Magic Diagrams

The Perfect Man is a spiritual being.
— Chuang Tzu

Taoist “magic” diagrams date to the origins of Shamanism and have been used for several thousand years. Given their Shamanistic heritage, magic diagrams were originally drawn with wooden sticks in the sand of special “sandboxes” or on the banks of rivers using reeds. Over time, these drawings were inscribed on the bark of trees and finally upon specially produced scrolls. In their final, most powerful form, magic diagrams were painted with red brush strokes on yellow or gold paper.

How do these powerful diagrams work? All of Taoism’s practical applications are based upon the manipulation of unseen energy called “chi.” In martial arts and holistic healing, chi manipulation yields tangible results that can be witnessed in dramatic physical ways. In a similar sense, Taoist diagrams harness the power of cosmic chi.

Taoist alchemists discovered that brush strokes conforming to specific configurations could modify a person’s aura (or individual chi) when made by a powerful Master. This procedure captures universal or cosmic chi from its normally disperse state and concentrates it. In a unique conjunction of mathematics and art, the configuration of the diagram contains encoded “information” that creates a specialized receptacle for the captured cosmic chi according to its specific purpose. In this way, the diagram can change an individual’s chi flowing throughout his meridian system and reconnect him to the beneficial flow of the Universe. Diagrams are hung throughout the Temple of Original Simplicity and used in its meditation and ceremonial programs.