Page 738 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

T H E ENCYCLO P E DIA OF TAOI SM A-L

I=t' T JiH~n , "numinous officers of the sixty Stems and Branches" (liushi jiazi
lingguan /\ + I=t' T ii: '§), "gods of the sixty Stems and Branches" (liushi jiazi
shen /\ + I=t' ;j:$), and so forth. It was said, for instance, that the jiazi spirit
of one's "natal destiny" (*benming) was called Wang Wenqing x)( 9I!P, and
had a retinue of eighteen officials.
Although the ten Celestial Stems as a whole are associated with Yang, and
the twelve Earthly Branches with Yin, five of the ten Stems (namely jia I=t' ,
bing p;j, wu jj(;, geng ~ , and ren :f:) belong to Yang and the other five (yi G,
ding T, ji C, xin '* , gui ~) to Yin. The twelve combinations of Stems and
Branches that include the characters jia I=t' or ding T were considered to be
especially important as representative of Yang and Yin spirits, respectively. These
twelve combinations are collectively referred to as the sixjia and the six dingo
The six jia are jiazi I=t' T , jiaxu I=t' BG, jias hen I=t' $ , jiawu I=t' Lf, jiachen I=t' ~ ,
and jiayin I=t' Ji[. The six ding are dingmao T gp , dingchou T.B., dinghai T ~ ,
dingyou T W , dingwei T *, and dingsi T E. Several methods, talismans, and
texts allowed the practitioners to obtain control over the spirits and the Jade
Women (*yunu) associated with these combinations of Stems and Branches.
The names and cognomens of the spirits associated with the six jia are
given in the Shangqing liujia qidao bifa -.t:rA' /\ I=t'tJTtiW1t (Secret Methods
of the Highest Clarity to Invoke the SixJia; CT 584, 2a-b):
1.Jiazi: Yuande :JGii, Qinggong 11f0
2.Jiaxu: Xuyi m~, Linzhai *~
3.Jiashen: Jielue W 111&, Quanheng moo

4.Jiawu: Chanren V1; {=, Ziqing T 9RP
5.Jiachen: Tongyuan Jll:JG, Gunchang $t I§
6.Jiayin: Huashi {t:rJ, Zimo T J1t
These spirits take multiple forms; some of them, for instance, have one head
while some have three heads, and some wear jewels while others wear long
silk robes.
The same text (2b- 3a) also gives the cognomens and names (in this order)
of the spirits associated with the six ding:
1. Dingmao: Rengao C ~, Wenbo )( {S
2. Dingchou: Renxian C Jf:, Wengong )( 0
3· Dinghai: Renhe C fQ , Rentong {= Jll
4· Dingyou: Renxiu {= f~ , Wenqing )( 9RP
5· Dingwei: Rengong {= ~, Shengtong JA. Jll
6. Dingsi: Renjing C:tff!L, Mangqing -t+9I!P
These spirits are also called the Jade Women of the Six Ding. Their protec-