The Golden Elixir

① The Elixir.

When the three familiesThe five agents are arranged into three sets ("families") that share a numerical value of 5:

① The first set is made of Water (1) and Metal (4)
② The second set is made of Fire (2) and Wood (3)
③ The third set only consists of Soil (5)

The “five” are first reduced to “three” by reintegrating Wood into Fire and Metal into Water. The “three” are then reduced to “one” by conjoining Fire and Water through the mediation of Soil.

See this table for some of the main correspondences in Neidan.The five agents are arranged into three sets that share a numerical value of 5:

① The first set is made of Water (1) and Metal (4)
② The second set is made of Fire (2) and Wood (3)
③ The third set only consists of Soil (5)

The “five” are first reduced to “three” by reintegrating Wood into Fire and Metal into Water. The “three” are then reduced to “one” by conjoining Fire and Water through the mediation of Soil.

See this table for some of the main correspondences in Neidan. see one another, the Infant coalesces. 三家相見結嬰兒。 Comm. Liu Yiming: When the four images join one another, and when the five agents gather together, then Nature, Emotions, Essence, Breath, and Spirit coagulate and coalesce one with the other. … It is called the Infant, the One Breath prior to Heaven, the Embryo of Sainthood, the Golden Elixir. 和合四象，攢簇五行，則性、情、精、氣、神凝結。… 名曰嬰兒，又曰先天一氣，又曰聖胎，又曰金丹。

What is the Embryo of Sainthood? What has no substance generates substance and coalesces into the Embryo of Sainthood. It is carefully protected for ten months, as does a woman who is pregnant for the first time, or a little dragon that learns how to nourish its pearl. 問聖胎。答曰，無質生質，結成聖胎，辛勤保護十月，如幼女之初懷孕，似小龍之乍養珠。

In the blink of an eye, Qian ☰ and Kun ☷ become one, and Spirit and Breath conjoin. They coalesce and form the Reverted Elixir, which is the Embryo of Sainthood. 片餉之間，乾坤合一，神炁交會，結成還丹，以為聖胎。

② An image of the Center.

The Embryo of Sainthood is the Central Palace. 〔中宮：〕聖胎。