Eastern Religions in Credo: Taoism

Study of the relative position of the planets and stars in the belief that they influence events on Earth. A strongly held belief in ancient Babylon, astrology spread to the Mediterranean world, and was widely used by the Greeks and Romans. Also an umbrella term denoting any one of several systems of divination that attempt to uncover information that is otherwise hidden or difficult to access by examining the position and motion of various heavenly bodies.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In Chinese religion, the supreme god of pantheistic Taoism, also known as the August Personage of Jade and Father Heaven, who watches over human actions and is the ruler of life and death.

Act of spiritual contemplation, practised by members of many religions or as a secular exercise. It is a central practice in Buddhism and Hinduisum (the Sanskrit term is samādhi) and the movement for transcendental meditation.

The practice of putting oneself into, and remaining in, direct relation with God, the Absolute, or any unifying principle of life. Mysticism is inseparably linked with religion.

From The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
Chinese term for ether, air, corporeal vital energy, and the “atmosphere” of a season, person, event, or work. Qi can be dense/impure or limpid/pure, warm/rising/active or cool/settling/still.

From Chamber's Dictionary of the Unexplained
A Chinese system of exercise in which a series of slow, continuous movements are performed with synchronized breathing while the practitioner meditates on the flow of energy or ‘qi’ through the body.

Chinese philosophy, traditionally founded by the Chinese philosopher Lao Zi in the 6th century BC, identified with the Tao-chia (School of the Way). The philosophical system stems largely from the Tao-te-ching, a text traditionally ascribed to Lao Tzu but probably written in the mid-3d cent. B.C. Taoists believe that (1) there is a way the world should be, a way that, in some deep sense, it is; (2) human beings can understand this and need to have and follow such knowledge if they and the world are to exist in harmony; and (3) the world was once in such a state. Taoism is one of the four major religions of China (with Confucianism, Buddhism, and Chinese popular religion).

From The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
Chinese philosophical term often translated as ‘non-action’ and associated with Taoism.

The Chinese concept that everything is explicable in terms of two complementary but opposing principles. Yang represents heaven, and is the positive, male force.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Chinese Taoist writer. Little is known about his life. He was a native of the state of Meng, on the border of present-day Shandong and Henan provinces, and is said to have lived as a hermit.

From The Essentials of Philosophy and Ethics
Lao Tzu seems to have been a contemporary of CONFUCIUS (sixth to fifth century BCE), and is traditionally viewed as the author of the classic of TAOISM, the Tao Te Ching, or the ‘Classic of the Way and Its Power’.

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Buddhism
The Eight Immortals (Ba Xian) are popular figures in Chinese legend and literature. These eight figures are found throughout Chinese-speaking cultural regions, as well as in Japan. Some were historical figures, while others were deities of unknown origin. The Eight Immortals embody the basic notion of religious Daoism.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Most significant early Chinese interpreter of Daoism and the purported author of the Daoist classic that bears his name.

From Chamber's Dictionary of the Unexplained
An ancient Chinese text, the authorship of which is traditionally attributed to the sage and philosopher Lao Tzu in the 6th century bc.

From Chamber's Dictionary of the Unexplained
An ancient Chinese book thought to be some 3,000 years old. It consists of a series of 64 hexagrams (figures made up of six lines), and a text giving interpretations of these.