Daoist Deity Lineage Illustrated Compendium and Complete Book of Precious Invocations and True Words - Three Purities and Four Sovereigns · Great Emperor Zhenwu · Lord Guan the Wealth Deity · Tai Sui Star Lords
A comprehensive analysis of the eighteen great Daoist deities and the Dharma-protecting holy ones of the heavens: the Three Purities Daoist Patriarchs, the Jade Emperor, Doumu Yuanjun, Xiwangmu, Xuantian Shangdi, Emperor Guan, and the Civil and Martial Wealth Deities. Explore the deities' sacred forms, Taiji transformation and generation, divine offices and destiny governance, and the cultivation mind-methods of Heaven-Man resonance.
The Supreme Three Purities and the Primordial Ancestor of the Great Void
Supreme Primordial Creator Progenitors
The Three Pure Daoist Patriarchs (Three Pure Ones)
三清The Jade Purity Yuanshi Tianzun, the Supreme Purity Lingbao Tianzun, and the Grand Purity Daode Tianzun are primordial manifestations of the Great Dao, governing the Taiji and the myriad transformations.
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Supreme of the Heavenly Court, Lord of All Gods
Jade Emperor Great Heavenly Venerable (Jade Emperor)
玉帝The central nexus governing the Three Realms and Ten Directions, the Four Births and Six Paths, and all gods and immortals; oversees life, death, reward, and punishment in the Three Realms.
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Mother of the Ziwei Stars
Doumu Yuanjun (Mother of the Dipper)
斗姆Mother of the Nine Emperor Star Lords and all the stars of the Big Dipper. She has three eyes, four heads, and eight arms, governing the fortunes and lifespans of all beings under heaven, prolonging life, and dissolving calamities.
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Supreme Yin Sovereign Matriarch of Female Immortals
Queen Mother of the West
王母Sovereign of Kunlun, supreme mystery of extreme yin; all women in heaven and on earth who attain the Dao and ascend to immortality must first pay homage to the Queen Mother of the West.
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Qinghua Great Emperor Who Hears Cries and Relieves Suffering
Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun (Taiyi Jiuku)
太乙Riding a nine-colored lotus and a nine-lion throne, emitting a hundred billion auspicious rays, universally saving all suffering and afflicted sentient beings in the hells, the underworld, and the mortal realm.
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Incarnation of the Celestial Worthy of the Way and Its Virtue
Supreme Old Lord (Lord Laozi)
老君Patriarch of the Human Dao, author of the five-thousand-word Daodejing, who rode a green ox through Hangu Pass and transmitted the inner alchemy methods of longevity and non-action.
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Demon-Subduing War Gods and the Heavenly Court's Martial Guards and Dharma Protectors
Northern Demon-Sweeping Heavenly Worthy
Xuantian Shangdi, the True Martial Great Emperor (Zhenwu Emperor)
真武Treading on a tortoise and snake, with unbound hair and sword in hand, he is the primordial sage of the Northern Xuanwu, specially tasked with sweeping away all demons and unjust malevolent qi from the human world.
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Goddess of War and Qimen Strategy
Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady Yuanjun (Nine Heavens Maiden)
玄女The founding teacher of ancient Qimen Dunjia, Liuren divine divination, and talisman magic; the divine mentor of the Yellow Emperor in his battle against Chiyou.
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Great Emperor Who Subdues Demons of the Three Realms and Martial God of Wealth
Lord Guan (Guansheng Dijun)
关公Embodies loyalty, righteousness, benevolence, and courage; governs destiny and fortune, protects merchants, subdues demons and monsters, and his majesty has awed China's ancient Taoist altars for millennia.
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Head of the Zhengyi Principal Wealth Deities
True Lord of the Mystic Altar Zhao Gongming (Marshal Zhao)
财神Black Tiger Mystic Altar, iron whip and gold ingot, commanding the four celestial officials—Recruiting Treasures, Receiving Rarities, Attracting Wealth, and Profiting Trade—presiding over the welcoming of auspiciousness and fortune throughout the world.
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Foremost Taoist Guardian Deity
Dutian Inspector Wang Lingguan (Marshal Wang)
灵官With three eyes he discerns good and evil; with his golden whip he subdues heavenly demons. The first hall of every Taoist temple's mountain gate is certain to enshrine Wang Lingguan.
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Natal and Annual Tai Sui Deity
Sixty Jiazi Tai Sui Star Lords (Tai Sui)
太岁The sovereign who governs the good and bad fortune and longevity destiny of the mortal world for one year; one cycle every sixty years, taking turns to guard the world.
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Wenchang, Scholarly Honors, and the Blessings of Immortals and Perfected Beings
Deity Governing Literary Fortune, Fame, and Merit
Wenchang Lord
文昌Governs literary fortune, fame, wealth, and imperial examinations throughout the world; controls the Cassia Register and the Immortal Roll, and blesses scholars and students with great wisdom.
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Folk Carefree Perfected Immortal Full Pantheon
Upper Cave Eight Immortals (Eight Immortals)
八仙Lü Dongbin, Han Zhongli, Iron Crutch Li, Zhang Guolao, He Xiangu, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, and Cao Guojiu, representing that men and women, old and young, rich and poor, noble and lowly can all attain the Dao.
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City and Land Deity of Yin-Yang Justice
Revered City God (City God)
城隍Yin Emperor overseeing a city's underworld judiciary, rewarding good and punishing evil, managing soul arrest warrants, and maintaining yin-yang balance within the territory.
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Local guardian deity of the soil and grain
Fude Zhengshen Tudigong (Earth God)
土地The most warmhearted earth deity, overseeing rural fields and land, household peace, and a locale's small fortunes.
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Head Chef and Director of Fate, Head of the Household
Eastern Kitchen Director of Fate, Nine-Spirit Primordial King, Kitchen God (Kitchen God)
灶君Resides permanently in every family's kitchen, overseeing the good and evil words and deeds of the men and women of the household, and at year's end ascends to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor.
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Heavenly Physician of the Great Dao Who Practices Medicine to Save the World
Baosheng Dadi, Daoist Master Wu (Emperor Baosheng)
保生The miracle-working physician Wu Tao of the Song Dynasty ascended and attained the Dao. He is known as the 'Boundless Longevity Emperor Baosheng' and is dedicated to eradicating plagues and serious difficult diseases among mortals.
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Common Knowledge on Daoist Deities and Cultivation
What is the essential difference between the Daoist system of deities and Western religions?
Daoism upholds “The Dao follows nature, and Heaven and humanity are one.” Deities and immortals are not illusory divine punishers, but symbols of transcendence arising from certain objective qi principles within Heaven and Earth, or from ordinary people who do good deeds, establish merit, accumulate virtue, and attain the Dao. Everyone possesses Dao-nature; cultivation is resonating with the frequency of the deities and immortals.
How should one choose a patron deity that corresponds to one's own birth chart?
You can match according to the favorable and useful elements in the BaZi and the Five Elements of the Day Master: those lacking Fire may worship Jiutian Xuannü; those with weak Wood may attune to Wenchang Dijun; those whose destiny carries the Seven Killings may cultivate the path of Zhenwu subduing demons; in a year when one offends Tai Sui, one should respectfully worship that year’s Tai Sui Star Lord to harmonize the magnetic field of the annual fortune.