Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In the Way of Heaven (天之道, Tiān zhī Dào), what is the most sacred book? Let’s explore the mystical and esoteric tradition of the Wordless Book of Heaven (無字天書, wú zì tiān shū), its legends, lore, Taoist symbolism, and connection to the I Ching, divination, and the Lady of the Nine Heavens (九天玄女, Jiǔ Tiān Xuán Nǚ).
Timestamps:
00:21 What is the Wordless Book of Heaven (無字天書, wú zì tiān shū)?
01:27 Wordless Book of Heaven and the Hidden Code (or Code of Mysteries), Xuan De 玄德
02:56 THE MYTH
03:00 Lady of the Nine Heavens and the Legend of General Xue
05:15 Lady of the Nine Heavens and the Five Treasures
07:29 Five Treasures and Wu Xing Correspondence Table
07:43 The Hermit Master of the Phantom Valley
09:35 The Wordless Book of Heaven and the I Ching
10:13 THE METAPHOR
10:26 Varying Iterations of a Book of Heaven
13:37 Six Defining Characteristics of the Wordless Book of Heaven
15:02 Why the Book of Heaven is “Wordless”
16:05 THE MYSTERIES
16:50 What exactly does the Wordless Book of Heaven refer to?
17:15 The Wordless Book of Heaven and the Book of Life and Death
18:21 Sacred Teachings: Relic of the Taoist Mysteries
19:35 A Book Transmitted by Resonance
20:40 Earthly Embodiment of Heavenly Teachings
20:59 The Wordless Book as Taoist Mystery Tradition
Prerequisites:
--- This lecture will make more sense after watching the past video, “What is the Way of Heaven?” youtu.be/GKu-rgZi3ic
--- If you are unfamiliar with the Lady of the Nine Heavens, see “Lady of the Nine Heavens (Jiu Tian Xuan Nu) and the I Ching” youtu.be/uIUcZD3hAr0 (see also: benebellwen.com/2023/08/30/jtxn/)
Related Videos Referenced:
--- Secret Book of Three Sovereigns & Seal of the Nine Immortal Realms, youtu.be/khsHNK4FOPE
--- The Inner Palace; Book of Life and Death Explained, benebellwen.com/2023/11/03/your-inner-palace-and-the-akashic-records
In the Way of Heaven (天之道, Tiān zhī Dào), what is the most sacred book? Let’s explore the mystical and esoteric tradition of the Wordless Book of Heaven (無字天書, wú zì tiān shū), its legends, lore, Taoist symbolism, and connection to the I Ching, divination, and the Lady of the Nine Heavens (九天玄女, Jiǔ Tiān Xuán Nǚ).
Timestamps:
00:21 What is the Wordless Book of Heaven (無字天書, wú zì tiān shū)?
01:27 Wordless Book of Heaven and the Hidden Code (or Code of Mysteries), Xuan De 玄德
02:56 THE MYTH
03:00 Lady of the Nine Heavens and the Legend of General Xue
05:15 Lady of the Nine Heavens and the Five Treasures
07:29 Five Treasures and Wu Xing Correspondence Table
07:43 The Hermit Master of the Phantom Valley
09:35 The Wordless Book of Heaven and the I Ching
10:13 THE METAPHOR
10:26 Varying Iterations of a Book of Heaven
13:37 Six Defining Characteristics of the Wordless Book of Heaven
15:02 Why the Book of Heaven is “Wordless”
16:05 THE MYSTERIES
16:50 What exactly does the Wordless Book of Heaven refer to?
17:15 The Wordless Book of Heaven and the Book of Life and Death
18:21 Sacred Teachings: Relic of the Taoist Mysteries
19:35 A Book Transmitted by Resonance
20:40 Earthly Embodiment of Heavenly Teachings
20:59 The Wordless Book as Taoist Mystery Tradition
Prerequisites:
--- This lecture will make more sense after watching the past video, “What is the Way of Heaven?” youtu.be/GKu-rgZi3ic
--- If you are unfamiliar with the Lady of the Nine Heavens, see “Lady of the Nine Heavens (Jiu Tian Xuan Nu) and the I Ching” youtu.be/uIUcZD3hAr0 (see also: benebellwen.com/2023/08/30/jtxn/)
Related Videos Referenced:
--- Secret Book of Three Sovereigns & Seal of the Nine Immortal Realms, youtu.be/khsHNK4FOPE
--- The Inner Palace; Book of Life and Death Explained, benebellwen.com/2023/11/03/your-inner-palace-and-the-akashic-records


![The Knights: Tarot Card Meanings
ERRATUM AT 00:32 TIMESTAMP: In the video lecture, Daath (or Da’at) was referred to as an “unseen sephira.” Daath is an emanation born as the offspring of Chokhma and Binah. Whether Daath is considered a sephira hinges on differences in interpretation of the Zohar. Most Jewish scholars do not count Daath as a sephira (Rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero [The Ramak], Pardes Rimonim) though some do, where Daath is the first sephira and Keter is excluded (Rabbi Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi [Ha’ARI], Sefer Etz Chaim). Where Keter is excluded as a sephira, it is on the reasoning that Keter is an unknowable state of exaltation more resonant with the Ein Sof and therefore not part of the sephiroth schema.
