Phoenix Archives - Fourth Way Today

The Phoenix and the Peacock

From Taoist master Liu Yiming (18th century), on the Phoenix and the Peacock, from Awakening the Tao A phoenix appears rarely, so it is an auspicious omen. Peacocks are always showing off their feathers, so they are taken captive. In this we observe the Tao of concealment and revelation, good and bad fortune. Those who are proud […]

by Walther Sell

The Firing Process in Taoist Alchemy

Zhang Boduan was an 11th century Taoist alchemist of the Complete Reality Taoist school. Taoist alchemy aims to create the gold elixir (also called the golden pill, or the pill of immortality) through what is called a firing process. Basically, because the teaching is hidden in symbols, one needs to be taught the inner meaning. […]

by David Tuttle

The Cascade Fire

There was a wildfire recently where I live. In aftermath of the high velocity winds, over a hundred homes were destroyed. The California fire service called it the “Cascade Fire.” I finally drove through the burnt area a couple of weeks later. The top layer of the soil was black, the tree leaves burnt from […]

by The Editors

The Simurgh & The Firebird – Magical Birds of God

Legends of the Firebird The Firebird is a magical bird in legends from Russia, Armenia, and the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, The Golden Bird. The mystical bird is often the object of a difficult quest. Some tales describe how, when it flies, its eyes sparkle and pearls fall from its beak. In the Russian tale, […]

by Rainer Maria Rilke

Rilke on Death – from his Letters

Rilke’s poetry and letters dwell substantially on death and the transformation of suffering, as in these excerpts from his letters. From the Letters of Rilke We simply do not know what can be destroyed in a heart through suffering, or what suffering might achieve there. As a poet, one should not even take distress for a lover […]