CHINA PREPARES FOR LAUNCH of 2ND LAB MODULE WITH LONG MARCH DELIVERY
A Long March-5B Y4 carrier rocket has been transported to Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province, ready for assembly and tests, China Manned Space Agency (CMS) announced on Saturday.The rocket will be used to launch Mengtian, China’s second lab module in space, also the final component of the country’s space station.
The Mengtian lab module has been assembled and is…
Hermetic Meritorious & Demeritorious Exercise to Prepare for Rebirth.
This is a practice I’ve been doing for a little over a month now, which is a more Chinese-Daoist/Buddhist practice of listing out ones demerits and merits that one has committed throughout the day, or week or month. It’s not really occult or esoteric — sorry :p
It builds off the idea of a Folk-Daoist concept of Ganying 感應 or correlative resonance. Basically cause and effect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganying
Typically I follow the lists of Merits and Demerits from the 文昌帝君陰騭文/Wenchang's Treatise on Secret Merit & 太上感應篇 Taishang Ganying Pian, respectively, to go off of what is “meritorious” and “demeritorious.”
I highly recommended you all check out @edwardW2 (on Twitter) compilation of three different translations of each text
While there is no such practice in the realm of Greco-Egyptian Hermeticism, at least that I am aware of, this practice of 感應 can easily be applied to a Hermetic praxis/setting.
Particularly in Corpus Hermeticum XIII.7-9. Here we are presented with the 12 Irrational Tormentors and the 10 Divine Liberators of said Tormentors.
So with a sheet of paper, you can list all the times throughout your day, week or month, you were:
1. Ignorant
2. Stricken with Grief
3. Incontinent (lost control of your emotions)
4. Lustful
5. Unjust
6. Greedy
7. Deceitful
8. Envious
9. Treacherous
10. Angry
11. Reckless
12. Malicious
Likewise, we can record our merits or “Liberators” in a Hermetic setting by:
1. Acknowledging when Knowledge has dispelled our Ignorance
2. Recognize when we were Joyous to dispel our Grief
3. Acknowledged when we had Continence over our emotions.
4. When we Persevered through Lustful temptations.
5. When Justice prevailed our once unjust attitude and actions.
6. When we displayed Liberality over our Greed.
7. Record when we were earnestly Truthful, to dispel Deceitful Behavior.
In CH XIII.9, once Truth has arrived to us throughout the day, week or month, together with the Good, life and light (the remainder of the Three Divine Liberators), Hermetic Rebirth is achieved!
What you do with the piece of paper is up to you. You could keep them for tracking your moral progression, or you could burn the paper like I do. (🔥USE FIRE SAFETY. PLEASE.🔥) I burn the paper because it is a symbolic releasing of these good and bad deeds, as I do not wish to harbor good deeds and become pretentious. Likewise, harboring bad deeds will only bring us more grief.
The cause: Recording our daily, weekly or monthly Tormentors and Liberators.
The effect: A preparation for Hermetic Rebirth.
While this Hermetic Rebirth is a central theme in CH XIII. Who says we cannot undergo a sort of spiritual rebirth everyday, or every week or, every month? (Psst…we most certainly can, and I personally think that is the point of “Hermetic Rebirth.”) Spiritual Rebirth is not just a one and done thing. It’s a life long process that I, a Hermeticist, must and will continue to undergo.
I think using Corpus Hermeticum XIII is a great way to daily, weekly, or monthly record our merits and demerits. It’s a practice that builds integrity and moral fortitude. And ultimately leads to a Spiritual Rebirth. I’m not suggesting at all that Hermetic literature and PGM practices, and other technical Hemerticas can cause or not cause moral integrity and fortitude, just that there is a lack of structure and praxis for dispelling the Tormentors, which is not always a bad thing — the lack of structure I mean.
As a Hermeticist I use the structure of practices that come from various traditions — see my post on the Christian Meditative practice called Lectio Divina. My noetic theurgy, called the Silent Prayer, closely resembles Dhikr, which is a Muslim meditative practice that involves reciting the 99 names of Allah. This is just the reality for us Hermeticist — lack of structural praxis! Again this is not a bad thing. Just through the course of time and suppression of beliefs, we do not have alot of surviving structural practices for a “Hermetic Praxis.” It is what is. But the lack of structure gives us, the practitioners, the power and opportunity to build a valid and authentic spiritual praxis that’s very customizable, and substitutable for our contemporary lives! Which is a very beautiful process to undergo, personally.
If you all need more help in structuring a Hermetic Praxis — please check out @polyphanes Kofi shop and buy his Preces Templi e-book.
I hope this exercise serves everyone well whether you use the traditional Chinese list of Merits and Demerits, or if you wish to use CH XIII.7-9. Gods bless you all.
There was no light in the room. She didn't see Gu Jiusi, but she heard his breathing. She followed the moonlight and walked in, and saw him.
Gu Jiusi was sitting beside the bed, he curled up, hugged himself, gritted his teeth, trembled, and didn't say a word.
He cried uncontrollably, his tears and snot mixed together, but he made no sound.
Liu Yuru walked in front of him, Gu Jiusi was holding himself, he seemed to know what Liu Yuru was going to say, he sniffed and his teeth chattered: "I'm fine, you don't need to say anything, I It's alright, I'm really alright..."
"We will go to Youzhou tomorrow, we will not delay, my mother is still waiting for me, you also want me to send it back, I am fine, fine..."
Liu Yuru didn't say a word, she just stood in the dark, watching this person quietly, after a long time, she squatted down, opened her arms, and hugged him gently.
Gu Jiusi was stunned for a moment, he froze in her arms, and he heard her say, "Cry."
Gu Jiusi didn't speak, Liu Yuru hugged him tightly and whispered, "I'm here, I don't laugh at you."
