A Glimpse Of Hawaiian Magic (夏威夷巫术)

I always interested in collecting magic spells. So when I was in Hawaii, I was able to catch hold of Nancy who was also a practising witch at that time. Though I was interested in learning Hawaiian magic, I was not in a good mood to learn new stuffs, added to that my stay was short. Perhaps the saying “you cannot teach an old dog new tricks” is true.

 According to Nancy, the orthodox Hawaiian magic training put much emphasis on meditation while performing visualization to absorb energy of nature such as sun, moon, sea etc. A magician should perform his/her routine practice during each full moon under open sky and normally by the seaside. When the first moon light is observed in the horizon, the magician should start his/her meditation until the first sun light is seen in the horizon. Regardless of what gender the person belongs to, he/she should remain naked during the meditation session.

The magician should also draw a circle around him/her for protection. He/she should also draw something similar to tantric concept of ‘mandala’ which is a pattern consists of square, triangle and circle. A big bowl of sea water should be put in the center of the ‘mandala’.

This magician must then sit in front of the ‘mandala’ and meditate until the moon light shines onto the bowl of sea water. At this time, the magician will start to prostrate to the bowl and chant mantra. In between chanting, he/she should raise his/her hands towards the sky and shouted at the sky. After that, the magician should continue to meditate and imagining that his/her body is absorbing the moon energy.

I asked Nancy to teach me her mantra and she started to chant a very long mantra in local dialect; which interestingly speaking even Nancy couldn't explain the meaning of the mantra. According to Nancy, the dialect was of very old origin. As I could remember that the rhythmic mantra has a very short beat, there is a stress sounded like long ‘ah’ sound after every eight beats.

According to Nancy, after the meditation session; the magician should burn some packets of Hawaiian sea salt wrapped in ‘Lono’ leaves. It is very important that local Hawaiian sea salt is used. This type of sea salt grains that is coarser than the ordinary ones.

After the sea salt is completely burnt, the magician should remain seated to wait for the arrival of dawn. When he/she sees the first sun light, the magician should immediately pour the bowl of water away and then the ‘mandala’ should immediately be rubbed off. It is believed that bad luck would be fallen upon the magician when the sun shines onto the ‘mandala’.

It was said that Hawaiian magicians normally practise under open sky during dry season. In rainy seasons such as in December however, the magicians must continue their night rituals in door. The day activities remain business as usual for the whole month.

That was what I can recall about basic practice of Hawaiian magic, perhaps if I do visit Hawaii again; I could learn more.

Polynesian Lover Binding Spell (巫术制人法)

Polynesian ladies are warm and beautiful, but beware that they have a very secret man binding spell that can ‘lock’ you up for the rest of your life. Unless you found the key to break this spell, you may be bound on an island for the rest of your life.

It was said that in the 50’s, a Korean sailor was stranded in a remote island near Hawaii and he was spell bounded by a Polynesian lady for about 6 months. Somehow the luck was on his side and he broke the spell and escaped back to civilization.

I learnt this spell from a Polynesian waitress working with Mr. Ho. The method is very simple:

You will need an empty chicken or bird egg shell, some chicken/bird blood and at least 3 pieces of your target’s hair (please don’t ask me what type of hairs!). When you have all of the ingredients, go to the front of a grave of the person you know during full moon night.

First, you should stand in front of the grave and ask the grave dweller for help. You can say anything you like but repeat your words firmly a few times. When you feel you have exhausted your energy after saying the words, collect some dirt in front of the grave and fill the soil into the egg. After the egg is filled, then use your index finger to anoint some chicken/bird blood and draw three crosses on the shell surface. Once done, you should draw a big circle encircling the three crosses. Finally, a hole should be dug in front of the grave and this egg shell is then buried.

Now, go to see the person you wish to bind and draw three crosses and a circle as before in his back. And presto! The person shall be bound to you forever or until the egg is dug out somehow.

So next time, when a lady said ‘alloha’ to you; please watch your ‘hairs’…

I would think that the spell works for both man and woman, but I have not tried that; so do that at your own risks please!

Hawaiian Earth Blessing Ritual (夏威夷净土仪式)

I stayed with my pal Mr. Ho for a while during my vacation while waiting for his new hotel cum restaurant to be completed in Honolulu. I was told by a local architect Richard that it is still a must for local folks to ask a witchdoctor to perform an earth blessing ceremony before and after a house is built. Since Mr. Ho was then renovating new premises; he too adopted the local Hawaiian custom in employing a quite famous witchdoctor to bless his place.

Unlike the Taoist or Buddhist ceremonies, Hawaiian witchdoctors use only local available sea salt, sea water and a type of sacred leaf called ‘Lono’ leaf. The blessing ritual is pretty simple as what I have seen:

The witchdoctor stood in front of the place chanting mantra while his assistants swing a type of small drums while making some hand gestures in accordance to the witchdoctor’s chanting. Local sorcerers too do not use any types of mudra. For example:

When the witchdoctor said in order to exorcise evil spirits from an area, he/she would say something like: “If you do not leave this place, I shall summon moonlight to kill you!” The assistants would then use their hands first pointing forward, then into the sky, and finally making fists and release forcefully. All those gestures represent ‘you’, ‘moonlight’ and ‘die’.

