Commentary on Chapter Six The Valley Spirit never dies. It is called the Primordial, mysterious Feminine. The gate of this primordial, mysterious Feminine is the foundation from which Heaven and Earth sprang. Continuous being, uninterrupted, immortal. The Mother’s subtle existence is creative without effort, Draw upon her as you will, this ever flowing essence. By C.L. Babcook The sixth chapter of the Dao De Jing, I believe, is a statement of Daoist cosmogony in mythic imagery. To understand this cosmogony we must reflect upon the notion of the Valley Spirit. Upon our initial reading of the first line, “The Valley Spirit never dies,” we might think that the Valley Spirit is some kind of primordial spirit that resides in a valley some place in China or someplace else upon the earth. We know that throughout the ancient world different areas were believed to be inhabited with various kinds of spirits or energy vibrations. Sacred places, for example Stonehenge in England, Charles Cathedral in France, Tai Mountain in China, etc., had qualitative different energies or spiritual presences from such places as the Tower of London, Nazi concentration camps, or certain deserts in the The Empty Vessel — Page 28
world which were felt to have negative spirits or vibrations. According to Daoist tradition the earth had “dragon veins” which were energetic lines that crossed the planet. Dragon veins plus an area’s energetic history leave their vibrations on a place. Because of this some areas were felt to be more alive than other places. Some places felt positive and uplifted a person’s spirits; other places were felt to be negative and foreboding, perhaps even dangerous. With this idea in mind one could speak of the spirit or spirits of a specific valley or any other area. I suggest this is not what is meant by the opening line of chapter six; the Valley Spirit here reference is not simply a spirit of an earthly valley. That the Valley Spirit is not the spirit of any earthly place is made clear in the second line of chapter six:
