You have probably read or heard about yin yang, the Taoist symbol representing order and chaos, always interchangeable but always in juxtaposition. As the Taoists say, there can be no order without chaos, nor vice versa.. Just as this is one of the most representative symbols of Taoism, there are also others that are of great importance to Taoists.
The yin yang symbol
As mentioned above, this is the most widely known Taoist symbol, and is also known as the symbol taichi. The image consists of a circle divided into two drop-shaped parts: one is white and the other is black, and inside each side is a drop of the opposite color.
The circle represents the CAT: the unity of everything. The black and white drops symbolize the yin qi and the yang qithe feminine and masculine energies, whose interaction gives rise to the manifest world.
Within the light there is darkness
But don’t try to understand that darkness.
Within the darkness there is light
But don’t look for that light.
Light and darkness are a couple,
like the foot before and the foot behind when walking.
Each thing has its own intrinsic value
and is related to everything else in function and position.
Ordinary life absolutely fits like a box and its lid.
The absolute works together with the relative,
as if two arrows met in the air.
The curves and circles of the symbol represent that yin and yang are interdependent and are always in continuous transformation. There can be no yin without yang, nor vice versa.
The black dot in the white part and the white dot in the black part indicate the possibility of transformation: only when everything seems safe can the unknown break in in a brutal and unexpected way. Similarly, it is precisely when all seems lost that a new order can emerge from catastrophe and chaos.
(Jordan B. Peterson)
taijitu shuo
This is the diagram of the supreme polarity, it represents the entire Taoist cosmology and is similar in many ways to the diagram of wu ji.
The single circle at the top of the taijitu shuo symbolizes timelessness. What you see below is actually an early version of the yin yang symbol and represents the first move into duality, the game of yin qi and yang qi. of the mixture of yin qi and yang qi come the five elements: earth, metal, water, wood and fire. From these five elements are born the «innumerable things» of the world.
The Five Elements Diagram
The two energies (feminine and masculine) give life to the five elements. These elements can be seen present within the human body, within an ecosystem or any living system. When the elements of a system are in balance, the generation and control cycles work to feed each other. Conversely, if there is no equilibrium, there is a disproportionate reaction.
bagua
This is one of the main tools of the feng shui and it is considered as the energy map, since it analyzes all the energy of any environment.
By understanding the bagua you can redirect the focus of the energy flow towards the things you need to improve. This is accomplished by increasing the chi positive and reduce the chi negative. This symbol can be powerful to achieve some goal.
The bagua is divided into eight trigrams:
- Fame and reputation.
- Abundance and prosperity.
- Family and community.
- Love and relationships.
- People who help and travel.
- Creativity and children.
- Career and life mission.
- Wisdom and knowledge.
Neijing Tu
This symbol represents the transformations that occur within people who practice internal alchemy. The right side symbolizes the spine and the skull. Throughout the image different scenes are represented, which are related to the different alchemical changes that occur within the chakras.
The space in front of the coccyx and sacrum is known as the golden urn in Taoist yoga. In the Hindu traditions of yoga, it is where the kundalini: the energy that when it is asleep is a snake at the base of the spine, but when it wakes up it is the one that initiates the energetic transformations represented in this symbol.