Magu, literally meaning ‘hemp maiden’, is the Taoist goddess of hemp and a guardian of women. She is a beautiful young woman with long fingernails and was revered during the 4th and 5th centuries throughout China, Korea (as Mago), and Japan (Mako). Her youth and beauty are symbols of the health and healing of the universe she is believed to protect. Accompanying her are a deer and a crane, which symbolise prosperity and long life. According to historian and sinologist Joseph Needham, Magu is the goddess of the sacred Mount Tai in the Shandong province, where hemp was “was to be gathered on the seventh day of the seventh month [of the lunar calendar], a day of banquets in the Taoist communities”.