Dragon Gods, Land Spirits; the Hakka 

I live in east Taipei right next to golden dragon lake (金龍湖). A few years ago, after having practicing the Quareia magic system for a while, I had an encounter with the spirit of the lake. I was on my balcony overlooking the lake one night when I felt something looking at me. Quite soon I felt a presence before me. It was massive. I live on the 23rd floor and I felt it had lifted its head to be looking down at me. I felt a compulsion to bow my head. It asked me to identify myself and I did so. I did a small job in service for it and it has helped me several times when I needed it. (this is the abridged version, don't want to bore people with the details) Now to be clear, I didn't go looking for this encounter or the times it came to help me. It just happened. BTW I use your Tao of Craft to help make our New Years front door scrolls. So far, they have been very successful. Thank you :)

My wife speaks Hakka, Hokkien, Cantonese, she is from Malaysia, half Chinese, half Indian. She has many stories...

My boyfriend is from Shanwei, and his mother went to the Shaman/Healer/Witch(I’m unsure what to call them)last year, and had us connected to the Land God and CaiShen to offer daily incense too as well. We had some spiritual issues, and there has been a lot of improvement since then.

I'm Euro American in Minnesota. The local Dakota Indian tribes have sacred places. I once had a vision of a Giant Eagle sitting over a homeless camp in a traditional Indian settlement groind in Minneapolis. They call the Mississippi River the Father of Waters. I live one half mile from there. Los Angeles area is full of dragon looking mountains.

Watching this I was reminded of Marina Abramovic 1988 performance piece that involves walking The Great Wall of China, a great dragon shaped like the milky way . Marina was to start the walk at the Wall’s eastern, female end, the Gulf of Bohai on the Yellow Sea, and for (her former partner) Ulay to start at the Wall’s western, male end, the Jiayu Pass in the Gobi Desert. After walking a total of 2,500 kilometers each, we would meet in the middle. In Her biography ‘Walk Through Walls’, she wrote: “I was so fascinated by the relationship of the Wall to the ley lines, the energy lines in the earth. But I was also becoming aware of the changes in my own energy as I walked over different kinds of terrain. Sometimes there was clay under my feet, sometimes iron ore, sometimes quartz or copper. I wanted to try to understand the connections between human energy and the earth itself. In every village I stopped in, I would always ask to meet the oldest people there. Some of them were 105, 110 years old. And when I asked them to tell me stories about the Wall, they would always talk about dragons, a black dragon fighting a green dragon. I realized that these epic stories were literally about the configuration of the ground: the black dragon was iron, the green dragon was copper. It was like the Dreamtime tales of the Australian desert-every inch of land was full of stories, and the stories all related to the human mind and body. The land and the people were intimately connected.”

Thank you for sharing this. As a dragon magick practitioner, I really appreciate this perspective. It confirms so much. Thanks again.

I have always been particularly fascinated by asian dragons. I love how within eastern culture, the dragon is not considered something inherently evil like how the western idea of dragons tends to come across, it always made more sense to me to view dragons in that more neutral way tbh. This video was such a treat! ❤🐉

This makes so much sense with my interactions with whatever land and the spirits of the land I'm on, my psychic friend with clairvoyance pointed it out. My mom never explained to me what the lowest altar was for, she just does a lot of things because of tradition and never asked why. The only other information I got was from my aunt (my mom's sister) who said that the incense urn had to be made of clay, nothing else, and now I'm wondering: does it have to be clay from the land? My maternal grandfather was Hakka, but didn't pass down the language. He was born in Hong Kong, but around WWII he fled with my grandmother to Hanoi where my parents were born. My mom told me that at one point during their exodus, he had to go back to Hong Kong to find and save his sister (I suspect from becoming a comfort woman?) and he did. When the communists took over Vietnam in the 70s, they were essentially kicked out and immigrated to Southern California. It's been close to a year, but I've finally gotten into the head space to start reading your book and it is resonating so much on so many levels. These videos are also helping me ground the explanations. The things that I've been doing or have been drawn to in terms of my magickal/occult practices in contrast to what you're saying is like "Duh!" of course I would be interested in this stuff.

