Visual Symbols

Taoist Visual Symbols - Image Gallery
An introduction to eight important Taoist visual symbols: the Yin-Yang symbol, the Taijitu, the Five-Elements chart, the Ba Gua, the Lo Pan compass, the He Tu and Luo Sho charts, the Neijing Tu, and the Guodian bamboo strips.

The Yin-Yang Symbol
What is the meaning of the Taoist Yin-Yang symbol?

The Five Element System
An introduction to the Five Element System used in Chinese Medicine, Qigong and other Taoist practices.

The Classic Yin-Yang (Taiqi) Symbol
Here's a lovely reproduction of the Yin-Yang Symbol: the most well-known of Taoist visual images. The white-within-black and black-within-white represents a potentially revolutionary way of relating to so-called "opposites" - in which we understand them to be interdependent, instead of mutually exclusive.

Flowering Yin-Yang Symbol
This pattern is the Yin-Yang symbol spiraling outward ... beautiful!

Origin of the Yin-Yang Symbol
The true origin of this famous symbol ...

Chinese Characters ~ An Introduction
Here's a nice brief introduction to the meaning of Chinese Characters, how to read a text (from top to bottom, right to left!), and how to go about translating Chinese Characters into English.

Chinese Character Dictionary
Lets you search by English, Pinyin, and Cantonese as well as by Character and Radical/Stroke - useful and fun!

Five Elements Diagram
Central to the practice of both Chinese Medicine and the internal arts of qigong and taiqi is the Five-Elements system. Here's a diagram of the Five Elements, which illustrates both their "controlling" and "supporting" cycles.

Nei Jing Tu - color version
A very nice color version of the Nei Jing Tu - one of Inner Alchemy's most important visual symbols.

Nei Jing Tu - large version
A very large version of the Nei Jing Tu - nice for making out the details!