In recent years, among the questions posed by visiting Taoist practitioners, “Have I been cursed with Gu?” is one of the most common. Those who ask often appear with a dull complexion, listless spirit, sluggish movements, and vacant eyes.

Since ancient times, folklore about “Gu arts” has been rampant. In films and TV shows, it is often depicted as mysterious and even capable of manipulating a person’s body and mind. Today, we will discuss the understanding of “Gu arts” from the perspectives of traditional culture and Taoism, as well as the Taoist methods for resolving them.

1. What Is the Gu Art?

The character “Gu” (蛊) has a long history. The Shuowen Jiezi explains: “Gu, insects in the belly.” According to the Qingbai Leichao, the Gu art was mainly prevalent in the south, mostly among ethnic minority tribes. In Fujian, it is called “Gu ghost”; in Guangdong, “medicine ghost”; in Guangxi, there is a kind of “medicine thought Gu,” whose shape resembles a cricket; in Sichuan and Yunnan, there is the “golden silkworm Gu,” also known as the “brocade-eating insect.”

2. What Are the Symptoms of Being Cursed with Gu?

In folk tradition, the Gu art can disrupt a person’s essence, qi, and spirit, causing an imbalance of yin and yang and chaotic qi flow, leading to various abnormal manifestations.

1. Sluggish Movements and a Lost Soul

This symptom is the most recognizable and is a classic sign of possession in folk belief. An elder once described his neighbor’s condition: “The person moved as if walking through water, all actions slowed. Most strangely, when someone called from behind, it took him a long time to slowly turn his head. His body did not move, and his gaze was rigid, as if his soul had not yet returned.”

This is what Taoist medicine calls the state of “soul and spirit not connecting.” The Huangting Jing states that the human body has three souls and seven spirits; the soul governs the spirit, and the spirit governs the physical form. When afflicted by evil arts, the connection between the soul and the physical body becomes weak and sluggish. The consciousness wishes to turn, but the physical form cannot respond in time, hence the mechanical, stiff, and slow appearance. It is not the weakness of ordinary illness, but a sense of “emptiness” stripped of life’s essence—clear evidence of evil qi severing the connection between form and spirit.

2. Gu Insects Moving Inside and Flying Out

After being cursed, one may feel Gu insects crawling throughout the body, with itching skin and a sensation of being bitten. The insects gather under the belly, and when pinched, hard lumps can be felt. Some patients can hear the insects’ sounds, and sometimes they bite through the skin and fly out, even from clothing. They resemble fleas in size, slightly longer, and are black.

3. Mental Confusion and Restless Spirit

Those afflicted often show mental fatigue, dull expression, sluggish thinking, frequent nightmares and waking at night, difficulty sleeping, and even wandering eyes, as if the spirit is not at peace.

4. Unexplained Physical Weakness

Folk belief holds that those cursed often experience loss of appetite, mental exhaustion, weakness in limbs, and chest and abdominal discomfort. Over time, vitality diminishes, complexion becomes dull, and energy gradually declines.

3. How to Resolve the Gu Art?

If it is a genuine Gu curse, there are usually two ways to resolve it.

First, the person who cast the Gu can personally retract it and undo the spell. Since the Gu art was performed by them, they are most familiar with the method of removal; after the spell is lifted, the afflicted can gradually recover.

Second, a high-ranking Taoist master with legitimate lineage, deep cultivation, and pure skill can set up an altar and perform orthodox Taoist rituals, such as pacing the Big Dipper, writing talismans, chanting incantations, petitioning the deities, and conducting liturgical ceremonies. These rites strengthen the righteous and expel evil, harmonize yin and yang, and restore the balance of essence, qi, and spirit.

Conclusion

Taoism often says: “When the Tao is high, dragons and tigers submit; when virtue is heavy, ghosts and spirits revere.” In the face of mysterious matters like “Gu,” there is no need for panic. Understanding it is to illuminate it; dispelling confusion with the light of righteous faith is to help all beings return to the pure and natural essence.

May all faithful practitioners constantly hold the holy name of the Heavenly Worthy, harbor a spirit of righteousness, and remain impervious to all evils. Boundless blessings, Heavenly Worthy.

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