I'm Brazilian... But I might have Hakka ancestry! My grandpa was Indonesian, and his dad wrote a book about our family ancestry. Our surname is Gouw (this is spelled in Indonesia) but our ancestors came from China, and there, depending on the region, Gouw was spelled Wu, Woo, Ng, Ngo or Go. In his book, my great grandad said it's very likely our ancestors were Hakka and lived in those roundhouses.

I grew up saying “Ngai mo kong hakka fa” at every family gathering 😆🥲 My father is Hakka Timorese and we immigrated to Australia. Ive never met anyone out of my family that speaks Hakka. So this video resonated with me so so much! As a 1st generation immigrant, I’ve struggled to navigate heritage & identity in Western colonial culture. Recently, I’ve started deeply exploring my indonesian-chinese & timorese culture, as well as a deep interest in eastern esotericism. What a inspirational delight this video was! Lots of appreciation for your videos and writing, always!

I’m Hakka and Manchurian. The genocide trauma is very relatable. I think it makes us nomadic but not in a fun gypsy way, but in an insufferable way

My late maternal grandmother is Hakka, but she was already going to the movies & playing tennis in Hong Kong LOL. I lived with her during my whole childhood, but she had a stroke already, so mostly stayed in her room. I'd go in & say hi everyday & she would give me HK$10 or a piece of candy. I was told that she was a fierce woman, was a devout Christian & was very active in church. A spiritual Response Therapy practitioner once told me that she's ascended & is part of a Council of Seven (or Eight, I don't quite remember) Light Beings still working for the greater good, & supporting my shamanic work. & oh yeah, the dragons are all around us in Hong Kong & we know it. There's that famous building by the Repulse Bay beach with a hole in the middle so the dragons can pass through when they go to & fro from the oceans back to the mountains where they reside. LAWL. Happy Year of the Wood 🐉

The story of the Hakka reminds me so much of the history of Scottish and Irish ancestry I'm not crying okay yes I definitely am. lol (and of course New Zealand)

Love this! Thank you for sharing your heritage. I live in the mountains of central Pennsylvania, which is part of the Appalachians, and I can definitely see what you're talking about. Earth Dragons being the land makes total sense. The land here has always seemed alive to me. You can easily feel the energy and spirit all wherever you go. It's difficult to go anywhere and not experience something slightly otherworldly or spiritual in one way or another.

Hakka here in Canada, parents from Malaysia. So happy to have found your channel!

Hi, I am. Hakka from. Singapore. My grandparent migrated to Singapore from.China FuJian Yong Ding, area that renowned for 土楼

I'm a wood/dragon, born in '64. I learned real nei gong and have been living in Santa Fe, NM for the last five years. The underworld is real. Reality can make your life richer or terrifying.

My family is from Meixian village and this would be my dad's side of the family, just like you! I am so happy I found your channel. I have been working on reconnecting with my lineage and your channel is so amazing! How do we find out who the dragon land is in our area? I am based out of Vancouver, Canada :)

the celtic tradition has what are called fairy forts. it's generally understood the mound involved is not to be distributed. some of these are buried megastructures. the people here build hi ways along these old walls. they sick out of the hillsides at places.

A lot of the Chinese-Jamaican on my island are Hakka

I’m Lao , we have these same exact beliefs about our dragons ! The same we we believe they occupy water and are the Land itself and if we build we have to build at a certain precise points to pay respect to the dragon . The ancestor of the Lao are the tai which hail from southern china . I think this is why it’s so similar these parallel beliefs . The tai are the second largest ethnic group in china after the Han ( the Zhuang ) -Zhuang being a branch of tai tribe . Everything you said in this video is so linked to ours down in Southeast Asia .

Hi, there is an area in Fukuoka, Japan called Hakata (博多). It is famous for the Hakata dolls and Yamakasa (山笠) festival in the summers. Haka in Japan phonetically means grave....ohaka is a burial site. The,'ta' of Hakata is written多...I used to think it could mean many graves, but could it have been hinting at the Hakka people who lived here and were persecuted? The people of Hakata are rather prideful in Fukuoka, and are respected as old lineage, I believe.

