixir Press, 2011). The Golden Elixir website contains an extended collection of of free translations, essays, and other materials on the Cantong qi reproduced from this book.   Book 2, Section 68: The Lovely Maid and the Yellow Sprout 1-4 The Lovely Maid of the River is numinous and supremely divine: when she finds Fire she flies away, leaving behind not a speck of dust.   5-8 Like a demon she hides, like a dragon she conceals: nobody knows her whereabouts. If you want to control her, the Yellow Sprout is the root.   Notes The Lovely Maid of the River ( heshang chanü ) is True Mercury; she is the Yin line within Li , referred to as the "second daughter" in the terminology of the Book of Changes . Aroused by fire, she esca...

Golden Elixir Press is pleased to announce the publication of The Seal of the Unity of the Three , by Fabrizio Pregadio. "The Cantong qi is the forefather of the scriptures on the Elixir of all times. Its words are ancient and profound, arcane and subtle. No one can fathom their meaning." Thus begins a preface found in one of the commentaries to the Cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three). These words express several significant features of the work translated in the present book: the charm of its verses, the depth of its discourse, its enigmatic language, and its intimate relation to the Taoist alchemical traditions. Under an allusive poetical language and thick layers of images and symbols, the Cantong qi hides the exposition of a doctrine that inspired a large number of commentaries and other works, and attracted the attention not only of Taoist masters and adepts, but also of philosophers, cosmologists, poets, literati, calligraphers, philologists, and b...

The Autumn 2011 catalogue is now available. Click the picture or the link below to access the download page: •  Autumn 2011 catalogue The catalogue includes a code for a 10% discount on all PDF editions. This offer is valid until the end of autumn (December 21, 2011).

This passage from Li Daochun's most important work is quoted in Isabelle Robinet, The World Upside Down: Essays on Taoist Internal Alchemy (Golden Elixir Press, 2011) The image of the Dragon-Tiger undergoes a thousand transformations and ten thousand changes, and its transcendence ( liao ) is divine and unfathomable. This is why we use it to represent the ingredients, we establish it as Tripod and Furnace, and we move it with the Fire regime. By analogy, it is Kan and Li; by substitution ( jia ), it is Metal and Fire; by naming, it is the boy and the girl; by conjoining, it is the husband and the wife. All these different names constitute the wondrous function ( yong ) of the Dragon and the Tiger. By virtue of their divine animation ( ling gan ), we call them ingredients; because they bring things to achievement, we call them Tripod and Furnace; by virtue of their transformations, we call them Fire regime; because they cross each other and join to one another, we call them ...

Golden Elixir Press is pleased to announce the publication of T he World Upside Down: Essays on Taoist Internal Alchemy , by Isabelle Robinet, in paperback and PDF editions. The World Upside Down contains four essays on Internal Alchemy (Neidan), originally published in French and translated here for the first time into English. The essays are concerned with the alchemical principle of "inversion"; the devices used by the alchemists to "give form to the Formless by the word, and thus manifest the authentic and absolute Dao"; the symbolic function of numbers in Taoism and in Internal Alchemy; and the original meanings of the terms "External Elixir" ( waidan ) and "Internal Elixir" ( neidan ). Visit the  Web page . About the Author Isabelle Robinet (1932-2000) was one of the most important Western scholars of Taoism. Her work dealt with several major topics: the Laozi and the Zhuangzi with their commentaries; the Shangqing (Highest C...

This is one of the poems in the Cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three), the main text of Taoist Internal Alchemy (Neidan). Innerly nourish yourself, serene and quiescent in Empty Non-Being. Going back to the fundament conceal your light, and innerly illuminate your body. "Shut the openings" and raise and strengthen the Numinous Trunk; as the three luminaries sink into the ground, warmly nourish the Pearl. "Watching, you do not see it" — it is nearby and easy to seek. For comments and notes on this poem, see this page [ http://www.goldenelixir.com/jindan/ctq_18.html ] Reproduced form Fabrizio Pregadio, The Seal of the Unity of the Three: A Study and Translation of the Cantong qi , the Source of the Way of the Golden Elixir (© Golden Elixir Press, forthcoming).

This short passage is translated from the Zhonghe ji (Anthology of Central Harmony), a work containing writings by Li Daochun, who was active at the end of the 13th century. The passage is part of a conversation between Li Daochun and one his disciples. The scriptures on the Elixir say that the wonder of the practice essentially lies in the Mysterious Barrier ( xuanguan ). I don't know where exactly is the Mysterious Barrier. Li Daochun said: The Mysterious Barrier is an utterly mysterious and wondrous function. How could it have a fixed position? If it is situated in the body, this is not correct. If it is separated from this body and is searched outside of it, this too is not correct. Those who are mired in the body situate it in the physical shape; those who are mired in the outward situate it in the external things. In any case, the Mysterious Barrier is the place where the Four Elements and the Five Agents do not cling. (The Four Elements of Buddhism are Earth, Water, ...

The Summer 2011 catalogue is now available. Click the picture or the link below to access the download page: •  Summer 2011 catalogue The catalogue includes a code for a 10% discount on all PDF editions. This offer is valid until the end of summer (September 22, 2011).

The Book of the Nine Elixirs ( Jiudan jing ) is the main extant text of the Great Clarity (Taiqing), the earliest identifiable tradition in the history of Chinese alchemy. In its original form, this work dates from about 200 CE. It describes the preparation of nine elixirs, paying particular attention to the ritual context of the alchemical practice. The main stages of the process are the ceremony of transmission from master to disciple, the establishment of the ritual area, the choice of an auspicious time, the compounding of the elixir, its offering to the gods, and its ingestion. It is this entire process, and not only the actual compounding of the elixirs, that constitutes the alchemical practice. On the other hand, neither the Book of the Nine Elixirs , nor any other Great Clarity source, describes the alchemical process using the patterns, imagery, and language of Chinese cosmology and its system of correspondences. These features of the cosmological system become important ...

In the Western world, those who are interested in Neidan (Internal Alchemy) sometimes claim that the  Daode jing  (Scripture of the Way and Its Virtue) is a Neidan text. This view deserves attention, because it is in some respects similar to the traditional view held by Neidan masters and adepts in China. However, it also requires some comments. While Neidan needs the  Daode jing , the  Daode jing  does not need Neidan. The  Daode jing  is an integral statement of Taoist doctrine. Being complete and self-contained, it does not demand or await anything outside itself. Its doctrine, however, can be applied, to varying extents, to different practices, arts, and sciences. The  Daode jing  itself pays much attention to one particular application of its own doctrine: the art of government. Since some fundamental principles of Neidan are based on the doctrine of the  Daode jing , a Neidan practitioner might claim that the  Daode jing ...