The Tao of Craft: Fu Talismans and Casting Sigils in the Eastern Esoteric Tradition

by Benebell Wen

For the first time in English, Benebell Wen reveals the rich history and theoretical principles underlying the ancient practice of crafting Fu talismans, or magical sigils, in the Chinese Taoist tradition and gives detailed instructions for modern practitioners who would like to craft their own Fu. Fu talismans are ideograms and writings typically rendered on paper and empowered by means of invocations, ritual, and transferences of energy, or Qi. Talismans can be used for many purposes, such as strengthening or weakening personality characteristics, finding love, earning more money, or easing emotional tensions in the home. The Tao of Craft shows how metaphysical energy can be harnessed to amplify, strengthen, weaken, dispel, or block other metaphysical energy and to rectify perceived imbalances in the material plane. Supported by an abundance of detailed charts and images, this book serves as a step-by-step handbook that gives readers the knowledge and confidence to craft their own Fu talismans for personal empowerment.
 
Wen, author of Holistic Tarot, delves into historic and cultural contexts of the Fu, from the neolithic period of Chinese history to contemporary practices of esoteric Taoism. Providing a solid foundation in the principles of Eastern spellcrafting, she highlights the blending of Taoist metaphysical practices with Western approaches to magic by pointing out eclectic, integrating, and harmonizing facets from other cultures and religions.
 
Historically, Fu talismans were used by medieval Chinese for alleviating illness; averting misfortune, magical attacks, and curses; defending against assaults; and avoiding poverty. This book shows Western practitioners that the skill and knowledge to develop an interactive relationship with spirit realms are still available to them today, and serves as a practical handbook for accumulating Qi energy from sources in the environment and channeling it in concentrated form into their own Fu talismans.

Genres: Occult, Taoism, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Magic, Mysticism, Witchcraft

616 pages, Paperback

Published September 27, 2016

Reviews

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

More a book on magic than on religious or philosophical Taoism. If that's okay with you, you'll love this book. It's huge and packed with great information. If you want to do magic in a Taoist way, looking through the Taoist world view, this is more than worth your time. There's an interesting friction between how philosophical Taoism has been portrayed in the west as a 'go with the flow' take it as it comes philosophy and the underlying philosophy of all occult arts, which is to manipulate the world. The book acknowledges this friction, and takes a stab at balancing the worldviews, but the question lingers in my brain. That alone is worth the price of admission.
re read six years later. As my own studies in other cultural areas have progressed, what I got out of this book has grown. I have a better grounding. As with her I Ching book, I find that there is so much info it is hard to parse what is immediately important, what isn't, where to find it and how the practitioner organizes it in a way that makes sense. Where to start is the hard one.

[JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you're interested in Taoism, magic, or Chinese history, this book will be chock full of information to whet your appetite. Having come to this book with a minor background in Taoist meditation techniques and a slightly larger background in Western magic, this book was a feast of ideas.

If you're familiar with the practice of crafting sigils, this book will give you a great deal of material to work with.

I recommend pairing this book with Gordon White's Chaos Protocols and Pieces of Eight.

[Edric Unsane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at an eastern tradition of magic. I am also glad the author brought up cultural appropriation, and how to represent what is not culturally one's own in an appropriate manner.

[Taylor Ellwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, Benebell shares an Eastern esoteric tradition of charging and casting sigils. It's a fascinating book to read, and the author does a great job of making the material approachable. I particularly like how she breaks the process down and then explains how each principle works. She also provides historical resources and references which is helpful, but most of all she encourages readers to experiment and make the work their own. I felt like this book explained and filled in some gaps of knowledge I had about Eastern esoteric practices, while also enhancing the magical work I'm doing. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in understanding Eastern esoteric practices or wanting to integrate such practices in their own spiritual work.

[Casper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A full review of the book can be found on http://www.boydiviner.com/2017/07/rev...

The Tao of Craft by Benebell Wen has been immensely useful to my craft. When I ordered the book, I was expecting a tome that focused mainly on the crafting of Fu (符), a Chinese talisman that could bring luck or protection to its user. The book is that and more.

This book is a must buy for anyone interested in the Taoist esoteric tradition. Even if you aren't interested in the actual crafting of Fu, the book teaches other techniques that can be applicable to your own practice, such as consecration, divination using moon blocks and charging of sigils.

[Almudena Hellín · Rating 5 out of 5]

Above all, this book is about understanding and personal growth.
Understanding the culture, the meaning and symbolism of a path that may be completely different from yours. And as a result, to grow with the new knowledge, and advance in your path integrating some of the concepts.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very esoteric (as the title states), very cool. I picked it up just to sate my curiosity on the subject.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely invaluable. I'm a huge fan of Benebell's youtube channel and this book proves the profound extent of the knowledge that she has gained through her experience as an occult practitioner.

If you're a westerner and you're looking for a very effective way to execute spellwork, look no further than this book. It contains literally everything you need for starting a magickal practice. I myself am a Tibetan Buddhist, and Fu sigils are so compatible with Buddhist practice that I may have to give them a try myself. They seem like a very effective esoteric method for alleviating the various sufferings of samsara.

I haven't even looked through all of the appendices in detail yet, but they comprise the latter half of the (616 page!) book. So, if you're keeping count, that's around 300 pages of appendices, not including the rest of the footnotes. They are full of relevant information, explanations, and correspondence tables, and they will guide you through the nitty-gritty of Fu sigils with precision.

Again, I just cannot speak highly enough about this book. If you're engaged with esotericism in any form, this book stands to enhance your practice in a way that few other resources can. I'm also looking forward to reading Ms. Wen's translation of the I-Ching at some point in the near future, which I'm certain is just as informative as this manual was. Daoism has a vast scriptural corpus, and we in the west are very lucky that we have someone so knowledgeable about the tradition who shares her knowledge with an open hand.

[Magpie6493 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good resource to read and learn a lit of the theory behind how this form of craft and talismans work im really hapoy that I came across a copy of it.

[LT · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic primer on fu talismans and although it’s dense I read through it rather quickly. Highly recommend as a resource book.

[Mitchell Stern · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does an excellent job at breaking down a system originating in a Taoist paradigm in a way that makes it comprehensible for students of more western traditions. The book provides meticulous details of the methods involved in the Fu craft as well as the resources needed to get started. An excellent resource.

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

In compliance with FTC guidelines, I have won this book through the Goodreads Giveaways.

My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book.

Very interesting read. I wasn't familiar with Fu Talismans before reading this book. This book does a good job describing what they are, how one would use them, and how to go about creating them. Also does a good job giving the history of Chinese Taoist tradition.

[Cici · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD! My go-to source for understanding Fulu as a Westerner. Benebell Wen has such a great way of explaining things, this is honestly just an overall great introduction to Taoism as well. Much easier to understand than a lot of books on Taoism I've read.