Benebell Wen | Are Taoist Mystico-Religious Practices Open or Closed Traditions? @BenebellWen | Uploaded October 2022 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
When I say "open tradition," I mean a culture-specific practice of a magical system and set of doctrinal beliefs integrated into that practice that anyone at all can work with for themselves, that it's free and open to the public.

When I say "closed tradition," I mean a culture-specific practice of a magical system and set of doctrinal beliefs integrated into that practice that can only be honorably accessed if certain conditions are met, such as initiation; heredity; clan or ethnic group membership; or a formally established master-student bond.

Don't forget-- if it helps, turn the closed captioning on! =)

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My third book, I Ching, The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes, published by North Atlantic Books, is forthcoming mid-2023. It's my translation and annotations of the Oracle with cultural and historical references that honor the shamanic origins of the I Ching.

What it really is, though, is a magical grimoire. I began with an aspiration to write a grimoire on Taoist mysticism and magical practices, and then decided to do so through the framework of the I Ching. This is going to be a practical hands-on primer on East Asian modalities of witchcraft and folk magic. A deep-dive learning experience into the history and mythological references found in the Book of Changes is the bonus.

Leading up to the release of I Ching, The Oracle will be this series of videos where I lay the foundation for working with this third book. If this is of interest to you, stay tuned!

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Introduction to Buddhist-Taoist Esotericism (Playlist): youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0x6BzLuplwZuQpc3ubW97MwPXb1mk9hE