The Eight Taoist Immortals

[High Priest Lucius Oria]

The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary Xian (transcendents, saints etc) who have achieved perfection according to Taoist lore. Individually, the story of each immortal is filled with many allegories related to different aspects of alchemy and spiritual advancement/perfection. As a whole, they are the representation of the Tao/Dharma in all its perfection. The number 8 is the infinity. A common theme in all the stories are the supernatural tricks they display, the usage of wine and ascension to heaven on a white crane or swan. Reading with opened Satanic eyes, one can see these tricks are actually symbolic of the soul powers or siddhi. The wine refers to the energy of the soul and the ascension while riding a white crane/swan relates to the perfected/white stage of the alchemical process.

One of the oldest immortals who is also the leader of the group is Zhōnglí Quán (鐘離權). He usually described as a fat bearded, eye blued man (fig 1), who holds a magical fan that can perform different feats such as resurrecting the dead (rebirth) and turning stones (lead) to gold (mercury). He is also depicted as a lover of wine. After his birth, he was soundless and motionless for 7 days before saying his first words, "My feet have wandered the purple palace of the gods and my name is recorded in the capital of the Jade Emperor." It is interesting to note how this may relate to the crown (heaven) chakra and what that represents on an alchemical level. Jade is a symbol of immortality and power in China as well. So the Jade Emperor is literally an immortal ruler. Zhōnglí Quán obtained his knowledge of alchemy and his magical fan from a group of Taoist masters who also taught him the process of creating the philosopher's stone as well as a form of swordsmanship known as Green Dragon. The Green Dragon Swordsmanship is another symbol relating to the common theme of the kundalini (Green Dragon) 'piercing' the soul of all knots and blockages, freeing the qi to circulate. It is said that through the repeated use of alchemy and his fan while drunk from his wine (fully empowered), he ascended into the cloud of the immortals (perfection).

Fig 1: Zhōnglí Quán


Another immortal, Elder Zhāng Guǒ (張果老) is described as a hermit occultist who rode around on a white donkey/horse and had a love for wine and winemaking (fig 2). He is also known to be a qigong/alchemy master. Again one can see the symbolism to white stage of alchemy and the soul energy. He could survive on a few sips of his wine (prana) a day without the need for food or water. He also liked to display powers such as invisibility and the ability to wither flowers simply by pointing (siddhis). He is also sometimes depicted as holding either a peach or a feather from a phoenix (perfection symbols). After his 'death', his disciples visited his tomb and found it to be empty (resurrection).

Fig 2: Fig 2: Elder Zhāng Guǒ


The immortal Hán Xiāng (also known as Philosopher Hán Xiāng: 韓湘子) is described as a youth holding a flute (Meru axis/spinal column) and nephew of an important imperial official who achieved perfection after falling out of a peach tree (fig 3). When returning to his uncle (who wanted him to focus on confucianism rather than the Tao), he simply made his new insight clear by giving him a poem filled with spiritual significance:


"In a cave mid mists and torrents by green-clad peaks I live;
I sip the dew at midnight that stars the earth like gems,
I make my food the rosy clouds that flush the coming dawn.
I play the Green Jade Melody upon a seven-stringed lute,
And melt in fiery alembics fine-powdered pearls and white;
Within my Precious Cauldron the Golden Tiger dwells;
I grow the Magic Fungus to feed the Snow-white Crows,
With Nature's creative powers my bottle-gourd is stored,
I slay the evil demons with my magic three-foot blade;
Wine fills the empty goblet when I speak the wizard word,
And flowers spring up and bloom in the twinkling of an eye;
Show me the man who doth these things in the way that I have told,
And I will gladly talk with him of the hsien (immortal) who ne'er grow old."

His uncle replied by handing him an empty goblet which Hán Xiāng spontaneously filled with wine out of thin air.

Fig 3: Philosopher Hán Xiāng


Lü Tung-Pin (呂洞賓), another one of the Eight Immortals is described as an aristocratic old man who holds a magic sword that dispels evil spirits (fig 4). His entire home was said to smell of fragrances (purification) when he was born. He was also a qigong master and lover of wine and winemaking like the others and is also often depicted as being in a drunken state. Through the help of Zhōnglí Quán, Lü Tung-Pin eventually became immortal through the alchemical arts.

Fig 4: Lü Tung-Pin


The most ambiguous of the group is an immortal named Lán Cǎihé (藍采和). Usually depicted in ambiguous clothing, age and sex, Lán Cǎihé is usually painted as holding a basket of items related to life (bamboo sticks, flowers, magical fungus, plums) etc (fig 5). When drinking at a tavern, a drunk Lán Cǎihé left the world on a heavenly white crane and all his/her clothes were stripped off, and was naked (symbolic of the rebirth).

Fig 5: Lán Cǎihé


Perhaps the most popular and oldest of the Eight Immortals is Lǐ Tiěguǎi otherwise known as Iron-Crutch Li (李鐵拐). He is depicted as an old ugly man holding a gourd (fig 6). The gourd is the Chinese equivalent of the grail imagery which is the soul. No doubt, the gourd is said to contain both his hun (soul) and also many different medicines (elixirs) to help people. Occasionally the gourd is said to contain the philosopher's stone. Lǐ Tiěguǎi was originally very beautiful who would frequently astral project and asked his disciple to look after the body for 7 days and if he did not return, to burn his body. Due to some unfortunate circumstances his disciple burned his body early (6 days) which caused the immortal to have to find a replacement. One can see how this relates to the jewish emphasis of 6 as it is almost 7 (perfection) and the result of that being (ugliness/oldness). Nonetheless the immortal is shown to be the saviour of the sick and poor.

Fig 6: Iron-Crutch Li


Cáo Guó Jiù, otherwise known as Royal Uncle Cao (曹國舅) is an aristocratic immortal often described as old and bearded and wears a cap (fig 7). He achieved perfection in a cave with the help of Zhōnglí Quán and Lü Tung-Pin after escaping from the intrigues of court. Cáo Guó Jiù is often depicted as holding castanets which relate to music and revival as well as a jade tablet which represents purification and immortality.

Fig 7: Royal Uncle Cao


The last of the immortals is a woman simply known as He Xiangu or Immortal Woman He (何仙姑). She is often shown carrying a lotus flower (symbolic of energy centres) and accompanied by a fènghuáng (symbolic of the resurrection/rainbow stage) (fig 8). She was said to have become a Xian through the gradual consumption of some elixir through her trips to help her ailing mother.

Fig 8: Immortal Woman He



References

http://www.sacred-texts.com/journals/jras/1916-21.htm#page_800_fr_1

http://theyoungpolytheistic.blogspot.co.nz/2011/01/eight-immortals-zhongli-quan.html

The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty. J. C. Y. Watt.

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-eight-immortals-of-taoism-3182605

http://www.asianartmall.com/Tsao%20Kuo-chiu.htm

http://ctext.org/lie-xian-zhuan


There is simply no doubt China was Satanic from the beginning!

High Priest Lucius Oria

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/OrientalSatanicAlliance/info