I am typing this trying not to cry to hard, so I don’t make too many typos. THis has not been proof read either. I thank you for letting me pour my heart out again in a safe place! I have been up since 1:30 AM CDT with only 4 hours of sleep. Dreamer’s back legs are getting worse, but the doctor changed her medication 2 days ago and we are hoping it makes a difference. This is the last thing to try before we send her in to her eternal sleep.

This morning when it was time to take all of our fur kids out it took her 6 tries to be able to stand up, she went down the four steps fine but I had to help her back up them. Which is better than Star who is afraid to go down the new safer stairs we put in on Tuesday afternoon. But to be fair to both of the ladies I had a hard time being able to stand and go down and up the stairs this morning too. It looks like only our brave, protective male Merlin, who scared a poor baby rabbit by barking at it, likes the new stairs or he just doesn’t give a dam as long as he can get to his favorite bathroom spot.

Today we will be installing a ramp outside for Dreamer and Star to use. As our Cleo is 14 years old and hesitant to jump down off the cough or go down and up the new stairs, I am pretty sure she will choose the ramp also.

The ramp we got was given to us by a couple whose Chihuahua crossed over a few months ago. We need to make a couple of small adjustments to it, but Big Dawg and I work great on home repair and improvement stuff as we found out installing the new stairs.

Please say a prayer or light a candle for whatever is best for Dreamer be it that the new medicine helps or it is time for her to cross to be free from pain and whatever age she enjoyed being the most.

If any of you ever want to talk or vent or scream or need a prayer said and/or a candle lit please contact me at ladybeltane@witchesofthecraft.com. I am not a licensed therapist but I am an ordained minister so anything you want to talk about goes no further than my listening to you. If it wasn’t for first my Coven Life family when my mom crossed and than you my wonderful WOTC family helping me through the last 4 years or so I don’t know what shape my mind, bod, or spirit would be in. Thank you are inaquetue words for what my heart feels in graitude to each one of you for followingWOTC and “listening” to me when I need to pour out my feelings in a safe place. I hope WOTC can become a place for us all to feel safe sharing our laughs, happiness, sadness, losses, and any other thing you might like to share with us.

MAY THE GODDESSES AND GODS KEEP YOU SAFE IN THEIR WARM BRACE AND CONTENT IN YOUR LIFE! iF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ACCEPT THEM I SEND EACH OF YOU A RAINBOW OF BLESSINGS FROM MY HEART TO YOURS.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Mosquito season is officially here. Learn about how to prevent and treat bites.

Summer is by far my favorite season. The warm temperatures and consistent sunshine in North Carolina, where I live, mean I can spend more time outside doing things I love: hiking, walking my dog and spending time at the lake. But that time in nature is quickly spoiled when I find myself covered in red, itchy bumps after just a few minutes outdoors. Even though we’re just on the cusp of the summer season and the temperatures are still fairly temperate for most of the US, pesky mosquitoes are active starting in March. That means mosquito season is already in full swing. 

If you’re like me, you get frustrated by the number of mosquito bites you acquire. It’s downright infuriating when I come inside sporting several new welts while my friends report that they don’t have a single one. 

Why is that? It’s not that I’m particularly unlucky. There are actually scientific reasons why mosquitoes single out certain people. Here’s why mosquitoes bite and how you can make yourself less of a target this summer. For more, learn about how to safely remove a tick and how you can alter the colors of your hydrangeas. 

Why do mosquitoes bite?

Contrary to what you might think, mosquitoes don’t bite people for food; they feed on plant nectar. Only female mosquitoes bite, and they do so to receive proteins from your blood needed to develop their eggs. 

Why are some people more prone to bites?

There are several factors that impact why some people are more prone to mosquito bites than others:

Blood type

A common belief is that mosquitoes are attracted to certain blood types, considering mosquitoes bite humans for their blood. Blood type is determined by genetics, and each blood type is created based on the different sets of specific proteins, called antigens, on the surface of red blood cells. There are four main blood types: A, B, AB and O. 

While there are no firm conclusions as to which blood type is more attractive to mosquitoes, several studies have suggested people with type O are most appetizing to mosquitoes. A 2019 study observed mosquito feeding behavior when presented with different blood type samples, and found mosquitoes fed from the type O feeder more than any other. A 2004 study also found that mosquitoes land on blood group O secretors (83.3%) significantly more than group A secretors (46.5%).

