贰殿 · 四御天庭
The Celestial Court — Four Sovereigns
Step across the threshold - Directly below the Three Pure Ones stand the great sovereigns who administer the cosmos: the Jade Emperor above all, and the Four Sovereigns who govern sky, stars, war and earth. Some liturgies count them with two more as the 'Six Sovereigns'.
4 Deities on display
帝
Sovereign of the Cosmos
The Jade Emperor
Ruler of heaven, earth and the underworld, who governs the vast celestial bureaucracy the way an emperor governs an empire. His birthday, the 9th day of the first lunar month, is celebrated with grand offerings across the Taoist world.
- Imperial crown with bead curtains
- Jade tablet of office
- Dragon throne
微
Master of the Starry Vault
Great Emperor of the Purple Subtlety
Enthroned in the Purple Forbidden enclosure of the pole star, around which all heavens wheel. He governs the celestial calendar, the seasons, and the destinies written in the stars.
- The pole star
- The Purple Forbidden enclosure
- Celestial star charts
勾
Wielder of the Heavenly Reins
Great Emperor of Heavenly Sublimity
Assistant to the Jade Emperor in holding the reins of heaven, presiding over the constellations of the Gouchen hook and the military affairs of the world — the celestial minister of strategy and war.
- The Gouchen constellation
- Scepter of office
- Celestial war banners
土
Sovereign of Soil & Harvest
Empress of the Earth
The great goddess who carries the earth itself — counterpart of heaven in the oldest pairing of Chinese worship. She governs soil, harvest, birth and burial, and every altar to the land is hers.
- Tablet of the earth
- Grain and soil
- The square of the earth beneath the round of heaven