Ying and Yang, the two primordial forces that govern the universe, symbolize harmony. They are opposites, Yin is dark, Yang is light, Yin is passive, Yang is active, Yin is female, Yang is male.
Yin and Yang are complementary, they depend on each other. Without night, there is no light. without hot, there is no cold. Without life, there is no death. Like a Magnet's positive and negative poles, Yin and Yang unite. All things contain varying degrees of Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang continually interact, creating cyclical change: Winter gives way to Spring, only to return in a matter of months; heat replaces cold, which gives way to heat; night follows day, which re-emerges after some hours of darkness. There is a sense of wholeness in the movement of Yin and Yang. And the natural process that unites the two is Tao.
Tao (universal situation), a process where Yin and Yang merge together into one. The moon (Yin) comes out and recedes, the sun (Yang) rises, then sets equalling one day, and this moon-sun interplay goes natuarally, creating the Tao of haven and earth. The Tao of couples is when a woman and a man get married and become a family, giving and receiving with each day. Or luck and fortune which is never constant, but fluctuates, sometimes good, sometime bad. This is the Tao of man.
In chinese traditional medicine, the body needs to maintain harmony. The chinese say the inside is Yin and the exterior is Yang. When something goes wrong, the chinese doctors say they can trace it to an imbalance of one of the principles. If you have an upset stomach (Yin) and you feel nausea, your mouth will open (Yang) and you will vomit - then you will feel better. This applies also to the emotions. If your heart or mind is upset or uneasy, you might cry; or if you are angry, you might yell. People personalities must also have a complementary amount of Yin and Yang to get along harmoniously in marriage and in work.
In feng shui, the Yin and Yang of a house or a gravesite must be balance, bring residents into harmony with their environments.
Ch'i is the most important component of feng shui. One feng shui wrote: "If a geomancer can recognize ch'i, that is all there is to feng shui." Ch'i is the vital force that breathes life into animals and vegetation, inflates the earth to form mountains, and carries water through the earth's ducts. ch'i is a life essence, a motivating forces. It animates all things. Ch'i determines the height of mountains, the quality of blooms, the extent of potential fulfilment. Without Ch'i, trees will not blossom, rivers will not flow, man will not be. And while all things - hills, streams, trees, humans, stones - inhale Ch'i, they also exhale it, thus affecting each other. Ch'i is a pervasive concept in chinese traditional arts ranging from acupuncture and medicine to feng shui and gung fu. It can include such diverse phenomena as the energy that moves waves; the source of fertile earth; what martial artists channel when striking powerful blows; what acupuncturists seek to activate with their needles; and even man's aura. For thousand of years, the chinese have hired feng shui experts to divine, like architectural dowsers, where the best Ch'i flows in the landscape.
To chinese Ch'i links spirit and substance. Light Ch'i floats as air; heavy Ch'i sinks to form matter. It ascends and descends, and moves in all ways without ever ceasing. Ch'i which floats upward is Yang that is clear, while that which sinks to the bottom is Yin that turbid. In chinese Ch'i has two meanings; one cosmic, one human. Heaven's Ch'i encompasses air, steam, gas, weather and force. Man's Ch'i includes breath, aura, manner and energy. The two types of Ch'i are far from seperate. Man's Ch'i is strongly influenced by the Ch'i of both heaven and earth. The land most influenced by Ch'i, the chinese claim is the most habitable: Flowers trees and grass grow fastest, animals are the fattest and most useful, and the people are the happiest, most comfortable, and prosperous. Therefore when Ch'i is near it causes mountains toform, trees to grow tall, grass to be green, air to be fresh,water to be clear, clean, and accessible, flowers to bloom, man to live comfortably and contentedly. When Ch'i is too far away, no water, flows, pollution and sickness thrive, and there will be bad luck.
Atmospheric Ch'i molds human Ch'i. Ch'i must flow smoothly and near a person to improve his Ch'i. It must be balanced. If the current is too strong or too weak, it can have negative effects.
According to feng shui masters, buildings trees, and sun all affect the quality and flowing of our Ch'i, but do not increase or reduce the amount of Ch'i in a person.
Feng Shui's goal is to tap the earth's Ch'i, just as the goal of acupunture is to tap a person's Ch'i. The feng shui adept must find a place where the Ch'i flows smoothly and the principles of Yin and Yang are balanced. If this isn,t possible, feng shui offer methods of bringing envirnment into harmony. In divining the potential of a landscape, house, tomb, or room, feng shui experts discern if Ch'i is expanding or receding and make suggestions accordingly.