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Something I’ve been trying to wrap my head around is the meaning of Earth as it is in the five elements cycle compared to its usage in Heaven/Earth duality.
In five elements, it is the harmonizing and balancing agent between the yin/yang forces. But in the Heaven/Earth/Humanity trinity, it is distinctly yin.
Is this the same “Earth”? Can someone help shed light on this for me?
Thanks!
Short answer: It’s a different Earth.
Five-element Earth, as in one of the five phases . . .
is different than Earth (as in the planet or as in
Heaven-Earth-Humanity).You have to really pay attention to context in
Daoist alchemy, because the same word can be used
to describe completely different things.Another example is “Fire”.
Fire can mean Five Element Fire, as in Fusion OR
Fire can mean a physical manifestation of Yang, as in K&L
And these are different . . .There are many such examples.
Steven
I also suspect there is stuff lost in translation. One might translate earth in the heaven and earth relationship as matter and spirit. Ofcourse for me it is the enjoyment of its essence that is important. Scientists have a tuff balance to play with, if you pin a butterfly down to understand it you loss the flying. So we ask are selves “is it not good enough to just enjoy it”.
My wanderings on the way.
Peace
JD
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