Zhinü

The Weaver Girl

Celestial granddaughter who weaves cloud brocade, reunited with her cowherd once a year.

The Weaver Girl is the goddess of the star Vega, granddaughter of heaven, whose loom weaves the clouds into brocade. When she married the mortal cowherd and neglected her weaving, heaven separated the pair by the Silver River, allowing them to meet only on the seventh night of the seventh month. On that night women pray to her for nimble hands — the festival of Qixi born from a star’s love story.