However, these studies are not definitive, and much is still up in the air about mosquito preferences when it comes to blood type.

Clothing color 

Mosquitoes are highly visual hunters when it comes to finding a human to bite. This means movement and dark clothing colors like black, navy and red can stand out to a mosquito. Research has shown that mosquitoes are more attracted to the color black, but there has been little additional research into why this is the case. 

Carbon dioxide

Mosquitoes use sight and smell to find hosts to bite. One of the quickest ways mosquitoes can sniff out a person is through the carbon dioxide emitted when we breathe. According to research published in the journal Chemical Senses, mosquitoes use an organ called a maxillary palp for carbon dioxide detection and can sense it from 164 feet away. 

Because carbon dioxide is a huge attractor, people who emit more of it — larger individuals and people who are breathing heavily when working out — are more attractive to a mosquito. 

Body odor and sweat

Mosquitoes are attracted to more substances and compounds than just carbon dioxide. Mosquitoes can find people to bite by smelling substances present on human skin and in sweat, including lactic acid, uric acid and ammonia. 

A new study found that mosquitoes are attracted to compounds called carboxylic acids that every human produces through sebum, a waxy coating, on their skin. The sebum is eaten by the millions of beneficial microorganisms found on human skin, which produces more carboxylic acid — and will, in turn, produce an odor similar to cheese or smelly feet that appears to attract mosquitoes. Lead researchers on this study said mosquitoes are sensitive to human odor and that even perfumes or colognes can’t mask it.  

Researchers are still learning why certain body odors are more attractive to mosquitoes, but they do know that genetics, bacteria on the skin and exercise all play a factor. Genetics impact the amount of uric acid emitted, while exercise increases lactic acid buildup. 

Why do some people swell from mosquito bites more than others?

Mosquito bites can range in size from small little spots to large welts. Why is this the case?

Bites affect people differently. The size and severity of a bite relate to how your immune system responds to the saliva introduced by the mosquito when it bites. When mosquitoes bite, they inject some saliva when drawing blood. This saliva contains certain anticoagulants and proteins, triggering the immune system to respond to these foreign substances. 

Our body responds by releasing histamine — a chemical released by white blood cells when your immune system is fighting allergens — which causes the itchiness and inflammation of the bite. 

How to prevent mosquito bites

The best way to handle a mosquito bite is to not get them in the first place — but oftentimes, that’s easier said than done. 

Some common ways to prevent mosquito bites include:

• Use repellents and bug sprays (Repel, Off Deep Woods and other brands that contain DEET)
• Use natural repellants (citronella essential oil, neem oil, thyme essential oil)
• Avoid going outside at dawn or dusk 
• Avoid dark-colored clothing, specifically black
• Avoid standing water and try to eliminate standing water near your home
• Use mosquito netting when camping or sleeping outdoors
• Wear long sleeves and pants
• Prevent mosquito bites when traveling internationally

If you’re using DEET insect repellent, make sure to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines (PDF) about the strength and proper application.

How to treat mosquito bites

Mosquito bites, while annoying, are often not severe and will resolve in a few days. In the meantime, there are several treatments to alleviate the itchiness and inflammation:

• Clean with rubbing alcohol if a fresh bite
• Take an oatmeal bath 
• Use over-the-counter antihistamines such as Benadryl or Claritin
• Apply mild corticosteroid creams
• Use aloe vera to reduce inflammation
• Try a cold compress or ice pack for 10 minutes

Though difficult, try as best you can to not itch the bite too roughly to prevent any sort of skin reaction or infection. 

Mosquito-borne diseases and illnesses

While the majority of mosquito bites result in welts that heal in a few days, mosquitoes are known carriers of many deadly diseases and illnesses, including but not limited to:

• Malaria
• West Nile
• Dengue
• Chikungunya
• Yellow fever
• Zika Virus

Mosquitoes are often considered one of the deadliest animals on earth. Mosquito-borne diseases kill more than 725,000 people a year the World Health Organization estimates, with malaria accounting for the vast majority of deaths (600,000). 

While malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases hit Sub-Saharan Africa the hardest, mosquitoes pose a risk to every continent and nation. Most types of mosquitoes in the US are nuisance mosquitoes — mosquitoes that do not spread germs that make people sick — but there have been outbreaks of West Nile, dengue, chikungunya and Zika in a few states and territories. 

There are several steps you can take to control mosquito populations and minimize risk. Make sure to properly cover and store water containers around your home and drain any standing water to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs. For treatments, you can use an outdoor adulticide to kill adult mosquitoes or larvicides to treat bodies of standing water that will not be used for drinking and cannot be drained. 

Infected bites will often look extremely red, swollen and warm or have a red streak that spreads outward from the bite. See a health care provider if you have signs of infection or if symptoms worsen. 

For more, read about the five smart ways to repel mosquitoes this summer, the mosquito forecast tool*

First published on July 30, 2022 5:00 a.m. PT

*OFF!Cast Mosquito Forecast Tool

(SIDE NOTE FROM Lady Carla Beltane: SO I have signed up for the 7-day forecasts to be sent to my email. I will wait to see how right or wrong they are and let you know towards the end of the month. I am lucky to hardly ever get bitten but I worry for our fur kids with living across the street from a small swampy area.)

(While Echo is not a goddess, she did play an important part in Greek mythology for consorting with the gods.)

Echo was an Oread in Greek mythology, a mountain nymph that lived on Mount Kithairon.

The curse of Hera
Zeus was quite attracted to nymphs and often visited them. Hera, his wife, jealous of his various affairs, followed him trying to catch him. However, Echo would engage Hera in long-winded conversations, giving the time to Zeus to evade her. At some point, Hera realised the plot of Echo and cursed her to only be able to repeat the last words that another person just said.

Narcissus rejects Echo
After being cursed, Echo came across a beautiful young man named Narcissus, but was unable to talk to him because of the curse. She simply followed him in the woods. Narcissus, having lost his companions with whom he had gone hunting, started shouting “Is anyone there?” Echo, given the opportunity, repeated the words. He shouted again “Let’s come together” to which Echo rushed onto him repeating his words. However, Narcissus rejected Echo, and she was left in despair.
The end of Echo
Narcissus came across a lake and there, he fell in love with his own image, causing his death, unable to move. Echo mourned for him and eventually died away herself, leaving only her voice behind.

Source: https://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Minor_Gods/Echo/echo.html

Ma’at Egyptian Goddess Of Truth And Justice

Born a Goddess Over All Creation

Historians found the first written accounts of Ma’at in the Pyramid Texts, written between 2375 and 2345 BCE. However, the divine concept of the goddess is a much older idea. Ma’at is a central figure in the Egyptian creation story. She was with her father Ra on his celestial barque, or sailing boat, as he came from the waters with the Egyptian gods and goddesses.

Egyptians saw Ra as the most important god in Egyptian society. He made Ma’at even more important by standing on her pedestal to establish all creation. This placed Ma’at as the order that transformed chaos into creation. She ruled both gods and people.

Over time, Ma’at developed beyond being simply the daughter of Ra and responsible for order to being the reason that the universe existed. Some of her other responsibilities include:

• Relationships
• The cycle of seasons
• The movements of the sun, moon and stars
• All parts of religion
• How people behaved
• The positive characteristics of men
• Rulers, leaders and judges
• The afterlife

Historical texts transform Ma’at from a goddess to actually being creation. In many instances, ancient Egyptians considered their society and religion to be “Ma’at”, while the wilderness and other cultures were considered chaotic and unjust.

The Ideal Egyptian Woman

Ma’at is often represented as a slim woman with a white ostrich feather on her head. She often carries a scepter or an ankh. Some ancient representations feature Ma’at with wings of divinity outstretched. Egyptians viewed her slim figure and symmetrical features to represent the appearance of the perfect Egyptian woman.

The symbol of Ma’at is a primeval mound. The symbol represents Ma’at as being the mound on which the gods stood upon when creating the universe. Other symbols associated with Ma’at are the ostrich feather and scales.

Family Tree

Father: Ra, the sun god.

Sister: Shu, the air god.

Husband: Thoth, the moon god

Role as a Goddess

Ma’at ruled everything, which made her a very busy goddess. Every day she helped Ra to steer his boat across the sky, making a path for the sun. She was the partner of Thoth and the mother of the eight deities known as the Chief Gods and Goddesses of Hermopolis.

