The worship of the Nine Emperor Gods or Jiuhuang Ye stemmed from the worship of the Northern Dipper (北斗) - the asterism that consists of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major (i.e. Dubhe 天枢, Merak 天璇, Phecda 天玑, Megrez 天权, Alioth 玉衡, Mizar 开阳, Alkaid 瑶光), and two other stars that were not visible to the naked eye. Together, these nine stars form the Celestial Net (天罡 or Tiangang), which was used in ancient China for celestial navigation and the formulation of the calendar. Following the spread of Taoism, the stars that form the Celestial Net were anthropomorphized as Astral Lords of the Northern Dipper (北斗星君 or Beidou Xingjun).

Due to the widespread belief that the Southern Dipper watches over the living while the Northern Dipper rules over death, the Astral Lords of the Northern Dipper soon became known as deities who could determine how long humans lived. Subsequently, the practices of Lidou (Venerating the Dipper) and offering prayers to the Lady Mother of the Dipper gained popularity among Taoists.