`  == The Wide World of Daoism ==  Daoism may be any of the following;  1)  A school of philosophy, strictly philosophy, as a means for understanding spiritual matters and for a different perception of the world.  2)  It can be religious, and employ the worship of various gods through the use of idols.  3)  It is also known for sorcery; the idea of the 5 elements, earth, fire, water, metal and wood, and their manipulation, are as old as China itself in fact even older.  Ultimately all witchcraft regardless of region, originated from Shamanism.  The branch of Daoism that deals with sorcery, in fact has its origins in Chinese shamanism before ``China's ascent from the darkness`` (``darkness`` e.g. ignorance).  One of the errors made regarding Daoism, is how it is seen as a single system, when in fact, different branches of it can be as different from each other, as night and day.  For example, even though Daoist philosophy urges simplicity, Daoist sorcery, involves heavy ritualization, the humming of various sounds through the practice of Chi Kung, etc.  In other words an accusation may be thrown as mystical Daoism, as not being TRUE Daoist philosophy because of the heavy ritualization that makes it far from simple.  Not a personal opinion, just an illustration.  However, because there are branches of Daoism that deal with mysticism, they are worth a mention.  Additionally, even withing ``magical`` Daoism there are different beliefs.  For example, as with ``traditional`` witchcraft, there is the use of familiars.  However, some forms of mystical oriented Daoism worship Shangdi (``the one true God``) and hold the claim that all comes from Shangdi.  Now, mind, worship of Shangdi does not imply, it is an Abrahamic faith; the rites, rituals and prayers are totally different.  Moreover, because the worship of Shangdi in China has always been influenced by Daoism, it is nowhere near as dogmatic, as merciless, towards ``heressy.``  In fact, most Chinese religions have no concept of ``heressy.``  I am starting to soapbox here, so I'll stop typing; please look into Daoist magical practices and consider expanding the article.    stardingo747`