Lord Josh Allen

The Chinese Hell of Diyu is a maze of underground chambers, courts, and corridors. This purgatory is full of horror and torture but unlike other hells, sinners do not stay in Diyu for eternity, rather it is a place for reincarnation.

"Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered, those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before they fight, while the ignorant fight to win" - Zhuge Liang

Not entirely sure how I would define it, I allow it to define itself to me in the moment, and this changes often.

Hey everyone, I want to bring up a subject which isn't mentioned very often in the Occult world, weather magick. It is usually overlooked and underappreciated by many practitioners, it is my personal belief that if man had not learned how to "dance the rains" we would have gone extinct long ago. There are many stories throughout Chinese history of gifted individuals who have influenced the weather for a variety of reasons, especially warfare. I have walked the path of a Weathermancer for the best part of twelve years, I study these traditions all across the globe, I am well versed in Mayan and Aztec nature manipulation but I have settled with Taoist Weather Magick. I have found that this system resonates with me. Has anyone else here read the brilliant book "Daoist Weather Magic and Feng Shui" by Professor Johnson? If not, I urge you to check it out. It provides a detailed account of many methods and techniques used for summoning different weather patterns. Has anyone had experience with this art? Please feel free to share.

Hello all. I'm sure many of you are collectors and makers of talismanic charms and Occult tools. Every tradition and culture has a wide assortment of various sacred items that are used in rituals and magical workings. It is a universally recognized aspect of practical mysticism. A frequent question that comes up often with sorcerors is "can we measure the power of a tool?" which leads to another question "what is the most effective and powerful tool?" It is possible through first-hand experience to quantify and calculate the qi of a ceremonial instrument. I'll be using my feather fan as an example. It is known as a "Kongming Fan" named after the legendary Shu-Han strategist and genius of The Three Kingdoms Era, Zhuge Liang. Kongming is always depicted dressed in a Taoist robe carrying a fan made of crane or goose feathers. In the historical novel Romance of The Three Kingdoms, the fan never leaves his hand, it is said that he would gaze deeply into the feathers as if examining an intricate design on its surface. Kongming would carry it with him on every military expedition, using it as a directional tool to signal and command his forces by performing different gestures, to attack, defend, advance, retreat, etc. He used the fan to direct military movements against Sima Yi of Wei on the banks of the Wei River near Chang'an. In the book "Tales From The Peking Opera" the legend goes that one day, one of his young attendants secretly looked at the fan, probably whilst Kongming was sleeping. This attendant wanted to know the mysteries that it concealed. He took a good look and he couldn’t see anything other than an arrangement of feathers. When Kongming looked at the fan, he could see the universe, he could see infinite possibility, boundless potential, and abounding inspiration. The fan lit a fire in the already vivid imagination of Kongming, there was something about it that only he could see and nobody else could. What was it? I'm aware that this is speculation as nobody will ever truly know, people have many theories and ideas. I'm going to avoid speculating so let me tell you what I see with my fan and share my experiences. I've come to the realization, this is the most powerful talisman. All information shared here comes from years of invocations with Kongming, not from books or living people. In order for a fan to qualify as a "Kongming Fan" it must be of five different colours consisting of black, brown, grey, white, silver or a combination of those shades. It must always have a Bagua centrepiece with The Eight Trigrams arranged in a Pre-Heaven sequence, NOT the King-Wen sequence. With the father above (Yang) and the mother below (Yin) this is solar and lunar qi contained within the fan. The outer side of the fan is Yang whilst the inner is Yin. The Yang side always faces outward never inward, not because it may cause harm to the bearer but because it could harm the fans delicate inner Yin side which is never exposed. Using the fan incorrectly would damage what is known as "The Fans Organ" the feather on the Yin side is the beating "Heart" of the fan, it represents a vital organ where essential qi flows. The Heart must never receive direct strikes from Sha Qi as it could weaken the fan over time. The most important thing to remember is this: The fan is alive, it is a living, breathing entity that has the same life force as a person. Referring to it as a "talisman" is misleading, I only do this so people can understand it and relate to it. A Kongming Fan is not a ritual tool or an object, it is an expression of life. The exposed stalks on the bottom of the fan are known as "Blood vessels" qi and nutrients constantly flow through these stalks where it may exit via the top or at the bottom through the handle. If qi exits at the top this is known as Yang qi, this energy can be used to heal someone on a psychic level or attack them if needed. If the qi exists at the bottom of the handle, it is Yin, this qi may travel into the body of the bearer, into his or her hand and it will nourish their organs (inner alchemy) A combination of both is needed for proper balance. The forked design is an important aspect, the two-pronged feathers are a representation of a concept. Two choices. The magician always has two choices, to fight or flee, to agree or disagree, to help or harm others, to tell the truth, or lie etc. This design also has another use, when pointed towards the sky, the two prongs will draw qi from the environment that you are in, the right prong is creative, the left is destructive, qi will enter via the prongs and travel through the blood vessels until it reaches to the Bagua. The Pre Heaven trigrams will then covert this qi and make it safe for absorption into the bloodstream of the magician. It's like coffee being put through a filter, it's cleansing. Anything that lives can and does die, so the fan is not immortal. Magicians will usually know if the fan is sick because it stops filtering harmful qi, this means the one who is carrying it will start feeling ill as well. The round shape of this circular centrepiece represents Heaven and the round inner circle represents the astral, where all ideas, thoughts, imaginary concepts exist before they are brought to material creation. There is a proper way of how to hold the fan but I'm going to stop there as I plan on making a very long video on this subject, I haven't covered everything in this post but I will get to it at a later date. To conclude I will strongly recommend that you look into using a Kongming Fan. They are like universal magical remotes that can be used in any type of ritual. They can summon storms, hypnotize people, induce hallucinations, plant false memories and thoughts, heal the sick, exorcise negative entities. So far I have not discovered any limitations. It truly is the most powerful "talisman"

Hi gang. How's everyone holding up? Something else that I think needs to be brought up. I see a lot of people making videos about their signature talismans, when they show them they tend to look brand new, like they have either never been used before or look like they’ve just arrived fresh from Amazon. You can tell a lot by a sorcerers talisman, their personality, culture, magical path, and most importantly experience. I find it hard to believe that someone can use a sacred object on a regular basis and yet it remains in pristine condition. I’ve been using this fan for over ten years, the gold trigrams are all wearing out and turning black from almost constant use, the paint on the handle is fading, the feathers have been bleached by the sun and have many “imperfections” This fan is well worn and I’d honestly never change a thing about it. It’s had a journey, a history and a life of its own. I once met with an old Taoist master via email who carried a completely battered feather fan that looked disheveled and untidy. I asked him, “why carry such an old tired talisman? If you create a new one, surely that would work better” he responded “on the contrary, this fan is an extension of my physical and emotional path, we grow old together” A naive Lord Josh didn’t get it at the time, now about seven years later, my fan shows its age and I understand it completely.

Due to the lockdown, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about conducting experiments with magick. Rather than just accepting it, I’ve been challenging the idea of why it works in the first place. In this video, I cover spirits, artificial intelligence, why magick and science are one of the same, why technology works like a “god” and how we can lift the veil.

Greetings to you all, I've long toyed with the idea of joining this forum and other forums. I am a Taoist occultist who specializes in Weather Magick and Feng Shui. I look forward to meeting other wanderers.

Not true. Self-hypnosis has given me many benefits, some superficial others more important. I use to suffer from extremely bad IBS and dyspepsia, I visited every doctor you could visit, I tried a lot of "conventional" methods and it never helped so I paid a visit to a professional hypnotist as an experiment. It didn't completely cure it, I still have flare-ups from time to time but its much better than it was. After a year's worth of sessions, he gave me the tools to learn how to self hypnotize and I've been doing it ever since to keep my condition under control. No harm can come from it unless you are purposely being self-destructive.

