The Re-Arranged Family Shrine - 2026

UK: The Family Shrine Re-Arranged for the Passing of My Father! (18.6.2026)

Even if no member of a Chinese family has not trained in a formal spiritual order – incense will be regularly lit, and fresh flowers and fruit will be added every so many days. Of course, some shrines are kept-up at a greater degree than others – but this does not matter in the end. A family shrine is a door-way between one plane and another. It is a two-way structure that permits a solemn respect to traverse from the material realm into the immaterial realm – and allows a positive spiritual reality to emanate from the immaterial plane to the material realm. Today, I talked to my deceased father – and I did this via a photograph that my mother took and printed-out for me probably around 2010. The photograph was taken in the front garden of our old home at 2 Torbay Road, Torquay Road, Torquay, Devon (the shyster landlord took over a hundred thousand pounds in rent between 2002-2018 before applying a no-fault eviction because we requested a repair be made). As this was 16-years ago – my father would have been around 68-years old at the time. I suppose my father was at the peak of his power as an elderly person! Tomorrow we will collectively lit incense. It is the next stage of respectful mourning.

Mooncakes Are in Town! (22.9.2023)

In 2023 this will fall on Friday September 29th! This coincides with what is termed the ‘Chung Yeung’ Festival – where the graves of the ancestors are cleaned and tidied! In Putonghua this is pronounced as ‘Chong Yang’ (重陽) and refers to the ‘Double Nine’ attribute common in the Book of Changes (essentially a ‘double-yang’ line in a hexagram implying incredible good luck – doubled). What all this means – and there are many more stories – is that we eat Mooncakes and pay respect to our deceased ancestors – either at their graves or at a shrine – where incense-sticks are lit. Meanwhile, there is a beautiful woman, a Jade Rabbit and even a Master-Archer – who is able to shoot-down false ‘Moons’! Like most cultural aspects in traditional China – there is a complexity of integration, contradiction, paradox and reconciliation! The main point is to wish everybody Good Luck for the future!