In Journey to the West, most female spirits or demons capture the Tang Monk because they desire to marry him. Only two exceptions exist: the White Bone Spirit and the Seven Spider Spirits. Both groups sought the Tang Sanzang’s “flesh” (for immortality) and showed no sexual or romantic interest in men.
Today, we focus specifically on these Seven Spider Spirits. Their origins are unusual—they are likely the Seven Celestial Fairies from heaven.
Key Supporting Evidence
Resemblance to Celestial Fairies
They are portrayed as “fairies who fell into the mortal world,” hinting at their divine origins.
Jadelike but far more fragrant;
Flowerlike but their words were real.
Willow brows arched like distant hills;
Scented mouths framed by cherry lips.
Kingfisher plumes rose on hair pins;
Small feet gleamed beneath crimson skirts.
They seemed like Chang’e coasting to the world below,
And immortals going down to earth.— Journey to the West, Chapter 72
The seven are described as young, extraordinarily beautiful women who enjoy bathing in the Zhuogou Spring (Spring of Purification Stream or the Purgation Spring).
“Why did the monster-spirits want the spring?” asked Pilgrim. The local spirit said, “After these fiends took it over, they bathed in it three times a day.”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 72
Connection to the Queen Mother of the West
The leader of the Seven Fairies in heaven is the Queen Mother of the West, whose treasures (like the Zhuogou Spring) are not accessible to ordinary demons. The Queen Mother of the West is a powerful celestial deity and one of the highest-ranking goddesses in not only the novel Journey to the West but also the Chinese mythology.
One day the Lady Queen Mother decided to open wide her treasure chamber and to give a banquet for the Grand Festival of Immortal Peaches, which was to be held in the Palace of the Jasper Pool. She ordered the various Immortal Maidens—Red Gown, Blue Gown, White Gown, Black Gown, Purple Gown, Yellow Gown, and Green Gown—to go with their flower baskets to the Garden of Immortal Peaches and pick the fruits for the festival. The seven maidens went to the gate of the garden and found it guarded by the local spirit, the stewards, and the ministers from the two departments of the Equal to Heaven Residence.
— Journey to the West, Chapter 5
The fact that these spider spirits inhabit such a sacred location suggests they retain celestial privileges despite their demonic forms.
Link to Sun Wukong’s Peach Theft
The text speculates that the Seven Fairies were involved in the peach theft incident (when Sun Wukong stole the Peaches of Immortality). Their punishment may have been demotion to the mortal realm as spider spirits.
Despite their fall, the Queen Mother may have allowed them to keep the Zhuogou Spring(Purgation Spring) due to their past service.
I only know that three miles due south of here, there’s a Purgation Spring, which is a natural hot spring. Originally, it was the bathing place for the Seven Immortal Dames of the Region Above. Since the monster-spirits arrived, they took over the Purgation Spring, and the Immortal Dames did not even bother to contend with them. They simply let the monster-spirits have the place.
— Journey to the West, Chapter 72
Symbolic Interpretation
The Seven Spider Spirits’ duality—as both degraded fairies and earthly demons—reflects themes of divine punishment and hidden grace in Journey to the West. Their retained use of the Zhuogou Spring(the Purgation Spring) symbolizes how even fallen immortals cling to remnants of their celestial identity.
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