This is Video 11 in an educational series on the tarot. Closed captioning is provided for all videos in this series. A written transcript is also provided as a free pdf download. Check out the course page to download all handouts and references.
Companion blog post on the Knights: https://wp.me/p32or0-7QQ
Course description page: https://wp.me/p32or0-4n4;
Books Referenced for the Card Meanings: The Tarot (1888) by MacGregor Mathers; The Tarot of the Bohemians (1892) by Papus; The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911) by A. E. Waite; Tarot of the Magicians (1927) by Oswald Wirth; The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages (1947) by Paul Foster Case; Mastering the Tarot (Penguin Group, 1971) by Eden Gray; Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, Third Edition (Weiser Books, 2019) by Rachel Pollack; Tarot for Yourself, 35th Anniversary Edition (Weiser Books, 2019) by Mary K. Greer; Medium White Book for the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot; Book of Maps (companion guidebook for the SKT).
Books Referenced for the Qabalah and the Kabbalah: Qabalah Paths of Light: The Occult Qabalah Reclaimed (2018) by Gary M. Jaron; The Golden Dawn: The Original Account of the Teachings, Rites, and Ceremonies of the Hermetic Order (1937; Llewellyn, 2016) by Israel Regardie, John Michael Greer (Ed.); The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism (2009) by Daniel C. Matt; Kabbalah: The Mystic Quest in Judaism (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006) by David S. Ariel; The Kabbalistic Tradition: An Anthology of Jewish Mysticism (Penguin Books, 2008) by Alan Unterman (Ed.); Kabbalat Shabbat: The Grand Unification (2016) by Debra Band, Raymond P. Scheindlin (trans.), et al.; The Mystical Qabalah (1935) by Dion Fortune The Knights: Tarot Card Meanings](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DPOHNvheW7o/mqdefault.jpg)

![Most Influential Grimoire in Taoist Practice: Baopuzi
Companion blog post that covers some of the content I left out of the video, in the interest of length: https://benebellwen.com/2024/08/25/baopuzi/
The version I’ve been working from is the Wang Ming 王明 “Baopuzi Neipian Jiaoshi 抱樸子內篇校釋,” which is the version canonized in the Taoist Canons.
Scans of Baopuzi shown in this video are from this archived copy: https://benebellwen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/e59b9be983a8e58299e8a681_e68ab1e6a8b8e5ad90.pdf
A digitized full-text version of Baopuzi (300 – 343 AD) can be found at: https://ctext.org/baopuzi/zh
TIMESTAMPS:
00:12 What is the Baopuzi 抱樸子? (and its Meaning)
02:25 Two Books: Inner Chapters 內篇 & Outer Chapters 外篇
06:22 Nine-Character Secret Mantra 九字真言
06:36 Mudras with the Mantra Recitation (Taiwanese-Mandarin)
07:40 Mantra Recitation with Pin Yin (Chinese, Beijing Proper)
07:48 English Translation of Mantra
07:58 Mantra Recitation with Mudra Illustrations (Hokkien, Minnan)
08:39 Word for Word Study and Meaning of Mantra
10:31 Passage in Baopuzi that the Mantra is Found In
12:08 Meaning of “Liu Jia 六甲,” the Mantra’s Namesake [六甲秘祝]
13:21 Sampling a Few I Ching References in Baopuzi
14:49 Significance of the Liu Jia Secret Mantra; Uses
16:19 Can you separate a book/idea from its author?
17:06 Who was Ge Hong 葛洪?
18:46 Ge Hong’s wife, Bao Gu
20:25 Bridging Folk Taoism and Aristocratic Taoism
21:34 Xuan 玄: Unbridled Mystery (and the Mystery Maiden, Xuan Nu)
22:39 To Know the Way of the Mysteries (Xuan Dao 玄道)
23:30 Guang (Astral Light) & Xun (Thunderous Force; Vajra)
24:54 The Golden Elixir 金丹 [Formula(s) for Immortality]
26:07 Secret Text, Dao Ji Jing 道機經 (Compare: Dao De Jing 道德經); continued: 27:02
26:30 Archetype of The Weaver
27:56 Formulating the Elixir; Cultivating the Person
28:50 Taoist Morality
30:44 Good Samaritan Jurisprudence (according to Ge Hong)
31:18 Are you born with it? Is Craft inherited or learned?
