What are the five poisons?

Five poisons refer to centipedes, poisonous snakes, scorpions, geckos and toads.

The "five poisons" in ancient folklore of the Central Plains are five kinds of animals, which should be centipedes, poisonous snakes, scorpions, geckos and toads. After Grain Rain, the temperature rose, and pests and diseases entered a high growth period. In order to reduce the harm of pests to crops and people, farmers put up grain rain stickers to kill pests while entering the fields, and prayed to exorcise Naji.

This custom is very popular in Shandong, Shanxi and Shaanxi. Lao Tianjinwei once had a custom of the Dragon Boat Festival, that is, eating five poison cakes quickly, carving different shapes in a mold, carving five "poison" patterns inside, steaming and baking. People cut the five poisons into images with colored paper (that is, paper-cut), or stick them on doors, windows, walls, kang, or tie them on children's arms to avoid poison.

The moral of the five poisons:

Scolope means to ward off evil spirits and protect peace, toad means wealth, scorpion means wealth, snake means children and grandchildren, and spider means contentment. Every animal has its own meaning. Carving the five poisons together on a jade carving is to combine their respective meanings and better represent auspiciousness.

The five poisonous shapes in jade carving generally refer to: scorpion, snake, centipede, spider and toad. Carved together, it is called "five poisons". The ancients in China believed that poison could kill viruses. Wearing highly toxic carved jade ornaments can ward off evil spirits, fight poison with poison, and all poisons will not invade, which means avoiding evil spirits and disasters and keeping peace forever. There are also individual carvings, and the meanings of individual carvings are different.