One morning, Zun walked through a village where the people were divided by rigid walls. The men sat on the sun-scorched side of the square, and the women sat in the shadows, their voices never crossing the threshold between them.
In the time before the stars were fixed in their places, there was , the Weaver of the Middle Way. Zun was neither Father nor Mother, but both—a deity whose form shifted like the surface of a deep, moonlit lake. she male gods
In the realm of myth, many deities have existed beyond the boundaries of binary gender, embodying a "totality that lies beyond duality". These "gender-bending" gods appear in traditions across the world, from the androgynous in Hindu mythology to the gender-shifting Loki in Norse lore. One morning, Zun walked through a village where
Zun stood in the center, and as they did, their form began to ripple. To the men, Zun appeared as a great bearded warrior, with shoulders like mountain ridges. To the women, Zun appeared as a radiant mother, with eyes that held the softness of the dawn. Zun was neither Father nor Mother, but both—a
"Behold," Zun said, gesturing to their own divine body. "I am the strength of the oak and the flexibility of the willow. I am the fire of the hunt and the cradle of the hearth. If the gods themselves can be both, why must you be only one?"