Hexagram 51

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="03fa11c3.gif"> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3e580770.gif" border=0 width="128" height="119" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Among  the custodians of sacred vessels, the Eldest Son stands first.  The shock terrifies for a hundred miles, and he does not let fall the sacrificial spoon and chalic</B><B>e</B><B>.</B></div> <div> <I><B>Book II, The Text</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="08a90a80.jpg" border=0 width="144" height="168" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#9933CC" FACE="Arial" > <B> </B></FONT><B>Also the symbol of a mighty ruler and lord of the sacrifices.  </B><I><B>The Arousing </B></I><B>means the coming forth of God in the Spring and the reawakening of the life force which stirs again from below.  He is Thunder and the direction East, the place of beginnings.</B></div> <div> <I><B>Book III, The Commentaries</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="6ff72640.gif" border=0 width="114" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Those who were stimulated and awakened by thunder channeled its power to aid in their inner quest for truth."  </B></div> <div> <B>Hua- ching Ni</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="31a49570.gif" border=0 width="73" height="87" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Hexagram 51, the image of thunder doubled</B><B>.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="6ff72640.gif" border=0 width="114" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>A true spiritual teacher practices the virtue of Thunder in his teachings.  He does this in order to awaken the student, never to gain power over him .</B></div> <div> <B> Hua-ching Ni</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3c4503c0.gif" border=0 width="80" height="60" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>The god (Chen) of Thunder  has his festival on the 24th day of the 6th month.  </B><B>They also looked to him to bring rains.  Chen was often invoked for his connections with the Dragon King, a rain god whose festival is celebrated a few days earlier, on the 13th day of the 6th month</B>.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="6ff72640.gif" border=0 width="114" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> John Blofeld said of Hexagram 51,<I> "The superior man in fear and trembling seeks to improve himself." </I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="6837b310.gif" border=0 width="123" height="49" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> When the Big Dipper points in the direction of the lunar month and one faces this direction in meditating , one benefits from the  invigorating energy.  A trained meditator will rotate to always face the direction of the Big Dipper whether in a room or in the wilderness. </div> <div>  Hua-ching Ni</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="70280760.jpg" border=0 width="128" height="118" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Ancient symbol of the shaman, colorized.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="33364640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#99CC00" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Online Journal of the I Ching, Yi Jing</B></FONT>     <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#CCCC66" FACE="Arial" >|   <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Online Journal of the I Ching, Yi Ji"><U><B>home</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Yellow River Cultures"><U>Yellow River Cultures</U></A>   |   <A HREF="the_clan_of_fu_hsi__many_fu__anyang.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Crack Bones and Turtle Shells"><U>Crack Bones and Turtle Shells</U></A>   |   <A HREF="yarrow_stalks_in_divination.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Yarrow Stalks"><U>Yarrow Stalks</U></A>   |   <A HREF="the_page_of_kan__the_middle_son.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hexagram 29"><U>Hexagram 29</U></A>   |   <A HREF="the_page_of_li__the_middle_daughter.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hexagram 30"><U>Hexagram 30</U></A>   |   <B>Hexagram 51</B>   |   <A HREF="the_page_of_ken__the_youngest_son.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hexagram 52"><U>Hexagram 52</U></A>   |   <A HREF="eldest_daughter.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hexagram 57"><U>Hexagram 57</U></A>   |   <A HREF="page_of_the_youngest_daughter.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hexagram 58"><U>Hexagram 58</U></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="03ef4010.gif" border=0 width="500" height="1" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Hexagram 51</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1f9d8240.gif" border=0 width="216" height="36" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>The Page of The Eldest Son</B></div> <div>                           </div> <div> <IMG SRC="32e951b0.jpg" border=0 width="405" height="283" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div>  "<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Thunder</B><B>,</B></FONT>"  in addition to shock or arousing, symbolizes the voice of god or sudden clairvoyant insight and is associated with the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Eldest Son</B></FONT>. Above, the Great Bear, ancient symbol for the Eldest Son.</div> <bR> <div>  </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" >      </FONT> In I Ching cosmology the transition from <I>pre</I> to<I> later</I> heaven is manifested thus: </div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="685a0780.gif" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" ><I> </I></FONT><I>At the first instant of creation the Thunder, </I><I>Chen</I><I> comes from deep within the earth and </I><I>Li </I><I>rises up illuminating  it.  Then the Primal Energies take their respective  places:</I><I>  Li</I><I> as  Sun, </I><I>Kan </I><I>as Moon, but it begins with  </I><I>Chen</I><I>, The Eldest </I><I>Son</I><I> </I><I>- </I><I>The Great Treatise </I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Thunder First, Lightning Second</B></div> <bR> <div> <I>Please note, although this page is filled with pictures of lightning, please try to imagine</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I> </I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Guatemala" ><I>the</I></FONT><I> </I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Guatemala" ><I>thunder precedes lightning and </I></FONT></div> <div> <I>thunder comes from deep within the earth.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>     Thunder first and lightning second is the image we work with.  In this I Ching image the thunder comes from deep </I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" ><I>within</I></FONT><I> the earth at the first instant of creation and the lightning comes forth illuminating this energy. </I></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>     </div> <div> Hit the refresh button to see the time progression of the Big Dipper (below).</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="209f0f00.gif" border=0 width="240" height="240" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>The Great Bear and the Pace of Yu</B></div> <bR> <div>         Perhaps the oldest religious cult of both the Siberian and Ainu peoples of Japan  is that of the Great Bear.  <I>Ursa</I> <I>Major , </I>meaning "Great Bear"  is the constellation where the head of the bear is turned towards the North Star.  The North Star is considered the source of the life force as in enters into our plane of existence.  Thus the Great Bear "overhears" the will of heaven and acts as an intermediary between the earthly and heavenly realm.  </div> <div>       The Great Yu in prehistory was the chief of a tribe that lived along the Yellow River about 5,000 years ago.  He was said to have great shamanic powers:  First, legend has it that his father, when near death, turned into a bear and when his belly was opened, he brought out his son, Yu, the great.  Yu was said to change himself into a bear at will and throughout his life he walked with the "bear's gait."   This transformation and dance became known thereafter as the "Pace of Yu."   Yu frequently traveled to the North Star to overhear the celestial will after he had shape-shifted into a bear.  The dance itself is known to be at least 10,000 years old.  The daughter of the tribal king of Yu's time is said to have taught this journey to the sky.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>     </B><B><IMG SRC="69b64640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B><IMG SRC="69b64640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B><IMG SRC="69b64640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="69a64640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>The Journey to the Sky</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#CC3399" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div>    <IMG SRC="6837b310.gif" border=0 width="123" height="49" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">   In order to do the dance <I>the shaman first gradually transforms himself into the bear</I> by donning a bear's robe and wearing the paws of the bear over his hands.  The shaman and his assistants graduallly increase the tempo of the drums and rattles throughout the ceremony.   The shaman calls the bear's spirit and begins making sounds of the bear's cries and growls. The shaman begins the dance by walking as a human would walk and then changing his gait to that of a bear.</div> <div>       We can imagine the steppes, blazing with stars with the tribe assembled, watching, their faces flickering in the fire as the drumming and rattling increasing in intensity as the shaman at last in the trance of rapture, cries to his familiars "Ferry me across!"  Imperceptibly he had changed from a human into a bear in gait and gesture.  Finally he will  assume the magical persona of the Bear. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC3399" FACE="Arial" > <B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" ><B>As the </B><B>Great Bear he is seeking to  "overhear" the will of heaven and act as an intermediary between the earthly and heavenly realm</B><B>.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC3399" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>Below, see bear pointing towards North Star</B><B>.</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="39e0e150.gif" border=0 width="14" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3396bf00.jpg" border=0 width="363" height="240" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div>      The drumming has increased in its urgency further for now the Pace of Yu is to begin:  The shaman dances an outline of the Big Dipper, walking up the seven stars and invoking the help and protection of each star until at last he stands next to the North Star itself.   It is extremely important that the dancer aligns his dance with the seasonal direction of the Big Dipper:  The dance itself may have taken hours and involved the use of consciousness- altering substances and intoxicants.  There may have been a degree of danger in the ceremony for the shaman who probably was careful to observe the ritual as it had been taught to him.  </div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="685a0780.gif" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="67c321f0.jpg" border=0 width="306" height="287" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>The Pace of </B><B> <A NAME="yu"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Yu</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div>     Finally, at the height of the ceremony, the shaman becomes the Great Bear,  Ursa Major, the intermediary between gods and men. The participants surely must have felt that a mystical transformation had occurred and that the powerful Great Bear was now before them. </div> <bR> <div>      But even though the great mystical union is now complete, the Great Bear must still call on the gods and the gods must answer, a fearful moment! For a moment the drumming ceases; the rattles are quiet.  The people are poised holding their collective breaths.  Then,  thunder comes!  <IMG SRC="68775440.gif" border=0 width="629" height="68" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> The gods have spoken!  Fear and trembling!  </div> <bR> <bR> <div>   The <I>Pace of Yu</I> existed in the court of  the legendary Emperor Yu  of the Xia Dynasty c. 2000-1600 BC. The king  personally performed the rites so that his reign would continue to receive the favor of heaven his political authority would have divine recognition, </div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="685a0780.gif" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>but</B></I><I><B> </B></I><I><B>the real purpose of the rite was to have direct, immediate contact with the divine through the power animal,</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>The Great</B></I><I><B> </B></I><I><B>Bea</B></I><I><B>r</B></I><I><B>.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>    <IMG SRC="1fee7b30.jpg" border=0 width="231" height="179" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">    On the Siberian steppes real bear was killed for the ceremony.  It was considered  auspicious to kill a bear if one had a totem or clan name associated with the power-animal.   The slain bear was treated as a guest of honor at the ceremony.  The Bear Ceremony must have been one of the earliest religious rituals, going back 10,000 years or more.  </div> <bR> <div> <B> </B>Left, Ainu shamans pose for with their ritual implements and the Great Bear, c. 1910)</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="68faa5a0.gif" border=0 width="170" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Flying Bear of the Dorset Culture</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>    <IMG SRC="50d64780.jpg" border=0 width="100" height="120" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  Dorset shamans of the Arctic culture that flourished c. 500-1000 BC, carved the bear as flying or floating.  On an ivory carving about 6 inches long, dated  c. 500 BC, the bear's head and upper body are streamlined with the forelegs and back legs sweeping back.  A stylized skeleton is carved on the bear and the underside, the chest and abdomen is concave, suggesting that the bear's body was hollow inside so it had room for the shaman to travel within the bear's body.  Underneath in the neck is a tiny compartment that held red ocher. (In Tibet, ocher is the traditional protection against the cold.)  Dorset culture had powerful shamans who flew away to the spirit realm within the body of the bear across the northern skies. (Left, flying bear, ivory, Dorset Culture)</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="700965a0.gif" border=0 width="150" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>     In aeons to come the North Star will be replaced by the Wolf Star according to Chinese astrology.</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="33364640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="33364640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="33364640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="33364640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="33364640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Rock the Dipper: Taoist Style!</B></div> <bR> <div>   <IMG SRC="81170960.jpg" border=0 width="112" height="150" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">    In later times, the king's attire was more symbolic and the rites more complex and sophisticated. No longer were the participants the tribal folk under the blaze of the stars but priests, court dignitaries and the imperial family observing the strict protocols of  the court.   Now the king would have a largely symbolic role.   The priests would perform the complex ritual of prayer, movement, and sacrifice to gather the powers of the universe into the priest's own person and then send these powers heavenward.  To the deities in heaven he would make offerings and prayers seeking their favor.  But there would be no tribal drums nor shaman's rattle, as the priest now danced up the Big Dipper, to commune with the cosmos.  Shape-shifting into a bear was reserved for secret mystical cults.</div> <div> Above, Taoist court ritual, Ming Dynasty</div> <bR> <div>       Now  tamed, the dance would now take place on the back of the symbolic black tortoise.  After summoning the energies from the cardinal directions and performing other purification rituals and magic spells of invisibility,  the priest  would roll his hands clockwise and counterclockwise to summon his 10 souls (Taoists believe every human body has 10 souls, 3 heavenly and 7 earthly), spin his body counterclockwise and say:</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="33b75070.jpg" border=0 width="117" height="263" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> "The Big Dipper is brilliant.  