I once read a survey that claimed 40% of Taiwanese people can see ghosts.
True, verifiable, or not, that claim does give you a sense of the collective consciousness
on the island.
87% of the people there believe in ghosts, land spirits, and supernatural forces.
This is a culture that still venerates its ancestors, goes to temple to get their fortunes
told, take their dreams seriously as forms of prophecy, and when luck turns against them,
they’ll seek out a priest or priestess for a Fu talisman.
This is the culture I grew up in, a superstitious culture I rejected for the greater majority
of my life, and then one day, I started to give these Old-World beliefs a chance.
I studied.
I practiced.
I dabbled.
And I peeked beyond the veil.
That’s when I witnessed for myself the power of 4,000 years of acquired esoteric knowledge.
As early as the Shang Dynasty, around 1600 BC, you have records of shamans using Fu sigils
engraved onto wood as part of their magic.
Our first records of spell-crafting with Fu talismans by Taoist ceremonial magicians come
around the Han Dynasty, or 200 BC.
By the Qing Dynasty, that’s the last dynasty before we enter modern China, Taoist magic
and sorcery was denounced.
Esoteric Taoist texts were intentionally excluded from the imperial library even though Taoism
is the first religion to be native and indigenous to China.
By the early 1900s, Taoist magic is shunned.
One of the most popular thinkers of that time said that to include Taoism in the annals
of Chinese history is (quote) “indeed a great humiliation.
Their activities have not benefited the nation at all.
They mislead the people with their pagan magic.”
(end quote)
Yet that pagan magic is inextricably intertwined with Chinese history, from the Yellow Emperor,
the first three dynasties that established the Chinese civilization, the Xia, Shang,
and Zhou, the legacy of the Eight Immortals, some documented as historic figures, to the
impact of Taoist priests during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and their great public favor
through the era of the Three Kingdoms, down to the flourishing of Fu talismanic practices
in the Tang Dynasty, when many of the Taoist mystery traditions we have today were first
established.
So perhaps esoteric Taoism and pagan magic wasn’t such a great humiliation of Chinese
history after all.
That’s what I hope to convey with my new book, The Tao of Craft.
The first half of this book covers the history and culture of Fu talismans as practiced by
Chinese Taoists.
I also demonstrate the complexity and the depth of wisdom that Fu talismans exemplify
by covering the theoretical principles behind East Asian spell-crafting.
Then for the latter half of the book, we roll up our sleeves and get into practicum.
I’ll show you step by step how to design, craft, and empower your own Fu talismans.
My first book, Holistic Tarot, was about mastery of a Western divination system, the tarot.
It represented my nurture and upbringing in the Western world.
Tarot was something I found for myself.
This second book, The Tao of Craft, is about a return to my roots.
If Holistic Tarot reflected my nurture, then The Tao of Craft reflects my nature.
The research and writing for Tao of Craft was a journey of self-acknowledgement—of
me finally acknowledging my nature.
This book was a revelation of how deep my roots really grow.
I picked up the craft from my family, but it took the journey of writing this book to
fully appreciate my heritage.
Holistic Tarot was an intellectual exercise for me.
The Tao of Craft was an emotional one.
But this book is not a memoir.
It’s a reference book, and it memorializes an extraordinary amount of research.
I hope that by drawing in history and theoretical principles, citing ontologies and academic
literature, I can present a compelling case for lending credence to the Fu talisman, its
efficacy, to revise our sense of shame for this great humiliation and replace that humiliation
with pride and reverence.
I challenge you to read this book and not be awestruck by the depth and scope of sigil
crafting in the Eastern esoteric traditions.
To learn more about The Tao of Craft, Taoist magic, Fu talismans, traditional Chinese and
Taiwanese witchcraft, and where you can buy my book, please check the video description
box below.