32:44 Hanging Talismans
34:33 Closing Remarks
35:55 Blooper Outro
36:08 Secret Mantra Grid Demo (Taiwanese)
Past Videos Referenced:
Secret Book of the Three Sovereigns (referencing Ge Hong and Bao Gu in connection with another Taoist grimoire), https://benebellwen.com/2024/03/20/secret-book-of-the-three-sovereigns/
On the Lady of the Nine Heavens (Jiu Tian Xuan Nu), https://youtu.be/uIUcZD3hAr0
Wu Shamanism (referencing xian gu 仙姑), https://youtu.be/CECViRZ8xqE
Ritual Magic & Shamanism in Pre-Qin China, https://youtu.be/ DceQ1735Y Most Influential Grimoire in Taoist Practice: Baopuzi](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EKNmX9UQLhM/mqdefault.jpg)

![Ziran 自然 (Taoist Path of Least Resistance)
This is a video lecture on the Taoist principle of ziran 自然, commonly translated into English as “of its own accord,” “the natural way,” or “spontaneity.” It is the free and unfettered natural course of events.
In the beginning, notes Zhuangzi, yin and yang were in balanced harmony, and because of this balanced harmony of natural forces, there were no cataclysms and no corruption, and no need for knowledge, though the ancient ones possessed great, profound knowledge. This is what we call the state of perfected unity ziran. [Outer Chapters]
Lets explore the many facets of what ziran means. Within Taoism as a school of thought, the meaning and the way we interpret ziran is not static, and in fact has been quite dynamic throughout the dynasties.
Timestamps:
00:00 One of the most significant line statements on ziran (TTC, Verse 25)
00:56 An essential esoteric Taoist axiom
01:32 Ziran as the path of least resistance
01:51 Ziran (path of least resistance) is in alignment with scientific principles; ziran as naturalist philosophy
03:02 Zhuangzi on the “ancient ones” and ziran (Zhuangzi, Outer Chapters 16)
04:27 What we mean when we say “good” vs. “evil”
05:35 Ziran wu wei: relation between ziran and wu wei
07:10 First reference to ziran in the Tao Te Ching (TTC, Verse 17)
07:52 Ziran as political philosophy, per the Tao Te Ching
09:08 Ziran is practicing faith (“without faith, there is nothing to have faith in” defining ziran doctrine)
10:58 Laozi and Zhuangzi laying the foundation for ziran discourse
11:15 Ziran defined as “the nature of things” and “it is what it is”
11:23 The five key verses in the TTC (Laozi) on ziran
13:15 A few of the key passages in the Zhuangzi on ziran
13:59 Zhuangzi on ziran as being indifferent, unsentimental; Huizi’s interrogation
15:16 “The Tao gives the Countenance; Heaven gives the Form” - Zhuangzi
17:11 Ziran as the spontaneous nature before interferences, which is innate goodness; interference with the path of that spontaneous nature is what begets “evil”
17:43 Etymology of the ideograms for ziran
18:31 Selfhood and innate identity as key themes in ziran discourse
20:20 Ziran in Taoist mysticism and occult philosophy; ziran and transcendence
22:44 Question to you for discussion in the comments
See also the companion video lecture on wu wei 無為, the principle of non-action: https://youtu.be/TzAFobogs3Q?si=Cdg8tW8bSshQ7I-S Ziran 自然 (Taoist Path of Least Resistance)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EvXSuKYA_Gg/mqdefault.jpg)

![Tarot of the Bohemians (1889), Condensed [Part 1]
AUDIO WARNING: The sound quality is even worse than my usual amateur level. =) I have no idea what happened. Apologies. Do not listen with headphones.
Tarot of the Bohemians (1889) is one of those classic esoteric tarot texts that tarot enthusiasts say to themselves they’ll get around to reading someday but never actually do. Look, no judgment. Most folks today are so busy, who has time for that? So let me help you out. Sit through this 25-minute video and it’ll be the next best thing to having actually read the book for yourself.
In this installment of Sightsee the Tarot, we attempt to jailbreak Tarot of the Bohemians.
There are several free supplemental downloads that accompany our Papus tour:
- The Three Septenaries
- Meanings of the Cards (per Papus, as found in Tarot of the Bohemians)
- Twelve Astrological Houses Reading Spread (guides the total astrology beginner through the third tier of Papuss three-operation reading method)
- Reading with Significators
Download all supplemental handouts here: https://wp.me/p32or0-3XN
Pre-order the Spirit Keepers Tarot, the deck featured in this video: https://benebellwen.com/spirit-keepers-tarot/pre-order-the-deck/
Part 2 of the Papus tour: https://youtu.be/rbc1-PwL0SA
SIGHTSEE THE TAROT
About the Series
“Sightsee the Tarot” is a series on my channel through which I take you on a tour of tarot books, spreads, techniques and tips, different decks, and more.
Check out the Series Page for all episodes: http://www.tinyurl.com/sightseethetarot
Decks Pictured in the Opening: Tarot de Marseille; Rider-Waite-Smith 1911; Thoth Tarot; Pagan Otherworlds Tarot by Uusi; The Incidental Tarot by Holly DeFount; Golden Universal Tarot; Ostara Tarot; Spirit Keeper’s Tarot
Main Deck Featured in this Video: Oswald Wirth Tarot (reproduced by U.S. Games, 1997); Ancient Italian Tarot (2000 edition by Lo Scarabeo). Tarot of the Bohemians (1889), Condensed [Part 1]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FRXyKEmg03M/mqdefault.jpg)

