When people hear the word “ghost,” they often picture something from a horror movie—white figures, scary shadows, or monsters jumping out in the dark. But just like how movies show gunfights with unlimited ammo and no aiming, the movie version of ghosts is also totally wrong. The truth is very different, and today I will explain what really happens after death, how a person becomes a ghost, and why some end up wandering and suffering.
This knowledge is very important, especially during Ghost Month, because the unseen world is closer than you think. Knowing the truth will help you protect yourself and your loved ones.
Ghosts Are Not Just From Dead People
The first thing you must understand is that a ghost 鬼 does not always come from a dead person.
Even when you are alive, when you use your mental power to think, your yin chi and yin soul are already creating a ghost. This ghost’s job is to pull essence from your Yuen Sun 元神 (your spiritual planetary body, your big God in preheaven). Once it pulls down essence, your mind sparks up and you get ideas.
When you think about someone, this ghost can even travel to them. This is why sometimes people suddenly feel “thought of” or dream of someone at the same time. These are living ghosts—created by our own mind.
What Happens After Death
When you die, your soul leaves the body and goes back up to the Yuen Sun. The soul thinks it just “woke up from sleep” and tries to come back down, but the body is no longer there.
The soul floats upward, reaching the cloud level, where it faces a bright light and a fiery wall.
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If you pass through it: you enter the real ghost world above the clouds. This is not darkness but another world, solid and real for the ghost. You live here about 100 years, but in reverse—you grow younger until you become a baby, then die again, and return to the Yuen Sun for a long journey. This is the best path for ordinary people.
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If you cannot pass through: you bounce back down. Your yin chi drags you down into a confusing, watery state. Everything is blurry, muffled, and heavy. You feel trapped, unable to move. These are the wandering ghosts, lost and struggling, looting chi around them just to float a little before sinking again.
The Underworld of Dimension Nine
If a ghost keeps sinking, it falls past the horizon and enters Dimension Nine, the underworld.
Here, memories fade quickly. The place is full of chaos, panic, anger, and violence. It feels like a mental asylum filled with countless insane beings. Ghosts here mutate into demons, fighting, destroying, and venting endlessly until they themselves are destroyed.
When destroyed, they drop into a sparkling ocean of water that dissolves them into pure essence. This essence is recycled into the Primordial World (Daai Law Tin 大羅天), where it becomes part of a new life.
The Higher Dangers: Evil Gods
Even above the ghost world, there are powerful evil gods 陰神. They enslave ghosts and demons, using them like tools to loot, attack, and harvest human soul chi.
This is why being a ghost or demon is never good—it is full of suffering, danger, and control by stronger forces.
The Taoist Path: Returning to the True Source
For ordinary people, the after-death journey is full of uncertainty and danger. But for Taoists of Saam Law Tao 三羅道, we walk a different path.
Through ordination, disciples connect directly to the Tao and establish their place in the Daai Law Tin, the Primordial World. This is paradise, the true source of all life, and the safest destination for us.
Instead of wandering, sinking, or being enslaved, we have a place reserved in the Religious Court, where we are protected and guided upward.
How to Protect Yourself During Ghost Month
Ghost Month is when the boundary between worlds is thin. Many wandering ghosts and demons come close, looting and looking for victims. If you are weak, unlucky, or spiritually unprotected, you can easily get disturbed.
That is why our lineage provides three important solutions:
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Ordination / Initiation – Begin your path in Saam Law Tao. This connects you to the Tao and gives your soul a safe destination after death.
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Protection FU (符) – Our hand-crafted FU are empowered through rituals to shield you and your home from ghostly attacks. Especially useful during Ghost Month.
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Golden Light Protection Spell – A free spell anyone can use. This draws from your own Yuen Sun and builds a protective shield of golden light around you.
Read more about these in our Ghost Month Protection Guide!
Conclusion
Ghosts are real, but they are nothing like the movies. They are part of a natural process of soul, chi, and essence after death. Some go upward to the ghost world, some sink to become wandering ghosts or demons, and some get enslaved by higher forces.
But Taoists do not settle for those fates. We walk the path back to the Daai Law Tin, the Primordial World, our true home.
This Ghost Month, protect yourself wisely. Learn the truth, get connected to the Tao, and shield your life from danger.
