Onmyoudou

Like This Page · April 7, 2018 ·

Dragon-form Spiritual Talisman 龍形之御靈符 from a collection of talismans called

"seitaikarei tenshin kongen jūnishi goreifu" 正對化靈天真坤元十二支御靈符. There are
twelve talismans appropriate for each of the twelve years of the Chinese zodiac. These
talismans are attributed to the Jin dynasty Daoist master, Xu Xun 許遜, also known as
Perfected Lord Xu 許真君.

This particular talisman was to be written on thicker Chinese-style paper and carried by
people born in the year of the Dog. In this set of talismans, you do not use a talisman for your
year, but its opposite. If you took your year as "one," then you pick the seventh in the cycle.
So, someone born in the year of the Dog uses the Dragon talisman, someone born in the year
of the Horse uses the Rat talisman, and so on.

This spiritual talisman is to be valued as a secret among secret methods and is unsurpassed in
satisfying all desires even when they are not specifically wished for. Granted, there are a lot
of talismans and methods that claim such lofty powers and the ability to do everything.

Though the talisman can be carried by the person, it could also be hung on a wall or pillar.
When writing the talisman, you can follow the corresponding day and direction. For example,
if you were born in the year of the Dog, you could write the talisman on a day with the
corresponding earthly branch (i.e. 戌) according to the traditional calendar and face north-
northwest.

This is specifically referenced from a book, Transmission of the Secret Collection of Spiritual
Talismans of the Celestial Emperor Venerable Star 天帝尊星霊符秘密集伝 , published in
Meiji 43 (1910) in Osaka and written by Fujisaki Kōkyō 藤崎孝教.

References
『天帝尊星霊符秘密集伝』藤崎孝教 天皇館 明 43.12
Fujisaki, Kōkyō 藤崎孝教. Tentei Sonshō Reifu Himitsu Shū Den 天帝尊星霊符秘密集伝,
Osaka: Tennōkan, 1910.

『霊符の呪法―道教秘伝 』大宮司朗 学習研究社 2007.

Omiya, Shirou 大宮司朗. Reifu no Juhō: Dōkyō Hiden 霊符の呪法―道教秘伝 [The Magic
of Numinous Talismans: Secret Transmission from Daoism], Tōkyō: GAKKEN, 2007.

Onmyoudou It does technically use "hanshi" 反支, but I have not seen it specifically noted as
"hanshi" in reference to these talismans. Interestingly, though hanshi is normally ominous
and inauspicious, with these talismans it's correcting and balancing.
Generally speaking, calculating "hanshi" days is one of the ancient ways to determine
inauspicious days of the month based on the Earthly Branches. The calculation method for
"hanshi" days is only slightly more complicated than these talismans though.

Less common is calculating "hanshi" months, and at least one application was in regards to
pregnancy and childbirth. It is calculated based on the pregnant woman's age from 13-49.
There will be two "hanshi" months and the first of the two months would be injurious to the
child and the latter would be injurious to the mother (i.e. could result in the death of one or
the other).

If you're interested, here's a bit from the Meiji encyclopedia, Koji Ruien 古事類苑, that
explains hanshi days and months: http://base1.nijl.ac.jp/~kojir.../hougibu/frame/f000234.html
(text is written in literary Japanese)

Onmyoudou I'm seeing this collection of talismans more often connected to Jin dynasty
Daoist, Xu Xun (Perfected Lord Xu). There are collections of talismans like this that gained
popularity in Japan that can also be found in the Daoist Canon. I believe this is one such
collection, though I haven't confirmed it myself. So, in that sense, it might be more accurate
to say it comes from Daoism or Chinese folk religion.

That being said, it might enjoy a greater popularity in Japan since it was popularized. There's
a Taishō era book that's practically dedicated to it (『坤元術』 岩本梓石 (著) published
1918). At the very least, it's a tool in the toolbox of Japanese talismanic magic now.

However, historically speaking, I cannot confirm if pre-Meiji onmyoji used this particular set.
I doubt it's as old as the Jin dynasty, and I would guess it was created during Ming dynasty
China and maybe entered Japan during the Edo period. I may be completely off base though.

Onmyoudou The Taishō era book? I gave the Japanese title and author. These kind of
references are mainly going to be in Japanese. English-language sources on this style of
talisman will be focused more on Chinese talismans and use in Chinese cultural contexts.
There's cross-over, but some styles of Chinese talisman are not so common in Japanese
contexts.

But, that book is free for viewing in the National Diet Library digital collection here:
http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/988355

The talismans are in the back of the book, so in the drop-down menu you can choose 49.

The image I used in the post was from a Meiji era book I listed in the references, and is a
lengthy collection of talismans. It's also free to view in the same digital collection:
http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/760924