As I stood in front of my ancestor altar, I was instantly thrown into a trance state. In front of me stood the Jade Emperor. I had never interfaced with him so he presented himself in the same image that appeared on the ancestor money. I watched in awe as he opened an ornate green gate that I instantly knew to be my financial gate…
About 6 months ago, I was introduced to the concept of Ancestor Money. In China, it is a very common ritual to burn joss paper folded and/or fashioned to look like money, precious metals, and food to be passed to the spirit world via fire and smoke. This form of offering is said to provide amenities to ancestors while they travel from this world to their next destination. A deity who is commonly printed on Ancestor money is the Jade Emperor. As I started to burn ancestor money, I also began to connect with the energy of the Jade Emperor and was given several personal rituals to perform to help clear blockages in finances caused by Karmic strikes. Since performing these rituals, I have felt a shift in how I view finances, and it is beginning to make a tangible shift to my bank account. This being the case, I wondered who this Jade Emperor is, his story, and how I can continue to connect with him.
Getting to know the Jade Emperor
The Jade Emperor is the Chinese God who reigns over all of the heavens and realms beneath including Earth and the Underworld. It is said that he earned his immortality with eons of spiritual cultivation, eventually becoming the assistant of the Jade Pure One, one of the Three Pure Ones of Tao. His stories can be found in Chinese mythology, but he is also thought to be Sakra in Buddhism and Hyanin in Korean folklore. All of his stories, including one of his origin stories found in the Taoist text, Collected Scriptures on the Fundamental Deeds of the Lofty Jade Emperor, tell of his succession to Emperor status. Because he was once mortal, the Jade Emperor tends to be kind and compassionate towards humanity. Because of the role the Jade Emperor plays in controlling all the heavens and Underworld, he is often associated with overseeing the process of ancestor money reaching ancestors in these different places.
Benefits of invoking The Jade Emperor
The Jade Emperor represents the maintenance of divine order in your life. His story is one of kindness, discipline, and leadership over a very organized celestial government. To welcome the Jade Emperor is to welcome all of these attributes spiritually and physically. The Jade Emperor also represents that linkage to your ancestors. Our ancestors are a part of us and the story of the Jade Emperor and his image being on Ancestor Money is a reminder to remember our loved ones who have departed from the physical world but are still very alive in Spirit.
Have you had any experiences while burning Ancestor Money? Tell me in the comments below.