Daoist names for the medicines = MesoAmerican day-names
p. 170
Compass-Centre Directions, by C^>en Hsu:-pai (C^en Xu-bai) in Yuan dynasty |
MesoAmerican day-names |
Codex Borgianus Mexicanus, pp. 22-24 |
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1 |
Red Lead |
8 |
red-striped god |
||
2 |
Black Mercury |
7 |
dark pitfall |
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3 |
Wood Liquid |
20 |
Hun-ahpu (blow-gunner) |
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4 |
Metal Vitality |
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5 |
Crimson Sand |
6 |
red-&-blue |
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6 |
Liquid Silver |
5 |
pool |
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7 |
White Gold {platinum, as substitute for gold} |
4 |
artificially winged {cf. [W]ikaros ‘vicarious’} |
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8 |
Black Lead |
3 |
black god |
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9 |
The Metal Man {= [Cretan] Talos} |
2 |
gold spots on body |
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10 |
The Go-between {= [Kipling’s] "Little Friend of All the World"} |
20 |
[Mixe] eye |
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11 |
The Fire Woman {= [Ainu] fire-goddess} |
19 |
[Hacal-tec] fire |
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12 |
The Water Man |
19 |
rain |
1 |
waterfall |
13 |
The Blue Tortoise |
19 |
[Pipil] turtle |
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14 |
The Red Snake |
20 |
red-&-yellow snake |
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15 |
The Fire Dragon |
17 |
[highl. Maya] incense |
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16 |
The Water Tigre |
14 |
leopard |
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17 |
White Snow |
19 |
clad in white-&-grey cloak |
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18 |
Yellow Sprouts |
12 |
twisted herb |
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19 |
The Gold Raven {= golden Garu-tman} |
9 |
[Awaca-tec] pay |
18 |
bird-skin sceptre |
20 |
The Jade Rabbit |
8 |
rabbit |
16 |
rabbit |
21 |
The Horse of Heaven |
7 |
deer |
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22 |
The Ox of Earth {cf. buffaloes stampeding over cliff} |
6 |
death |
13 |
god killing own self |
23 |
Sunrays & Moonbeams |
12 |
sun-god |
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24 |
The Caelestial Soul |
11 |
music |
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25 |
The Earthly Soul |
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26 |
The Lead in the Homeland of Water |
3 |
house |
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27 |
The Mercury [quicksilver = ‘alive silver’] in the Metal Caldron |
2 |
life |
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28 |
Metal in Water ["on the flower pond" (p. 171)] |
1 |
[Maya glyph:] waterlily |
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29 |
Wood in Fire |
10 |
tree |
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30 |
Yan within Yin |
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31 |
Yin within Yan |
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32 |
White within Black |
9 |
white bone-awl in black bowl |
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33 |
The Female within the Male |
[Evidently, the twain lists are relatively backwards.]
p. 171
"The homeland of the southwest is called the yellow court". |
This would suggest that the 33 are encountered in a mythic journey to the southwest. |
Thomas Cleary (tr.):The Taoist Classics, Vol. 3. Shambhala, Boston, 2000.