Her journal entries list, "Poppy Demon Invocation" for use in, "Chasing the Dragon."  This is described as a ritual and social practice of soaking a measured (weighed) ball of opium in absinthe, placing it an offering spoon, then pouring a small amount of absinthe in the spoon to,"sauté the ball of dope" before it would be smoked either in a pipe or by heating the spoon and inhaling the smoke through a pipe.  Although done socially at their in house lounge, they would also, "Chase the Dragon" in a religious invocation of "The Poppy Demon."

She also makes numerous entries concerning these sessions attracting, "a good number of life energies and manifestations that will linger in the reflections."

Later entries urge caution in making eye contact with unknown apparitions and caution the use of this invocation by "the feint of heart and inexperienced."

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Antique Burmese Weizza Mercury Bronze Hotei Buddha on Qilin Turtle Opium Den Weight

Weizza

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, for the most part...

A weizza or weikza is an immortal, supernatural wizarding mystic in Buddhism in Burma associated with esoteric and occult practices such as recitation of spells, samatha, mysticism and alchemy.  The goal of this practice is to achieve immortality and the state of the Weizza, who awaits the appearance of the future Buddha, Metteya.

Weikza practices are less common than merit-making practices or vipassana meditation.  During the socialist era from 1962 to 1988, Ne Win banned secret weizza associations, weizza magazines and literature, and portrayals of weizza from films and other media, considering them a threat to his regime.  Weizza have made a resurgence since 1988, particularly following the abolition of the national censorship board in 2012.  Burmese pagodas often house weizza shrines, where they are venerated for their spiritual purity and their devotion to those in need.  Weizza teachers have also amassed hundreds of thousands of followers using social media.

Etymology

The word weizza comes from the Pali word vijja, which means “knowledge” or “wisdom” and is distantly related to the English word "wizard."

Weizzas in the Historical Tradition

Famous Yogis and Wizards from Myanmar

Aside from epigraphs, there are no local Indic or vernacular compositions that have been securely dated to pre-Pagan Burma.  However, there are some later attributions of texts that were written during the first millennium.  One such example is the Kappala kara, a vijjadhara ("weikza") text said to have been written by the bhikkhu Uttamasiri during the first century CE.  The text survives in an 18th-century Pali-Burmese nissaya version (which attributes the text to Uttamasiri in its colophon) compiled by Taungdwin Sayadaw Ña abhidhammala kara.

In Myanmar, there are two classes of wizards; the sôns and the weizzas.  The former are considered a bane to society, while the latter spend their days helping the common folk and undoing the curses brought upon by the sôns.  The commonly known weizzas known today first appeared during the Konbaung dynasty, when Bo Bo Aung, a monk in Sagaing, discovered manuscripts revealing the secrets of weizza.  However, many recognized weizzas today come from before the Konbaung dynasty.  This was the last dynasty to rule Burma before colonial rule.  Before weizzas, there were the Zawgyi and Yawgi.  The Zawgyi were wizards who were written about in Burmese literature, while the Yawgi were Buddhist yogis who lead ascetic lives and wore brown robes.  They followed eight to ten precepts of Buddhism, whereas most laymen follow five.

Weizzas are divided into four major orders: The Pyada Weizza, who work with mercury, the Than Weizza, who work with iron, the Se Weizza, who specialize in medicine and the In Weizza, who specialize in yantra signs and squares.

Among these, the Than and In are considered the most powerful.  The Pyada Weizza, or Mercury Wizards, also study alchemy in order to produce gold and silver from more common metals.  The Than Weizzas are considered by their followers as masters of not only their subject, but also as medical advisers.

Purported Abilities

Among their powers, weizzas possess the ability to see past lives, see and hear things that are far away, read minds, teleport, dive into the earth, walk on water, and be in multiple places simultaneously.  Powerful practitioners of the weizzas’ way are purported to live for centuries, even choosing the time of their next reincarnation.  The In Weizza, who work with cabalistic squares, use one's birth date and time to create powerful charms and spells.  In The Burman, Sir J. George Scott described some squares and charms so powerful that they could set a house ablaze.  Others, engraved in stone and embedded in one's skin, would prevent drowning.  Merely scratching an in in a house or tree could cause lightning to strike it.

