Taoism Symbol

Taoism Philosophy Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a Chinese philosophy or religious tradition that is attributed to Laozi or Lao Tzu (c. 500 BCE). It emphasises living in harmony with the Tao, which is a Chinese word for path, way, or principle. Its central teaching is based on the concepts that nature is in flow and is the source and the driving force behind everything that exists. Taoism permeates Chinese culture and has influenced many other Asian cultures, especially Japan, Vietnam, and Korea. Key principles of Taoism: Taoism is a belief system and a set of practises towards living in harmony with nature. Nature is ever-changing and is always the same. Accept Nature and yourself. Some key practises in Taoism:

• Taoism teaches the concepts that humans should become align with the harmonic rhythms of the universe while focusing on compassion, harmony, and humility.
• Compassion & Kindness
• Be humble.
• Live simply.

There are Taoist symbols used in sacred rituals and everyday life. The most well-known Taoist symbol is the Yin-Yang. It is a circle of two opposite halves, symbolising duality. The Yin-Yang symbol can also be found embedded other Taoist symbols, such as the Taiji Tu, which represents Taoist cosmology. Let’s have a look at the Yin Yang and its deeper meaning. Yin Yang The central symbol of Taoism is the Yin and Yang, which translates from the Chinese word 陰陽 yīnyáng literally dark-bright or negative-positive. The symbol looks like a circle that shows the wheel of change through two waves that morph into each other, with two dots showing the opposite principle. It is the principle of balance between the feminine yin and the masculine yang. Even though opposite, botch waves contain the colour of the other as a dot at its centre, which symbolises the idea that in the light, exists a bit of the dark and vice versa. The opposing forces of the Universe that may be contrary are still connected and interrelated. In Chinese cosmology, the universe is created from chaos to being organised into duality. Yin is the receptive and Yang the active principle. Both principles are seen in many phenomena of nature such as day and night, hot and cold, good and bad. This can also be seen as the material and the spiritual world. This geometry can be simply generated from the Flower of Life and thus embodies the principles of Sacred Geometry. Ba Gua The Ba Gua is a divination technique of Taoism to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts. It literally means eight symbols or eight Trigrams, which consists each of three lines either broken (Yin) or solid ( Yang ). The Trigrams in combinations of two make up the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching (Yi Jing). The trigrams are related to the “five elements”. Other Symbols:

• Taijitu Shuo
• Five Element Chart
• Lo Pan Compass
• He Tu & Luo Shu Diagrams
• Nei Jing Tu
• Guodian Bamboo Strips