Vietnamese Forest Military Spirits (安南阴五营兵)

 

 

Above talismans are used to summon mountain gods to quickly come to a magician’s aid.

 

Vietnamese magic is heavily influenced by Yao and Taoist magic. We can see heavy Taoist and Chinese influences but with some small distinctions from the above talismans from the left to right:

 

·         Major summon

·         Major summon with magical rope to bind

·         The mountain god come under oath

·         Horses for the mountain god

·         Protect me

 

Generally speaking, the talismans are used to summon the main mountain god of a region to quickly come with its military forces to come to a magician’s aid. These forest military is at par with Taoist 5 legionnaire armies (五营兵将) but the forest military spirits are harder to control.

 

Well, you don’t just go into a jungle and summon these wild spirits for one thing without some historical background; i.e. these forces must be inherited from one’s guru or parents. Otherwise the spirits will be one’s pain in the ass figuratively speaking.

 

I frequently use the above Vietnamese ritual to call upon mountain gods when I am in a jungle. Well, the Vietnamese methods are simple but pretty effective in making contact with Yin spirits (阴神). Contrary to the Chinese counterparts, the Vietnamese methods don’t use candles but incense smoke is just as sufficient though not a must. This is an advantage in dark and damp tropical jungles.

 

Oh, in case you keep Ngai spirits and learn from some magic forum the DIY way; then you are probably also aware that Ngai spirits are controlled by forest military. This is in line with Leklai is also a pet of Thai mountain spirit. I personally think that leklai and Ngai are perhaps two same things.