By definition, Taoism isn't exactly a religion, in that there is no direct worship of a god or deity. It's more of a philosophy set simply for one to live their life. That's about the most basic definition I could find.
I "dabbled" a little with Eastern philosophies in high school such as Buddhism, Shinto, and Taoism. Taoism stuck out to me the most in its never ending emphasis on balance. A Taoist is not afraid of darkness, but he knows not to get lost in it either. A Taoist recognizes his flaws and his own shadows just as he sees his left and right hand. Where there is light, there is shadows. Therefore a Taoist strives to find peace by going with the way of Tao (literally means "Way" or "The Way", as in a path.)*
I did not dedicate myself to Taoism because of it's passive nature, or at least what I perceived it to be through the author of a couple books I read. It seemed to me that the Taoist did not try and create his own destiny, he simply rode out the waves of life in peaceful, dignified grace. As romantic as that sounds, I got the idea that heavy amounts of solitude and meditation were encouraged, to the point of hermiting oneself (again, just going with the perception I got from a few authors) and I simply didn't have the time for that.
Still, the principle of harmony through balance has worked wonders for me with my current path, and I find myself using various Taoistic principles in spell craft. For example, one of the books I own called Everyday Tao by an author called Deng Ming-Dao (I can support a link if anyone requests) is basically a Taoist dictionary of sorts with about 200 words maybe (simple words grouped into different categories) and includes the Chinese character for it, which I then fashion into a rune.
I hope to gain some new knowledge and perspectives from people who possibly share similar philosophies or who have a knowledge in the field.
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