This is very interesting, thank you very much for sharing!!! It reminded me a lot of the beliefs of the Sierra Mazateca in Mexico where, similar to dragons, they believed in the "chikones" or the "owners of the territory", which are represented in a very similar way using 4 directions and have this "fractalic" quality of manifestation.

So cool, Benebel! Love this presentation on Earth Dragon gods...in Japan, dragons are usually associated with bodies of water. I will look out for earth dragons as I am traveling the Japan at the moment.

Welsh (a Celtic people) myth also associates dragons with the earth. The story of Merlin has him advising a king what to do about two dragons (red and white) fighting below his kingdom down in the earth, which was causing disruption. They were associated with spirits in the earth but simultaneously with the conflict between the Welsh (red dragon) and the Saxons (white dragon).

I’d never heard of the Hakka, so thank you for that! I’m pretty informed about history but not so much Asian history, so I appreciate your talking about these things.

I live in a big city, but my neighborhood is quiet. The big steep hill on which I live is so disliked that it’s locally called Devil’s Hill. I include it, and a local park maple tree, in my regular hearth cult to say thank you for watching over my neighborhood.

I got your book on holistic tarot. It’s arriving this Monday. I will now have all three books.

Hi Benebell! I am also Hakka on my father's side, and Han on my mother's side so it's interesting to hear about this history. I saw a documentary on TV when I was young about the Hakka living in the mountains eating snails, which I thought was cool. Love that they were tea farmers :) I am currently an urban farmer, herbalist, and soon-to-be healer/therapist so I think I have cultivated my roots from both sides quite well.

How interesting, I love Chinese Dragon lore and this informs so much in that area. I'm a mountain person and I really like your interpretation of Dragon myth being a primordial wisdom of living within Mountain/ Valley, among the Wood and Water and how the Hakka people vernated these elements and harvested them in a sustainable way. Especially the mining of Metal as dragon veins, that's so insightful. I've always wondered if the origin of ancient people believing in such mythical beings was from finding fossilized dinosaur bones and then imagining these mythical creatures. This came to me as my toddler kids were simultaneously fascinated by dinos and dragons, the how to train your dragon series was very popular then, I think it has something to do with bottom of the brain stem development.

thanks for education. i'm from korea and hakka people story is relatable and good to know. i also found their village, interesting house style.. beautiful!

A lot of ancestor topics have been coming up for me lately, so I definitely value the knowledge you shared.

Awesome video, thank you as always for sharing this invaluable material 👍

I'm married to a Hakka man from Central Taiwan. Really kind people, very accepting.

I just wanted to say, how much your work has helped recontextualize my past and my history. My first earnest spiritual path was in a local cult. The leader had drawn heavily on Daoist cosmogony, cultivation practice, and other esoteric Eastern elements and twisted it into a form of demonic Goetic sorcery. Later on this was shifted and turned into neo-nazism. Truly, learning from your videos and your books has helped me stay true to the truth inherent to my initial path while understanding the historical and cultural context of it. You truly are one of the most gifted scholars of our time and I truly have enjoyed everything you've written. If you are ever in Oklahoma, in the US, I would love to see if we can book you for a class or a workshop. I have more I want to say, but, thank you so much for the work you're doing and continue to do.

Thank you for sharing this video and blog post. I have been thinking about my floor altar and refreshing it in recent days, so this was very timely inspiration. ❤

There is a really pretty hill right to the side of my home, and it always lift my spirit to see it in the morning. I can see how a beautiful hill and the land can be seen as gods. I am Norwegian so for me our folklore have allot of land spirits that you had to appease. But nature itself if not seen as a god have always been seen as a holy place, nature is the soul of the land.

I loved your take on this. thank you for your wisdom.