Gu Jiusi was silent, and Liu Yuru hugged him quietly, feeling that his tears fell through her clothes and fell on her shoulders.
And:
Gu Jiusi was out of breath, he leaned against her arms and wailed: "What's the use of me? What's the use of me?! I can't protect anyone, I can't. Live him, I can't protect Yang Wenchang, my father, my brother, I can't protect anyone!"
"I'm pretentious, I think the whole world is drunk and I'm awake alone, now the wind and rain are coming, now, there is only a mere Wang Shanquan!" Gu Jiusi gasped, scolded, shouted angrily, "Just mere Jiedu envoy can ignore the law of the king, bully me and humiliate me and cause me to come this far, make me flee with my family, lose my father and right, and make me so embarrassed."
Gu Jiusi closed his eyes in pain, and fell into Liu Yuru's arms. Liu Yuru didn't say a word, she just hugged him tightly, put her head against his neck, and listened to his heart-piercing voice. Crying, not saying a word.
"I hurt him..." Gu Jiusi burst into tears, "I hurt him..."
"No, Jiusi," Liu Yuru said, she hugged him tightly and gritted her teeth, "It wasn't you who killed him. It was Wang Shanquan, Your Majesty, and Liang who harmed him. These chaotic times, these people will do anything for their own rights, and treat the common people as ants."
"You did nothing wrong."
Liu Yuru sniffed: "It's them who are wrong, it's them who should be punished, you can't take their faults on yourself, and punishing yourself doesn't work."
And:
And Gu Jiusi looked at him quietly, he didn't say anything, after crying all night, he had a strange calmness instead. He watched this playmate from childhood to adulthood, watching him laugh out loud, then the knife fell, the head rolled to the ground, and blood spurted out.
There has never been a moment when he has such a profound understanding of what a troubled world is.
There has never been a moment when he truly understands what an urgent and sincere desire he is to acquire thousands of rooms in a mansion.
When he was reading and hearing this sentence, he only felt that the words fell on the top, heroic and sad, but when he listened to it like this, he felt that every word had a piercing pain.
Until there was no one around, he watched the heavy rain wash away Yang Wenchang's blood, he stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and put his hand on his blood.
Liu Yuru was watching for him, Gu Jiusi just let the blood and rain soaked his palm.
"Wenchang," he said, "Go ahead, I will help you realize your wish."
Gu Jiusi knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times, then stood up, grabbed Liu Yuru's hand, and walked away without looking back.
1. I love this novel!
2. This novel and the drama trailer seem to have nothing in common.
3. I actually love that the mains are not of special overpowered status. She is very minor upper class and he’s from a very wealthy merchant family, but neither is royal or from a family of powerful generals or feudal lords. Nor do they have some secret army or special magic powers or better than anyone’s fighting skills or w/e. It’s unusual in the web novels I come across and it actually makes it more realistic - I actually find it really narratively neat that their entire world is upended and Gu Jiusi’s whole family and friends are either murdered or made to go on the run not by the emperor or prime minister or w/e but a relatively minor military aristocrat. The Wang Clan just wanted money for upcoming troubled time and to cow other merchants to shore up its position and used the incoming period of lawlessness as a pretext to go after the family with the most money (and who they personally didn’t love.) I mean, there is little chance of the Wang Patriarch coming anywhere near the Imperial Throne or even having plans to. Controlling the city is about the most he can expect (or maybe if he gets really lucky, an eventual court position if he backs the right challenger in the civil war.) And yet, he was able to destroy the Gus and other merchants without even trying hard. That makes it not only real, it means the leads have to work really hard to survive since their position is not special.
Beijing (XNA) Jan 18, 2024 China's Tianzhou 7 cargo spacecraft has successfully completed its journey to the Tiangong space station, docking without any issues. Launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, Tianzhou 7, aboard a Long March 7 rocket, lifted off at 10:27 pm. The launch was a spectacle of precision and technological prowess, as the rocket placed Tianzhou 7 into its designated low-Earth or
Chinese Mythological Figures to Use for Dislyte Ocs:
Yuhuang/Jade Emperor, Mugong/King Duke(?), Guanyin, Dragon King, Yu Tu/Jade Rabbit, Shennong, Ji Gong, Caishen, Changxi, Mazu, Leizi, Pangu, King Yama, Fuxi, Lei Gong, Lu Ban, Di Jun, Xihe, Wei Tuo, The Eight Immortals/The Ba Xian (He Xiangu, Cao Guojiu, Li Tiegual, Lan Caihe, Lu Dongbin, Han Xiangzi, Zhang Guolao, Han Zhongli), Huxian, Wenchang Wang, Hun Dun, Tao Wu, Qiong Qi, Zhu Rong, Yuan Shi Tian Jun/The Heavenly Lord of the Primordial Beginning, Huang Di, Xing Tian, Baigu Jing, Hong Haier, Niu Mo Wang, Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, Da Ji, Pan Guan, Niutou Mamian, Hua Shan Sheng Mu, Luo Shen, Qilin, Sha Wujing, Doumu, Zhang Fei, Teng Liu, Qiuniu, Yazi, Chaofeng, Pu Lao, Bi Xi, Bi An, Chiwen, Jiao Tu, Taishan Niangniang, Xuanwu,
Note: Keep in mind that this list may not be accurate and/or may be missing some mythological figures because I put down what I knew and did the bare minimum of google searching.
On March 20th, China’s Queqiao-2 (“Magpie Bridge-2”) satellite launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site LC-2 on the island of Hainan (in southern China) atop a Long March-8 Y3 carrier rocket. This mission is the second in a series of communications relay and radio astronomy satellites designed to support the fourth phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (Chang’e). On March 24th, after…