Its bowl is in front of me." One turn, heaven and earth shake. </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  Two turns: Gods and ghosts tremble. Three turns,       <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><IMG SRC="68680c00.gif" border=0 width="128" height="192" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     <IMG SRC="706994e0.gif" border=0 width="153" height="78" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>       </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ROCK THE DIPPER!!!..<FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" >"</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> e<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >     </FONT>Shaman the first religious</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Shamanism in Ancient China</B></div> <bR> <div> iginaTTTTTand rudiments of otte<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >                          </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >     <IMG SRC="32169970.jpg" border=0 width="105" height="151" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">      </FONT>  Traces of earliest shamanism in China itself have been found in Yang-shao cultures c. 5000 BC.  At Lung-shan (c. 3500 BC) archeological sites there is also some of the earliest evidence of shamanic practice.  In their rituals they used masks, especially animal masks. Shamanism, originates from the Tungus people of  Siberia, a region that shares a frontier with north China, where Neolithic settings, dating from 6,500  to 5,000 BC have been found. Linguistically the Tungus people are related to the Manchu. The Tungus culture had well developed agriculture, domestication of the dog and rudiments of pottery.  A collection of poetry (<I>Elegies of Ch'u)</I> from c. 300 BC tells of shamans (women and men) who perfumed themselves in orchid water and while attired is the most elaborate and beautiful costumes, and danced to entice the gods down to their realm.  The shamanic culture (post Neolithic) of China is mostly linked to the area south of the Yang-tze River. </div> <bR> <div>  Mask,above  <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" >Lung-shan culture,  c. 3500-2000  BC.   </FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  Pan-po Neolithic Bowl, below,  Shaman?                                   </div> <div>  </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" > <IMG SRC="58ad88e0.jpg" border=0 width="216" height="142" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </FONT>It was the shaman's responsibility to keep the River god, Ho (Yellow River) pacified so that there would be no flooding. In the court of Wu Ting of the Shang Dynasty, c. 1225 BC  there must have been problems with drought for there are many records of  the shaman making offerings for <IMG SRC="3207fc20.jpg" border=0 width="127" height="194" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">rain.  The shaman might also ask about wind, earthquakes, crops, and hunts.  The shaman would commune with spirits of the mountains and waters and seek assistance from his totem animal.  The power animal could help in interpreting dreams or foresee danger and death. The totem could transport him while in his trance to other worlds.  A common way of summoning the power animal was to ritually kill one such animal and release its spirit. Later the legendary Emperor Yu of the Xia Dynasty (c. 2,000-1600 BC) summoned his power animal, the Great Bear in order to harmonize heaven and earth and stop floods and other problems from the natural world.</div> <div>     <IMG SRC="7361e960.gif" border=0 width="30" height="150" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> The Shu peoples lived in what is modern day Szechwan and parts of Yunnan province in western China.  Lao-tzu is said to have traveled there to learn the secrets of immortality.  The area was remote and populated by tribes who practiced shamanism in accord with the ancient ways.  One practitioner, Chang Tao-ling established a cult in Szechwan and southern China.  He claimed that Lao-tzu had revealed to him powers to heal the sick and ward off evil.  Chang used talismans which were pieces of yellow paper containing writing in red.  The writings were themselves magic invocations to spirits and deities.  In this way the power of the deity was channeled into the talisman.  Talismanic rites became part of organized Taoist religion and was widely influential as an organized religion throughout China. </div> <bR> <div>  (Left, above, talisman for constipation)            (Right, above, a sorcerer of the Shu culture, c. 1100 BC.)</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  (below, shaman from Shang Dynasty, colorized, explicitly sexua, Toyoko Museuml)</div> <div>                <IMG SRC="3bf6d1b0.jpg" border=0 width="365" height="283" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  </div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" >          Shamans also communicated with spirits and would be possessed by spirits. <I> </I>The<I> </I><I>wu shamans </I>were noted for exorcism, fortune telling, rain making, and dream interpretation. The shamans who kept contact with mostly nature-related spirits at the ceremonies and sacrificed to them.  </FONT>In the Shang dynasty a shaman might himself be sacrificed, especially when there was a critical need for rain.  In the <I>chi </I>or <I>jiao </I>sacrifice a shaman (or a sacred cripple) was burnt or exposed to the sun as a prayer for rain.<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" > Shamans were especially important in keeping away natural calamities and it must be for this reason that they bore the responsibility for droughts and were sacrificed.</FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div>       Shamans would also actively intervene in the underworld to find out ways to trick the Lord of Death. <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT>Shamans often traveled to the other worlds to rescue the souls that had been lost by sick persons or performed exorcism rites to rid the body of evil spirits. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" >The modern Taoist method of saving a lost soul for healing purposes is to be found in <I>The Heavenly Way</I><I> </I>by Hua-Ching<I> </I>Ni <I> </I>which he says is an elucidation of Chapter 54 of the <I>Tao Te Ching.</I></FONT> <I>Wu </I>shamans were said to originated the practice of medicine. The Chinese character for doctor,  <I>yi, </I>is a depiction of a feathered shaman dancing while holding a quiver full of arrows.  According to  Jhampa MacKenzie Stewart, the arrows "represented spiritual power, or righteous qi, to drive off evil influences."   One can surmise that the shaman's arrows may have been acupuncture needles.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="68e5b6c0.gif" border=0 width="91" height="108" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" >Shamanism had a tremendous impact on Taoism in all its forms.  Lao Tzu was said to be a native of the state of Ch'u, a vassal state south of the Yang Tze River which was the stronghold of shamanic belief.  There are many parallels between the powers ascribed to a shaman and an immortal or sage:  Both are immune to poison, both travel across the stars, and have power over the elements and perform feats of incredible power.  But with time, as Taoism became an organized religion that deified Lao Tzu, the rites and ceremonies of shamanism were either absorbed into Taoism or  faded from memory only to live on in secret martial arts societies and a few mystical cults.  </FONT></div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" >Hexagram 51, above</FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" > .</FONT></div> <div>  <IMG SRC="7a5708e0.gif" border=0 width="112" height="142" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">      The ancient symbols of the serpent and the turtle together, which in ancient times belonged to the "black <A HREF="the_page_of_kan__the_middle_son.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hexagram 29"><U>shaman</U></A>" were so powerful that the command or imperial staff of the army always flew such a flag as part of the imperial escort.</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="7e6544b0.gif" border=0 width="84" height="75" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT>  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" > The <I>Shamanic Oracle of Change</I></FONT> by Martin Palmer and James Ramsay is one of my treasured books. In divining the merit of this book the Sage gave the Hexagram 45, Gathering Positive Energy, which is unusually high and I would say the Sage recommends the book as well.  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" ><I>The Heavenly Way</I></FONT><I>  </I>by Hua Ching Ni is recommended for those interested in the healing arts.  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" ><I>The Way of the Shaman</I></FONT><I> </I>by Michael Harner is a good basic treatement of the subject.  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" ><I>The Shape of the Turtle,</I></FONT> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" ><I>Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China </I></FONT>by Sarah Allan speaks of the role of the shaman in ancient times.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="68faa5a0.gif" border=0 width="170" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Diviner's Notes on Hexagram 51</B><B>: </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" > Speaks With Thunder!!   If the third line changes ,  clairvoyant experience may occur .</FONT> (first 2 lines belong to earth;  second two lines, to human life;  third two lines, to heaven)  All hexagrams are read from the bottom up.  In Ching terminology "thunder" means the voice of God usually coming through a person clairvoyantly.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="6b0a6b30.gif" border=0 width="166" height="179" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div>     <IMG SRC="1f4714f0.gif" border=0 width="113" height="79" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  From Siberian shamans we see that the principal instruments of the shaman were the drum and rattle.  The repetition of the drum and rattle created an altered state of consciousness that allowed the shaman to travel to the Upper world or the Lower world.  The shaman also sang and chanted in a monotonous yet rhythmical tone that would rise as the drumming and rattle rhythms become faster.</div> <bR> <div>  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="6f770620.gif" border=0 width="112" height="98" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT> Intoxicants such as <I>cannabis </I>and alcohol are common. Sacred plants such nightshade, datura, belladonna, peyote and certain mushrooms such as psyllosybin and cubanis or their derivatives, depending on the geographical location, are also utilized. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  <IMG SRC="70896670.gif" border=0 width="150" height="103" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">     The dance is the principal way a shaman travels in his altered state. Today the Pace of Yu still is practiced in mystical Taoist sects and practitioners of the internal martial arts.  The shamans of Tuva, a small Siberian country, among others, still perform the ancient ritual under the vast skies of Siberia and perhaps still feel  the ceremony's awesome power and majesty. </div> <div> Left, American Indian shaman dances.