Page 188 has a section on Buenos Aires that Murphy and Billy briefly discuss, and there's a paragraph of Will's text from the sticky note in the entry. It doesn't seem like Billy is repeating the text because I don't think the letter writer would have used the word "totally."

Thanks, guys. This was really helpful. I'll report back to DM. If anyone still wants to add their 2 cents though, feel free.

How concerned are you with authenticity? Are you looking for a strong visual, or do you want the proper name attached to the technique? Or would someone suggesting youtube videos be more what you need?

I ask because Taiji doesn't really use five element theory. There are ideological correlations that have formed over time, but they're superfluous to the actual practice.

If you want, I can explain the Shísān shì (the core thirteen 'postures' of taiji) and point out which correlates with what trigram/element (this is a useful overview, but lacks the trigram/elemental correlations) and how they're used to generate the 26 or so postures you commonly see in forms, but that's going to be a long, boring post without knowing exactly what you're looking for. Lavecki121 linked to a breakdown of the Beijing 24 form (this is a complete run-through of the form).

You may also want to look into the Jiǔzì yìn. It isn't taiji, but it is a Daoist practice that uses mudra, and that article has the hand positions as well as the corresponding mantra. However, mudra/mantra are outside my field of expertise, so that's all I'll say about them.

Sorry for the long delay. My mom just got diagnosed with cancer so I've been kinda busy.

I'm mostly looking for the proper name for the technique, but I'd like to be able to show the GM a video or diagram or something in case it's relevant to the story somehow.

 I would like those forms if you don't mind, but I probably won't be able to come back to look into them for a while, so if you don't feel like it, I understand.

Do you mind if I ask why? Are you going to be doing them at the table?

I won't do them at the table, but it helps me get a good visual in my head, and being able to name specific poses helps in the creation of aspects. Plus I just like the idea of using authentic ones.

You don't normally see the phrase "mudra" used in Tai Chi.  Mudra is a Sanskrit word used in Hinduism and Buddhism to denote a hand gesture with particular meanings that are intended to help bring about certain states of mind.  So you'll definitely see them in yoga, which has roots in Hinduism.  Tai Chi, on the other hand, has roots in Chinese Martial Arts and Taoism.  The forms that I've learned in Tai Chi are not just hand gestures, but dynamic movements, instead of just static postures like in Yoga, that involve the whole body.  So to use Yoga terminology they'd be mudras and asanas at the same time ... kinda.

Chinese medicine also doesn't really use the chakras.  Instead it talks about the meridians, or channels of chi that run through the body.

As for the elements, I know medical chi gong talks about the wu hsing and the five elements, but the style of Tai Chi I take doesn't really delve into those very much.

Are you perhaps interested in the names of the different forms?  They're very poetic, like "Parting the Wild Horse's Mane", "Grasping the Swallow's Tail", "Needle at the Bottom of the Ocean" etc.

Sure, do you have a resource for those?

I am mixing cultures a lot, I understand. My character is sort of New Age that way. I wanted to use sort of authentic parts, but I understand the end result won't be similar to anything in real-life.

do you need like "DICE MECHANICS" help, or are you just looking for HOW she does it Story wise?

Story. I like the idea of mystic poses and stuff to channel energy (think Avatar, I guess) but I feel like there should be another component.

I was thinking of maybe having her use mudras for evocation and moving forms for thaumaturgy, but I haven't really found the right spice to top it all off with yet.

Also in the anime Naruto, they use hand signs to represent different spells that they cast. Could look into that too.

Not to knock Naruto, but they didn't really try too hard to be authentic with that series. I mean, the main character is a ninja who goes around wearing emergency orange and a reflective headband. Plus jutsus are more or less super powers or magic spells in that series, and not tricky slight-of-hand ones you'd expect from a ninja. So I really gotta pass on that one. Thanks for trying, though.

Hi guys!

Basically, I have a character who uses 7 elements and unlocks them successively by unblocking her chakras. In-game, this basically amounts to buying Refinement a lot. (I know this is an unusual number and completely unnecessary; please don't get distracted by this.)

I have the elements arranged around a 7-pointed star and I treat them like the elements in Wu Xing: they have a constructive and a controlling cycle.

Now, my character is a tattoo artist with the star sort of built into the floor of the tattoo parlour, with representations of an element at each point (incense for fire, for example). I picture her sitting or standing on this star (when the shop is closed and/or prior to opening) and doing her thaumaturgic rituals.

What I'm having trouble with is coming up with the steps to her rituals.

Two things that really intrigued me were Tai Chi's elemental steps, and mudras, which are gestures you do to help you unblock chakras.

I keep finding references to the fact that Tai Chi uses some mudras, but can't find any information on which ones, which forms they're used in, etc. Everyone seems to know that they're involved somehow, but that's it.

Also, there aren't a whole lot of resources depicting pictures of people doing Tai Chi elemental forms. I keep finding resources on which direction you're supposed to step with each element, but not which forms to use.

Anybody here have greater Google-fu than me? I'd appreciate the help.

Also, other ideas on what to include in the rituals are welcome.