What is "doumu"

Doumu , also Doumu Yuanjun (斗母元君 Dǒumǔ Yuánjūn, "Primordial Mother Goddess of the Chariot") or simply known as "Big Dipper Mother", is a Chinese goddess in traditional religion and Taoist schools. She is also named through the honorific Tianhou (天后, "Queen of Heaven"), shared with other Chinese goddesses, especially Mazu, who are perhaps conceived as her aspects.

She represents the Big Dipper (or Great Chariot, or Plough), and is therefore considered the mother of its seven stars and two not visible ones, the Jiuhuangdadi (九皇大帝 Jiǔhuángdàdì) or Nine Great Emperor Gods. The Big Dipper is in Chinese culture, as well as in other cultures of the world, a traditional symbol of the absolute principle originating the universe ( Taidi, Tian or the Tao in Chinese thought). Therefore, Doumu is not the chthonic goddess, but rather the "solar" or heaven goddess; she is indeed seen as the female consort of Shangdi, also named Doufu (斗父 Dòufù, "Father of the Great Chariot"), or Yuanshi Tianzun (元始天尊, "Heavenly Lord of the Primordial Beginning") or Taiyi Tianzun (太乙天尊, "Heavenly Lord of the Great Oneness") in Taoism.

According to Ge Hong (283-343), Yuanjun was the teacher of Laozi.