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="5256e6b0.gif" border=0 width="110" height="107" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT><B>Shaman vs. Diviner</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>  </B><B><IMG SRC="69e64820.gif" border=0 width="100" height="130" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" > Shang Mask</FONT><B>   </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>         </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>        <IMG SRC="7fd3c960.gif" border=0 width="60" height="150" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">     Some historians point to divination on bones as a form of shamanism.  I cannot agree.  A shaman is one who will go into the invisible worlds in order to change things by virtue of his magic and his ability to enter into other worlds and engage such beings as demons and evil spirits.  The shaman takes an interventionist role.  A diviner, on the other hand, "reads" the will of heaven.  If  the outcome is unfavorable, the diviner will try to show a more favorable result by the medium of divination.  The line may be blurred, especially in ancient times, but a diviner is not a shaman.  In other words, a diviner may see a flood coming and will divine that it will be favorable to move to higher ground.  A shaman may see the flood coming and will travel to the flood gods and try to change their minds or do battle with the river demons.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="33364640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B> </B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>A Yaqui Indian Shaman's concept of </B><I><B>Wu </B></I><I><B> <A NAME="wei"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I><I><B>Wei</B></I></div> <div>  (Northern Mexico)</div> <bR> <div> <B>Carlos Castenada (1925-1998)</B></div> <div> <B>     </B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >   </FONT> Carlos Castenada was a mysterious graduate student and writer who claimed that he had studied the ways of the shaman, Don Juan of the Yaqui Indian tribe of northern Mexico. Castaneda was obscure even on such matters as his birth. Immigration records indicated he was born December 25, 1925 in Cajamarca, Peru. </div> <div>       In his series of books, of which <I>Journey to Ixtlan</I><I> </I>is one, he  writes of his apprenticeship with Don Juan who called himself a <I>brujo, </I>the Spanish term for a male witch.  No one has ever been able to independently verify that the shaman, Don Juan, actually existed.  However, in the opinion of most, Castenada's portrayal of the shamanic practices of the Yaqui Indians is accurate and well told.</div> <div>    </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>J</B></I><I><B>ourney to Ixtlan</B></I><I><B> </B></I><B>by Carlos Castenada. 1968</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" >In this passage, Don Juan is coaching Castenada on letting go and achieving the state Taoists call <I>wu wei </I>or "least effort,</FONT><I>" </I>which is<I> </I>a state of heightened awareness and receptivity:</div> <div>    <IMG SRC="6ef453e0.gif" border=0 width="69" height="62" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">   Don Juan remained silent for a long while.  He seemed to be struggling with his thoughts.</div> <div>           "<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" >I've told you that the secret of a strong body is not in what you do but in what you don't do," he finally said. </FONT> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" >"Now it is time for you not to do what you always do.  Sit here until we leave and not-do."</FONT></div> <div>  "I don't follow you, don Juan"</div> <div>  He put his hands over my notes and took them away from me.  He carefully closed the pages of my notebook, secured it with a rubber band, and then threw it like a disk far into the chaparral.</div> <div>   <IMG SRC="7385a8c0.gif" border=0 width="90" height="140" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">        I was shocked and began to protest but he put his hand over my mouth. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" > He pointed to a large bush and told me to fix my attention not on the leaves but on the shadows of the leaves.  He said that running in the darkness did not have to be spurred by fear but could be a very natural reaction of a jubilant body that knew how "to not do".  He repeated over and over in a whisper in my right ear that "to not do what I knew how to do" was the key to power.</FONT>  In the case of looking at a tree, what I knew how to do was to focus immediately on the foliage.  The shadows of the leaves or the spaces in between the leaves were never my concern.  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" >His last admonitions were to start focusing on the shadows of the leaves on one single branch and then eventually work my way to the whole tree, and not to let my eyes go back to the leaves, because the first deliberate step to storing personal power was to allow the body to "not-do".</FONT></div> <div> Above, another Castenada book, part of the series.</div> <div>     <IMG SRC="6f770620.gif" border=0 width="112" height="98" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">      Perhaps it was because of my fatigue or my nervous excitation, but<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" > I became so immersed in the shadows of the leaves that by the time don Juan stood up I could almost group the dark masses of shadows as effectively as I normally grouped the foliage. </FONT> The total effect was startling.  I told don Juan that I would like to stay longer.  He laughed and patted me on my hat.</div> <div>           "I told you", he said, "The body likes things like this."</div> <div>            <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Arial" >He then said that I should let my stored power guide me through the bushes to my notebook.  He gently pushed me into the chaparral.  I walked aimlessly for a moment and then I came upon it.  