Queen Mother of the West (Xi Wangmu)

The Queen Mother of the West may have gone through the most dramatic image change of any deity.

In the earliest source, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, she is a half-divine, half-beast creature 'with a human face and tiger's teeth, a leopard's tail and wild hair,' living on Mount Kunlun and in charge of natural disasters and punishment — worlds apart from the kindly Queen Mother of later times. By the Warring States period, in the Tale of King Mu, Son of Heaven, the Queen Mother of the West has become a goddess who meets King Mu of Zhou; and in the Han-era Inner Biography of Emperor Wu of Han, she even presents immortal peaches to Emperor Wu.

After Taoism took shape in the Wei and Jin periods, she was honored as head of the female immortals, the Jade Pool became her home, and the flat peaches became her signature — three thousand years to blossom, three thousand to bear fruit, three thousand to ripen. The 'Peach Banquet' is the grandest feast of the heavenly court, and the famous scene in Journey to the West where Sun Wukong wreaks havoc in heaven.

From beast goddess to motherly deity, this transformation across thousands of years mirrors how people's idea of 'mother' has changed. And in Taiwan, from 1949 onward, Hualien's Tzu Hui Tang took Queen Mother worship in a new direction: compassionately saving the world and devoting itself to social service — the goddess stepped down from the Jade Pool and into the human world.

Worship of Wangmu Niangniang follows vegetarian principles: fresh flowers, fruit, tea, and pastries. A few peaches among the offerings are especially fitting, echoing the longevity symbolism of the immortal peaches. Commonly recited scriptures include the Scripture of the Holy Virtue of Wangmu Niangniang and the Heart Mantra of Yaochi Jinmu.

What do you ask her for? Long life and health, family harmony, a harmonious marriage, and filial children — she is especially revered by older women devotees. Women who want to take up spiritual practice and scripture recitation can also join the Tzu Hui Tang system, which has always valued women's participation.

The 18th day of the seventh lunar month is Wangmu Niangniang's birthday (known as the Peach Banquet). The celebrations in Hualien are the largest, with scripture recitation, spirit writing, and almsgiving. Whenever you visit, bring a pure heart — Yaochi Jinmu values purity, just like her Jade Pool.

Wangmu Niangniang's Birthday (the Peach Banquet): the 18th day of the seventh lunar month. Tzu Hui Tang halls and Taoist temples hold grand celebrations, including scripture recitation, spirit writing, almsgiving, and performances.

New Year blessings: during the Lunar New Year, the Tzu Hui Tang system holds group New Year worship, Tai Sui appeasement, and the lighting of lamps of brightness — an important time to see the social side of Queen Mother worship.

Monthly spirit-writing sessions: the Tzu Hui Tang system holds regular monthly 'luan' sessions (spirit writing and mediumship), in which Wangmu Niangniang is the main deity to descend, delivering divine messages to the spirit-writing practitioners and devotees.

Charity work: the Tzu Hui Tang system puts 'compassionately saving the world' into practice through all kinds of social service — medical care, elder care, poverty relief, and disaster relief — making it one of the folk-religion systems in Taiwan most actively involved in social service.