After the chanting ceremony was completed, the assistants would then use Lono leaf water to sprinkle the circumference of the place and followed by Hawaiian sea salt. It is said that by encircling the place with sea salt there is no chance for evil spirits to stay put.

The final ceremony was the blessing of the property owner and the construction workers. Everyone in the construction area would be sprinkled with water for blessing. It is believed that only after the completion of this earth blessing ritual that all work can be carried out in peace.

I was told that many locals would refuse to start work if this earth blessing ritual is carried out. Like the Chinese, they believe that if no cleansing ritual being carried out, there are bound to be injuries or mishaps.

Coincidentally, during my stay with Mr. Ho; I witnessed a white worker fell from a height of less than 10 feet. After the fall he could still managed to stand up. As everyone thought that this fellow was okay; he suddenly collapsed onto the ground and died. Interestingly speaking, the deceased was the only worker refused to be blessed by the witchdoctor because of his faith.

Personally I would think it was merely an isolated case, perhaps the poor worker was having some kind of health issue. His death however, became the talk of the place for quite a while.

The Curse Of Hawaii Shark Guardian (鲨鱼的诅咒)

I have a friend, Mr. Ho who stays in Hawaii and he has told me one very interesting story about shark magic. According to him shark guardian is an evil god. The witch doctor who wishes to obtain shark’s power must sit at the seaside meditate facing a piece of bamboo stick and the sea. The potential witchdoctor would sit quietly by staring this bamboo for days. Even when this person left his meditative location, the bamboo is never pulled up. All of the Hawaiians know this taboo and no one dares to try his/her luck.

Mr. Ho said when he first moved to Hawaii. One of his neighbours, an Austrian did not believe in such a taboo. So this young brave scientific minded Austrian pulled up one of this bamboo and broke it into two in front of a famous old witchdoctor. The old witchdoctor calmly shook his head and said pitifully: “Too bad, you shall die after 7 days!” Once said, the witchdoctor turned his back and walked away.

Perhaps it was a coincidence; the young Austrian fell very sick that night and he started to feel afraid. So this young man told his parents of what had happened. His parents immediately called upon some of the witchdoctors in the vicinity; but no one willing to help after the witchdoctors knew who their opponent was. The worried parents sent their child to the hospital and doctors failed to find out the root cause of the sickness.

On the third day, the sick Austrian youth was finally sent to the head of the witchdoctors in Honolulu. At that time, the leader of Hawaiian witchdoctors was an old lady over 70 years old.

The old lady witchdoctor cannot think of a better way to save this Austrian because the curse of shark guardian cannot be cured. The only way was to send this young Austrian far away from Hawaii; the further the better.

It was said that the young Austrian was sent back to his Austrian home. But this young man died in a road accident on his way to his house. Interestingly, it was just after 7 days from the bamboo stick was broken!

This is a very bizarre case as far as I know; ordinary curses are not as fast as this one. Perhaps it was the witchdoctor’s super mind power that killed the youth. In order to kill a person using mind power however, he/she must have super concentration power. Maybe that explains why a witchdoctor needs to meditate in front of the bamboo stick for days!

Bumping Into Vietnamese Sorcerer (巧遇越南巫师)

A Vietnamese folk altar with influence of Taoism.

I visited Vietnam occasionally for business and besides that; I enjoy the famous Vietnamese coffee and when I have the opportunity, I also like to visit some local sorcerers. It was during one of my visits that a friend of mine introduced me to a Vietnamese Chinese sorcerer who said that he has about 20 over varieties of Ngai plants in his collections. So, I eagerly made an appointment and visited the sorcerer’s house.

This is an interesting fellow, he has got almost Taoist style altar but with a distinct flavour. I suspect that some of the Chinese characters were wrongly written. For example the 天他 (heaven and him) should mean 天地 (heaven and earth) as shown in the above picture. Nonetheless, the influence of Taoism is very clear. There are also a Guan Yin statue and an ancestral template. A very interesting feature of this altar is that there are many small horses meant for the sorcerer’s military spirits.

After visiting his altar, he showed me a variety of his Ngai collections and we returned to his living room to chat. According to this sorcerer, he has a very special version of Kumanthong made from remains of a baby and soil. Unlike the Thai Kumanthong, His Kumanthong spirit can change shape and it is very powerful. He wanted me to feel his Kumanthong’s power so he asked me to hold it in my hands. I did what he said but I didn’t feel anything. But I did tell him politely that I felt some vibrations in my hand.

On hearing what I said, his face showed a flash of confident and proud expression. He then said that he shall call upon his Kumanthong spirit to possess his body. As soon as he said that, he started to chant some mantra and his body slowly made clockwise rotation. Not long after that he begun to giggle and behaved as if a toddler. My friend said I can ask anything I wished to know; but I just shook my head. Well, what can a toddler know really?

As I was in a hesitation state, the Kumanthong spirit suddenly behaved like a monkey. It made the sorcerer jumped up and down and then ran towards the altar to pick up a coconut. Then the ‘monkey’ peeled the coconut with its teeth and then drank the water. The sorcerer dance for a while and finally he settled into a chair next to mine.

We waited until the sorcerer regained his consciousness. As we were about to express our intention that we must leave for another event in the evening, the sorcerer pulled me aside and asked if I was interested in purchasing his ‘special edition’ Kumanthong with a donation of USD1,000?

I thought for a while and said to him that if his Kumanthong gave me a dream that night, I shall return to him in the morning… Of course, I didn’t have any dreams and I certainly didn’t return to the sorcerer. I supposed the saying that ‘money is everything’ (钱能通神) does ring a bell!

You Should Not Talk Too Much (多言失财)

Many people like to talk nonsense. They thought I too like to talk nonsense but I just play along due to politeness. This has created another problem that people think I am naïve and they played naïve tricks in front of my wide open eyes. This gave them a shock when I finally asked these folks: “why do you talk so much?”

But seriously, talking more than one should is not good for your fortune. In Chinese arts of face reading, there is a saying that goes:

“言多泄财”

(Talking too much wastes fortune.)

According to theory of face reading when one talks excessively, not only his life span is shortened; his fortune also diminishes at the same time. Hence professions like teacher, telephone sales, and lecturers are quite difficult in gaining wealth generally speaking. Of course there are outliers, but the condition remains true for majority of the cases.

In the West, there is a proverb that sounds like:

“Empty vase makes the most noise.”

This also means that those who like to talk are actually empty inside their minds. It is either they have something to hide that they like to talk; or they want to fish some information from you.

I have also noticed that when a spirit possessed a person, he/she likes to talk something gibberish or nonsense not noticed by himself/herself until I ask for a second time: “what did you say?” Then the person would suddenly ‘switch mode’ to himself/herself again. The psychologist may say this person has a ‘split personality’ but I would not want to argue on this aspect.

So, not only talking too much reveals your mistake (言多必失), talking too much also shows your hidden intention (言多无意) and talking too much too make you lose your fortune (言多失财)!

A Declining Businessman (没落生意人)

At times you don’t really need to have any occult knowledge to know that a businessman is not running a good business and luck. You can indeed pick up why this person’s business is not doing too good. Below is just one real example from a long winded declining businessman.

I used to have a frequent long winded and long distance caller who likes to talk up to hours per call. This fellow said that he has a restaurant and a beauty salon but kept complaining that his workers were how lazy and useless were. Of course I have not met this guy since he said that his business was not good so let’s scrutinize a section of our conversations to find a clue why his business wasn’t doing too good.

First is his restaurant business:

Biz: “My restaurant business is not doing so well.”

Me: “Why do you say so?”

Biz: “My customers are in declining and they spent lesser now.”

Me: “What type of food are you selling?”

Biz: “Hamburgers, noodles, soups etc…”

(I have to cut the conversation as it is pretty long…)

Me: “Sounds pretty standard to me. How do you prepare the soup?”

Biz: “I use a special type of seasoning specially ordered from Japan…”

Me: “How is the competition like?”

Biz: “The competition was bad as many foreign people come to the island to open up new restaurants; and my cursed worker just left my restaurant and opened up another restaurant just at the back of my current restaurant…”

Before I continue with the businessman’s second business, let us take a pause and see what is wrong with his business model. If you are also a boss you would probably agree with me on the below:

“To begin with, food and beverage businesses are facing intense competitions in the USA and Asia alike. This is especially true when everyone is selling the same food stuffs such as soup and noodles etc; what would make you to come up in the race is the uniqueness of your food stuff… Using seasoning may bring up the taste of your food in short while; but customers would quickly become bored of the seasoning taste.

Had this businessman really come to Penang and open his restaurant this way, he would be closed for business in one year or so! But people in the West are more tolerant to not so original eastern food so our business friend may survive for another few years…”

Secondly, his beauty salon business:

Biz: “I also run a beauty salon school on the island…”

Me: “How is your business like?”

Biz: “Not so good. My trainer ran off bringing with her most of my students…”

Me: “Do you know to tend lady’s hair and beauty products?”

Biz: “No… I depended on the trainer…”

My comment:

“Please don’t involve into a business that you are not familiar with. The reason is pretty clear. This businessman will not be able to survive in Asia should he opt to move his business there.”

Can magic help him?

Well, magic helps in a way, but at the end of the day; all the restaurant and beauty salon would be visited by human beings not the spirits! Unless the businessman can change his business model; or his father is filthy rich, there would not be too much money left for him to spend in near future!!

Of course, instead of spending and wasting all his resources such time and money on magical things; he should really stop ‘talking too much’ and start getting his hands dirty!

Luckily our businessman is in the West and not the East where the real intense competitions are.

Feng Shui Of River Mouth (风水谈水口)

When we talk about Feng Shui (FS) of a place, inevitably we had to look at the ‘river mouth’ (水口). River mouth in ancient time was where people congregated and many of old cities are located at river mouths. This is the place of rigorous economic activities, transportation and finance; and also administrative area of a country. For example: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur etc.

This observation remains true until today. If an area is situated around river mouth, it is good for business and fortune; if a place is located far away from river mouth then the development of the place would be slow. Of course, FS has come a long way and the concept of ‘river mouth’ has expanded to include road junction as well.

Generally speaking, if a row of houses is facing a river mouth then chances are they would have a better FS setting compared to those facing opposite directions. While those facing the river mouth at different angles would have mix luck. It is only after carrying out a visual inspection that a FS master had to rely on a compass for further evaluations.

Likewise it is better to invest in a house or shop located at the corner of a cross road or where you can see the road junction from the premise. If the house/shop is located at a section of road that no road junction can be seen; then this is termed as ‘trapped dragon’ (困龙). At the places called ‘trapped dragon’; there should be a clear space for parking or other activities. This space would be called a ‘reservoir’ (蓄水). A small ‘reservoir’ would accumulate chi and hence customers have a place to park their cars. Although a small ‘reservoir’ is good but its effect is much less than the ‘river mouth’.

Now let us zoom in a little to look into a shopping complex. You will notice that a shop located at the entrance would be the most popular one and the price is the highest of the all. A shop lot near entrance would be good as restaurant, fashion house, bar, coffee shop etc that requires large amount of customers. The higher the shop lot is, the lesser it would be able to attract crowds. So, you can also notice that shop at the top floor would normally be cinema, beauty salon, special interest shops or stores.

As you can see, FS is not nonsense if you understand the system correctly. I always make use of FS with my planning work and most of the time both work seamlessly together. If your business is not good, then perhaps it is your location is not ideal for your type of business. This would be a good time to change instead of setting up Phra Ngan or Kumanthong statues or even Guangong ones! I have seen people putting all sorts of statues in their shops until the shops looked like a shrine. Needless to say, no decent customers would come in the shops too. 

To The Talkative Ones (致长编大论者)

At times, I would stay on the phone for 3~4 hours a day until my handy burns my cheeks. Now days to avoid I roast my cheeks on daily basis, I would not simply give out my phone numbers to just anyone unless he/she is a very good friend. Perhaps it is not the long talk that worries me, but the mentalities and the motives of the caller:

·         Some callers said they want to drop everything and come to Thailand, China, Indonesia, Malaysia etc. just to learn magic…

·         Some callers wanted to be off hook from legal cases…

·         Some callers wanted to get some corpse oils…

·         Some callers just want to talk without any aims…

·         Some callers want to learn magic…

·         Some callers want to divorce and bring their children to SEA…

·         And many more…

All these calls really make me worry a lot. Perhaps these people just want to find someone to release their tensions; or perhaps they are seeking help. I am not too worried about those who just like to talk and do nothing else; but those who really want to give up everything in their own countries.

I am not giving names, but for these magic fans; I would only put up some suggestions for these folks for their future reference before diving into magic or picking up my number to call: 

•       Please perform a thorough research on the place you wish to migrate or to move in first including local customs, infrastructures, work opportunities, children educations etc. Bear in mind that the living expenses in SEA would not be cheaper than other places in Europe and USA.
•      Please have a topic ready to talk and just not talk along and agree with whatever I said because by echoing on what I said only masks your real problem or expose your real intentions of not being serious. I have met with many people of this kind. But seriously, if you just want to talk; then please pay an advance consultation fee of USD50 for 20 minutes.
•      Please bear in mind that the magic will not earn you a living, you still need a means to have stable income. Kumanthong statue however large; will only sits there for another 100 years and do nothing! So, while indulging in magical matters overseas; you also need income.
•      Please just send me email and state precisely what you want. I would not charge for one or two mails; but for more, you would need to pay. Of course, if you are an acquaintance; then I would not ask money explicitly.

·      If you really want to move to Malaysia, especially Penang; then it is best to drop by Penang and may be I can help you to look around (with a fee). That would be more efficient than spending hours of non-productive time on long distance calls.

Last but not least, it is not my concern of your future endeavours; but I hate to see a person selling everything and be stranded in a foreign land. It is the welfare of the children and dependences that I am more worried about. So, before you really selling off your business and properties in USA; drop in my place and have a cup of coffee first. Please don’t just call for nothing as empty talks not only waste your time; and mine too!

The Face Of Future Husband (未婚夫的样子)

There is a very popular folk ritual to enable a lady to see the face of her future husband. I don’t know the origin of this ritual and there are many versions. The most common version of the ritual is as follows:

If a lady wishes to see her future husband, then she can prepare a piece of mirror, a red apple, a white candle and a sharp knife to peel the apple with. The lady should start this ritual at sharp midnight alone in a room. She should light the candle first, and start peeling off the apple. The condition of the success of this ritual is that the skin of the apple must not break in the process of peeling.

The lady should peel the apple while looking into the mirror. It is said that a image should slowly appear in the mirror: from blurred image to sharp towards the end of the peeling process. Nothing would happen if the skin of the apple is unbroken and the face of her future husband should appear clearly. However, if the skin of the apple is broken during the process; then awful things shall occur.

No one has a clue of what the so-called ‘awful’ thing is but below Japanese urban legend gives us a clue:

Some years ago, a young high school girl prepared materials described above and started the ritual sharp at midnight. During the apple peeling activity, her reflection in the mirror slowly transformed into a stranger’s face…

Since the stranger’s face was a little blur, the girl was a litter eager to have a closer look and she lost concentration on peeling the apple and the apple skin broke. It was a pity since the apple was almost done peeling. Suddenly blood started to flow out from the chin of this stranger. Slowly the reflection in the mirror turned red.

The girl was frightened and shouted loudly. With this shout, the awful scene in the mirror was gone and everything returned to normal…

Many years passed, the girl gradually forgotten of her ordeal. It was time for her to get married. She decided to have an arrange marriage as decided by her parents. On the day of her marriage, snow was falling heavily; her future husband was wearing a mask. The thoughtful husband helped the girl to cover with a piece of thick blanket and dim the room light. As the couple was about to get intimate, the husband slowly got undressed but left the face mask alone.

The impatient girl suddenly pulled off her husband’s face musk and… to her horror, the face before her was a bloody face from nose below! The horrified girl asked in fright: “AAAAHHH! What happened to your face?”

The man slowly turned his chinless bloody face towards the girl: “Have you forgotten what you did 10 years ago? Kak kak kak kak…”

So, ladies; do you wanna try this ritual anymore? Hahaha…

Chen Province Magic Vs Raft Magic (辰州符斗排教)

This is a very interesting story said to be happened during the end of Qing Dynasty:

As the story goes from the mouth of grandson of the raft sorcerer:

There was an old man in Yichang (宜昌) who was an exponent in Chen Province Magic (辰州符). This old man normally sells his Chen Province Fu (辰州符) and at times, he also heals the sick. So the old man was quite famous at that time.

At that time, Yichang river mouth was the main path for transport of wood platoons. In old days, logs were transported by tying them together forming platoons and these platoons were thrown into river upstream so that the water may transport the logs to the downstream. There would be one or two raft gangs (排帮) on the platoon to manage one platoon. Naturally, these raft gangs were also exponents in sorcery.

One day, after a cup too many; this old man boasted in front of a group of young men that he can make these platoons stop moving in the middle of the river. Of course no one believed him, but the young men nonetheless dragged old man to the river bank and forced him to stop the platoons by whatever means.

I supposed the old man too wished to show off, so he asked someone to give him a few pieces of chopsticks. Old man stabbed the chopsticks into river bank and start chanting. Indeed, all of the platoons stopped moving as if blocked by an invisible force. The raft gangs on the platoons immediately start performing sorcery too to make their platoons move again. Strangely, whatever the raft people did, the platoons remained stagnant as rocks.

After a while, one of the raft sorcerers went into his tent on the platoon and pull out a chicken. This raft sorcerer chanted some mantra and then took a sip of rice wine and then blew the rice wine at the head of the chicken. Almost immediately, the Chen old man shouted in pain. It turned out that the old man was blinded at the moment the rice wine was blown at the chicken head.

The old man at once sat on the ground and asked someone to handle him some rice grains and after that, he chanted some mantra and then threw the rice into the air. Miraculously, the old man can see again.

People around the old man said the raft gangs were too wicked to perform black magic at him. Had it that the old man stop at that point, everything would end peacefully because he was the one who has started this commotion. But under the instigation of the crowd, the old man again asked someone to bring him a few pieces of chopsticks. This old sorcerer then arranged all of the chopsticks side by side. Once this is done, he started to chant mantra and slowly pick up one chopstick at a time.

Strange things started to happen to the platoons: the logs forming platoons started to scatter and dispersed in the water. Seeing this scene, the raft sorcerer to panic and he started to start another round of chanting. Instantly, all those logs begun to pile at river bank.

The raft sorcerer knew that he was the victim of other’s sorcery. So, he started his investigation and finally got the name and address of the culprit. Again, if this raft sorcerer stop at that point; everything would be fine. But he persisted on as he was indeed a cruel person by nature.

Once the raft sorcerer knew the old man’s address, he immediately went to the house of the old man. At the front door, the raft sorcerer took out a handful of sand and started to chant. After that, the sorcerer threw the sand at the old man’s front door and left.

In the evening, the old man’s household was besieged by strange red measles. Everyone in the house felt pain and itch all over their body. As soon as the old man returned home, he started to perform counter magic to save his family members. Sad to say, the old man was too late; he only managed to save the strong ones. The old man lost many of his love ones over night.

The old man was angry and sorrowful, he ran to the river bank to seek out the raft sorcerer. Without saying anything, he stroke at the raft sorcerer’s back. And the sorcerer returned the favour by giving the old man’s chest a hit of his palm.

After returning home, the old man died in a few days. An autopsy was carried out at his body and found a red mark resembles the shape of a plum flower. And further autopsy revealed that the old man’s heart was pierced by 5 pieces of needles! Everyone knew it was the working of the raft sorcerer’s ‘plum flower palm’ (梅花掌).

A few days later, another batch of wood platoons passed by the river but the sorcerer in charge was not the original sorcerer. People ask him the reason and this new sorcerer said that his predecessor had died in his hometown.

According to this new raft sorcerer, the previous sorcerer returned home and immediately sat into a big earth urn. He asked his wife to cover the urn top with a big rock and use fire to steam the urn. The raft sorcerer gave his wife instruction that the steaming process must carried out for 5 days. However, his wife felt curious and opened up the urn cover on the 4^th day. Sad to say, once the cover was opened, the raft sorcerer immediately succumbed. It was visible at this back that 4 needles has cane out and a 5^th needle head just emerged.

The moral of this story is that it is of no benefit to learn magic if one does not have proper mental cultivation. Apparently both of the sorcerers succumbed under ‘plum flower’; it also reminds us that there is no win-win situation in magic duel too. Even though I have the original manual of ‘plum flower palm’ ritual, I have not studied it. So I would not know if anyone can have the same accomplishment as well.

Addition info:

http://liewsp1-magicsea.blogspot.my/2012/11/xiangxi-3-chengzhou-fu.html

http://liewsp1-magicsea.blogspot.my/2015/10/the-secretive-raft-folk-cult.html

The Secretive Raft Folk Cult (神秘的排教)

The manual I got from a descendent of a raft cult member which shows the practice of 'plum flower plum' (梅花掌). Plum flower palm is one of aggressive magic practised by raft cult members. When a person is being hit by 'plum flower', his/her external sign is a series of small holes forming the pattern of plum flower on the skin. In each of these small holes, there is one fine needles. If the person is not treated in a proper way to force out the needles, a person can die in short time. There is an old story behind this plum flower...

Raft cult originates from ancient Hunan (湖南), China. Some scholars attribute this cult to be a subset of Plum Mountain Cult (梅山教). Raft cult is believed to be practiced by raft workers since ancient time due to the need to transfer logs from upstream to downstream. Now days with the advent of modern transport technology, many raft workers lost their jobs and raft cult also gradually being forgotten by others. Perhaps at the time of writing, there is no more raft cult members around.

This cult is believed to begin in Xiangxi (湘西) mountainous regions where the cult members worked in logging business to earn a living. After they cut down trees, the logs are tied into a big platoon. And these platoons were let drifted in the river flow so that they are carried by the water to downstream where current Dongting Lake (洞庭湖) is.

Unlike modern logging professions that just throw logs into river, raft workers stay on the wooden platoons to guide and watch over their merchandise. We can perhaps imagine what type of environments these workers were facing on the harsh river and weather environment. Due to the influences of the working environment, raft workers learnt many potent magic rituals to protect themselves from nature forces, evil spirits and thugs alike. Gradually a cult with its own characteristics was formed.

The grandmaster of raft cult is believed to be Master Chen Silong (陈四龙). The master was a chivalric person, he was said to have taken care of the water route around Dongting Lake by removing reefs and monsters. Master Chen also taught the raft workers to set up big drum and oars on the wooden platoon. The drum was to be beaten during releasing of platoons into the water while oars to guide the platoons. As such, a set of rituals specific to platoon activities were formed.

Interestingly, the raft cult does not appoint a master and everything is managed by a raft supervisor. He is also the leader of the platoon workers. Because of the fact that raft workers’ life was precarious, raft workers were trained to be fierce and easily provoked. The workers trusted their supervisors with almost blind faith. As such, the raft cult members have great cohesive force. A telltale sign if a person is a raft cult member is that he would have a tablet worshipping the ‘grandmaster of platoon drum and oar’ (排鼓橹祖师神位).

Perhaps I would tell you about the story of a magic duel happened between a raft cult member and a magician during Qing Dynasty (清朝) in coming posting…

The Nine State Steps (九州罡)

The 9 state steps are a series of steps meant to raise a war to concur 'countries' in the surrounding. The photo is a segment of the 9-state diagram with associated talismans.

Taoist ‘nine state steps’ is part of larger Taoist ritual meant to ‘flex muscle’ against spirits in the vicinity. The 9 states in this context means the 9 ancient states in ancient China; so if a Taoist performs this ‘9 state steps’ means that he/she is about to raise war against 8 states except the center state. The center state always represents the Taoist’s military and the central government; so the center cannot be violated. By performing the 9-sate steps it symbolizes the declaration of ‘war’ against the surrounding states so that everyone shows allegiance to the central government.

Old Taoists believe that it is dangerous to perform this 9-state step because if one’s ability and power is insufficient to suppress the spirits around him/her; his/her life would be in danger. There is a saying that goes:

“世人莫踏九州罡，若踏九州人不还。”

(Please don’t perform the 9-sate steps, anyone who tries it may not return.)

Of course, now days; modern Taoists who practise the ‘5 legionnaire armies’ ritual do not perform this tedious 9-state steps anymore. This is because they do not have the proper knowledge in keeping spiritual military force. Many of the temple military armies are slacking as they are not trained in wars as their predecessors. Old Taoist exponents would have this to say:

“不踏九州神不显，踏了九州神显灵。”

(If one does not perform the 9-state steps, the gods are weak;
After one has performed the 9-state steps the gods become powerful.)

There are 9 elements in the 9-state steps:

·         Pointing at 9 states (点九州)

·         Underlying 9 states (伏九州)

·         Overturning 9 states (翻九州)

·         Placing 9 states (置九州)

·         Passing through 9 states (度九州)

·         Breaking 9 states (破九州)

·         Toppling 9 states (倒九州)

·         Subduing 9 states (收九州)

·         Patrolling 9 states (川九州)

All of the steps are accompanied by individual chanting, and at the end of the ritual; the master would sing out loud:

打九州来师九州，九州兵马一起收，

行罡用锁无锁难，神将下来定八方。

(By raising war against 9 states, I am the master of 9 states,

I accept the military forces of all 9 states,

If one performs the star walk without knowing the tricks, then it is difficult,

Only then the heavenly general shall descent to conquer all 8 directions.)

So, if you are a Taoist and your ‘5 legionnaire armies’ is weak, and then chances are they are too lazy and not well trained. Why not give the 9-state steps a try?  

