Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West
2 min readIn Chinese folk culture，the Jade Emperor，the emperor of the supernatural pantheon，lives in the Jade and Pure Palace. In the Daoist supernatural circle，according to one version of Daoist mythology，the Jade Emperor is the executive ruler who ranks just below the one of the Three Pure Majesties.
Although the Emperor hasn’t attained the state of the highest accomplishments in the Daoist supernatural circle，he has great authority，commanding all the deities in Heaven，the Earth，and the Land of the Living.In addition，he supervises auspiciousness and inauspiciousness:the prosperity and decline of all things in the universe.
It is said that on the 25th day of the twelfth month in the Chinese Lunar year，the Jade Emperor descends to the world for an inspection tour，giving rewards or penalties to deities and mortals in accordance with their annual deeds.On that day，people usually burn incense at home and provide food offerings to the Jade Emperor.
Meanwhile，Zao Jun），the kitchen deity，makes his reports to the Emperor about each family’good and evil deeds.
The Jade Emperor’s birthday is said to be the ninth day of the first lunar month.His birthday celebration is called the Jade Emperor Ritual. On this day，all the deities arrive at the ritual and join the grand celebration.In the folk and Daoist temples where the grand ritual is held，incense is burnt and food offerings are given.
Queen Mother of the West
Xi Wangmu is known as the Queen Mother of the West.She is considered the highest female goddess in fairy and folklore stories，as well as in the Daoist pantheon.
Most scholars assert that the earliest description of the Queen Mother was recorded somewhere between the third and second centuries B.C.in The Book of Mountains and Seas. She was originally portrayed as a humanoid with tiger’s teeth and the tail of a leopard.In later descriptions，she turned into a beautiful goddess of life and immortality.
The Queen Mother is immortal and has celestial powers.She takes charge of all the female celestial beings in and under Heaven.She is seated upon a spiritual western mountain range where her palace is believed to be a perfect and complete paradise.The Queen Mother is always surrounded by a female retinue of prominent goddesses and spiritual attendants.It is said that she holds a pantao grand party in her palace，and many key celestial beings participate and taste pantao，the peaches of longevity in Chinese mythology.
Ever since the Ming Dynasty，the status of the Queen Mother has remained very high because of her popularity among many believers in folk circles.Many popular local shrines，as well as several Daoist temples，are dedicated to the Queen Mother as a symbol of longevity and eternal bliss.
