Houyi
Houyi is the archer of the Shanhaijing and the Huainanzi, given a red bow and white arrows by the high god Di Jun and sent to relieve a world scorched by ten suns, the sons of Xihe.
The ten suns and the beasts are mythological, not historical. The planetary, elemental, zodiac and tarot correspondences are modern Western overlays; the traditional associations are the sun, the bow, the colour red and the peach wood of the archer's craft. The conflation with the Xia usurper is recorded rather than treated as one identity.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Sun
- Zodiac Affinity
- SagittariusLeoAries
Offerings
- Offerings
- IncenseMillet winePeachesRed candlesA bowstring
Sacred timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Hou YiYi the ArcherLord Yi
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- The ArcherLord of the Nine SunsHe Who Shot the SunsHusband of Chang'e
- Symbols
- BowArrowsNine sunsElixir gourdMoonPeach wood
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneSteady aimAddressHouyiLord YiThe ArcherRelationshipThe hand that draws and the cost of the shotWarningHe knows what a spared sun costsResonanceArchers those facing a calamity those who have lost what they saved
- Modern Practice
Honoured by archers and by those who take aim at a thing that must be ended. The practice is a single shot and a naming of what is spared; the elixir is not pursued.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- ArcherySolar orderProtectionCalamityHubrisThe elixirLoss
- Mythology Summary
Houyi is the archer of the Shanhaijing and the Huainanzi, given a red bow and white arrows by the high god Di Jun and sent to relieve a world scorched by ten suns, the sons of Xihe. He shot down nine and left one, and killed the great beasts — the yayu, zaochi, jiuying, dafeng, fengxi and xiushe — that were ravaging the land. He obtained the elixir of immortality from Xi Wangmu; his wife Chang'e drank it and rose to the moon. Later tradition conflates him with the Xia-dynasty usurper Houyi, who was killed by Han Zhuo, and with the archer murdered by his disciple Feng Meng.
- Related Deities
- Chang'eXi WangmuSun WukongApolloArtemis
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsRedGoldBronzeWhiteScentsSandalwoodMyrrhCedarMetalsBronzeGoldIronAnimalsCrowRavenHorseHare
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