history and meaning of this symbol

Discover the real meaning of one of the most popular tattoos: the symbol of yin and yang. Being sacred in Asia, these 2 entities would represent all the extreme elements of the universe.

All about the symbol of Yin and Yang

Do you know the true meaning of this symbol found on the Korean flag? True emblems for Asian religions, the yin and yang both have several symbolisms. For philosophers, this symbol would be the very foundation of life, because it would represent all the contradictory but complementary aspects that exist.

The History and Origins of Yin and Yang

The history of Yin and Yang would have started around the 3rd century BC, but the exact time has never been defined. In order to explain the natural cycles of existence, the cosmologist and philosopher Zou Yan used Yin and Yang. Then, the design of this symbol evolved over time. According to Chinese doctrine, it represents all the opposite poles of life which remain complementary and can only live in symbiosis. Often we refer to day and night, light and dark, or abstract things like submission and domination.

How to translate the Yin and Yang drawing?

Of Eastern origin, this very famous symbol which represents Yin and Yang is called the tai-jitu. This drawing is composed of a duality of colors: black and white. However, on the Korean flag, black is substituted by blue and white by red. Yin and Yang are thus represented by a circle divided into two parts by a curved line, with two small dots in each section.

The outer circle: A representation of the universe

The large outer circle symbolizes the “everything”, which can be compared to the universe, with all the elements it contains, including us. Within this circle reigns the balance that governs our entire existence. Inside are two shapes that symbolize two energies totally opposite forces reacting with each other. Their equal surfaces illustrate harmony. These two forms, one white in color and the other black in color, can combine into a single force that gives rise to all that “is” in our life.

Yin and Yang: The colors that form a whole

THE yin, represented by the color black, would symbolize all that is negative and dark, namely the feminine, the passive, the night, or even the moon. On the other hand, the symbol of Yang illustrates everything that could be positive, including the masculine, the active, the force, the light and the sun. The list is not exhaustive because all the opposite constituents of our universe having complementary characteristics can be represented by this circle.

The curved line: A sign of continuity

The 2 sections of opposite colors are separated by an S-shaped line that would allow endless movement between the two. Indeed, a black part interferes in the white section, and vice versa. This means that as Yin disappears, Yang will expand to fill the void. Yin would not be without Yang and Yang would disappear in the absence of Yin.

The two little dots: Symbols of complementarity

Concerning the two points lodged in each part, they show that the absolute does not exist. Nothing is absolutely positive and nothing is really negative. There is always Yin in Yang and conversely, a part of Yang will always remain in Yin. Moreover, this can be explained concretely.

Yin and Yang: Discover the meaning of this symbol

Even if we find yin and yang in all opposite aspects of the universe, Chinese philosophers and other religious people have all had their vision of this symbol. This concerns both concrete things and abstract ones.

The Taoist point of view

Following the tradition taoist, Yin and Yang are comparable to the “Big Bang”. Indeed, these two poles would have been born from an energy which upset the Tao. The latter would be the source and content of the universe. Since then, all extreme natural potentials are represented by these entities. THE yang symbol illustrates the externalization of all forms of energy, while that of Yin relates to their reception. It is from this principle that appeared the potential of the movement, the origin of all the phenomena which govern our life. Even the water cycle has been associated with this symbol because of the upward and downward movements.

Yin and Yang are sacred to buddhists and the Taoists insofar as they would allow the Five Elements to move. They would thus provide the energy necessary to regulate the various natural flows of life, negative as well as positive. These Five Elements are the basic patterns that breathe life.

Yin and Yang according to medicine

In Occident, yin and yang are neither forces nor physical materials, but rather labels with which we associate the different phenomena of life. If science had always been based only on analyses, it integrated the principle of yin and yang in his conception of human life. In the biological domain, everything could be explained by the balancing of Yin and Yang. The most concrete example is the cardiovascular system. When the heart throbs, its contraction is represented by Yin and it is illustrated by Yang when it expands.

By analogy, inspiration can also be symbolized by Yin, while the movement of Yang would explain expiration. All body mechanisms can therefore be associated with ying and yang movements, even the smallest ones, such as the balance of red and white blood cells. The regulation of body temperature could even be explained by the swinging of these two entities, our organism liking neither cold nor heat. When all this was proven, scientists then became less skeptical of the sacred symbols of Asia.