A Singaporean female university graduate spent nine years teaching Chinese in secondary school, but after switching careers, she developed a close connection with Taoism. Now, she and her fiancé have established a temple and both serve as spirit mediums, helping those in need solve their problems.
According to Shin Min Daily News, Chen Huiying (34), who is a spirit medium at Yin Xiao Dian on Woodlands Three Temples, said she was brought by elders to visit temples and shrines from a young age, which sparked her interest in Taoism and its customs.
As she grew older, whenever she faced decisions — such as choosing a major at university, or what job to take after graduation — she would seek guidance from the deities.
She said that after graduating from university with a degree in Chinese, she taught Chinese in secondary school for about nine years. Having worked in the school environment ever since graduation, she later felt the need to seek a new direction, so she resigned to pursue another path.
"At the time, I went to a temple where the spirit medium suggested I borrow money to start a business, even saying I could hand the money over to him to get things started."
She said she did as suggested, handing over S$20,000 (about RM63,600) she had borrowed to this person, but two months passed with no follow-up. When she returned to look for him, she discovered he had made off with the money — later finding out he had gone to Batam Island.
"After being cheated, I hit rock bottom. Last year, I still had to tutor and do live-streaming to make money, working multiple jobs just to pay back the money I’d borrowed."
She revealed that since her fiancé is also a spirit medium, after this incident the two of them decided to help other devotees in a transparent and legitimate way, founding their own temple at the end of 2024.
At first, it was only her fiancé who acted as the medium. But several months after setting up the temple, she suddenly became “possessed” while at the shrine — she lost consciousness, describing it as a very mysterious experience. When she came to, she realized she had gone through the process of mediumship.
Since then, she has become a spirit medium, with the Lotus Third Prince as her patron deity; her fiancé’s patron deities are Grand Marshal Zhongtan and Xiaozi Ye.
When asked if being a female spirit medium comes with special restrictions, she revealed that the main one is that women cannot serve as mediums during menstruation — not even to help out — because in traditional belief the body is considered “unclean” during that time and thus unsuited for rituals.