Beyond being the force which kept the Egypt functioning as an orderly society, Ma’at held an important role in the afterlife. She not only kept order among the living, but served as the judge of the afterlife.

Ma’at’s ability to view truth and justice was key in judging a soul.

When an Egyptian died, the process of mummification included leaving the heart within the body. Egyptians considered the heart to be the soul of the person, by which he or she would be judged in the afterlife. After death, Ma’at would judge the hearts of the dead in Osiris’s Judgment Halls of the Dead. Once the dead reached the halls, Ma’at would weigh the heart of each person against the weight of her ostrich feather. If the heart weighed the same or less than the feather, they were considered just and worthy of continuing into the Duat, or everlasting afterlife.

If the scales indicated that the heart was heavier than the feather, then the person was shown to not be a follower of Ma’at during his or her life. The consequence of this was that the deceased was refused an afterlife and the heart was eaten by a demon. In some versions of the judgment, the crocodile-headed Ammut would devour the entire person.

More Than Just a Goddess

The many different names of Ma’at give an idea of her importance to Egyptian society. Egyptians referred to Ma’at as:

• Eye of Ra
• Mistress of the Underworld
• Queen of the Earth
• Lady of Heaven
• Lady of the Gods and Goddesses

Egyptians saw Ma’at as an everlasting goddess. By representing order, she became the most important goddess of ancient Egypt.

Pharaohs Worshiped Ma’at

Pharaohs in ancient Egypt weren’t simply rulers, but were also seen as gods. The idea that all gods worshiped and respected Ma’at meant that the pharaohs of Egypt must also seek Ma’at in order to prosper. Egyptians believed that if a pharaoh did not follow Ma’at, the chaos would return and destroy the world.

Many pharaohs wanted to show that Ma’at blessed them and that they were everything Ma’at represented. Wanting to be seen as good leaders, they would often call themselves the “Lords of Ma’at.” This showed that they had truth and justice in their hearts. Egypt’s pharaohs often took great efforts to discredit previous rulers. This practice strengthened their position of power. By saying that the previous pharaoh did not have Ma’at in his heart, the current pharaoh would position himself as the savior of Egypt by restoring truth, justice and order.

Legally Speaking

Because Egyptians saw Ma’at as the judge of souls in the afterlife, Egyptian judges based Egyptian law on the teachings of Ma’at. The spirit of Ma’at became the idea behind how Egyptian judges applied justice. Starting in the fifth dynasty, Egyptians referred to the head of justice as the “Priest of Ma’at.” After 2370 BCE, judges continued to wear the image of Ma’at while on duty.

Egyptian judges believed that justice and fairness equaled peace and harmony. In order to have a peaceful society, justice through Ma’at was very important.

Facts About Ma’at

Ma’at became the basis of Egyptian culture

She represented leadership, philosophy and law

Ra placed Ma’at at the center of all creation

She was worshiped by pharaohs, who often called themselves “Lords of Ma’at”

Nüwa Chinese Mother Goddess

Nüwa, also read Nügua, is a mother goddess, culture hero,^[1] and/or member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. She is a god in Chinese folk religion and Taoism.^[2] She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven.^[3]

As creator of mankind, she molded humans individually by hand with yellow clay.^[4] In other stories where she fulfills this role, she only created nobles^[5] and/or the rich^[6] out of yellow soil. The stories vary on the other details about humanity’s creation, but it was a tradition commonly believed in ancient China that she created commoners from brown mud.^[5] A story holds that she was tired when she created “the rich and the noble”, so all others, or “cord-made people”, were created from her “dragg[ing] a string through mud”.^[6]

In the Huainanzi, there is described a great battle between deities that broke the pillars supporting Heaven and caused great devastation. There was great flooding, and Heaven had collapsed. Nüwa was the one who patched the holes in Heaven with five colored stones, and she used the legs of a tortoise to mend the pillars.^[4]

There are many instances of her in literature across China which detail her in creation stories, and today, she remains a figure important to Chinese culture.