Thank you! I love this. I study serpent mounds in NewEngland and work with the land. I have no teacher but have learned a lot about the lay of the land and energy on my own. Also in America, they always built on laylines

I have believed for a long my time that everything from humans to animals to the plants the rocks the river and the land are the physical manifestations of subtle energies that exist at a higher vibrations. I have strongly perceived what I interpreted as a dragon energy in a location closer se to where I live. It’s all about keepsake my your eyes open your senses alert and most importantly as you say, being respectful. Fascinating video. Thanks

Facinated....😊

I am in love with this channel. I want to study all of these fields of chinese magic. I have study a bit of tchanism, só I see some common themes, but I feel this is much deeper.

i call the spirit of places 'the overlighting deva of'...but i do feel like dragons are the spirit of rivers. I have a river called alxander river nearby and one day i talked to his spirit and invited her to my home, then it rained in the summer time

kundalini in the physical world, by Mary Scott. Similar discussion about the relationships between people/nature and how that is described energetically. You may find it interesting. :)

I literally just realized you have books. Thanks for putting your book in the frame. I will check it out. It really makes you seem more real because you have a published book. I trust you more.

Thanks .. Hakka Tulou . circle geometry building has also has the earth connection tudigong deity . compare to wood air of Jupiter Tao .

This is so interesting. In Teochew homes, we have a spirit tablet for the Landlord God with the title: "前後地主財神，五方五土龍神". And I was wondering, why "龍神"? But I'm not so sure if this is a dragon-dragon god or dragon's vein, or this dragon god is the same as Hakka dragon god. And btw, Teochew is a part of the larger group MinNan. So if the aforementioned is true then, maybe, you have been worshipping the dragon god from BOTH sides of your family. I'd love hear your mom's side's perspective on "龍神" and its connection to "地主財神". And I'd appreciate it if you have more information on this deity.

My ancestors come from northern europe, and our traditions were taken from us through agressive evangilism. Nonetheless, we try to connect with the threads we still have. The way you are able to communicate the features of a tradition that was no severed is very helpful for us to understand the spiritual science our own lost traditions. We once called them landvettir. I am curious if land spirits in your tradition have any connection with young children, such as is found with the fey in various European stories?

Sounds like Genius loci

I just would like to mention, that whatever you did in 1:14 with the mic. is much better audio quality to use than the regular sound 👌

Ty ive been checking out divination of all cultures and your vids are amazing

Hakka culture a mythical creature, unicorn and another name for dog, land dog.

My partner is part Hakka, father from Fujian, and then the family moved to Hong Kong. My partner's grandma is still alive and she speaks Hakka as a first language.

Hakka is not dying. Please go to Penang. You will find lots of Hakka people there.

I have so many pictures of dragon landforms, and I didnt even know that it was a thing. I just see them everywhere. So, if you would like to help, it would be appreciated, because they are not just land. It's a super fucking weird ass story, and a long one, but if you just want to help with the dragon part that would be great. I am crazy, but not bad crazy, so dont worry.

I could understand you Hakka😅. I lived 12 years in HK. I just watched the video and I really appreciate it. I had an earth altar in my Kung Fu school and nobody could tell me what the tablet meant. Now I know! Great content🙏

These dragon gods and landspirits sound very much like the rådare and vättar of Swedish folklore - springing from the old folk religion that was here before Christianity

Earth energy lines. Where they cross you will often find a sacred space. Temple, church, stone circle etc

The legendary Hakka martial arts ❤❤❤😮😮😮

Thanks. Interesting. Dragons as a part of the land seem to be a universal concept. At least we have it here in the UK. George and the Dragon and the earth energy lines etc. Is there any mention in your Hakka system of "earth lights" or as some call them plasma balls? They have been seen by many, emanating from the earth at certain points and seemingly have a certain level of awareness. For example being curious about people who see them.

This is really interesting. Thanks for sharing.

(Mainly to boost the algorithms, still...) I'm not Hakka, obviously, nevertheless, some call me weird but it resonates with me.

Very interesting and informative 😮 love it!

