See also: Heavenly Realm, Weredemons, Demonology.
Gods and celestials are creatures that dwell in the Heavenly Realm. The distinction between them is not always clear. Gods are sometimes referred to as celestials, but not all celestials are gods.
However, all of them reside in the Heavenly Realm, either in the Jade Palace itself, with countless rooms and halls, or in the vicinity. Celestials usually do not venture far from the palace, where various celebrations and festivities are constantly taking place.
Known gods: Xiwanmu, Seven Lucky Gods, Four Heavenly Kings.
Gods have been living in the Heavenly Realm since ancient times. Perhaps they were once humans, but this is truly unknown. What is known is that human desires are almost forgotten by them, as they exist in a world of rituals and myths.
That is why the Goddess of the West did not rush to respond to the feelings of the long-haired Yanwang Umma-ö, even though Yanwang’s love was not unrequited. The Goddess of the West had to spend a considerable amount of time in her garden, located in the Earthen Realm atop Mount Gunlun. Only there, assuming a human form, could she discern her own feelings.
Gods are driven by their own concerns and have no regard for mortals. Sometimes they use humans for their own purposes, which are not always understandable to ordinary people.
Gods are immortal. They are unfamiliar with any other form of existence, and they cannot fathom death. They have not a trace of mortality left in them, just as they have not a trace of human desires and values. This is the main reason why the motivations of the gods sometimes seem very strange to us.
Known celestials: Jade Emperor, Yanwang Umma-ö, Wang Leizu.
Not all celestials are gods. Some of them are former humans who have attained immortality, forsaking worldly passions and thus ascending to the Heavenly Realm.
Occasionally, gods make exceptions and allow mortals to visit them, but such visits are short-lived; the simple guest of the gods never becomes a celestial.
To attain immortality, one must enter the sacred garden of the Goddess of the West and taste the peaches that grow there. Many people seek these peaches, but so far, no one has managed to discover the garden of the Goddess of the West. Except for two brothers, one of whom became the Jade Emperor, while the gods entrusted the other to oversee the Under Realm.
Even though celestials have abandoned earthly passions, they cannot forget about them. However, in their celestial form, they cannot satisfy their desires. It is this longing that guides their lives.
Celestials are immortal. Once upon a time, they were mortal, but now they are not. They still cling to memories of their own mortality, but their conclusions drawn from those memories differ from those of mortals.
Some celestials remember the good – satisfied desires – and long for their repetition. They want to experience mortal emotions while remaining immortal. Others remember the bad – suffering – and dedicate themselves to minimising it for others.
Driven by their desires, they maintain their connection to mortality and, as a result, with humanity. If a celestial were to renounce all memories, they would become a god – perhaps this is how the gods of the Tradition came into existence. But this is truly unknown to us.
Neither gods nor celestials possess earthly bodies, and therefore, they are unable to experience human emotions. However, both are occasionally seized by desires inherent to mortals. These desires are not always understood by celestials, especially gods, but they understand that to satisfy their own passions, they must be present in the Earthen Realm.
To descend into the Earthen Realm, one must acquire a body or place oneself in a sacred vessel. The secret of obtaining a body is known only to the Goddess of the West, and she is in no hurry to share it. Therefore, both gods and celestials have to make do with vessels located in the sanctuaries of mountain monasteries.
As a result of the Great Storm, all celestials were expelled from the Jade Palace. With the help of the Jade Emperor, the celestials found refuge in the minds of the kamunushi monks. In exchange for this service, the Jade Emperor procured three hundred boundless sacks of seeds of fortune for mortals.
The demon dreamed of returning to the Heavens to get even for the long years he’d spent in the world of humans. To do this, he had first to regain the immortality which the gods had taken from him. This could only be done by tasting the sweet fruit of Xiantao, the Peach of Immortality.
The emperor took such a vow from the monasteries: that each monastery would receive a large bag of good luck seeds, and the monks had to sow these seeds among the people. Anyone who came to the monastery should be given a magical seed, and none should be turned away.
In return, the Jade Emperor demanded only one thing: that the monks allow the celestials to settle in their prayers. After all, only the smallest fraction of the celestials managed to fit on board the heavenly ships, which were mostly packed with frightened gods, and the Heavens themselves were in ruins after the storm that the demons raised.
“Kamunushi,” the abbot repeated in the meantime. “These are the pillars of the Heavenly Palace. Celestials live in our prayers. Day and night, we keep the walls of the Heavenly Palace with our minds, protecting the celestials from all adversity. We,” the abbot glanced around at the hushed novices, “are the only protection and support of the celestials.”
Soliang knew how Taoists treated the celestials. There was an opinion among the Taoists that the celestials were not gods at all, but just very ordinary people who, through cunning and deceit, managed to get into the Heavens.
The prayer hall was in twilight. Three dozen candles flickered with small flames, illuminating the outlines of Leizu and Sung-Guan. Cast shadows danced on the altar wall. In the red corner stood several conical vessels intended for the celestials.