The Shen

The story goes that during the primordial chaos preceding the World, the giant Pangu was born inside the cosmic egg. When it hatched into heaven and earth, Pangu held them apart with his expanding body. When he died, his body became the 10,000 things, and the insects who lived on him became the first humans. The really interesting part, though, came with the formation of the pantheon as we know it. The Jade Emperor, one of the Three Pure Ones who set Heaven and Earth in motion, organized all the Shén into a proper imperial court, which soon evolved into a sprawling, massive bureaucracy encompassing every Chinese spirit. Some pantheons are gangs, some pantheons are families, some are even royal courts; but the Shen organize like they plan to run the World.

While Shén may argue amongst themselves over political philosophy, who ought to be in charge, and what everyone’s responsibilities really ought to be, they firmly believe the whole World will be better off as part of the same system, even if that system is bloated, spread thin, and occasionally corrupt. But the World’s other pantheons are more than a little concerned that the Shén believe defeated Titans ought not to be destroyed, but rather converted and rehabilitated with productive jobs within the bureaucracy.

Principal Members

Chang’e
Confucius
Erlang
Fuxi
Guan Yu
Guanshiyin Pusa
Huangdi
Laozi
Prince Nezha
Nüwā
Sun Wukong
Yandi Shennongshi
@Dou

Motif: Alchemy manipulates the energies both within and without the body through exercises and concoctions associated with the five elements.

Signature Purview: Shén: Tianming

Path Skills: Academics, Leadership

Virtues: Yin and Yang. Traditional Chinese thought models the World and the powers which move within it in terms of cyclical forces in constant tension, complement, and balance. The Supreme Ultimate cosmogram, or taijitu, illustrates this cycle with the circle of unity at the top, followed by the layer of blackand-white duality, followed by the five elements, followed by the eight trigrams of the Classic of Changes, followed by unity once again. Each cosmographic element is one complete model of the system of the World; but it is the cosmogram’s second segment, better known in English as the yin-yang, that interests us right now.

We have come to illustrate this cycle with two interlocked comma shapes, one black and one white, each with an eye of the opposing color. Yin is feminine, receptive, dark, expansive, and sinister. Yang is masculine, active, bright, focused, and positive. But in its eye, each energy carries its opposite’s seed. Their complementary waxing and waning is the motion of the sine wave, the circuit of the moon and sun, the rotation of the earth and the cycle of time.

A Yin-aspected individual is subtle, gentle, and patient. Yin is the therapist’s question, the joint lock that counters the punch, the poem uninterpreted, the sea at night. Yin is associated with the elements of metal and water. At best, yin is sensitive, caring, and adaptable. At worst, yin is sinister, dishonest, and ruthless.

A Yang-aspected individual is bold, powerful, and charismatic. Yang is the leaping flame, the demagogue’s oratory, the painted emblem on the shield. Yang is associated with the elements of wood and fire. At best, yang is strong, hopeful, and vibrant. At worst, yang is inflexible, loud, and angry. In the old days, each Shén occupied a specific place on the spectrum of yin to yang. The Yellow Emperor, for example, represented the earth element, the center, the axis, a balance between the two forces. You stayed in your lane, you performed your duties as handed down to you, and the seasons kept turning.

Scions, though, have it harder. You live in the World amongst the Ten Thousand Things, the complex manifestation of that seemingly simple interplay between light and dark. Every action you take is deep with meaning in both yin and yang tendencies, and you yourself probably sway naturally from one side to the other. Yet your superiors expect you to bring balance to heaven and earth.

Type

Religious, Pantheon

Notable Members

• Hio