Weizza Grimoires

Two traditional manuscripts contain rudimentary guidelines on the practices of weizzas: the Bedin and the Deittôn.  The latter is a book on astrology and cabalistic science.  Containing just basic principles of the art of weizzas, the teachings in these texts are often surpassed by the weizza's own individual study and personal advancement.  However, these books were once complete, many having been burned by religious zealots in the time of the last Buddha. The remains were spared from the fire by Devadatta, the cousin of Shin Gautama.  Devadatta was always plotting against Shin Gautama, so he saved portions of the old science.  Thus, this style of learning is looked upon with suspicion by many religious folk.

Medical Remedies

Weizza prescriptions may be composed of chili powder, cloves, and ginger for fevers to earth-oil infused with seeds, bark, leaves, flowers, roots, and minerals.  Weizzas are specially adept with pills and powders, which are carried in bright red phials made of heavily scented bamboo.  These ingredients are gathered with attention to the phases of the moon and placement of the constellations.  Another potent ingredient in the weizza's cabinet is meteoric stones, which can be gathered within three days of lightning striking a piece of earth and are used as ophthalmic medicine.  Weizzas seldom use liquids in their practice of medicine.

Medical Philosophies

Two schools of thought exist in weizza medicine:

The datsayas, whose primary focus is on diets and the beindawsayas, who work with potent drugs

In both schools, the human body is divided into four elements (dats): earth (patawi dat), fire (tezaw dat), water (apaw dat), and air (wayaw dat). Some practitioners also include ether (akatha), though this element is disregarded by doctors.

Earth: the flesh, bones, hair, intestines, etc.

Fire: eating, drinking, chewing, and licking.

Water: the fat, blood, bile, spittle, mucus, etc.

Air: the six kinds of winds.

Modern Perception of Weizzas

Weizza following still exists in Myanmar, though the socialist government during the Ne Win era suppressed this ideology.  The former government forbade the publication of weizza materials and selling of weizza prints, which are popular in household altars. Even so, weizza followers abound.  There exist exclusive groups of weizza devotees called gaing.  These groups follow a set of tenets, are headed by a charismatic leader, and center their devotion on one or more weizza saints.

A list of Notable Weizzas

Bo Bo Aung

Bo Min Gaung

Kyaikhtisaung Sayadaw

Yatkansin Taung Sayadaw

Setkya Mintha

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Hotei Buddha on Qilin in Abhaya Mudra

We believe these weights were made by three associated Weizza, one of which was the opium den owner in San Francisco exile.   They were used to weigh precious metals, opium and other ingredients they used in their practices which included spell casting and invocations.

This is a rare depiction in the form of an opium weight.  It measures approximately 1 9/16" x 1 1/16" x 1 9/16" and weighs 2.3 oz., (64.3 grams).

This image presents approximately 30% of its area with bronze disease that will eventually consume it in an overall green bronze patina.  It is described as crystalline mold growth, Naga Buddha Dust and sne kbouddhadast!  Curious, we did some research on the regional manufacturing process or anything pertaining to this as a Holy Relic.  We came up with nothing.

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HoTei Buddha

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Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia tells us...

Qilin

The qilin is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or death of a sage or illustrious ruler.  Qilin are a specific type of the lin mythological family of one-horned beasts.  The qilin also appears in the mythologies of other Chinese-influenced cultures.

Origins

The earliest mention of the mythical qilin is in the poem Lín zhi zhi; 'Feet of the Lin' included in the Classic of Poetry (11th – 7th c. BCE).  Spring and Autumn Annals mentioned that a lin was captured in the 14th year of Duke Ai of Lu (481 CE); Zuo Zhuan credited Confucius with identifying the lin as such.

The bisyllabic form qilin, which carries the same generic meaning as lin alone, is attested in works dated to the Warring States period (475 – 221 BCE).  Qi denotes the male and lin denotes the female according to Shuowen Jiezi.

