Happy Birthday T'ien-hou (T'ien Fei, Lin Matsu)

[endymions_bower]

From The Scripture of Lord Lao, the Most High, Speaking on the Numinous Efficacy of the Celestial Consort [T'ien-fei] in Relieving Distress (Taoist Canon #649), trans. Judith Magee Boltz:

Let it be known that the appellation of "Interminate" [wu-chi] has been granted by decree
To the "Supremely Numinous Spirit of Humanity and Compassion who Sustains Ursa Major."
May her majestic countenance be made explicitly manifest upon the vast seas
And may all under heaven hold her in esteem, for her goodness extends to each and every one. [ … ]

Whether she is to be found traversing the celestial or mortal realms,
Riding the waves and breakers, or likewise within terrestrial bounds,
All manner of demonic and spectral forces will bow in submission
And the water sprites and phantasmic apparitions will one by one take cover.
For, in the snap of a finger, she transforms the baleful into the auspicious,
Bestowing good fortune and eliminating misery as if it were a trifle. [ … ]
By the compassion and mercy she bears in her heart, rain and dew are regulated [… ]
The rains become seasonable and the winds harmonious, whereby grand peace is preserved. [ … ]
As the goodness of Yin begins to emerge,
So is the radiance of Yang made inordinately auspicious. [ … ]
Crowned by the heavens above, she trods the earth below,
Pacing out the astral configuration of Ursa Major. [ … ]

[ … ] In the early morning hours of the twenty-third day of the third lunar month, in a chia-shen year, she descended and was born in the mortal realm. [ … ]

[ … ] As "Eyes of a Thousand Li" makes manifest his investigations of villains and "Ears of Favorable Winds" makes known his reports, the Azure Lad and the Judges of the Aquatic Bureau will lend their assistance to her awesome, numinous power in the realization of authentic transformations.