In Mandarin Chinese, 太极图 (Pinyin: tàijítú) is a Taoist symbol ☯ representing T’ai chi, 太极 (tàijí), “great pole” or “supreme ultimate”. In Western popular culture it is known as “Yin-Yang symbol” or, less commonly, “Yang-Yin symbol”.
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| Le chat a trouvé Shanti // The cat has found inner peace |
Juan Eduardo Cirlot wrote in his Dictionary of Symbols:
A Chinese symbol of the dual distribution of forces, comprising the active or masculine principle (Yang) and the passive or feminine principle (Yin). It takes the form of a circle bisected by a sigmoid line, and the two parts so formed are invested with a dynamic tendency which would be wanting if the division were by a diameter. The light half represents the Yang force and the dark half denotes Yin; however, each half includes an arc cut out of the middle of the opposing half, to symbolize that every mode must contain within it the germ of its antithesis. Guénon considers that the Yang-Yin is a helicoidal symbol, that is, that it is a section of the universal whirlwind which brings opposites together and engenders perpetual motion, metamorphosis and continuity in situations characterized by contradiction. The entrance to and exit from this movement lie outside the movement itself, in the same way that birth and death stand apart from the life of the individual in so far as it is conscious and self-determined. The vertical axis through the centre of the Yang-Yin constitutes the ‘unvarying mean’ or, in other words, the mystic ‘Centre’ where there is no rotation, no restlessness, no impulse, nor any suffering of any kind. It corresponds to the central zone of the Wheel of Transformations in Hindu symbolism, and the centre or the way out of the labyrinth in Egyptian and western symbolism. It is also expressive of the two counterbalancing tendencies of evolution and involution.
More photos related to Yang, Yin and sea glass @ Shutterstock.
