Sipé Gyalmo- Tibetan GodDeity"Queen of the World"

The Mule Rider

She is dark blue-black, the color of a sky before a storm. Three eyes: two for the visible world, one for what lies beyond it. Fangs bared, crowned with skulls, she rides a mule across a sea of blood. The mule's trappings are human skins. Wisdom flames roar around her, burning away whatever stands in her path. In her many arms she holds weapons and implements of wrathful power. Nothing about her invites approach. Everything about her promises protection.

This is Sipé Gyalmo, the Queen of Existence. Her name (srid pa'i rgyal mo) claims sovereignty over all that appears and exists. She is the principal protectress of the Bön religion, the highest of its guardian deities, commanding retinues of lesser protective spirits.

Bound by Shenrab

Bön texts trace her binding to Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche, the founder of the Bön tradition. Before the oath, she was dangerous, a being of immense and undirected fury. Shenrab subdued her and bound her to protect his teachings and practitioners for all time. The binding did not diminish her. It turned her fury toward a purpose. The energy that had been destructive became protective, and the queen who had terrorized now guarded.

She kept her dark body, her mule, her sea of blood. She gained a mission.

The Queen's Watch

Her domain covers both the preservation of Bön teachings and the punishment of those who betray them. She guards the transmission of texts, ensuring they remain pure and reach qualified practitioners. And she enforces vows: practitioners who break their commitments answer to her.

The rituals to invoke her match her nature. Offerings include red substances suggesting blood, black foods, and torma cakes shaped to traditional specifications. Wrathful music accompanies fierce invocations. Practitioners visualize her form surrounded by flames and call on her protection. The ceremonies are performed regularly in Bön monasteries, and specifically when danger threatens the community. Her images appear in Bön shrines across Tibet, the dark queen on her mule, flames rising, watching.