Yin-Yang
Yin-Yang is the principle of complementary opposites in the universe. Dark-light, feminine-masculine, passive-active. They balance each other, carrying the seed of the other within. The philosophical foundation of I Ching.
What is Yin-Yang?
Yin-yang is the principle in Chinese philosophy that everything in the universe arises from the interplay of two complementary opposing forces. Yin is the dark, cool, receptive, inward and resting side; yang the bright, warm, active, outward and moving side. They do not exclude each other: when one peaks it begins to turn into the other, as the day moves toward morning after midnight and the year toward winter after midsummer. In the well-known taijitu symbol, each of the black and white halves holds a dot of the opposite colour, showing that each carries the seed of the other. In the I Ching the principle appears directly in the lines: solid is yang, broken is yin, and the 64 hexagrams are built from combinations of the two. A common misconception is that yin is bad or weak and yang good or strong; the aim is balance, not dominance. You can see your hexagram, built from yin and yang lines, with an I Ching reading on Faltastik.
Related Terms
Tao (The Way)
The cosmic order and natural flow underlying the universe. Described as 'the name of the unnameable'. The I Ching offers guidance for living in harmony with the Tao.
Wu Wei (Non-Action)
The principle of acting without forcing or resisting natural flow. Not laziness; it's the art of taking the right action at the right time with minimum effort.
Five Elements (Wuxing)
The five fundamental energies in Chinese philosophy: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water. They have cycles of generating and controlling each other. Used in I Ching interpretation.
Bagua
The arrangement of the eight trigrams. Has two main arrangements: 'Earlier Heaven' (Fu Xi) and 'Later Heaven' (King Wen). Also used in Feng Shui.
Change (Yi)
The central concept of the I Ching. The only constant in the universe is change. Every situation is in transformation; from winter to spring, night to day. Understanding this flow is wisdom.
De (Virtue)
The virtue that naturally results from living in harmony with the Tao. Not forced morality, but the inner good that emerges when one aligns with nature's flow.