Benebell. Wow. Such Cool info. Just in time for me cause going through some “stuff” now and info falls right into place🙏🙏🙏☯️🐲🐉

I always believed even as a child that we are all connected and the land is alive and to respect the land. when we as children would build a tree fort then come back the next day and notice the sap coming out of the tree where we put nails in it I thought of that as tears from the tree now I think of it more as blood . now day I am pretty sure that everyone or most peoples Gods or forms of worship are \ is Money or items\ things that can be bought, people tend to not really care about everything else and tend to not understand that to make that money is to sometimes hurt the land to unbalance nature

I spent the winter last year walking the dragon in the mountains,,I walked 5 hours a day for 3 months,,I was reborn

Actually there is a Spaniard mystery which contains a riddle about rocks and water. About, oh; what it all comes down to.😅

In my Shamanic work the dragon is very important comes to me and takes me to the upper world’ lives high in the mountains in the upper world

To Daoists, the landscape is a living entity. You can live in harmony with it, or in disharmony at your peril. Codified, the principles of living in harmony with your environment is known as fengshui. The 4 dragon diagram you showed is better known as the 4 protectors of any site - azure dragon and white tiger on either side, black tortoise behind and red phoenix in front. The site can be anything from a house or a grave to an entire city. Dragons are the conduits of chi or life force. They are manifested in nature as rivers and mountain ranges, and often as roads in an urban environment. Traditional Chinese, not just the Hakka, took fengshui very seriously. They would not approve any drastic alteration to the landscape, such as damming a river or levelling a hillside. This would only piss off the dragon and invite misfortune to the local inhabitants. Just look at what happens when a dam fails or when a deforested hillside turns into a landslide. Unfortunately, many Chinese today have forgotten their fengshui heritage or dismissed it as folk superstition. Very sad.

Thanks

🙏

Thank you 🙏🏼

Southern Asian Taoism has a legend about Sky Fall. How shadows will never fall truly upon the land until the legend of Sky Fall is fulfilled. How an island system fell from the sky. An island system which was the crown of an empire. Some people say. This came true and the fable of Avalon was the real life outcome. So, question remains; how to fulfill legend of Skyfall ? #sword and stone

im xpat living in thailand we have hakka tempes in south i love to go to then

Celestial branch manager lol. My family has an incense vessel for him.

Thanks for the video.

Im here 4 You ;)

Great job!

Wow that amazing. So how to call dragon spirit

We believe that`I’m from Syria

probably not because if they were connected to the dragon energy they would be accepted everywhere and not kicked out lol

Thanks for sharing this culture (Hakka) knowledge, Miss Wen. I also can't claim I'm a 100% Hakka, 'cause I'm carrying a surname of Teochew nang. Hakka is on my mother side and the neighborhood where I was born (small island in Indonesia) all speak Hakka dialect. Dragon in Hakka is Liung/Liyung not yong. Yong is goat in Hakka. 3:22 Lol 😂 Yes, Hakka the living fosil dialect is dying and we the descendant should do something to preserve it.

❤❤❤

😊Thank you

Celtic is also a heritage school, but without the lineage. Also, it is not the same as Druidism. Celtic Taoism is reverence to the various Buddhahoods, yet also without applicable knowledge of the Buddha particular emergence. It is roughly defined by some, as a more finite variant from Shamanism.

Ocean and land. The oldest war in history. Land water spirits ocean water spirits are friends where they meet.. special places. Is the south dragon asleep

3:23 i understood it and grew up in LA where there is a surprisingly large community of people from Hakka descent. just my family bloodline alone , we have at least a 3 digit descendant count in North America. 😁

In Mexico they call them serpents

My hmong people were also chased by chinese people onto the mountains and then down to thailand, then laos. Im wondering if theres some kind of relation that hmog people have with hakka people as well. There isnt any history from when we were in china that i could find. Would you or anyone have information on this?

👑🐲🐉

The Spirit of the Dragon 🐉 (Ancient)°, tells me we do exist as shown in Ancient Art of China 🇨🇳!