The Nanny’s Star Walk (奶娘催罡)

Nanny Chen's star walk ritual is in progress.

“The Nany’s Star Walk” is a type of religious dance of eastern Fujian She tribe (畲族). Basically this is a shaman dance to expel evil spirits before the beginning of worship ceremonies. There are three sections to this dance:

·         Purification of altar (净坛):

o   Meaning to expel unwanted spiritual obstacles before the conjuration of gods and goddesses.

·         Invitation of goddess Chen (请神):

o   The main goddess is the Nanny Chen Jing Gu (陈靖姑) or just Nanny Chen in short.

·         Actual walk (踩罡):

o   There are 11 types of walk that represent the daily activities of a lady. Originally these steps can only be performed by men.

Basically the purpose to evoke Nanny Chan is to protect kids from being harmed by evil spirits and also to chase them away. Taoist of old has found that chanting coupled with star walk can unite a human with the gods and goddesses. For example the performer’s first walk is the “eight steps” (八步罡), the performer would hold a master’s knife (铃刀) in his left hand and an antelope horn (羚号) in his right. The person would perform the dance while chanting the below opening mantra:

“祖师来行罡啊，本师来啊行罡，

左脚踏在天门上，右脚踏在地府里，

吾今踏到人长生，吾今踏到鬼灭亡。

左脚踏山山就断，右脚踏石石成汤，

闾山洞前行罡法，行罡作法上庙堂.”

（The grand master is performing the star steps, 
this master is performing the steps,

My left foot steps at the heavenly gate, while my left foot into hell,

Now I shall storm until everyone lives forever and the ghosts die.

When my left foot storms the mountain, the mountain breaks;

When my right foot storms onto rocks, the rocks become soup.

I perform star steps in front of Lushan Cave;

I perform steps into the Lushan temple.)

After the opening mantra, and blowing of horns; the performer would continue with following 11 types of star walk:

1.      The eight steps (八步罡)

2.      The lock and chain steps (锁链罡)

3.      The lost sow steps (失亥罡)

4.      The recovery of health steps (养身罡)

5.      The combing of hair steps (梳头罡)

6.      The entangle steps (扣缠罡)

7.      The washing of face steps (洗面罡)

8.      The looking into mirror steps (照镜罡)

9.      The getting rice from cage steps (笼米罡)

10.  The sieving rice steps (筛米罡)

11.  The fishing steps (钓鱼罡)

The steps are very simple as a performer only need to make one leg jump from left to right. Star walk 1~3 evoke the power of Nanny Chen to chase against evil spirits, bind them and deliver the spirits to the other side. Walk 4 is to heal a person tormented by spirits. Steps 5~8 purifies a place (village) for further ritual proceedings. Finally, steps 9~11 meant to seek out further spirits in hiding and catch them all.

If we further scrutinize the content of the above ritual, we would find that it falls under the curriculum of Lushan (闾山) Sect. Lushan rituals are still in practice by people in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

I have to apologize for not describing the ritual in detail as it is a complicate process.

  

The Spirit That Jogged Forever (马拉松幽灵)

This is a school ghost story prevailed in my old Taiping secondary school. During an annual inter-school marathon tournament, a school marathon runner suddenly suffered heart attack and subsequently fell to his death just a few steps short of reaching the end in the annual inter-school tournament. Everyone lamented the loss of a young soul as this young athlete was the best student in academic and also athletic. A memorial service was held in the school hall, the most heartbroken ones were certainly his parents.

A few weeks later, people started to see a silhouette of a youth start running at first from the tracks in the school field, but gradually this shadowy figure also being seen running marathon from one end of the classroom to another. Not long after that this figure also being seen running in student hostel. It would suddenly appear from the wall and at times bumped directly into students after night tuition class. Those ones who had direct contact with this ‘creature’ said that they felt as being knocked down by a cold breeze.

Soon the rumor of the school being haunted by a marathon spirit begun to spread like wild fire; people were afraid of walking alone in the corridor or even to the library. The headmaster decided to put a stop to this ‘haunting’ or rumor alike, so he called an emergency teacher’s meeting. In the meeting, the P.E. teacher suddenly said that he has a method to solve this headache issue.

After obtaining permission from the headmaster, the P.E. teacher summoned some students to the athletic field; he asked two students each holding a piece of tape. One student held at one end. This would be the so-called ‘finish point’ of a marathon race. The P.E. teacher then asked the bystanders to cheer out as loud as possible. After a few rounds of cheering, he took a pair of scissors and cut the tape. There were a few rounds of cheer and applause as if someone has won the marathon race.

On the same night, a security guard said that he saw the deceased student’s soul ran for the last time on the field while raising its hands and smiling satisfactorily as if it has finally completed his race. No one saw the apparition again until…

I asked the P.E. teacher of the reason. He said: “It is simple. The deceased was indignant that he couldn’t finish the race so he started to show itself due to hatred. Now that we have given what he wanted; he has no further reason to remain.”

The story did not end there however…

During my last school days there, we had a small celebration in the evening. We were very excited and decided to go to the field to have a final race before we went out of the school gate. Someone suddenly shouted: “On your mark, GO!”

Many years ago, when I met my P.E. teacher, he told me that the phantom again reappeared on the school field running nonstop. People who walked pass the field at night may notice a figure running around the field. No one dares to approach this figure; at least this time it did not venture into the school building as before.

