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Writer's pictureRob Mcclintock

The Principles of Daoism

Two complimentary principles of Daoism. Yin is negative, dark, and feminine, Yang is positive, bright, and masculine. Their interaction is thought to maintain the harmony of the universe and to influence everything within it.


The yin yang symbol represents the interconnectedness of the world, particularly the natural world. There can be no positive without a negative, no open without closed, no light without shadow. The yin yang symbol itself portrays that interrelatedness. Looking at the symbol, you can see it doesn’t have a straight line going through the centre to represent the divide between yin and yang. Inside, the dividing line is a soft S shape. It shows how yin and yang are connected and constantly flowing into and out of each other. At the top of the symbol, as yang swells, yin contracts. At the bottom, yin swells, as yang contracts. The ideal situation is when there is an equal balance between the two, as that is when harmony is achieved.


Within the symbol, not only do the white and black segments fit perfectly with each other to form a circle, each has a small circle of the other colour within it to further show the connection between the two. The small circles also show that nothing is absolute. In all yin, there is a little yang, and vice versa. This further demonstrates the connection between the two.


The outer circle of the ying yang symbol represents the entirety of the universe. It shows that yin and yang represent everything that we know, as well as things we don’t yet understand.


If they both wake up within the individual, there is a realisation that they and the individual are one. Whole. Complete.




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