Happy Halloween! I thought it might be fun to share a little acupuncture theory on this holiday. Did you know there are a set of points called ghost points? These were first written about by the 7th century Chinese physician Sun Si-Miao. He was considered China’s king of medicine in the Sui and Tang dynasties.
Sun Si-Miao came up with this list of ghost points to help treat mental health conditions. At the time, mental health conditions were thought to be caused by the possession of spirits, hence the name ghost points. Many of the points share functions of clearing heat, wind, and phlegm, and anchoring yang qi. They can help calm anxiety and dizziness, and in more extreme cases can be used to treat mania, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.
Here is a list of the points and their corresponding names. Oftentimes, the name of an acupuncture point can tell you a lot about its location and/or function in the body. What do you think about these points based on their names?
DU-16 Ghost Pillow
DU-23 Ghost Hall
DU-26 Ghost Palace
Ren-1 Ghost Store
Ren-24 Ghost Market
LU-11 Ghost Faith
LI-11 Ghost Leg
ST-6 Ghost’s Bed
SP-1 Ghost Fortress
PC-7 Ghost Heart
PC-8 Ghost Cave
UB-62 Ghost Path
Guifeng (extra point) Ghost Seal
Sources:
Deadman, P., Al-Khafaji, M., & Baker, K. (2015). A manual of acupuncture.