Name

The character nü (Chinese: 女; lit. ‘female’) is a common prefix on the names of goddesses. The proper name is wa, also read as gua (Chinese: 媧). The Chinese character is unique to this name. Birrell translates it as ‘lovely’, but notes that it “could be construed as ‘frog’, which is consistent with her aquatic myth.^[7] In Chinese, the word for ‘whirlpool’ is wo (Chinese: 渦), which shares the same pronunciation with the word for ‘snail’ (Chinese: 蝸). These characters all have their right side constructed by the word wa (Chinese: 咼), which can be translated as ‘spiral’ or ‘helix’ as noun, and as ‘spin’ or ‘rotate’ when as verb, to describe the ‘helical movement’. This mythical meaning has also been symbolically pictured as compasses in the hand which can be found on many paintings and portraits associated with her.

Her reverential name is Wahuang (Chinese: 媧皇; lit. ‘Empress Wa’).^[8]

Description

The Huainanzi relates Nüwa to the time when Heaven and Earth were in disruption:

Going back to more ancient times, the four pillars were broken; the nine provinces were in tatters. Heaven did not completely cover [the earth]; Earth did not hold up [Heaven] all the way around [its circumference]. Fires blazed out of control and could not be extinguished; water flooded in great expanses and would not recede. Ferocious animals ate blameless people; predatory birds snatched the elderly and the weak. Thereupon, Nüwa smelted together five-colored stones in order to patch up the azure sky, cut off the legs of the great turtle to set them up as the four pillars, killed the black dragon to provide relief for Ji Province, and piled up reeds and cinders to stop the surging waters. The azure sky was patched; the four pillars were set up; the surging waters were drained; the province of Ji was tranquil; crafty vermin died off; blameless people [preserved their] lives.^[9][a]

The catastrophes were supposedly caused by the battle between the deities Gonggong and Zhuanxu (an event that was mentioned earlier in the Huainanzi),^[b] the five-colored stones symbolize the five Chinese elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water), the black dragon was the essence of water and thus cause of the floods, Ji Province serves metonymically for the central regions (the Sinitic world).^[12] Following this, the Huainanzi tells about how the sage-rulers Nüwa and Fuxi set order over the realm by following the Way (道) and its potency (德).^[9]

The Classic of Mountains and Seas, dated between the Warring States period and the Han Dynasty, describes Nüwa’s intestines as being scattered into ten spirits.^{[13][non-primary source needed]}

In Liezi (c. 475 – 221 BC), Chapter 5 “Questions of Tang” (卷第五 湯問篇), author Lie Yukou describes Nüwa repairing the original imperfect heaven using five-colored stones, and cutting the legs off a tortoise to use as struts to hold up the sky.^[14]

In Songs of Chu (c. 340 – 278 BC), Chapter 3 “Asking Heaven” (Chinese: 问天), author Qu Yuan writes that Nüwa molded figures from the yellow earth, giving them life and the ability to bear children. After demons fought and broke the pillars of the heavens, Nüwa worked unceasingly to repair the damage, melting down the five-coloured stones to mend the heavens.^[15]

In Shuowen Jiezi (c. 58 – 147 AD), China’s earliest dictionary, under the entry for Nüwa author Xu Shen describes her as being both the sister and the wife of Fuxi. Nüwa and Fuxi were pictured as having snake-like tails interlocked in an Eastern Han Dynasty mural in the Wuliang Temple in Jiaxiang county, Shandong province.^{[citation needed]}

In Duyi Zhi (獨異志; c. 846 – 874 AD), Volume 3, author Li Rong gives this description.

Long ago, when the world first began, there were two people, Nü Kua and her older brother. They lived on Mount K’un-lun. And there were not yet any ordinary people in the world. They talked about becoming husband and wife, but they felt ashamed. So the brother at once went with his sister up Mount K’un-lun and made this prayer: “Oh Heaven, if Thou wouldst send us two forth as man and wife, then make all the misty vapor gather. If not, then make all the misty vapor disperse.” At this, the misty vapor immediately gathered. When the sister became intimate with her brother, they plaited some grass to make a fan to screen their faces. Even today, when a man takes a wife, they hold a fan, which is a symbol of what happened long ago.^[16]

There are stories that have her as the “consort” of Fuxi rather than his sister.^[2]

