The Six Star Lords of the Southern Dipper

南斗六星君 · 南斗六星君

—the Lords of Longevity and Life-Registration (encompassing the Six Palaces: Tianfu, Tianxiang, Tianliang, Tiantong, Tianchu, and Tianji)

Divine Office

Overseeing the Register of Longevity and the Book of Births
Exercising authority to avert calamities and dispel disasters
Governing life from the celestial palace and assigning human lifespans and destinies
Assisting Doumu Yuanjun (the Primordial Sovereign of the Big Dipper) in commanding all the stellar deities of the Southern Celestial Pole

Origin & Legend

The Six Star Lords of the Southern Dipper are the anthropomorphic deities embodying the six stars of the Southern Dipper asterism. In Daoist cosmology, they are known collectively as the Six Bureaus of the Southern Dipper: the Lord of Destiny of the Tianfu Palace (First Bureau), the Lord of Emoluments of the Tianxiang Palace (Second Bureau), the Lord of Longevity of the Tianliang Palace (Third Bureau), the Lord of Augmented Calculations of the Tiantong Palace (Fourth Bureau), the Lord of Deliverance from Calamity of the Tianchu Palace (Fifth Bureau), and the Lord of Exalted Life of the Tianji Palace (Sixth Bureau). As early as the Three Kingdoms period, the belief arose that the Southern Dipper governs birth and life while the Northern Dipper governs death—a notion famously illustrated in the Soushen Ji (In Search of the Supernatural), which recounts the story of the diviner Guan Lu instructing Zhao Yan to petition the Southern and Northern Dippers for extended life: the Southern Dipper, benevolent and life-affirming, granted Zhao Yan a lifespan of ninety-nine years. Daoist liturgy developed the Nandou Yansheng Jiao (Southern Dipper Longevity-Extending Rite) to bestow blessings, prolong life, and dispel disasters for devotees; prayers for longevity and vows fulfilled are traditionally offered to the Southern Dipper, whose veneration has also permeated folk customs surrounding birthday celebrations and longevity rituals.