The Yin Yang symbol first appeared in Chinese historical documents three thousand years ago. The image, also referred to as the Tai Chi symbol, is the most significant concept in Chinese Horoscopes and philosophy. Heaven, earth, and humans are all one system. Yin Yang, representing the source of all life and the balance of creation, is at the heart of Feng Shui.
The Yin Yang theory holds that all phenomena incorporates two opposite forces, yin and yang, which are variously defined as up and down, hot and cold, left and right, light and dark, stillness and movement, substance and function, life and death, male and female, etc. Considered as undivided, the ultimate meaning of yin yang is interpreted as one of universal harmony. Everything has both yang and yin aspects that ebb and flow, like the tides. These two halves, are represented in the familiar Chinese icon for the Tai Ji – two semi-circles of dark and light that merge into each other and move in perfect harmony.
Yin literally means “the shady (north) side of a mountain”. It is the dark area obstructed by the mountain’s bulk. Yang literally means “the sunny (south) side of a mountain”. Everything about the world that is evident, illuminated, controlling, active, aggressive, hot, hard, corresponds to the day, and masculine is yang.
Yin is negative, female, passive, night force, water, and receiving. Yang is positive, aggressive, male, fire, day force, giving, manifestation, magnetism, down, in, cold, wet, dark, moon, autumn and winter, earth and metal, female, time, dark colors, passive and resting, dull, negative, and death.
Yang is potential, electricity, up, out, hot, dry, light, sun, spring and summer, wood and fire, male, space, light colors, activity, bright, positive, life, focused, fast, hard, solid, hot, dry, aggressive, masculinity, sky, the sun, and daytime. Yang stands for serenity and peace.
Yin represents confusion and turmoil. Yang is destruction, Yin is conservation. Yang causes disintegration, Yin gives form. Yin creates the senses which pertain to the physical body, while Yang creates the air. When the physical dies, the spirit returns to the air, its natural environment. Yang (active energy) in feng shui is characterized by bright lights, strong vibrant sounds and colors, upward moving energy, etc.
Yang is light, heaven, male, active, and penetrating. It is present in the mountains, odd numbers and is symbolized by the dragon, an unbroken line, and the color blue. Yin is generated from yang and yang is created from yin. Yin is the moon and Yang is identified with the sun.
As the sun progresses across the sky, yin and yang subtly trade places with each other, revealing what was concealed and obscuring what was exposed. Yin and Yang are interrelated, but opposing forces that move in a natural cycle, always striving for balance. Each contains the kernel of the other, which is why we see at the heart of yang a black spot of Yin and vice versa.
There is a false perception in the Western world that yin and yang represent evil and good. Yin and yang are however, only opposite and equal qualities – an endless cycle transforming each other. Like waves of the ocean, every advance is complemented by a retreat, and every rise transforms into a fall. Thus, a seed sprouts from the earth and grows skyward – a fundamentally yang movement.
Yin Yang and the 5 Elements provide the intellectual framework for much of Chinese scientific theory especially in medicine and biology. The organs of the body are seen as interrelated in the same manner as other natural phenomena. Fire is an expression of Yang and Water is an representation of Yin.
We live in a very perceptible and recognizable flow of active, busy, Yang energy, and the weak or even missing feng shui energy of Yin is easily overlooked. However, a bedroom needs the soft, quiet, relaxing, Yin energy in order to recoup and heal body and soul. For this reason, dominant, yang feng shui elements such as the TV, exercise equipment, or office items should be removed from the bedroom. Soft yin energy needs to predominant in your bedroom, however, a slight presence of yang (candles, sexual images, a light color, etc) will balance the dark, emotional atmosphere. Living room, den, and kitchen will definitely benefit from a more energetic yang feng shui presence.
The earliest Chinese representations for yin and yang were found carved onto the “oracle bones” of animals used in ancient Chinese divination rituals. Yin and yang in these inscriptions are simply records of natural phenomena such as the weather with emphasis on the movement of the sun. It was a system of divination using astronomy and astrology that was not very different from those developed elsewhere in the ancient world.
The most persistent concept of yin yang in Chinese thought is the concept of qi (chi, vital energy, spirit). According to this understanding, yin and yang are both seen as the qi functioning in the universe. As qi, Yin yang explains the beginning of the universe, and provides a building block of Chinese intellectual belief. Yin yang developed a pivotal, traditional role in Chinese health and medicine. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine furnishes a detailed account of pathological changes and physiological functions in the human body and instructions using yin and yang for diagnosis and treatments, classifying the organs of the body as either Zang or Fu. Storage is a yin function, and transport and transformation of substance (food, blood, etc.) is a yang function. The organ itself is its yin aspect, while the activity or function of the organ is its yang aspect. The exterior of the body, skin, muscles, etc., is Yang. Yang on the outside protects the Yin within.
