The Meng
otherwise known as Chinese Astrology
by Han Morrow Scott @1998
This page is dedicated to my beloved Grandmother, until we meet again in the Summerland.
Have you ever eaten at one of those fancy Chinese restaurants where they have the little paper placemats that show the Chinese Year (this year, 2001, is the Year of the Silver Serpent...last year, 2000, was Year of the White Dragon) and that have little descriptions of the twelve animals and years so you can figure out what year you're in? ("Hey! That's not fair! You're a Dragon! I'm only a Monkey! I wanna be a Dragon!")
As you might have guessed, there's a little more to it than that.
I'm not going to start with the Animals --you've already seen those. First let's look at the Tao, the Divine interaction of Yin and Yang, because a proper understanding of that is the foundation of the Meng. And also, because many of us Pagans see a lot of life as being an interplay of Holy Opposites, this may help you to see how an understanding of the Meng may be useful for you in your life.
Lao-tzu, a great Taoist philosopher and teacher, was the author of the Tao te Ching. He explains the nature of Yin and Yang in this way:
When some things are
deemed beautiful
other things become ugly
When things are deemed good
other things become bad
Existence and
nonexistence create each other
Difficult and easy produce each other
Long and short are fashioned from each other
High and low contrast each other
Before and behind follow each other
You
have probably seen or made up Correspondance tables of Yin and Yang, maybe
under the guise of correspondances for Goddess and God. Some people really
object to these kind of lists. They say things like: "Hey, A Goddess
can be Hot or Cold if She wants -- She can be be seen in the Sun, the
Moon, or Stars, or the Earth or the Sea, and it is prejudicial to
categorize certain characteristsics as feminine or masculine. That limits
the human/Divine expression!"
Quite
so! As a matter of fact, if you look closely at the glyph for Yin and
Yang, you will see that there is a little bit of Yin in the Yang Area and
little bit of Yang in the Yin area. Even when the Goddess is being the
Sun, there is a little part of her that is being the Moon, or, if you
like, the God within Her is the Hidden Moon...ah, these Pagan mysteries.
Think on that that for a while...but meanwhile, let us continue...
When you have a good understanding of the traditional associations for Yin and Yang, you are ready to look at the next major division of energies: the Five Elements.
In the West, we tend to divide everything up into Four Elements or Quarters:
Earth, Air, Fire and Water
And some people will go so far as to name a fifth element, Spirit, maybe saying this element is "made-up" of the other four...but this is not at all what we mean when we say that the Meng has a Five Element cosmos.
The qualities of the Five Elements of the Meng are as follows:
Fire Outgoing, generousity, spirituality, assertiveness, strong emotions, South, Hot, Summer
Earth Practical, conservative, sympathetic, thoughtful, accepting, Center, Damp, Transition
Metal Strength, independance, righteousness, intensity, tenatiouness, West, Dry, Fall
Water Creativity, persuasiveness, desire, sensitivity, attractiveness, North, Cold, Winter
Wood Idealism, competition, compassion, risk-taking, decision-making, East, Windy, Spring
Kind of like the game Rock, Paper Scissors, each element is good for one other element, and as bad for another. Water nourishes Wood, but it puts out Fire. Following, you can see that every element has at least one other element that strengthens or produces, and two elements that reduce or limit it. Water is "condensed" or strengthened by Metal, but Earth "absorbs" or weakens Water, and wood depletes water.
The Nourishment Cycle
Earth carries Metal; Metal holds Water; Water nourishes Wood; Wood feeds Fire; Fire creates Earth (ashes)
The Domination Cycle
Earth absorbs Water, Water drowns Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal cuts Wood, Wood parts Earth
The Reduction Cycle
Earth reduces Fire, Fire burns Wood, Wood depletes Water, Water corrodes Metal, Metal injures Earth
You'll find these come in handy when we talk about Feng Shui...
Now if you combine the Elements with the Qualities of Yin and Yang, you will find the Ten Heavenly Stems. Expressed as colors, the Stems help to modify and define the characteristics of the Meng:
When Fire is Yin it is Purple, When Fire is Yang it is Red
When Earth is Yin it is Gold, When Earth is Yang it is Yellow
When Metal is Yin it is Silver, When Metal is Yang it is White
When Water is Yin it is Gray, When Water is Yang it is Black
When Wood is Yin it is Blue, When Wood is Yang it is Green
Although it may not seem immediately apparent, the polarity of the elements is a crucial point in Chinese Astrology.
Okay, now it is time for us to talk about the Animals, walk about the Animals, sing and dance and sqwawk with the Animals...Oops, I am sorry. I got carried away and forgot, for a minute that we aren't talking about Dr. Doolittle. But I do love that Luna Moth...anyways, back to the Meng...
