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The
Queen Mother of the West
Origin of the Queen Mother of the West
The Queen Mother of the West1
is popularly called Auntie Queen Mother2,
Granny of the West3, Queen Mother4,
Golden Mother4 and Golden Mother Primordial Sovereign5.
Her complete names are 'Nine-Soul Supreme Perfect Golden Mother
and Primordial Sovereign of the Jade Tortoise Platform'6,
'Nine-Phoenix Supreme Perfect Queen Mother of the West of
the Jade Tortoise Platform'7,
and 'Primordial Sovereign Golden Mother of the Supreme Numinous
White Rays of the Tortoise Platform"8.
The name 'Queen Mother of the West' was first seen in the
Book of Mountains and Seas9.
West is the direction, and Queen Mother the name of the deity.
The Queen Mother of the West is a condensation of the Subtlest
Vital Breath of the Western Essence from the Vital Breath
of Dao of the Original Chaos. The deity, surnamed Hou, is
allocated the Western direction. The Intimate Biography
of the Wu Emperor of the Han Dynasty says that 'when she
entered a hall, the Queen Mother of the West wore bright gold
ornaments, numinous cloud ribbons, a shadow-cutting sword,
a supreme flower hair bun, a hat of supreme perfection, and
black-brimmed phoenix-patterned shoes. She looked about thirty
and was extremely beautiful." The Wu Emperor of Han accepted
her instruction and orders with great respect. The figure
of a human boy with tiger teeth and a cat's tail, mentioned
in the Book of Mountains and Seas, was an envoy of
the Queen Mother of the West and of the White Tiger spirit
of the West, but was not the Queen Mother of the West herself.
Mistress of Female Immortals
As the ancestor of Female Immortals9,
the Queen Mother of the West lives in the Kunlun Mountains,
in a city of one thousand miles with twelve jade mansions,
green light halls, nine-storey primordial chambers, and purple
and green elixir chambers. To the left is the Jade Lake, and
to the right are the Green Mountains. According to the Jottings
of Rarities and Miscellaneous Stories10,
there are peach trees by the Jade Lake which "bear fruit once
every 3000 years". All women who have attained immortality
in the three realms and ten directions, in Heaven or in the
human world, are under the rule of the Queen Mother of the
West.
Nourishing All Things
The Primordial
Lord of Heaven11 granted the
Queen Mother of the West the Register of the Tortoise Mountain's
Nine Rays of the Original Unity of Heaven12,
in order to command all spirits and perfected saints, and
put her in charge of the attendants of all heavens and the
inspection of higher saints. The Queen Mother of the West
and the Grandpa King of the East13
are parents of the Yin and Yang Vital Breaths of Dao14.
They administer the two Vital Breaths together and nourish
all things in Heaven and Earth. When the Yellow Emperor battled
with the cruel Chiyou, who could cause wind and rain and puff
out fog and smoke, the Queen Mother of the West sent the Mysterious
Maiden of the Nine Heavens15
to teach the Yellow Emperor the Strategy of the Three Palaces,
Five Agents and Yin and Yang16,
the Dipper Steps of Hidden Time and the Six Rens of Supreme
Oneness17, and the Writ of the
Five Talismans and Five Victories of the Numinous Treasure18.
Then the Yellow Emperor defeated Chiyou at middle Ji. After
Yu Shun succeeded to the throne, the Queen Mother of the West
sent envoys to grant him a white jade ring and a map, and
Shun thus expanded the Yellow Emperor's nine prefectures to
twelve perfectures.
Worship
in Temples
Owing to the story of the Queen Mother of the West giving
Emperor Wu big 3000-year peaches recorded in the Intimate
Biography of Emperor Wu, the Queen Mother of the West's
Peach Banquet19 is well-known
and popular among the people. The Queen Mother of the West,
always seen as a symbol of longevity for Daoists and ordinary
people, is the major divinity of the Golden Register Ritual
for Prolonging Life20. On the
Queen Mother of the West's holy birthday, the 3rd day of the
3rd lunar month or the 18th of the 7th month, Daoists, especially
women, gather in temples to hold birthday celebration rituals
for the Queen Mother of the West and to pray for their own
health and longevity.
Author:
Chen Yaoting
Translator: Luo Tongbing
Copy Editor: David Palmer
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