Xingtian
Xingtian is the headless god of the Shanhaijing. He rebelled against the Yellow Emperor, was decapitated, and was buried on Changyang Mountain; he rose again with his nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth, took up an axe and a shield, and has been fighting ever since.
The Shanhaijing gives the decapitation and the mountain; later tellings differ on whether the emperor or heaven did it. The planetary, elemental, zodiac and tarot values are modern overlays; the traditional associations are the axe, the shield, the headless body and the mountain.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Mars
Offerings
- Offerings
- IronRed wineIncenseRed candles
Sacred timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Xing TianThe Headless OneThe Axe-and-Shield
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- The Headless GodHe Who Fights OnThe Axe and ShieldThe Defiant
- Symbols
- AxeShieldHeadless bodyNipples as eyesNavel as mouthThe mountaintop
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneUnbroken defianceAddressXingtianThe Headless OneAxe and ShieldRelationshipThe fighter who lost the head and kept the fightWarningHe does not stop and he does not winResonanceThose who resist those who have lost and continue
- Modern Practice
Invoked by those in a resistance that has already cost them something. The practice is not victory but continuation: take up the axe, name what was taken, and keep the guard.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- DefianceWarThe bodyResistancePersistenceThe headlessEternal struggle
- Mythology Summary
Xingtian is the headless god of the Shanhaijing. He rebelled against the Yellow Emperor, was decapitated, and was buried on Changyang Mountain; he rose again with his nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth, took up an axe and a shield, and has been fighting ever since. The image is one of the corpus's clearest statements that defeat and ending are not the same thing.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsRedBlackScentsDragons bloodMyrrhCedarMetalsIronBronzeSteelAnimalsOxTigerSnake
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