Proscription of Non-Daoist Divination
Overview
Section titled “Overview”This canonical ID (34) currently groups 6 source layers with divergent titles. Milestone-1 migration preserves every layer below without inventing a single merged narrative. Status: needs-review.
Also attested under these titles
Section titled “Also attested under these titles”- Homa / Buddhist Fire Offering
- Jiao — Offering
- Deer-Bone / Scapular Divination
- Dakiniten Rites
- Konjin Avoidance
Research layers
Section titled “Research layers”Layer 1: Homa / Buddhist Fire Offering
Section titled “Layer 1: Homa / Buddhist Fire Offering”Source file:
01_Buddhism.md
Indian fire ritual adapted within tantric Buddhism.
Ritual skeleton
Section titled “Ritual skeleton”Construct consecrated hearth; establish deity/fire deity; ignite ritual fire; offer substances with mantra and mudrā; perform pacifying/increasing/subjugating or other class of rite according to tantra; close and dedicate.
Hazard: real fire.
Access: commonly clerical/initiatory.
Reliability: A/B.
Layer 2: Jiao — Offering
Section titled “Layer 2: Jiao — Offering”Source file:
02_Daoism.md
Chinese: 醮
Large communal ceremony renewing the relationship between a community and its gods.
Structure
Section titled “Structure”Days of preparation and paperwork; purification; establishment of altars; invitation of deities; presentation of petitions; scripture recitation; offerings; lamps/incense; ritual pacing; communal and public festival elements; sending off the gods.
Some segments occur behind closed doors for priests/selected representatives.
Source: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Religious Daoism.”
Reliability: A/B.
Layer 3: Deer-Bone / Scapular Divination
Section titled “Layer 3: Deer-Bone / Scapular Divination”Source file:
03_Shinto.md
Japanese family: futomani and related bone-divination traditions
Bone, often deer scapula, is heated and cracks are read as signs.
Reliability: B.
Layer 4: Dakiniten Rites
Section titled “Layer 4: Dakiniten Rites”Source file:
04_Syncretic_Japan.md
Japanese esoteric Buddhist cult of Dakiniten associated with fox imagery, worldly benefits, wealth and complex medieval ritual. It should not be conflated with Tibetan ḍākinī practice.
Access: many rites clerical/esoteric.
Reliability: B.
Layer 5: Konjin Avoidance
Section titled “Layer 5: Konjin Avoidance”Source file:
08_PRIMARY_SOURCE_PROCEDURE_UPGRADES_v1_7.md
Japanese: 金神
Type: Directional taboo complex
Practice interface
Section titled “Practice interface”- Determine Konjin’s direction for the relevant period.
- Avoid direct travel, house construction/repair or relocation into that direction.
- When activity cannot be postponed, use the historically appropriate katatagae method.
- For long-term directional occupancy, observe the more extended avoidance schedule of the particular later system rather than assuming a single overnight detour always suffices.
- When analyzing modern survivals, distinguish Onmyōdō-derived calendar rules from shrine-based hōchigai prayer.
Learning
Section titled “Learning”Study historical Onmyōdō calendars and Heian diaries first, then compare later Konjin cults.
v1.7 METHOD NOTE: HOW “FULL STEPS” ARE NOW SCORED
Section titled “v1.7 METHOD NOTE: HOW “FULL STEPS” ARE NOW SCORED”Each procedural entry is now tagged conceptually against five completeness layers:
Layer A — Text existence: we know the practice/manual exists.
Layer B — Ritual architecture: preparation, main action and closing are recoverable.
Layer C — Operational detail: materials, numbers, directions and gestures are recoverable.
Layer D — Liturgical text: exact mantra/norito/incantation/petition wording is recoverable.
Layer E — Living competence: pronunciation, timing, handwork, bodily technique and authorization can be learned from a surviving lineage.
A rite should not be called “fully reconstructed” unless A–D are satisfied. It should not be called “traditionally performable” unless E is also available or the tradition explicitly defines the rite as open textual practice.
Layer 6: Proscription of Non-Daoist Divination
Section titled “Layer 6: Proscription of Non-Daoist Divination”Source file:
13_FORBIDDEN_TABOO_RESTRICTED_INDEX_v2_1.md
Class: ORTHODOXY / PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARY
Some Daoist institutional sources condemned divination performed by lay specialists outside authorized lineage structures.
Distinction
Section titled “Distinction”This does not mean Daoism rejected divination universally. Daoist lineages themselves used authorized divinatory technologies.