Now you and I may call them "Animals" but they are more properly referred to as The Twelve Branches.
Rat
Rat is clever, intuitive, sociable and appears to be lucky -- but Rat generally makes his own luck by being efficient and economical, and by taking advantage of opportunity when it arises.
Ox
Ox is compassionate, hard-working, ethical and peaceful. Ox succeeds through perseverance, and is a generous and patient friend.
Tiger
Powerful and charismatic Tiger is a natural leader. Tiger possesses a deep, fearless and honest heart, full of passion and daring.
Hare
Hare is artistic, polite, adaptable -- even conforming. Hare does not like conflict, and is an excellent team player.
Dragon
Dragon has a powerful imagination, and is idealistically inspired. Dragon pursues every thing in life intensely, not afraid to take risks, because he knows that the Gods will help him.
Serpent
Serpent accomplishes her goals through small but constant effort and an understanding of human nature. Serpent gathers wisdom by waiting and watching.
Horse
Horse is cheerful, companionable and competitive. Horse likes to keep moving, enjoying the process as much as if not more than the attainment of the goal.
Sheep
Sheep appreciates beauty and the finer things in life, both materially and spiritually. Sheep surrounds herself with beauty in all things.
Monkey
Monkey can do almost anything, and will! Monkey is clever and strong, having great energy and boundless curiosity.
Phoenix
Phoenix has high standards for herself and others. Phoenix takes pride in doing a good job and doing the right thing.
Dog
Dog is loyal above all other things, and is treasured as an honest and trustworthy friend. What Dog knows, he does not question.
Boar
Boar is loving and forgiving. Boar knows how to enjoy life, and encourages others to do the same.
Six signs: Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey and Dog are Yang. The other six signs: Ox, Hare, Serpent, Sheep, Phoenix, and Boar are Yin.
When
you combine the Five Elements with the Twelve Branches, you get fancy
appellations like: "Yellow Dragon" and "Black Serpent"
Let me explain how this works: When the Element combines with the Branch's
energy, the branch's Yin or Yang quality causes the Stem to become
apparent. "Earth Dragon" would always be expressed as "Yellow
Dragon" because the Dragon is a Yang Branch. "Earth Hare"
would always be expressed as "Gold Hare" because the Hare is a
Yin Branch.
The Stem's energy affects the way the Branch expresses itself. A Yellow (or Earth) Monkey is going to be a little more grounded and even tempered than a Red (or Fire) Monkey. A Silver (or Metal) Phoenix is going to be a lot more righteous and judgemental than a Gray (or Water) Phoenix. An advanced teaching of the Meng is that each of the Branches carries inside it one or more native elements. This makes some Branch /Stem combinations more harmonious, and others naturally more conflicted.
A total of 60 (sixty) combinations is possible between the Branches and the Stems. Every Branch is paired with a Stem in the cycle for the Meng. The Cycle begins with Black Rat.
Okay,
now you have all the building blocks. Every two hour period is ruled by a
different Branch/Stem combination, known as the first Pillar. Every day is
ruled by a different Branch/Stem combination, known as the second Pillar.
Every season, or month is defined by a Branch/Stem combination, known as
the Third Pillar. And finally, every year is ruled by a Branch/Stem
combination, known as the Fourth Pillar. But usually, all you will see is
a reference to the Branch for that year -- the Animal. Remember the
placemat? The Year of the (Yellow) Tiger. The year of the (Golden) Hare.
Gong Hay Fot Choy!
There are four established Pillars which can be used to describe the state of the Universe at the time of your birth. These eight characters comprise your Chinese "Birth Chart", also called the Bazi. And just as in Western Astrology, your Bazi can be used not only to describe your character and personality, but also to determine compatibility and identify favorable times for certain activities and pursuits -- to determine the "flows" of your own life. Now that you know a little bit more about the Five Elements, you are just a little bit more prepared to use Feng Shui, the art of geomantic placement to help the Ch'i flow more gracefully in your life bringing satisafction and prosperity, and also to consult the I Ching , or book of changes, whose 64 hexagrams are based on the combination of the 8 trigrams which are based on (you guessed it -- the five Elements).
Pages on Feng Shui, Yi-Jing (I-Ching) and More Chinese Astrology are in the works and should appear here soon!
For the Time Being,
here are a few books if this has piqued your interest.
Secrets of Chinese Astrology: A Handbook for Self-Discovery
by Kwan Lau, 1997, Tengu Books
I Ching The Book of Change, Translated by Thomas Cleary
If you enjoyed this page, try Han Morrow Scott'sImram Tarot - a site about Tarot!
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