Arcana of the Great Numinous Elixir 灵砂大丹秘诀
Paul PengArcana of the Great Numinous Elixir
The compiler is unknown.
It is believed to have been written around the Southern Song Dynasty. Consisting of one volume, it is included in the Methods category of the The Dongshen Section in The Daozang.
Arcana of the Great Numinous Elixir
The content of this book can be divided into two parts. The first half is the chapter Embracing the One Sacred Embryo Spirit Cinnabar. It is claimed that this chapter was passed down from Laozi to Ge Xuan, from Ge Xuan to Zheng Yin, from Zheng Yin to Ge Hong, and from Ge Hong to the Heavenly MasterXu Jing. In the first year of Jianzhong Jingguo (1101 AD), the Heavenly Master transmitted it to Minister Zhang, who "subsequently took office in Dongchuan and passed it on to Chan Master Ghost Eye". The book states that the Embracing the One Spirit Cinnabar "can enrich one externally (transmuting stones into gold) and help one attain the great Dao internally (achieving immortality through ingestion)". Its refining process consists of nine transformations:
- The first transformation: Stir-fry sulfur and mercury into blue gold, then add medicines and heat to produce White-Bodied Spirit Cinnabar.
- The second transformation: Refine White-Bodied Spirit Cinnabar into Jade Shoot Spirit Cinnabar.
- The third transformation: Place Jade Shoot Spirit Cinnabar in a sealed container three times, pour mercury over it and nurture with fire to produce Drenched Sprouts.
- The fourth transformation: Refine Drenched Sprouts to extract Elixir-Head Cinnabar.
- The fifth transformation: Store Elixir-Head Cinnabar in a golden box and nurture with fire for twenty-one days.
- The sixth transformation: Refine Elixir-Head Cinnabar with metallic and mineral ingredients into Golden-Bodied Cinnabar.
- The seventh transformation: Combine Golden-Bodied Cinnabar with the three yellows (realgar, orpiment, sulfur) to refine Three Wonders Elixir.
- The eighth transformation: Refine Golden-Bodied Cinnabar for eighty-one days to produce Great Elixir-Head Cinnabar.
- The ninth transformation: Refine Great Elixir-Head Cinnabar for one year to produce the Supreme Unity Great Elixir.
The book contains ten poems describing the elixir-making methods. The second half of the original book includes four more elixir formulas:
- The Secret Formula of the Ninefold Golden Elixir: Nine poems depicting the ninefold elixir-refining method, with content roughly similar to that of The Profound Scripture of the Ninefold Transforming Spirit Cinnabar Great Elixir for Assisting Sagehood.
- The Four Transformations Formula of Chisongzi: Volatilize and refine realgar, orpiment, cinnabar and other medicines through four transformations; the resulting elixir can be used for transmuting metals into gold.
- Ode to Supreme Ultimate Spirit Cinnabar and The Secret Formula of Spirit Cinnabar: Respectively expound the production procedure of spirit cinnabar and the formation principle of cinnabar.