In Yuchuan Ziji (玉川子集 c. 618 – 907 AD), Chapter 3 (“與馬異結交詩” 也稱 “女媧本是伏羲婦”), author Lu Tong describes Nüwa as the wife of Fuxi.^{[citation needed]}

In Siku Quanshu, Sima Zhen (679–732) provides commentary on the prologue chapter to Sima Qian‘s Shiji, “Supplemental to the Historic Record: History of the Three August Ones”, wherein it is found that the Three August Ones are Nüwa, Fuxi, and Shennong; Fuxi and Nüwa have the same last name, Feng (Chinese: 風; Hmong: Faj).^[c]

In the collection Four Great Books of Song (c. 960 – 1279 AD), compiled by Li Fang and others, Volume 78 of the book Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era contains a chapter “Customs by Yingshao of the Han Dynasty” in which it is stated that there were no men when the sky and the earth were separated. Thus Nüwa used yellow clay to make people. But the clay was not strong enough so she put ropes into the clay to make the bodies erect. It is also said that she prayed to gods to let her be the goddess of marital affairs. Variations of this story exist.^{[citation needed]}

In Ming dynasty myths about the transition from the Shang dynasty to the Zhou dynasty, Nüwa made evil decisions that ultimately benefited China, such as sending a fox spirit to encourage the debauchery of King Zhou, which led to him being deposed.^[17] Other tales have her and Fuxi as exclusively the “great gentle protectors of humanity” unwilling to use subterfuge.^[18]

Iconography of Fuxi and Nüwa

The iconography of Fuxi and Nüwa vary in physical appearance depending on the time period and also shows regional differences.^[19] In Chinese tomb murals and iconography, Fuxi and Nüwa generally have snake-like bodies and human face or head.^[19][20][21]

Nüwa is often depicted holding a compass or multiple compasses, which were a traditional Chinese symbol of a dome-like sky.^[1] She was also thought to be an embodiment of the stars^[1] or a star god.

Fuxi and Nüwa can be depicted as individual figures arranged as a symmetrical pair or they can be depicted in double figures with intertwined snake-like bodies.^[19] Their snake-like tails can also be depicted stretching out towards each other.^[19] Fuxi and Nüwa can also appear individually on separate tomb bricks.^[19] They generally hold or embrace the sun or moon discs containing the images of a bird (or a three-legged crow) or a toad (sometimes a hare) which are the sun and moon symbolism respectively, and/or each holding a try square or a pair of compasses, or holding a longevity mushroom (Chinese: 靈芝; pinyin: lingzhi) plant.^[19][21] Fuxi and Nüwa holding the sun and the moon appears as early as the late Western Han dynasty.^[19] Other physical appearance variation, such as lower snake-like body shape (e.g. thick vs thin tails), depictions of legs (i.e. legs found along the snake-like body) and wings (e.g. wings with feathers which protrude from their backs as found in late Western Han Xinan (新安) Tomb or smaller quills found on their shoulders), and in hats and hairstyles, also exist.^[19]

In the Luoyang regions murals dating to the late Western Han dynasty, Fuxi and Nüwa are generally depicted as individual figures, each one found at each side of the central ridge of tomb chambers as found in the Bu Qianqiu Tomb.^[19] They can also be found without intertwining tails from the stone murals of the same period.^[19] Since the middle of the Eastern Han dynasty, their tails started to intertwine.^[19]

In the Gansu murals dating to the Wei and Western Jin period, one of the most typical features of Fuxi is the “mountain-hat” (Chinese: 山字形; pinyin: Shanzixing) which looks like a three-peaked cap while Nüwa is depicted wearing various hairstyles characteristic of Han women.^[19] Both deities dressed in wide-sleeved clothing, which reflects typical Han clothing style also commonly depicted in Han dynasty art.^[19]

Legends

Appearance in Fengshen Yanyi

Nüwa is featured within the famed Ming dynasty novel Fengshen Bang. As featured within this novel, Nüwa is very highly respected since the time of the Xia Dynasty for being the daughter of the Jade Emperor; Nüwa is also regularly called the “Snake Goddess”. After the Shang Dynasty had been created, Nüwa created the five-colored stones to protect the dynasty with occasional seasonal rains and other enhancing qualities. Thus in time, Shang Rong asked King Zhou of Shang to pay her a visit as a sign of deep respect. After Zhou was completely overcome with lust at the very sight of the beautiful ancient goddess Nüwa (who had been sitting behind a light curtain), he wrote an erotic poem on a neighboring wall and took his leave. When Nüwa later returned to her temple after visiting the Yellow Emperor, she saw the foulness of Zhou’s words. In her anger, she swore the Shang Dynasty would end in payment for his offense. In her rage, Nüwa personally ascended to the palace in an attempt to kill the king, but was suddenly struck back by two large beams of red light.

