Almost always paired as
天灵灵,
地灵灵 ("spirits of heaven, spirits of earth") — the standard opening of a Chinese folk-Daoist incantation, often followed by a deity's name. Hugely familiar from kung-fu films, ghost movies and zombie comedies (
僵尸片), where Taoist priests chant it while throwing yellow paper talismans (
黄符). The English equivalent is "abracadabra."
