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Cosmic Fusion
The Void: Our Original Source
Through observing nature and the effects of energy within the human
body, the ancient Taoists were able to trace the universal energy
back to its point of origin. Upon developing an empirical approach
with which to contact this source of observable phenomena,
they established the concept of the primordial void as the point
of departure for all creation. This void was given the name Wu Chi,
which is depicted as an empty circle in traditional Taoist art because
it is beyond human description. For energy to begin generating
the effects and forms of nature and the universe, something
had to stir within the Wu Chi. This first stirring created the division
between the material and the immaterial as all the processes of
the universe began at this time.
Yin and Yang
Fig. 2.2 Duality of Yin and Yang
Taoists refer to the first observable variations of the Universal Force,
which emanates from the Wu Chi, as Yin and Yang. These two
qualities of this force can be understood as the positive and negative
poles of the primordial energy. Yin and Yang are inseparable
tendencies of all energy, and it is impossible to have one without
the other. Their interactions are the root of all universal action; hence,
the polarities of Yin and Yang are an intrinsic factor of all creation.
The theory of Yin and Yang is one of the most simple and sublime
symbols of the way nature and the Universe interact. The circle
that encompasses the symbol is representative of the Tao, the
undifferentiated whole, the Universe, ultimate reality. Yin and Yang
are terms that shed light on the process of the Tao. Yin describes
the feminine, the contracting, the dark, deep side of nature and
Yang describes the masculine, projective, electric, light, surface
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