Strange Stories About Yamatojinja (日本神社)

The lake near Fushimi Inari-taisha is said to be the most dangerous and mysterious place.

Visiting a Japanese Shinto shrine or ‘yamatojinja’ is a must itinerary. But before you proceed with the journey, let me tell you some bizarre stories about these mysterious shrines; and you would know what realms you have ventured into…

The first story is not very scary. The incident happened at famous Fushimi Inari-taisha (伏見稻荷大社). A friend of mine went to attend a worship ceremony. It was quite late in the evening after the ceremony. The sun was setting and this friend of mine suddenly found he has lost his way. Since my pal is not a local, he was in quite a hurry to get home. As we always say: “whatever will go wrong, will go wrong.”

When he came to a junction, he has unfortunately chosen the wrong road. As he was walking; suddenly he heard the voice of an old man telling him that he has gone the wrong way. The voice further gave him instruction on how to get back to his car. Having no option, my pal followed the old man’s voice and indeed, very soon; he found his way and his car. My friend was overjoyed and he turned his back to thank the old man only to find there was no one there!

Later, my friend stopped by a local restaurant and the lady owner told him that it was perhaps the fox spirit of the shrine that has landed a helping hand.

Anyway, just a word of caution, it is best to visit a shrine with Inari fox spirits during day time. If you venture into the shrine after dark, then all risks are yours!

It is believed that the most ‘dangerous’ place is actually the lake. There are people continued to be ‘lost in other realm’ and these unfortunate folks would get lost for apparent no reasons when they venture near the lake. So the locals said the best way to enjoy the beautiful lake scenery is just to watch it from afar.

A local told me that the above stories are true because if one’s aura is not in sync with the Yamatojinja, then it is best not get near the place. This is because gods of a Shinto shrine is very different from the Buddha and bodhisattvas of a Buddhist temple. The Buddha and bodhisattvas are compassionate; they will turn a blind eye if a person made a mistake. However, the spirits of a Shinto shrine can slaughter a person directly and mercilessly!

Yuki said that her aunt once wished to visit the Inari shrine but no matter how long she walked she could never see the end of the road. At the end, she had to give up. As her aunt recalled later, the road in front of her kept changing and finally she had to give up.

Having said so, please don’t let my words scare you; do drop in and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I do believe that there are no scary tales that can deter an enthusiastic tourist!

Occult Stealing Or Landing Of Fates (偷抢借运)

A friend dropped me this mail:

“Below are a couple of stories I read on magazines many years ago.

1.      A toast master conducts a secret ritual by using birthdates of few persons who later participate in a dinner. It is believed that those guests’ ages could be stolen and borrowed and add to a dying patient or anyone else to wish to extend his/ her life.

2.      Yean (缘/relationship destiny) of a couple could be stolen or borrowed by a toast ritual, to enhance another person’s love’s luck. 

I was told by a Toast master, both age and love relationship could be stolen or borrowed. Those stolen love “taou hua”(palm flower/桃花) could be re-planted. I don’t think stolen ages could be replaced in this lifetime?”

There are three things here:

1.      Borrowing of lifespan (借寿)

2.      Stealing/borrowing of luck (偷/借运)

3.      Planting palm flower (种桃花)

Having said so, ‘yean’ is something cannot be stolen or borrowed as this involves two parties’ past karmic links. For example, it is not possible to make a total stranger on the road loves you overnight unless, the person has a hidden agenda.

All of the three items above can be done through Taoist ritual explicitly or implicitly. By explicitly I mean by asking openly to the persons affected and seek their agreement. Implicitly means a ritual is done quietly as if stealing.

To borrow/extend life span:

One can write a borrowing slip addressing to the temple of the “emperor of the eastern mountain” (东岳大帝) or King of Hells that he/she wishes to ‘borrow’ an extra life of so many years. After the slip is written, the person should bring the slip to the temple with some food offerings. The person should read the slip out loud in front of the emperor’s statue and then burns the slip. If the ritual is successful, then the person would live for an extra of so many years.

Another way of borrowing life is through Taoist ritual such as performing one of the below:

·         Lighting of oil lamp in an altar. The insiders call it lighting the 7 star lamps (点七星灯).

·         Performing the ritual of underworld journey (关落阴) to pull up one’s life lamp wick.

·         Using the Feng Shui ‘life foundation’ (生基).

·         Going to a young and poor person asking him/her to ‘lend’ the person certain years of life span through Taoist rituals.

To steal/borrow luck:

Luck can be stolen or borrowed in a few ways:

•         Putting one’s finger nails and talisman into a temple or house incense burner (香炉) or a rich man’s ancestral tomb.
•         Using Feng Shui setting to divert a person’s chi or luck such as building tall structures, diverting river flows or even digging a pond.

To plant palm flowers:

If one feels that he/she is lacking palm flowers (relationships), then he/she can seek the help perform ritual such as:

•          Planting palm flowers
• ·       Going to underworld to look for his/her tree/flowers and waters his/her own plants; or to plant palm flowers.

I have just put up a very general description of how one’s fate can be stolen, or enhanced through Feng Shui and Taoist rituals. Again, there is no guarantee that any of the rituals will work.