Indeed I have done it, not very ethical I know but I assure you nobody has ever been harmed by it. Most do not even know it is happening, subtle hypnosis isn't going to hurt anyone but it has its perks. The power of suggestion and the power of persuasion are things we tap into every day. We exercise our influence over others via conversation, writing, etc. The fan's rhythmic motion works like a traditional black and white hypnosis spiral. If the bearer waves it back and forth slow enough for it not to look overly noticeable but fast enough for it to catch the eye of the subconscious, that's when the "spell" begins to work. Success depends on walking that fine line. Catch the attention of the subconscious mind and avoid the attention of the conscious one. The technique is all in the wrist and never the arm. Avoid jerky movements and sudden changes in motion, this will "snap" the observer out of the trance state. If you can maintain a consistent motion, the onlooker will become susceptible to suggestion which will give you a degree of authority over them. Like a pendulum swinging, the waves of a fan is soothing to the mind. When the person is in trance, you can either plant, rearrange, or remove thoughts and ideas. Depending on your own personal beliefs about "magick" and "altered states of consciousness" you may believe that the fan has supernatural powers that can change a person's thoughts or you may believe that the fan is merely a tool for a powerful technique that changes a person's behavior via focused attention. Either way, it works and that is all I really care about. If I know that my subject is "superstitious" and is naturally magically inclined, I will exploit that and use it to my advantage by telling the subject that "otherwordly" forces are at work. If I'm dealing with someone who has no belief in the paranormal, it does not change anything but my approach. The technique remains the same. It works better if you don't tell them. Nobody is ever aware that I'm doing it, I've never had a single person pick up on it. I've had heated debates with people online without a webcam and its difficult to get them to agree with you, when I turn my camera on and use the fan, within less than 10 minutes they are agreeing with whatever I am saying even if it is entirely the opposite to what they believe. It is only after we depart, they start to regain their senses but they never know why. Some call this "charisma" but charisma, charm, and magnetism are all forms of hypnotherapy. I've been making videos for years and only recently have I made this information public, for example in this video here, I joked that I changed the graphics to hypnotize the viewer. Such a joke plays mind games with viewers, I got bored that nobody had ever figured it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofmFk7hFRRs

My apologies, I have only just logged onto this forum after being away for a while. I have had many experiences yes. You can buy these fans from a lot of different places. I bought that fan from a site called "China-Cart" they sell a large selection of various feather fans of all shapes, colours and sizes. They will even custom make you one, as is the case with mine. Its use depends on your intention, what would you like to accomplish with the fan? What is your desired outcome or goal?

A lot of you know about Lao Tze, Master Chuang, Zhang Jiao, Zhuge Liang, etc. Here I have a much lesser-known Taoist figure that doesn’t get the exposure he deserves. The powerful sorcerer Zuo Ci, courtesy name Yuanfang, otherwise known as Master Black Horn. He was a master of Fenshen multi-location, divination and Neidan. He was well educated in Confucian literature and astrology. People say he could live for extremely long periods without eating and he supposedly lived to the incredible age of 300. Master Black Horn was an expert who knew how to “Contract The Land” this ancient Taoist spell allows the mystic to grow, expand, shrink and contract landscapes in order to travel long distances in only a few small steps. In the historical novel, Romance of The Three Kingdoms, Zuo learned his arts from a book called "The Book of Concealing Method" of three volumes, consisting of "Concealing Man, Concealing Earth, and Concealing Heaven" He also studied on Mount Emei. Zuo Ci became somewhat well known after he went to visit Cao Cao of the Wei kingdom. It was said that even Cao had an interest in the Taoist arts of longevity. The Wei warlord granted Zuo Ci a pension to practice his magick in the imperial court. Whilst in the court, Zuo performed a variety of spells. He caught an exotic fish from an empty copper pan and teleported to far distant places to bring back ginger used for cooking. Cao Cao and Zuo had a feud which resulted in many arcane tricks, Zuo walked through walls to escape the Wei army, he shapeshifter into a goat, he duplicated himself into many copies before finally retiring from the world to live in the mountains. Zuo Ci was a student of the Taoist Feng Heng and he eventually passed down his knowledge to the famed Ge Xuan. I go into much more detail in my video. An incredible individual who has always fascinated me.

