Lunar October 15th marks one of the three most important dates of the year. The year is divided into three sections, and this is the last section. The first section of the year is when the preheaven energies flow down to this postheaven world. The second section is when the energy absorbed into this world is surfacing to affect reality, bringing us fruits and success. The last section is when the energy here goes back to preheaven. Whatever we don’t need or want can flow back to preheaven, just like we breathe out Co2 and nature takes it back from us.
The Water Official is one of the three main gods in the lineage. There are also the Sky Official and Ground Official, and their purpose relates to the three main sections mentioned above. These officials deal with the disciples of the lineage, bringing them the potentials, fortune and teachings that they deserves.
In short, the main job of the Water Official is to take things back from this world to the preheaven, back to the celestial court. It takes feedback but also takes back anything that you might be due for. It’s like you owe the government money, then the government will take it back from you too. As a Taoist, you have commandments and rules to follow, things you should not be doing, things you should be doing more, etc. If you have been doing badly this year, then there will be the consequence that follows. If you wish to be given a chance, you can use this opportunity to beg for amnesty and forgiveness. It could be seen as he is the punish-er who is here to punish and bring disciples to justice. If you need the pain to learn your lesson, the official will give you that too. However, if you have shown that you acknowledge your problems and is in-progress in correcting yourself, then the official can let you have a chance to correct yourself until the next time he comes again in the coming year.
If you do not do so, the celestial court will then put the charges on you and “even out” the math by letting you pay for what you have done that isn’t right. The reason is that the gods are here to “teach” the disciples by showing them the consequence, by feeling the pain, and suffering to awaken their inner powers so that they will realize what is bad to do and what should be stopped immediately. Read up on how god punishes, and also the five thunder magic! If you did ask for amnesty truthfully and whole-heartedly, you could be given a chance to delay the penalty and punishment, which allows you to correct yourself and do better and show the gods you can change for the better. The key point here is that you need to be truthful and be able to “touch” god’s heart with your speech and action. If you “ask for amnesty” by following the routine, it doesn’t work because you are not truthful.
Prepare the letter you want to submit to the Water Official; type it out nicely like you are submitting a business letter. It needs to be formal; check your grammar and typos, and format it nicely. On the day, open the altar or burn three incense in the pot, recite the prayer to the jade emperor and then read out the letter, offer three cups of tea, burn the letter, and bow to the ground 12x, put your hands on the ground while kneeling, place them in the center with the right hand over the left, then put your head over the hand, close your eyes and be silenced. You will keep on doing self-reflection for what you have done wrong that you regret etc. From time to time, you can look up and check the incense to see if it is finished. When incense is out, you can get up and bow 3x to conclude the ceremony.
If you want it to be ensured, you can also submit the letter at HQ, request us to help you send it up while you do your ceremony, and we double-submit on your behalf. That way, your words are ensured to be heard.
Here are a few important posts to look at:
