Kuafu
Kuafu is the giant of the Shanhaijing who chased the sun from the east to the west, drinking the Yellow River and the Wei River and then the Great Sea to cool his thirst. He died on the way, and his staff became the Deng Forest, a grove of peach trees.
The Shanhaijing gives the chase and the peach forest; the drinking of the rivers is the Huainanzi's telling. The planetary, elemental, zodiac and tarot values are modern overlays; the traditional associations are the sun, thirst, the staff and the peach grove.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Sun
- Zodiac Affinity
- SagittariusLeoAries
Offerings
- Offerings
- WaterPeachesSun breadIncense
Sacred timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Kua FuThe Sun-ChaserThe Giant Kuafu
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- The Sun-ChaserThe Thirsty GiantHe Who Followed the Sun
- Symbols
- SunStaffPeach forestRiverThirstFootprints
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneRelentless honestAddressKuafuSun-ChaserThe GiantRelationshipThe runner who knows the finish is not the pointWarningThe chase is the whole of himResonanceThose who pursue something they cannot catch those who keep going
- Modern Practice
Honoured by those in a long pursuit that may not succeed. The practice is the water and the peach: keep something for the return, and leave something that will feed someone else.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- PursuitThe sunEnduranceThirstThe impossibleThe journeyPeach trees
- Mythology Summary
Kuafu is the giant of the Shanhaijing who chased the sun from the east to the west, drinking the Yellow River and the Wei River and then the Great Sea to cool his thirst. He died on the way, and his staff became the Deng Forest, a grove of peach trees. The story is usually read as a parable of futile ambition, but the peach forest makes it also a story about what the pursuit leaves behind.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsYellowGoldRedScentsFrankincenseCedarSandalwoodMetalsBronzeGoldAnimalsHorseCrowHare
One of 3,120 entries in the Grimoire — the whole library, every cross-reference, is free to take. Take the whole thing Is it wrong somewhere?
Referenced by 0
Nothing in the library points at this entry yet.
More in Deities
The entries either side of this one in the same catalogue.
All of Deities →New entries, when they land
Occasional notes when a section of the grimoire is added or revised. No account, no tracking across sites, and one line to leave.