The philosophy of Yin and Yang is one of the most profound and fundamental theories of Feng Shui and Chinese Zodiac compatibility. Of the two primary Chinese “Ways,” Taoism is most closely identified with the yin aspect and Confucianism with the yang aspect. The Taoist concept of “Not Doing” is yin. Taoists use a language of receptivity and passivity that is in fact quite active. Although yin is feminine and yang is masculine, everything and everyone in the world is a melange of the two. A male may in reality be mostly yin, and a female may be principally yang. Being in control, for instance, is a yang (or Confucian) characteristic.
Yang (hot) diseases are treated by yin (cold) herbs, while hot herbs are used to treat cold diseases. Time is another aspect of yin and yang. Sunrise is yin (night) turning to yang (day). Noon is completely yang. Sunset is yang becoming yin, and midnight is total yin. Summer and south are totally yang. Autumn and west are yang becoming yin. Winter and north are full yin, and spring and east are yin becoming yang.
Taoism often regards yin above yang, and Confucianism yang above yin. Yang and Yin function in the universe primarily through the actions of the 5 elements: Metal (Venus), Earth (Saturn), Water (Mercury), Wood (Jupiter), and Fire (Mars). The elements can be both Yang or Yin, so the various combinations of all these elements produce an extended number of alternatives and astrological possibility. One yin and one yang are called Tao (pronounced “dow”). Meaning “the way,” Tao is the ancient Chinese term for the ordering principle that makes harmony possible.
In the ancient text of the Tao Te Ching, the Chinese philosopher Laozi formulated a philosophical system that introduced the concept of health and prosperity through awareness of the natural cosmic cycles. This awareness of life, he suggested, was the path to finding balance and achieving a “satisfied mind.” This blending of qi then becomes balanced and harmonious. Yin and yang are the Tao of heaven and earth, and the principle and root beginning of life and death, of mother and father, and of spiritual enlightenment.
Contained within the light or yang half of the yin/yang symbol is a small circle of dark yin, representing the feminine within the masculine. Similarly, within the dark or yin half of this symbol is a circle of light yang, representing the masculine within the feminine. The yang seeks to find the Yin, which in turn is powerfully magnetized toward its other half. Finding out your birth-year polarity (whether you are yin or yang) will reveal which side of the karmic coin you represent. You can discover whether you are, in essence, an ardent front-line yang lover or a dreamy backseat yin lover.
Yang foods are warming and drying. Yang is conceived of as heaven, and penetrating. Yang body organs are “hollow”. They receive and circulate but do not store. Certain foods are considered to have yang or “warm” properties, while yin foods are counted as “cooling”. Yang foods include beef, black pepper, brown sugar, butter, cheese, chicken liver and fat, chilies, chocolate, coffee, eggs, smoked fish, garlic, green peppers, goose, ham, kidney beans, lamb, leeks, onions, peanuts, potato, rabbit, turkey, walnuts, whiskey and wine.
Yin foods include almonds, apple, asparagus, bamboo, banana, barley, bean curd, bean sprouts, beer, broccoli, cabbage, celery, clams, corn, corn flour, crab, cucumber, duck, eels, fish, grapes, honey, ice creams, lemons, mushrooms, mussels, oranges, oysters, peppermint tea, pineapple, salt, shrimp, spinach, strawberries, soya beans, white sugar, tomatoes, water. Neutral foods are bread, carrots, cauIifIower, cherries, lean chicken, meat, dates, milk, peaches, peas, plums, raisins and rice.
The Horse, Monkey, Rat, Tiger, Dragon, and Dog are Yang lovers that take command in life and in the bedroom. Their sexual energy builds rapidly. Yang lovers are quick out of the gate and possess a passionate and potent spirit. Yang signs of Western astrology are Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius.
The Goat, Rooster, Ox, Rabbit, Snake, and Pig are Yin lovers. They are passive, receptive lovers who are sensual, sensitive, and feelings-oriented. Yin lovers take their time and enjoy the preliminaries and the foreplay. Yin signs of Western astrology are Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces.
The spirit knows no gender, and is more than the vague human embodiment of masculinity or femininity. It is the yin or yang essence, and not a person’s gender, that will influence their inclinations and sensibilities. Everyone has the potential to be either the giver or the receiver. For example, yin males such as Goats, Rabbits, and Pigs possess a yin spirit and are able to express their “feminine side” more easily than other men. Yang females, such as Horses, Tigers, and Dogs boast a yang spirit that is better able to express their aggressive “masculine side” more easily than other women.
Yin Yang or Tai Chi was evolved from ancient Chinese objectives to discover and interpret order and structure in the sky and the turning of the seasons. The universe was interpreted as a place of perpetual change resulting from the balancing and interactions of opposing forces. This philosophy comprehended other pairs of opposites such as good-evil, man-woman, right-left, etc. From the contrasting dot in the heart of each side of the yin yang concept, we discover that there is always a negative element in every positive action or situation, and conversely, good can come from bad events or experiences. Clouds have silver linings, and indeed, “It’s an ill wind, that blows no good.”
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