Ever since the days of Zhuge Liang, the Kongming Fan has come to represent strategy, wit, foresight, wisdom, preparation, and resourcefulness. It is also often considered a regal object, something that belongs to a ruler or man of authority. Back in ancient China. It was very common for civil servants to carry feather fans that had been blessed by imperial court magicians. It was a sign of rank within the Emperor's court. This site here mentions the word "Illuminati" I can't say I really agree with this wording but I understand what the person means, they are talking about government and powerful people in high positions. Heres something fascinating. After Kongming died, it became custom for many years that warlords would refer to their advisors as "The White Fan" In Occult circles, fans were used as shields to protect oneself from harmful qi. In ancient China, women would carry fans for protection at events like funerals. Waving and fanning the unwanted qi away from the person. Metal fans were used to wave away qi that had been created by angry people. Completely red fans were used to create a forcefield of qi around the person's aura. A golden fan was used as a charm/amulet to attract good fortune. In a lot of Taoist mythology, the feather fan represents Necromancy, for example, one of The Eight Immortals Zhongli Quan carries a fan which he uses to revive the dead. This type of fan would usually consist of crane feathers, the crane, of course, is symbolic of longevity and it relates to the water element within Wu Xing. A lot of ancient Chinese people had the belief that by carrying the wing of a crane, they would never get exhausted or tired because the bird is/was known for its effortless and untiring nature during flight. I'm really into Feng Shui, a lot of practitioners use a method known as "fanning" its as simple as it sounds, for example, if you cut your leg and you want to direct some positive Yang qi into the wound, you would wave your fan and direct qi to that exact place. Honestly, there are so many methods and techniques involving fans.

Wow, that is a badass history. No diversion at all, they make it look so easy in that video. I did find a video once of a gentleman using a Kongming fan, here it is, perhaps you would know what this is. Is it Tai Chi?

I've seen those daggers before but I've never bought one, do they originate in Buddhism? Sadly I'm not very skilled at making things like fans, I have attempted to in the past but I just don't have the talent to pull it off. I've even had a decent number of my viewers suggest that I open an online shop to sell Kongming Fans but my own creations are only adequate for my use. My fan in the pictures was made for me by a proper artist who's made fans for years. I had it custom made to suit my specifications. I do agree though, if you can make it yourself you absolutely should.

Love that, it would look great on a fan.

Definitely. I'm not sure about the laws where you live but in some places, feathers from eagles, hawks, and birds of prey are forbidden unless you have a license to use them for ceremonial purposes. Some Native American tribes get away with it. Thankfully goose feathers are fine. I personally think it is bullshit, I understand animal rights but I think they've taken it too far.

Thank you.

I agree, it is only an option. I don't use it for that and I don't advocate that anyone tries anything like that but it is possible. This fan is both a shield and a sword, it depends on how you use it.

I've just started a new thread on Taoist talismans. Feel free to chime in.

Hi all, I've been away. Been busy working on projects. I made a shortlist of my book recommendations for Taoist Occultism. I'm sure some of you will disagree with this list but I personally love these books.

Hi Steve! I'm thinking about creating a separate thread on cars (if that is allowed) I'm not sure if you've been keeping up with the latest news on the new electric Jaguar XJ. Some spy shots have been released, apparently, it is huge! I'm going to a car show in a couple of weeks, mostly British cars (Aston Martin, Bentley, Jag, Rolls, Range Rovers, etc) I've just created an album for my car photography. https://www.flickr.com/photos/181811044@N06/albums/72157713394671077

Yes, most of my suits are bespoke. Very often, I will commission one-off pieces such as this long purple and orange leather coat. It's the only one of its kind in the world, based on my drawings of the concept. You can see the four directional star symbol on the back, that is a Mayan hieroglyph and zodiac sign called "The Lamat Star" which is a massive part of my spiritual practice. I start by creating a rough concept on paper, I then send it over to a professional 3D model expert and we work together with the tailor to refine the final details. I work with a lot of studios/craftsmen/tailors all over the world to bring my visions to life. I'm not the type of person who would spend a few grand on a Tom Ford suit, if I'm spending that much money I want to make sure I have something nobody else has, a true one of a kind piece.

I thought that was a joke at first, did he really make that mask? That is just precious.

Ooooh temper temper.