I thought that I must have unconsciously memorized the direction in which don Juan had thrown it.  He explained the event, saying that I went directly to the notebook because my body had been soaked for hours in "not-doing."</FONT> </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="6f696960.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="150" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>"</B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#CCFF00" FACE="Guatemala" ><I><B>To him who does not dwell in himself, the forms of things show themselves as they are." </B></I></FONT><I><B> Chuang Tzu</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="33364640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="595504c0.gif" border=0 width="80" height="76" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>  </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="64c5e360.gif" border=0 width="350" height="310" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="the_page_of_ken__the_youngest_son.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hexagram 52"><U><B>Next</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="midaughter_s_i_ching.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Online Journal of the I Ching"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="6e696150.gif" border=0 width="150" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>What is the Way of the Shaman? The Garifuna of Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize.  Central America Shamanism.  Part I</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC99FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Livingston, Guatemala 1984</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>      </B>The shaman begins:   The  rattle is shook with  quickly varying tones and intricate, fast rhythms that return to a single monotonous unifying theme kept going by the drum as the drum joins in.   The shaman goes into the hut where the altar is.  Then he performs Secret Ritual,  blesses the sacred drink, and says the secret mantra.  The garifuna priest also prays over the altar which has the pictures of catholic saints, and a sacred food offering covered by a banana leaf.  On the altar are also a conch shell and a small hand-carved wood dory.  (The dead man was remembered as a fisherman in his youth.) </div> <bR> <div>       The matriarch now in full ceremonial dress sits before a large iron pot sitting on a bed of hot coals.  It takes many people and much laughter before the large pot, which comes up to the matriarch's ample waist, is filled with venado - seventy percent pure cane liquor.   The giggling continues as they slowly fill the cauldron. It takes so long to fill up the cauldron because the Guatemalans have decreed that no Indian may buy a bottle of venado that is larger than a pint. (The Garifunas are native Central American Indians intermarried with slaves.)   That finally done, the sacred drink is stirred until she declares it done. The first cup is served to the  honored one who had the vision the shaman must interpret.   The honored guest is an envoy from the probate court in Florida.   He has left his nieces and nephews each a small inheritance.  The dead man, or the "defunto," as they call him, appeared to her and asked for this ceremony of remembrance.  El Defunto has been gone from the village since he was in his early twenties but they remember his visits back to the village fondly.  There is a certain tension within the group because a Garifuna has never appeared to white woman in this way. </div> <bR> <div>       Dancing and the cups of venado being passed around change the mood.   The music of drums and rattles begins with chanting songs:  "We are the Garifuna. We sing our song in our language!  We can call the fish with our dance!  Our women are beautiful! We smoke the black ganja."   Dancing begins with the group in a light state of happiness.  The people seem relaxed and happy so they dance with pleasure as evening now become night and the fire is lit. Many hours pass in this way.  As the moon rises and the fire burns brightly,  the dancing become more sensuous.   The group know that this will lead to a hypnotic and ecstatic level so they  continue to dance under the stars and there is a chill in the air.    The women raise the spirits of the group by dancing with different partners, urging them to even more intensity and sensuousness.   Finally there no more dancing partners.  The group has united in this sensual intensity.   The sacred dance of the garifuna is centered on the hips and fast suggestive movement.   Finally, when all dance as one it is beautiful to behold:  Beyond happiness, beyond sex, into the realm of transcendent joy.  This continues on in this way for what seems a long, hypnotic time.</div> <bR> <div>   Around the fire sit the Gherukas, the soldiers from Nepal that serve with the British Army  who come to these villages and are bivouacked nearby.  The Gherukas do not have conversations with anyone but are polite, especially to the women, calling them "memsahib."  The  Hindu soldiers stare into the dancing figures and they watch the fire.   Suddenly, as one man and without looking at each other for signals, the Gherukas stand to dance their Hindu dances of  8th Century Nepal.   Now all dance, the family of the deceased, the white women, the village, and the Gherkuas.</div> <bR> <div>       Now it is time for the shaman.  The dancers stop and now just the woman of the village and the honored guest, the white woman hold hands and dance slowly around the shaman.  He begins the ceremony of calling down the spirit of the man who died.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I>to be continued</I></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>