The legendary image of the qilin became associated with the image of the giraffe in the Ming dynasty.  The identification of the qilin with giraffes began after Zheng He's 15th-century voyage to East Africa (landing, among other places, in modern-day Somalia).  The Ming Dynasty bought giraffes from the Somali merchants along with zebras, incense, and various other exotic animals.  Zheng He's fleet brought back two giraffes to Nanjing and they were mistaken by the emperor for the mythical creature, with geri meaning giraffe in Somali.  The identification of qilin with giraffes has had a lasting influence: even today, the same word is used for the mythical animal and the giraffe in both Korean and Japanese.

Description

Qilin generally have Chinese dragon-like features: similar heads with antlers, eyes with thick eyelashes, manes that always flow upward, and beards. The body is fully or partially scaled and often shaped like an ox, deer, or horse, or more commonly a goat.  They are always shown with cloven hooves.  While dragons in China (and thus qilin) are also most commonly depicted as golden, qilin may be of any color or even various colors, and can be depicted as bejeweled or exhibiting a jewel-like brilliance.

The qilin is depicted throughout a wide range of Chinese art, sometimes with parts of their bodies on fire.

Legends tell that qilin have appeared in the garden of the legendary Yellow Emperor and in the capital of Emperor Yao; both events bore testimony to the benevolent nature of the rulers.  It has also been told that the birth of the great sage Confucius was foretold by the arrival of a qilin.

Qilin as Unicorns

In modern times, the depictions of qilin have often fused with the Western concept of unicorns. Qilin is often translated into English as "unicorn"; the Han dynasty dictionary Shuowen Jiezi describes qi as single-horned, and it can sometimes be depicted as having a single horn.  The translation, however, may be misleading, as qilin can also be depicted as having two horns.  In modern Chinese, "one-horned beast" (Dújiaoshòu) is used for "unicorns".  A number of different Chinese mythical creatures can be depicted with a single horn, and a qilin depicted with one horn may be called a "one-horned qilin" in Chinese.

Nevertheless, the mythical and etymological connections between the creatures have been noted by various cultural studies and even the Chinese government, which has minted silver, gold, and platinum commemorative coins depicting both archetypal creatures.

Other Cultural Representations

East Asia

Japan

Kirin, which has also come to be used as the modern Japanese word for a giraffe, are similar to qilin.  Japanese art tends to depict the kirin as more deer-like than in Chinese art.  Alternatively, it is depicted as a dragon shaped like a deer, but with an ox's tail instead of a lion's tail. They are also often portrayed as partially unicorn-like in appearance, but with a backwards curving horn.

Korea

Girin or kirin is the Korean form of qilin.  It is described as a maned creature with the torso of a deer, an ox tail with the hooves of a horse.  The girin were initially depicted as more deer-like, however over time they have transformed into more horse-like.  They were one of the four divine creatures along with the dragon, phoenix, and turtle.  Girin were extensively used in Korean royal and Buddhist arts.

In modern Korean, the term "girin" is used for "giraffe".

Southeast Asia

Thailand

In Thailand, the qilin is known as "gilen" and is a member of the pantheon of Thai Himapant forest mythical animals.  It is most probable that the Gilen was introduced into the pantheon under the influence of the Tai Yai who came down from Southern China to settle in Siam in ancient times, and the legend was probably incorporated into the Himapant legends of Siam in this manner. The Gilen is a mixture of various animals, which come from differing elemental environments, representing elemental magical forces present within each personified creature.  Many of the Himapant animals actually represent gods and devas of the Celestial Realms, and bodhisattvas, who manifest as personifications which represent the true nature of each creature deity through the symbolism of the various body parts amalgamated into the design of the Mythical creature.

In Phra Aphai Mani, the masterpiece epic poem of Sunthorn Phu, a renowned poet of the 18th century.  There is a monster that is Sudsakorn's steed, one of the main characters in the epic.  This creature was called "Ma Nin Mangkorn" ("ceylonite dragon horse"), it is depicted as it has diamond fangs, ceylonite scales, and a birthmark on the tongue.  It was a mixture of horse, dragon, deer antlers, fish scales, and Phaya Nak tail, with has black sequins all over.  Its appearance resembles a qilin.

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We only unwrapped these items for this photo session and no one has attempted to use them since they were recovered from this estate.  It is certainly an unusual antique Asian artifact with an extraordinary provenance, that is much nicer then the photographs have been able to depict.
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