Guest Author - Elizabeth Bissette

CAO-GUOJIU Brother of a Song Dynasty Empress he left the court for a hermit's life in the mountains because he could not tolerate the corruption rampant there. There he met Lu-Dongbin, who taught him Taoism and made him one of the immortals. He is the patron of actors and performance.

HAN-XIANGZI A philosopher who fell upwards out of the sacred peach tree of immortality. As he grabbed a branch, he became one of the immortals. He is the patron of the middle class.

HE-XIANGU Female immortal who found a piece of the tree of immortality and mixed it into a powder and mixed it in a drink. She soon discovered she could fly and ultimately discovered other immortals. Her emblem is the self-raising lotus flower and she is the patron of virgins and unmarried ladies. She is also a patron of cooking and housekeeping.

LAN-CAIHE An effeminate drunken beggar and herb seller. After nursing a crippled beggar back to health he was rewarded with immortality. He is the patron of the poor.

LI-TIEGUAI Known as "Li with the Iron Crutch", his spirit floated from his body and in this form he visited Lao-Zi and learned the secrets of immortality. When he returned, he discovered his body had been cremated. He replaced his body with that of a dead lame beggar in a ditch. He is the patron of the sick.

LU-DONGBIN This patron of scholars was from a princely family and was given a magic sword by a dragon. Dreaming of his future life one day, he saw that he would ultimately be killed by bandits. He adopted the Tao to escape. Ultimately he became immortal after befriending the immortal ZHONG-LIQUAN.

ZHANG-GUOLAO Refusing to die, Zhang-Guolao became immortal and is the patron of the elderly. He is associated with oragami, riding a magic donkey that he can fold up like a piece of paper.

ZHONG-LIQUAN A hermetic alchemist, he became immortal during one of his experiments. An explosion revealed a hidden container filled with the Elixer of Life. He is the patron of military operations.