Shrine of Hsi Wang Mu

Hanging in the air above the table, is a smokeless, incensed oil lamp burning brightly. The silk cloths covering the table are embroidered with depictions of cranes and tortoises. There are five jade statuettes of ladies in ancient Chinese royal attire arranged around the Book. On the wall behind the table hangs a fantastic silk tapestry with a dazzling image of the Phoenix upon it.

Written in the Book are these words:

Hsi Wang Mu: Goddess of Longevity. Goddess of Life. Goddess of Immortality. Goddess of Autumn. Goddess of Plague. Goddess of Death. Queen of the Western Heaven. Golden Mother of the Tortoise.

Quite fittingly, the Goddess of Longevity has been worshipped without break since prehistoric times. Hsi Wang Mu governs the length of Life. She can grant the boon of longevity, and even immortality. But Hsi Wang Mu also determines when death comes. She is the Goddess of Autumn, and in that role also determines when Winter arrives. She controls the life of all things, animate and inanimate. She also controls the remembrance of things, the lasting power of things. Hsi Wang Mu rules the Western Heaven, and usually resides either in the K'un Lun Mountains or in the Hindukush. She is known to have visited Humanity twice -- in 985 BC to visit the Emperor Mu, and in the second century BC to visit the Emperor Wu Ti.

Hsi Wang Mu's benevolent depiction is as a splendid and elderly Queen attended by the Five Jade Ladies, usually against a backdrop of great mountains, the setting sun and a starry sky. Her malevolent depiction is as a fierce cat-like Woman with feline fangs and tail. Hsi Wang Mu is also depicted at times as a Warrior of Death, and as The Phoenix. Her sacred animal is the Crane -- which is also a symbol of longevity. The Tortoise is special to Her also, as the Tortoise embodies the universe, winter and death. Her music is that of the harp, flute and wind chime. Her gem is jade. Dzivaguru is heard in the Whisper of the Western Wind. She is seen in the Wisdom of Age, the Stateliness of the Crane, the Fire that bursts anew, the Inevitableness of the Tortoise, the Pounce of the Cat, the Carnage of the Battlefield and the Terribleness of The Plague.