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A couple seated in close union in the Taoist posture known as Cranes with Joined Necks. A Shunga painting on silk, Meiji, Japan, nineteenth century.

down, by placing his hands under her buttocks. He should retain his semen while she brings herself to climax and her moist secretions flow profusely. When the woman is completely fulfilled, they should rest together without making any bodily movements. This delightful m e t h o d of l o v e - making is effective in curing the Seven Bodily Aches.

All of the Nine Positions of the Dark Girl clearly emphasize the sexual fulfillment of the woman. The man is instructed to retain his semen and maintain a conscious awareness of the circulation of sexual energy throughout his being. Sexual intercourse creates very

specific energy currents and has a marked effect on respiration, heartbeat, and blood circulation. The Yin-essence of woman fortifies the Yang-force of man, nourishing and invigorating his whole body. This is a sexual secret, known to both Taoist and Tantric traditions. The Shiva Purana, an Indian treatise of metaphysics, states, "He who burns his body with the fire of Shiva and floods it with the Elixir waters of his consort quickly gains immortality."

In the Sexual Handbook of the Dark Girl, the Love Initiatress explains to the Yellow Emperor that if a man passes through four stages of ecstasy during his love-making, he will receive benefits from the Nine Spirits of Woman. During the four stages of ecstasy, he should be sure not to emit semen, because if he does, the full benefits will not be received. The Dark Girl declares, "If the Jade Stalk does not seem angry, then the harmonious spirit is not attained. If it seems angry but not large, then the flesh spirit is not attained. If it is large but not hard, the bone spirit is not attained. If it is hard but not hot, then the heart spirit is not attained. Therefore it is said that anger is the dawning of the sperm, largeness is the beginning, hardness is the 'shutting-off,' and hotness is the gate of love. If the above four spirits are controlled correctly, then the duct of sperm will not open before its time and there will be no ejaculation." Taoism teaches that these four spirits are essential to the formation of sperm. Control of them is attained by causing the Jade Stalk to manifest anger, largeness, hardness, and heat.

Taoist sexual practices undoubtedly produce a healthful physiological effect. Conscious retention allows the man to give the most to his partner, while benefiting from her nourishing Yin-essence.

The Dark Girl is one of a triad of sex initiatresses in the Taoist tradition. From a contemporary photograph.

If a man engages in the sex act just once without emitting semen, then his vital essence will become strong. If he does so twice, his hearing and vision will become very clear. If three times, all bodily diseases will disappear. If four times, an inner peace will become attached to his spirit. If five times, then his blood circulation will be greatly improved. If six times, his loins will become very strong. If seven times, his thighs and buttocks will increase their power. If eight

times, his whole body will become shining and radiant. If nine times, his life expectancy will increase.

YI-FANG-PI-CHUCH

the nine spirits of woman

According to classical Chinese traditions, nine spirits together make up one Great Soul. This tradition occurs throughout occult teachings in China, Tibet, India, Egypt, and ancient Persia. The Sex Handbook of the Dark Girl, which lists nine love-making positions, gives an interesting account of the Nine Spirits of Woman and suggests ways of recognizing their action by understanding of female body language. Eight of the nine spirits are described as directly related to sexual symptoms. The Dark Girl explains:

The Nine Spirits of Woman can be easily known by studying their symptoms. If a woman breathes deeply and swallows the saliva that she is profusely secreting, then it is her lung spirit that is aroused. If she starts whispering loving words and kisses her partner, then it is her heart spirit that has awakened. If she holds her lover in her arms, then her spleen spirit has come to life. If her Sexual Cavern becomes moist and slippery, then her kidney spirit is excited. If she begins to suck her partner's tongue, then her bone spirit is animated. If she hooks her partner's lower body with her feet, then her muscle spirit has arrived. If she begins to handle her lover's Jade Stalk, then her blood spirit has become stimulated. And if she caresses the nipples and chest of her beloved, then her flesh spirit has become delighted. If all these eight spirits do not arrive and harmonize, then the woman will be harmed by love-making. But if the spirits evolve in sequence, she will derive great benefits.

The ninth spirit of woman is brought into action when she makes love with abandonment. She then feels her lover with her lungs, heart, spleen, kidneys, bones, muscles, blood, flesh, and her whole being. All her inner spirits become involved and harmonized. Then the innermost ninth spirit is elated and an inner fulfillment takes place. At this point, the overall Great Soul, which came into existence at the moment of conception, can be intimately known.

Such an experience, a natural product of exalted love-making, can even inspire intuitions of past lives. Once a person has returned his or her consciousness to the point of origination, there is a great potential for rediscover-

ing the links in the "chain of causality" (Karmas and lifetimes). Particularly potent love experiences can produce sudden and unexpected glimpses into the past.

The experience of pure joy through knowing the completeness of the Self is referred to in Tantra as the Fulfillment Stage. In the Secret Teachings of Naropa, an important Bud-

dhist Tantric text of the eleventh century, it is stated:

The person who practices the Fulfillment Stage of Yoga, which is one of the finest methods of developing spirituality, should be eager to experience his authentic Being within a single lifetime. The sign of this is a feeling of ecstatic dissolution traveling through the central Subtle Nerve. Such a person should endeavor to fully experience the meaning of Self and Other. This is experienced by stimulating one's sexual power and vitality, not allowing it to decrease, and by absorbing the woman's secretions, so as to produce a constant feeling of blissful spontaneity.

The Fulfillment Stage of Yoga involves the physical, emotional, and mental aspects of the Self; it is the full expression and joy of harmonious love-making. The experience is ecstatic, orgasmic, and totally satisfying. Tibetan teachings liken it to the moment of Genesis, created by our primordial ancestral spirits, the cosmic Father/Mother, in ecstatic union. The iconographical representation of this moment is a seated couple locked in sexual embrace, the male aspect colored dark blue and the female milky white.

The overall Great Soul, which is known in Chinese as the Po, comes into existence with conception. It is formed by the union of the parents and is directly responsible for establishing the vital organs of the newly forming body. As we mentioned previously, it has nine parts, conceived of as vital spirits, which are delineated in the Nine Spirits of

The Cosmic Father in union with the Cosmic Mother. Known to Tibetans as Kuntu Zangpo and Kunto Zangmo (the All-Good Father-Mother), they are invoked as archetypal ancestors filled with benevolence toward humanity. They are meditated upon as the ideal of the couple, and are visualized as the apex of ecstasy. From a woodblock print of the late nineteenth century, Sherpa, Eastern Nepal.

During the love-making of man and woman, their passions should

blend together harmoniously. If, at the moment of fertilization, the

Yin blood [the ovum] arrives first, the Yang semen will meet it and be enveloped by it. Thus the bone spirit will develop a male embryo.

If, on the other hand, the semen arrives first, the ovum of the woman will become mixed with it and be enveloped by it. The

"blood" of the woman will stay near to its origin and a female embryo will be created.

CH'U-SHIH-I-SHU

A Tantric master in union with his consort. Their ecstatic union expresses the fulfillment stage of Tantric Yoga, when full spirituality is achieved within a single lifetime. From a Tibetan painting of the sixteenth century.

Nine times returning, seven times resuming, eight times coming back, and six times remaining inside.

When thus the climax has been reached, then the "metal" blends with the "fire."

TS'AN-T'UNG-CH'I

the yang number

In esoteric traditions throughout the ancient world, the number nine was credited with magical potency. Odd numbers are associated with the male force and even numbers with the female force. The numbers one, three, seven, and nine are generally considered magically important, and by multiplying them with each other, a whole series of magical numbers is created. Among these the most significant are the numbers twenty-one, twenty-seven, forty-nine, sixty-three, and eighty-one.

Ancient Egypt knew an Ennead of gods (a combination of nine), formed from three Triads. A typical magical triad would be the concept of father-mother-child, or the triad of principles that forms the structure of this book: creation, transcendence, and preservation. China possessed similar traditions of the power of three and its exalted potency as the number nine. On the ninth day of the ninth Chinese month it was customary to ascend the peaks of hills and mountains, as this practice was believed to enhance personality and develop longevity. Contemporary European magical practices make much use of units of three and nine; George Gurdjieff introduced a mystical diagram based on the number nine, and termed it the

Enneagram. This has since had a significant influence on Western occultism and magical ritual in particular.

