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The essence of Yin and Yang is that you live in an ever-changing world.  Accepting this will make it easier to keep a constant balance in your life.

The early Chinese Sages believed that humanity was affected by town dominant forces: Heaven and Earth.  Heaven was regarded as the space above and was given the term "Yang".  Its main force is that of a descending tendency toward the earth.  Earth was regarded as the Chi beneath the ground that rose up vertically and retruned to the cosmos.

First Words of Balance

The first Sage to write about Yin and Yang was Lao Tzu in his classic, the Tao Te Ching, written in 500BC.  He described how all human affairs were catagorized by the forces of Yin and Yang.  Lao Tzu gives many examples of this working dynaic.  For example, it is impossible to understand heat (Yang) without having any knowledge of cold (Yin).  How is it possible to descirbe the daylight (Yang) without any knowledge of the dark and the night (Yin)? 

History of the Yin/Yang Symbol

Historically, the followers of Lao Tzu, know as Taoists, are acknowledged as the creators of the Yin/Yang symbol.  The symbol itself beautifully and simply expresses the concept of a universe with tow dominate forces - Yin and Yang - and their perpetual motion.

The eye of the opposite color indicates that nothing is entirely Yin or Yang.

THe circle represents the wholeness of the entire universe.  It also represents a clockwise cycle that begins at the bottom, which from a Chinese perspective represents the night or the winter, when the forces of Yin are at their peak. 

The color black always represents Yin - the night and the winter, white the color white represents Yang - the daytime and the summer, which are natural opposites of Yin.

Attributes of Yin and Yang

ONe of the earliest mentions of Yin and Yang in relationship to Feng Shui appeared in the 6th century AD.  In the Landscape and Form Schoool, Yin and Yang were simply epitomized by the location of a dwelling on the shady (Yin) side or the sunny (Yang) side of a hill.  It's important to remember that all the qualities of Yin and Yang are tendencies, and were drawn from the Sages' experience of the natural world.

Yang:  heaven, hot, day, summer, faster, active, bright, harder, practical, white/red/green, rigid, masculine

Yin: earth, cold, night, winter, slower, passive, dark, softer, spiritual, black/blue, flexible, feminine

Two Key Principles

There are two vital dynamics of Yin and Yang that are well worth remembering.

1. If there is a dominance of one of hte Yin or Yang characteristics present in your life or environment, it will ultimately make you take on that quality.  For example, if you live in a cold, damp, dark basement (Yin), this Chi will affect you, and you will become cold, passive and unenthusiastic.

2. At their extremes, Yin turns into Yang and vice versa.  For example, if you apply extreme heat to a rock or a piece of metal, it will ultimately Yin-ize and become fluid and flexible.  If you apply the principle of extreme Yin - cold - to water, it will freeze and become hard.  Taking it personally, if you live in the extrememly cold, mountainous regions of the world, you will become very active, focused and resilient (Yang).  If you take a vacation in a very hot Yang climate, you will become very relaxed and lethargic (Yin). 

Yin and Yang at Home

Generally speaking, your home is a more Yin environment compared to the workplace.  Home is where you retreat, where you relax and recover your strength and energy, and there are many Yin qualities and features in it that help to achieve this.  These include: soft furnishings, softer lighting, mellow colors, soft carpets, music, plants and artwork that is either comforting or relaxing.  Even within the home, you can create more Yin or more Yang rooms or themes within your house.

If you are raising healthy, boisterous kids, they need a more Yang and uplifting environment.  This can be achieved with brighter lighteing, brighter colors and stimulating imagery.  If the home is occupied by elderly people, they prefer a more Yin environment where they ighting is softer and darker, imagery is peaceful and the ambience is more mellow.

You can combine Yin and Yang in the same object, like having a Yang color in a Yin texture in a pillow.

Creating Balance

A useful tip using Yin and Yang is always to bring in a little of the opposite into your environment.  For example, if you occupy a Yang, bright office, bring in a touch of Yin - a plant, a flower, an image that is either romantic or mellow.  On the other hand, in a Yin, darker room at home, use brighter colors and lighting.

If tall shrubbery blocks natural outdoor light from coming into your home, be sure to have a bright lamp in the room to rebalance the area's Chi.

In Light & Love

Oshuyn