The Yin Yang principle (阴阳) is a fundamental concept in traditional Chinese cosmology and continues to hold a central place in all Chinese divinatory practices today.

By observing nature and its cyclical phenomena, ancient Chinese philosophers detected the presence of a dynamic polarity observable in everything that exists or happens, ultimately allowing an understanding of all these phenomena. Shadow/Light, Night/Day, Cold/Heat, Centripetal/Centrifugal, Potential/Actual, etc., are but expressions of this same principle.

However, reality is much more complex than that, and thus the dynamics between the Yin and Yang poles give rise to the concept of the five Chinese “elements” (or five phases). This concept helps explain everything that exists or happens in the cosmos and in nature in far more detail.