taoism
yin-yang symbol, It represents Taoism's way of understanding opposites, e.g. masculine/feminine, light/dark.
taijitsu shuo, supreme ridgepole, the foundational metaphysical principle, Diagram of the Supreme Polarity—represents the whole of Taoist Cosmology, and is similar in many ways to the Wu Ji Diagram.
five element chart, When the elements of a system are in balance, the cycles of generation and control function to both nourish and contain one another. When the elements are out of balance, they "overact" on and/or "insult" one another.
ba-gua, Supreme Yang, Lesser Yang, Supreme Yin, Lesser Yin then combine in various ways to form the Ba Gua
lo pan compass, The Lo Pan Compass is one of Feng Shui's most complex tools. Around a center which houses a compass are many rings, each containing a unique orientation system. The Lo Pan Compass is used by Feng Shui practitioners to orient and evaluate a site—a house or business or landform—for which a Feng Shui consultation has been requested.
he-tu and luo-shu diagrams, Legend has it that Fu Xi, the Heavenly Sovereign who is credited with the discovery of the Ba Gua, also found the He Tu diagram sometime in the Xia dynasty. While Fu Xi was credited with discovering the He Tu Diagram, it was Yu the Great who received the Luo Sho Diagram as a reward from Heaven.
nei jing tu, represents the transformations that happen within the bodies of inner alchemy practitioners.
guodian bamboo strips, One of the most exciting events of this century, for Taoist scholars and practitioners alike, has been the discovery of the Guodian Bamboo Strips. The number of Guodian bamboo strips is about 800, together bearing approximately 10,000 Chinese characters. Some of the strips comprise the oldest existing version of Laozi's Daode Jing. The remaining strips contain the writings of Confucian disciples.
trigram,
chen-i, orthodox unity; the branch of taoism founded by the celestial master
ch'uan-chen, complete perfection; total reality; the monastic taoist movement
hun, heavenly soul; one the five shen; the soul that resides in the liver, and at death ascends to heaven and is venerated in the form of ancestral tablets
po, eartyly soul; one of the five shen; the soul that residess in the lungs, and at the time of death descends into the earth
lingbao, the school of numinous treasure
dongtian, grotto-heavens; the network of caves connecting china's scared mountains
dao-tsang, lit. 'taoist treasury'; the taoist canon compiled in 1445
ni-wan, mud-pill; the cinnabar field in the head
dantian, the cinnabar field; one of the three principal locations in the body used in the practice of inner alchemy
beidou, northern bushel, or the big dipper
Bugang (步罡) is a Daoist ritual dance or walk, based upon the limping Yubu "Steps of Yu" tradition, in which a Taoist priest paces through a supernatural pattern, such as stars in the Big Dipper or numbers in the Loshu magic square.
temple, pavillion, altar, rite