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Hello, I am Lung Ping (龙平), a Taoist practitioner for 5 years, and I come from Vietnam, belonging to the Shen Xiao lineage. If this is your first time reading my post on this forum, please leave a positive comment and I will always respond as quickly as possible.
(Since I'm not very good at English, I used AI to make sure this translation is complete; this article was originally written by me in Vietnamese.)
The tiger in Chinese culture is a mighty and great image, a symbol of dominance and the power of nature. Korea, Japan, China, and Vietnam are all influenced by tiger worship beliefs. Tigers in regions like Guangdong and Fujian hold status and are revered as mountain gods with titles such as Grandfather Tiger, General Tiger, and Lord Tiger. In Taoist folk magic culture, worshipping the tiger god and working with the tiger god is one of many kinds of magic. I learned about this forum through the book "Fox Magic" by Jashon, so I also wanted to introduce a bit more about the magic of mythical creatures in this series.
First, we need to go over the hierarchy of power, as well as the formations and terminology:
The Five Tigers: The Five Tigers represent the power of the Five Main Directions in Taoism. Each direction is represented by a different color and represents one of the five elements.
These are commonly referred to as the Five Tigers Formation.
Spirit Camp (Trại Binh): This refers to the place where the spiritual armies of the gods are stationed, usually the altar of that deity. When a task needs to be carried out, the practitioner invokes the name of that deity to command the soldiers stationed at the camp to carry out the task.
Middle Altar Tiger General: In the Taoist altar system, there are three tiers, called Upper, Middle, and Lower. These three positions represent three different ranks of the deities worshipped and follow extremely strict rules. The Upper Altar is where the deities of the heavenly realm and nobility are worshipped. The Middle Altar is where the deities of lineage and the spirit generals/soldiers are worshipped. The Lower Altar is where lower-ranking deities such as land spirits and various ghosts are worshipped. The Middle Altar Tiger General is the general positioned at the Middle Altar, usually depicted as a yellow-red tiger surrounded by fire, with large golden eagle wings, representing the old Chinese saying "As mighty as a tiger, plus wings." He is the deity who commands the soldiers with speed and strength, maintaining military discipline.
Grandfather Tiger: This is a local deity usually worshipped at the Lower Altar, representing the spirit of the forests and mountains of that land, or representing the spirit of the local tiger species. They are very friendly toward children and families; children are always protected by Grandfather Tiger from evil spiritual forces. In the next part, I will guide you on how to make a protective talisman of Grandfather Tiger for children.
Of course, besides the good deities, there are also evil ones:
Tiger Demon: The folk cultures of Southeast Asia, Korea, and Tibet all record the appearance of demonic creatures in tiger form. They are said to possess supernatural power and enjoy eating human flesh to increase their strength. They can transform into women to seduce men, imitating voices to lure victims. They also have their own spiritual soldiers — the souls of those they have killed, who must follow their commands. They are very dangerous and are always a threat.
So which tiger deity should you worship? In my view, the most basic choice, and the one that offers the most protection, is Grandfather Tiger. I will also cover more on how to work with the other tiger deities.
(Since I'm not very good at English, I used AI to make sure this translation is complete; this article was originally written by me in Vietnamese.)
The tiger in Chinese culture is a mighty and great image, a symbol of dominance and the power of nature. Korea, Japan, China, and Vietnam are all influenced by tiger worship beliefs. Tigers in regions like Guangdong and Fujian hold status and are revered as mountain gods with titles such as Grandfather Tiger, General Tiger, and Lord Tiger. In Taoist folk magic culture, worshipping the tiger god and working with the tiger god is one of many kinds of magic. I learned about this forum through the book "Fox Magic" by Jashon, so I also wanted to introduce a bit more about the magic of mythical creatures in this series.
First, we need to go over the hierarchy of power, as well as the formations and terminology:
The Five Tigers: The Five Tigers represent the power of the Five Main Directions in Taoism. Each direction is represented by a different color and represents one of the five elements.
- Yellow Tiger: Central Position (Earth)
- Red Tiger: Southern Position (Fire)
- Black Tiger: Northern Position (Water)
- White Tiger: Eastern Position (Metal)
- Green Tiger: Western Position (Wood)
These are commonly referred to as the Five Tigers Formation.
Spirit Camp (Trại Binh): This refers to the place where the spiritual armies of the gods are stationed, usually the altar of that deity. When a task needs to be carried out, the practitioner invokes the name of that deity to command the soldiers stationed at the camp to carry out the task.
Middle Altar Tiger General: In the Taoist altar system, there are three tiers, called Upper, Middle, and Lower. These three positions represent three different ranks of the deities worshipped and follow extremely strict rules. The Upper Altar is where the deities of the heavenly realm and nobility are worshipped. The Middle Altar is where the deities of lineage and the spirit generals/soldiers are worshipped. The Lower Altar is where lower-ranking deities such as land spirits and various ghosts are worshipped. The Middle Altar Tiger General is the general positioned at the Middle Altar, usually depicted as a yellow-red tiger surrounded by fire, with large golden eagle wings, representing the old Chinese saying "As mighty as a tiger, plus wings." He is the deity who commands the soldiers with speed and strength, maintaining military discipline.
Grandfather Tiger: This is a local deity usually worshipped at the Lower Altar, representing the spirit of the forests and mountains of that land, or representing the spirit of the local tiger species. They are very friendly toward children and families; children are always protected by Grandfather Tiger from evil spiritual forces. In the next part, I will guide you on how to make a protective talisman of Grandfather Tiger for children.
Of course, besides the good deities, there are also evil ones:
Tiger Demon: The folk cultures of Southeast Asia, Korea, and Tibet all record the appearance of demonic creatures in tiger form. They are said to possess supernatural power and enjoy eating human flesh to increase their strength. They can transform into women to seduce men, imitating voices to lure victims. They also have their own spiritual soldiers — the souls of those they have killed, who must follow their commands. They are very dangerous and are always a threat.
So which tiger deity should you worship? In my view, the most basic choice, and the one that offers the most protection, is Grandfather Tiger. I will also cover more on how to work with the other tiger deities.