How big is the rump shaker if you are eating pepperoni 😂☯️🦇

Hakka’s narrative of being a victim is somehow one sided, as well as the narrative of Tulou. Many people did not know that Minnan people also built Tulou and that they were many a plenty during the Sea Ban mass evacuation era. Some Hakka also intermixed with ethnic She and might have shared narrative. Ethnic She was seen as indigenous but a much latter migrant compared to indigenous Minnan. During the Sea Ban, Minnan people were forced to relocate off the shore up to the highland. That is probably when She-Minnan conflict began. When the Sea Ban was lifted, government sponsored Hakka people to settle coastal lands even before Minnan resettled back to their traditional lands. That caused struggle for power, which also caused the demise of the powerful old Minnan clans which dominated in the past. Another big reason is the Taiping rebellion, which was incited by Hakka-s. Hakka-s, whose language is closest to mandarin compared to other southerners got the upper hand in imperial exams when the Qing allowed Hakkas to take exams regionally. Many helped the Qing to quell anti-Qing rebels in the souths, and were seen as allies of the Qing. That started Punti-Hakka war and was the main reason why Taishanese settled in America and Australia. Even in South East Asia, Hakka-s were excellent bureaucrats and were very much connected with the Qing and the reform movement. During the war between Nationalists and Communists, Hakka-s were known to be ‘Home of the Generals’. Thus, narratives of Hakka people have always been laden with layers of self-exultation as well as ugly history. DNA analysis shows that some Hakka are genetically not far off from Minnan. Hakka is a term that is so broad which cannot encapsulates the narratives of various Hakka people at the same time.

After reading, I don’t agree with your praises of MIL. I also don’t agree that she wasn’t undeserving. I also don’t agree that you would have been like her. If she was a different kind of person, she would have reacted very differently to her situations in life. My ex’s father is a mainland Chinese. He also has a tough childhood. Just like her. But he was the best man I ever met. He is extremely wealthy now and everyone loves him. Life situations are an excuse for certain things. But they are never an excuse for who you are as a person. Karma is a very true cause and effect. Her past could have been better if she took it differently, socialized with ppl differently, etc. she never learned, so life kept attacking her… she stayed stubborn no matter what and met a tragic fate. All her good fortunes was primarily for herself and her selfishness. Her son was a gift she gave to herself… the illusion of good in her cus of her love for her son is distorted. He is like her property. If she really loved him, she would love you too. If she was a really good genuine person, she would not put him and you through such hardships. The person she is really loving, isn’t so much her son but herself. And life kept trying to show her her error. But she was stubborn to the bitter end. We create our hell, regardless of our outside predicaments. You deserved your good fortunes. You are not judgmental, she was. You have the ability to question yourself and think positively for others. You deserve your life. You deserve your fortune. I believe, There is a reason life hasn’t messed with you so harshly. If you believe in karma and reincarnation. Your one of the most amazing genuine people I know from what I can get of you in your videos, your Very honest and try your best. It’s why I soak up your videos and your books. I believe I can truly trust you. No one’s perfect but there is a clear difference of genuine heart and intellect towards that end and you have that important quality. I personally think The unknown knows this. I want to give more money to you 😅 but I’ve literally used too much on a library of ancient books. But maybe one day in the future I will. Cus you deserve it. I so extremely appreciate you. I think life is maybe not perfect in the human understanding of perfect but I think it leans a little more towards fair than unfair as we may think. For example, this message to you and how I want to give you all my money lol. I believe your future is filled with good as long as you keep this proactive and self reflecting genuineness, etc. as long as you keep down this path, keep being you.

Wa bah doh ju yao eh……..🤣🙏😭

13:12 maybe both?

I know that sounds made up, but its a real thing, and I have pictures of so many different kinds, in the land, in water, in the sky, made of plants, or made of light, and no one else except for probably you... will know what in the fuck is going on. Why are there like no taoists? None. All of this shit is super interesting. Thank you for making videos.

Thoughts on non Asians wanting to possibly cultivate a relationship with these practices into their Spirituality?

Are they similar to The Nagas ?❤❤❤

science too is a religion and a sermon of stories to explain the world,,the difference is the intent and the abysmal obsession with dissecting the world to learn that destroys it