After Nüwa realized that King Zhou was already destined to rule the kingdom for twenty-six more years, Nüwa summoned her three subordinates—the Thousand-Year Vixen (later becoming Daji), the Jade Pipa, and the Nine-Headed Pheasant. With these words, Nüwa brought destined chaos to the Shang Dynasty, “The luck Cheng Tang won six hundred years ago is dimming. I speak to you of a new mandate of heaven which sets the destiny for all. You three are to enter King Zhou’s palace, where you are to bewitch him. Whatever you do, do not harm anyone else. If you do my bidding, and do it well, you will be permitted to reincarnate as human beings.”^[23] With these words, Nüwa was never heard of again, but was still a major indirect factor towards the Shang Dynasty’s fall.

Creation of humanity[edit]

Pangu was said to be the creation god in Chinese mythology. He was a giant sleeping within an egg of chaos. As he awoke, he stood up and divided the sky and the earth. Pangu then died after standing up, and his body turned into rivers, mountains, plants, animals, and everything else in the world, among which is a powerful being known as Huaxu (華胥). Huaxu gave birth to a twin brother and sister, Fuxi and Nüwa. Fuxi and Nüwa are said to be creatures that have faces of human and bodies of snakes.^[24]

Nüwa created humanity due to her loneliness, which grew more intense over time. She molded yellow earth or, in other versions, yellow clay into the shape of people. These individuals later became the wealthy nobles of society, because they had been created by Nüwa’s own hands. However, the majority of humanity was created when Nüwa dragged string across mud to mass-produce them, which she did because creating every person by hand was too time- and energy-consuming. This creation story gives an aetiological explanation for the social hierarchy in ancient China. The nobility believed that they were more important than the mass-produced majority of humanity, because Nüwa took time to create them, and they had been directly touched by her hand.^[25] In another version of the creation of humanity, Nüwa and Fuxi were survivors of a great flood. By the command of the God of the heaven, they were married and Nüwa had a child which was a ball of meat. This ball of meat was cut into small pieces, and the pieces were scattered across the world, which then became humans.^[26]

Nüwa was born three months after her brother, Fuxi, whom she later took as her husband; this marriage is the reason why Nüwa is credited with inventing the idea of marriage.^[25]

Before the two of them got married, they lived on mount K’un-lun. A prayer was made after the two became guilty of falling for each other. The prayer is as follows,

“Oh Heaven, if Thou wouldst send us forth as man and wife, then make all the misty vapor gather. If not, then make all the misty vapor disperse.”^[25]

Misty vapor then gathered after the prayer signifying the two could marry. When intimate, the two made a fan out of grass to screen their faces which is why during modern day marriages, the couple hold a fan together. By connecting, the two were representative of Yin and Yang; Fuxi being connected to Yang and masculinity along Nüwa being connected to Yin and femininity. This is further defined with Fuxi receiving a carpenter’s square which symbolizes his identification with the physical world because a carpenter’s square is associated with straight lines and squares leading to a more straightforward mindset. Meanwhile, Nüwa was given a compass to symbolize her identification with the heavens because a compass is associated with curves and circles leading to a more abstract mindset. With the two being married, it symbolized the union between heaven and Earth.^[25] Other versions have Nüwa invent the compass rather than receive it as a gift.^[27] In addition, the system of male and female sex, the yang-yin philosophy, is expressed here in a complex way: first as Fuxi and Nüwa, then as a compass (masculine) and a square (feminine), and thirdly, as Nüwa (woman) with a compass (man) and Fuxi (man) with a square (woman).^[28]

Nüwa Mends the Heavens

Nüwa Mends the Heavens (Chinese: 女娲補天; Chinese: 女娲补天; pinyin: Nǚwā bǔtiān) is a well-known theme in Chinese culture. The courage and wisdom of Nüwa inspired the ancient Chinese to control nature’s elements and has become a favorite subject of Chinese poets, painters, and sculptors,^[29] along with so many poetry and arts like novels, films, paintings, and sculptures; e.g. the sculptures that decorate Nanshan^[30] and Ya’an.^[31]

The Huainanzi tells an ancient story about how the four pillars that support the sky crumbled inexplicably. Other sources have tried to explain the cause, i.e. the battle between Gong Gong and Zhuanxu or Zhurong. Unable to accept his defeat, Gong Gong deliberately banged his head onto Mount Buzhou (不周山) which was one of the four pillars. Half of the sky fell which created a gaping hole and the earth itself was cracked; the earth’s axis mundi was tilted into the southeast while the sky rose into the northwest. This is said to be the reason why the western region of China is higher than the eastern and that most of its rivers flow towards the southeast. This same explanation is applied to the sun, moon, and stars which moved into the northwest. A wildfire burnt the forests and led the wild animals to run amok and attack the innocent peoples, while the water which was coming out from the earth’s crack didn’t seem to be slowing down.^[32]

Nüwa pitied the humans she had made and attempted to repair the sky. She gathered five colored-stones (red, yellow, blue, black, and white) from the riverbed, melted them and used them to patch up the sky: since then the sky (clouds) have been colorful. She then killed a giant turtle (or tortoise), some version named the tortoise as Ao, cut off the four legs of the creature to use as new pillars to support the sky. But Nüwa didn’t do it perfectly because the unequal length of the legs made the sky tilt. After the job was done, Nüwa drove away the wild animals, extinguished the fire, and controlled the flood with a huge amount of ashes from the burning reeds and the world became as peaceful as it was before.^[32][33]

Empress Nuwa

Many Chinese know well their Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, i.e. the early leaders of humanity as well as culture heroes according to the Northern Chinese belief. But the lists vary and depend on the sources used.^[34] One version includes Nüwa as one of the Three Sovereigns, who reigned after Fuxi and before Shennong.^[35]

The myth of the Three Sovereigns sees the three as demigod figures, and the myth is used to stress the importance of an imperial reign. The variation between sources stems from China being generally divided before the Qin and Han dynasties, and the version with Fuxi, Shennong, and Nüwa was used to emphasize rule and structure.^[36]

In her matriarchal reign, she battled against a neighboring tribal chief, defeated him, and took him to the peak of a mountain. Defeated by a woman, the chief felt ashamed to be alive and banged his head on the heavenly bamboo to kill himself and for revenge. His act tore a hole in the sky and made a flood hit the whole world. The flood killed all people except Nüwa and her army which was protected by her divinity. After that, Nüwa patched the sky with five colored-stones until the flood receded.^[37]

Popular culture

• Dream of the Red Chamber (1754) narrates how Nuwa gathered 36,501 stones to patch the sky but left one unused. The unused stone plays an important role in the novel’s storyline.^[38]
• A goddess Nüwa statue named Sky Patching by Prof. Yuan Xikun was exhibited at Times Square, New York City, on 19 April 2012 to celebrate Earth Day (2012), symbolized the importance of protecting the ozone layer.^[39] Previously, this 3.9 meters statue was exhibited on Beijing and now is placed on Vienna International Centre, Vienna since 21 November 2012.^[40]
• “Goddess Nuwa patches up the sky” (2013) is an application for iPhone and iPad by Zero Studio.^[41]
• The story of Nuwa patching the sky was being retold by “Carol Chen” on her book “Goddess Nuwa Patches Up the Sky” (2014) which was illustrated by “Meng Xianlong”.^[42]
• The 2014 hong kong movie The Monkey King directed by Cheang Pou-soi shows the battle between Jade Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) and Bull Demon King (Aaron Kwok). Nuwa (Zhang Zilin) sacrifices herself to repair heaven and make a heavenly gate to protect heaven from invading demons.^[43]
• Added as a playable Chinese goddess in SMITE.
• Nuwa is a major character in Shin Megami Tensei V
• Nu Wa is a playable character in the Dynasty Warriors series.
• In the 2022 mobile game Dislyte, Feng Nuxi is a Legendary Esper with the powe