Other examples of the significance of the number nine are the already mentioned Hindu Trinities of Forces, grouped three together, the Nine Apertures of the human body and the Nine Rulers, or Nine Spirits, which influence the destiny of a person. For the follower of the Tantric tradition of Shakti (the evocation of female creative energy), the rites and symbolic forms of the Nine Goddesses (Nava Durga) have paramount importance. The mystic diagram known as Sri Chakra, popular in Hindu Tantra, consists of nine interlaced triangles, which are directly identified with the Nine Apertures and the relationship of microcosm to macrocosm.

Taoism specifies Nine Styles of Moving the Jade Stalk when inside the "female crucible." The master Tung declares:

There are the following distinct styles of moving the Jade Stalk: first, by flailing to the right and left, in the same way that a brave warrior breaks up the ranks of the enemy; second, by moving up and down, like a wild horse bucking through a swiftly running stream; third, by pushing in and pulling out, just like a flight of sea gulls playing in the waves; fourth, by alternating deep and shallow lovestrokes, swiftly, in the way that a sparrow picks out the grains of rice that have been left in the mortar; fifth, by making deep and shallow strokes, steadily, in the way that large stones sink when thrown into the sea; sixth, by pushing in slowly, in the way that a snake enters its hole when about to hibernate for the winter; seventh, by swiftly pushing and moving, in the way that a frightened rat rushes into its home; eighth, slowly, as if dragging the feet, in the way that a hawk clutches an elusive rabbit; ninth, and last of all, by first rising up and then plunging down, in the same way that the full sail of a boat braves a heavy gale.

At another point in the text the master declares:

Deep and shallow, slow and quick, straight and slanting—all these are to be known by their own special characteristics. A slow thrust should be like the movement that a carp makes when caught on a hook. A quick thrust should be like the flight of birds against the wind.

The Dark Girl and the Plain Girl compared the sexual act with the intermingling of water and fire, stating that these two elements can kill people, but can also give them new life. All this depends on whether or not a person has learned the correct methods of sexual intercourse. The Yellow Emperor successfully distilled the Ninefold Elixir,

and having partaken thereof, he ascended into Heaven riding on a dragon.

KO HUNG

the rhythm peculiar to love-making. The Chinese emperors, who were the supreme exponents of sex magic, were supposed to have nine ordinary consorts every night and were advised to make love with each of them without ejaculating semen. Then they were considered to be fully potentized and able to create spiritual children. The Taoist text known as the Secret Prescriptions of the Bedroom details the method of "completion of the Yang Number":

In love-making, the semen must be regarded as a most precious substance; by saving it, a man protects his life. After each ejaculation, the loss of semen should be compensated for by absorbing the essence fluids of the woman. There is a method of saving the semen that consists in pausing nine times after every series of nine strokes of the Jade Stalk; the emission of semen can also be prevented by pressing a point underneath the Jade Stalk with the fingers of the left hand. This technique helps to stop the external emission of semen and makes it return inward, strengthening the whole body. Absorbing the woman's essence is brought about by alternating nine shallow thrusts with one deep penetration. Placing one's mouth over that of the precious partner, one inhales her breath and drinks her saliva. When the juices are

swallowed, they will descend into the stomach, where they will change from Yin-essence into Yang. When this has been accomplished three times, one should again deliver shallow thrusts, alternating every nine of them with one deep penetration until nine times nine has been reached. This number, eightyone, is the high completion of the Yang.

Nine plays a role in Western homeopathy, where the method of potentizing substances involves a nine - to - one dilution, which is repeated over and over in successively smaller proportions of medicine to the inert base material. The more potentized a homeopathic remedy, the finer the dilution. Yet a high potency produces very quick and

effective results.

The mystical dances of the Sufis use units of nine as measure bars of their movements. Many breathing practices of Tantric Yoga are

also based on a ninefold m e t h o d of

potentization. The mysteries of the number nine are frequently dismissed as "primitive superstition," but actually they have a cosmic foundation and a subtle mode of action. We spend the first nine months of our life cycle within the womb. This is the period when we take on form. To consciously create cycles of nine has a deep influence on our psychophysical formation.

One of the many playful variations of lovemaking. Painting on silk, China, late nineteenth century.