Statues on a Taoism altar are bodies for the gods. It’s very simple. Just like how you believed in a god, but the god is just an imaginary and non-physical thing, it needs a physical object to contain all those energies. Ever heard of people just saying “I love you” but never gifted a thing to the lady they like? That’s all-empty talk, buy me something and we will go from there! Statues are needed for the gods to be born in this world. Without a balloon, air cannot be held; without a statue, a god cannot be created because that “energy” to be held inside is the energy from your heart, the energy of faith.
How did it Started
It’s very simple, people just made it up. There is a belief of something, then faith is put into a name, for example, this god is call ABC. Then because of the different powers that people give it (like how you create a novel character), oh this god can kill evils with the sword, eat the ghost with his big belly, etc. Then soon, artist got an idea and made a character out of this profile. People liked it and started using it as their statue for the god they believe and put faith into.
Taoism statue is the same too. Look at the statues out there, they all look like the same face with different color hair, maybe just a change of the shape of the eyebrow, or maybe add a magical tool, or maybe different armor, it’s just like a modular design. Doesn’t matter, it works, even your statue looks like Chuck Norris it will work too. The fact is, statue is just a body, to contain that god of yours, and it will work no matter how it looks, as long as you believe your gods and have faith in it. Some people are very stubborn and want to get the “perfect design” – seriously, don’t bother. Any design works as long as you say it fits and the god is being believed. It’s just a representative, like how you can choose a “profile picture” when you go on those forums on the internet, sometimes they have like a bunch of faces for you to choose from. None of them look like you, but it’s fine, we know it’s you behind it!
Power of Statues
The statues allow your energy of faith to be stored into a body, which creates the spiritual embryo (Sun Toy 神胎) and this will be matured up over time and become a god that stays at your local altar.
Once the god is matured and fully developed, it will be able to communicate with you, listen to your mind, and then give you help when you need. For example, you could be very stuck about an essay you are typing, then you can go tell your god about it. Soon after, you will have new ideas flowing in like some kind of magic happened – your god is helping you!
Gods cannot help you clean the house like a Roomba does, but it can give you a lot of power to help you solve problems or avoid problems in life. Gods are there to help people to have a better future, to see and discover new avenues in life, and to make your life brighter and more positive. No matter what religion or practice, they are all going for the same goal.
How to Start My Statue
Starting your own statue is very easy, you need to know what is the god that you believe in. First, you need a name. Second, you need to give it some information and profile it – like a story or something that tells you, its power. Then third, you need a body which is the statue. Start applying a daily disciplined ritual to it like doing incense offerings and such, and within 3 months your statue will be matured and become a god of its own. HOWEVER….however. There is a risk.
Please read the article on consecration of statue to continue this fun journey, or you can feel free to ordain to learn more! :)
