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Yin Yang
Yin and Yang
"The Yin Yang is a symbol of the Holy Immortal Tao"
More than two thousand years ago in ancient China, the Yin Yang was conceived as a symbol of basic primordial opposites. It represents the duality of all things. Man and woman, good and evil, light and dark, night and day, force and resistance, Heaven and Earth. It expresses the principle that without one, the other does not exist. Yin represents lightness and coolness. In the symbol of the Yin Yang, Yin is depicted as the white element and represents passive energy. Examples of Yin are Woman, rain, Earth, cold, resistance, reaction, repose, the moon, death, water, and positivity. Yin is discovered in every part of life, in every species, in every place, in every one of us, as is Yang. Yin represents calmness and decline. The force that defines Yin, with which Yin is in perpetual, simultaneous conflict and harmony is Yang. Yang is represented by the black element and represents active energy. Man, the sun, fire, force, action, negativity, birth, and aggression are all symbolized by Yang.
Taoists believe that through the merging of Yin (woman) and Yang (man) a synergy is created which results in new life (creation). The new life necessarily contains parts of the two originals, and the "eyes" in the Yin Yang represent this. Though Yin is in opposition to Yang, she still contains a small part of him, and vice versa. The two can only harmoniously coexist when balance is achieved. When there is too much Yin, boredom, laziness, disarray, and disease will occur. Where there is too much Yang, anxiety, overexertion (overachieving), aggression, anger, hatred, and disease will occur.
Though Yin (Yang) is attributed to woman (man), that is not to say that all women (men) have an abundance of Yin (Yang) qualities. As the Taoists subscribe to the doctrine of reincarnation, the gender into which the "soul" incarnates is of little importance in the quality or evolutionary stage of development of the consciousness (or soul).
The Yin Yang is the beautiful, universal symbol for all things. It deserves respect and honor.
May you never thirst.
