The daughter of Shang-ti, Chih-Nii is the Chinese Power of spinners and weavers. She makes clothes for all the gods of heaven, a task that keeps her so busy that she has had no time to find a husband. Fortunately for Chih-Nii, however, her sister convinced her to take a rest and go to earth.
While the women were bathing in a stream, a cowherd came along and hid Chih-Nii’s clothes. When he would not return them, Chih-Nii was forced to remain on earth and eventually fell in love with the mischievous cowherd. Unfortunately, the gods soon recalled Chih-Nii. Recovering Chih-Nii’s clothes from their hiding place, the cowherd tried to follow her to heaven, but Shang-ti stopped the mortal on the far side of the Celestial River (the Milky Way). Chih-Nii may now cross the Celestial river to visit her lover only on the seventh day of the seventh month each year, when the magpies gather to make a bridge with their wings.
As the patron of spinners and weavers, Chih-Nii watches over women who earn their living by making clothes. Her main interest, however, is women who have found love late in their lives, and there is a decent chance she will send her avatar to punish any male who jilts such a woman.
Her Realm on the first Layer of Arborea is called the Loom of the Celestial River. She dwells among the Bariaur, tending sheep and silkworms and looking after star-crossed lovers.
Source: Legends & Lore (2nd ed.), On Hallowed Ground, Warriors of Heaven, Planes of Chaos (The Book of Chaos, page 39)
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