The Magic Of Five Rodents (五鼠搬運)

This is yet another magic fond to be used by Lower Mao Shan Taoist (下三茅) of the past for stealing money mainly. I can barely remember that during the 70’s in Kuala Kangsar, some of those folk medicine men holding street performances such as materializing money out from nowhere. Perhaps those are just illusions but I couldn’t tell then and there are practically no folks performing such deeds now days.

 

Such performance is typically simple:

 

First a piece of white cloth is laid on the ground and a bamboo cage is cupped onto the cloth. The performer than started to chant and drew talismans using his sword mudra; he also performing a form of star steps. When he has done the ritual, another cloth is used to cover the bamboo cage.

 

At this point, the performer would meditate for a while and started to sell his medicine to the audience. When the selling is done, this performer would strike his gong again announcing that he will review what was hiding inside the cage.

 

It never fail to amaze the audience that the thought to be empty cage are now filled with some money, normally around $50 ~ $100 in denomination. Normally as a friendly gesture, this performer would ask his assistant to take the money to the nearest food stall to purchase some foods which then brought back and shared with those who were present at the scene.

 

Years later when I enquired my Mao Shan master about this magic, he showed me a manual. According to him, the above is the practice of five rodents. The method is as below:

 

First catch five male rodents and feed them with some herbs until their furs turned white or completely black. After that these rodents are then put inside an earth urn and then this urn is then heated until all the rodents become ashes.

 

These ashes are then stored inside egg shells taken from black chickens and the assembly is then further being worshipped with blood drawn from human heart for further three days. After that the spirits are summoned to turn a bow and if this happens, the magic is said to be a success and the spirits can be deployed to steal money; or whatever one desires.

 

I have not personally tried the ritual as some of the ingredients are quite impossible to get now, apparently. So this magic remains as a modern day mystery.