Description
Tang physician and author Sun Simiao, known as the ‘King of Medicine’, wrote about demonic possession in his book Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold qian jin fang 千 金 方 in 652 AD. But he cited Bian Que, famous Zhou dynasty physician of fifth century BC as the source of the 13 points. This indicates the antiquity of the concept of possession by the gui鬼, going back into shamanic times. In the expression shen gui 神 鬼, spirits of heaven and earth, the shen 神 are not tied to the earth, but the gui 鬼 are. Gui 鬼 can be the spirit of a dead person still tied to this world, a tormented soul, a phantom, a ghost, a spectre and also a malevolent spirit, a demon, a devil, a goblin. The term gui 鬼 has then a wide sphere of action.
In medicine the term possession by the gui 鬼 was one way of considering severe mental-emotional disorders, psychotic mania-depression dian kuang 癲 狂, epilepsy and madness. This often included injury of the heart through phlegm or fire. It is interesting that these points to expel the gui 鬼 have, uniquely, been given a whole set of graphic gui 鬼 names such as Demons in the Palace (DU 26) or Demons in the Heart (P 7) that help us to understand the pathology and the depth of the invasion.
We will start these two sessions with a review of the concept of gui 鬼 and then study the various gui 鬼 points in detail, focussing primarily on Sun Simiao’s set of 13.
Sun Simiao’s 13 gui 鬼 demon/ghost points
- Du 26 Demons in the Palace gui gong 鬼 宮
- LU 11 Demons Full of Confidence gui xin 鬼 信
- SP 1 Demons in the Ramparts gui lei 鬼 壘
- P 7 Demons in the Heart gui xin 鬼 心
- BL 62 Demons in the Road gui lu 鬼 路
- Du 16 Demons in the Pillow gui zhen 鬼 枕
- ST 6 Demons in the Bed gui chuang 鬼 床
- Ren 24 Demons in the Market gui shi 鬼 市
- P 8 Demons in the Caves gui ku 鬼 窟
later P 5 Demons in the Road gui lu 鬼 路 - Du 23 Demons in the Great Hall gui tang 鬼 堂
- Ren 1 (man) Demons in the Hidden Place gui cang 鬼 藏
(woman) extra pt Jade Gate yu men 玉 門 - LI 11 Demons in the Minister gui chen 鬼 臣
or Demons in the Leg gui tui 鬼 腿 - Extra pt MHN 37 Demons in the Closed Territory gui feng 鬼 封
Other gui 鬼points
LU 5 Demons in Reception gui shou 鬼 受
LU 9 Demons in the Heart gui xin 鬼 心
LU 10 Demons in the Heart gui xin 鬼 心
LI 10 Perverse Demons gui xie 鬼 邪
ST 4 Demons in the Bed gui chuang 鬼 床
ST 36 Perverse Demons gui xie 鬼 邪
DU 22 Demons in the Gate gui men 鬼 門
We will explore why this particular set of points have been designated as gui 鬼 points, their qualities, uses and helpful clinical combinations in practice. Although the cases may be extremely serious, it is an ancient tradition that through the use of metal and fire (needles and moxibustion) the gui 鬼 can be expelled and health restored. While taking care to protect ourselves, we can help our patients recover their own authenticity, leaving the negative influences behind.
Please note that these two seminars will be recorded.
Dates
Tuesday 17 November
Tuesday 24 November
Time
6-8pm (London time)
Cost
£80
Venue
Online
Eligibility
Suitable for Acupuncture practitioners and students.
About the teacher
I have been practicing acupuncture for forty years and teaching and writing on Chinese medicine and philosophy for nearly as long. My influences have been Dr van Buren at the International College of Oriental Medicine, where I originally studied and later became the principal from 1985 to 1990. The college has a special interest in heavenly stems and earthly branches. With teachers Claude Larre and Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallée from the Institut Ricci and Ecole Européene d’Acupuncture in Paris I studied classical Chinese, the Daoist writers Laozi and Zhuangzi and the medical classics. This balanced Chinese medicine with its deep-seated cultural perspective.
I have been teaching internationally for many years. I now live in Denmark where I am focussing on four particular subjects – the nature of time and timing, Neidan internal alchemy, Yijing patterns of change and acupuncture point portraits. In time these will become available online at Guan Academy.
Watch a free presentation of Bringing the Points Alive with Peter Firebrace
