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Yin Yang Meaning for Love & Relationships

Once a day, Mother Nature drags her paintbrush across the sky, imprinting radiant purple, pink, and orange hues onto an expansive canvas.  The sun retires from a long workday while the moon awakes amongst the stars.

Dusk transitions the world from day to night and is made possible by the existence of the sun and moon.

Chinese philosophy explains this phenomenon as the Yin-Yang Theory. But did you know this theory can also apply to love and relationships? Let’s take a closer look at the connection between the two.

The Yin-Yang Philosophy Explained

Yin Yang Meaning for Love & Relationships

The Yin-Yang Theory was derived in the sixth century BC from Taoism, a Chinese philosophy stressing balance and harmony with Tao, or “the way.”

The theory teaches that nature comprises various forces, vibrations, and energies that give way to everything else in the universe. Yin is defined as shadow or darkness, while Yang means light.

Significant concepts teach that opposing forces are comparable, inter-reliant, and transform cyclically.

Furthermore, the Yin Yang Theory stipulates that opposing forces in the universe must be in perfect balance to achieve a balanced state of harmony.

“Yin energy and Yang Energy must comprise symmetrical parts, culminating into a unified whole. Interestingly, Chinese legend teaches that Yin and Yang developed from the same disarray that created the universe.

Elements are the two energies believed to unite, allowing Yin energies and Yang energies to form the earth’s center.  The birth of the gods and the first human arose when two opposing energies, Yin and Yang achieved harmonious energy balance.

Chinese mythology teaches that Yin and Yang exist in harmony at the earth’s center. You will soon discover this same harmony and balance in many health-loving love relationships.

Yin-Yang Symbolism Explained

The symbol for Yin and Yang is called the Taijitu.  The Taijitu comprises a black swirling “teardrop” shape with a small white dot and a white swirling “teardrop” shape with a small black dot, culminating into a circle.

Yin is represented by the black segment and a small white dot, while the white part and a small black dot depict Yang.

The small dots represent that every force contains a “seed” of its opposing force.

The Taijitu depicts the delicate balance between two halves of opposing forces, each with a small segment of the opposing party.

What Yin and Yang Represent

Yin Yang Meaning

“Yin person depicts a feminine force traveling inward, is right-brain dominant, and is associated with cold, darkness, winter, night, and the moon. It defines intelligence, intuition, creativity, calm, perseverance, and timidity.  Yin person is introverted, late, make decisions from the heart, and shows imagination.

Yang represents a masculine driving force, traveling outward, is left-brain dominant, and is associated with heat, sunlight, summer, and daytime. It is reasonable, organized, controlled, and linear in thinking. Yang is extraverted, goal-directed, adventurous, and displays courage and determination.

Yin and Yang represent a balanced balance of intellect and emotion.

Taoism teaches that all individuals have aspects of Yin and Yang, with one usually being more predominant. Yin and Yang are not specific to gender, as males can display more Yin characteristics and vice versa.

Shrewd and adaptable individuals steer through Yin and Yang and learn from both forces to achieve harmony and balance within the universe.

Another Chinese philosophy, Feng Shui, believes that an individual’s personality is either indicative of Yin Yang balance or imbalance in the body. This philosophy also theorizes that an imbalance of Yin or Yang can result in various physical, medical, psychological, or psychiatric ailments.

Excessing Yin energy can lead to depression, compulsivity, emotional indifference, weight gain, and oversleeping. In contrast, a lot of Yang can result in aggression, violence, headaches, insomnia, hyperactivity, and addiction.

An excess of Yin energy can result in a loss of direction and blurring boundaries, while an excess of Yang can lead to staunch rigidity control.

As you can imagine, either scenario can damage your relationship’s love.

How Yin Yang Philosophy Applies To Relationships

Yin Yang Meaning

“You are the peanut butter to my jelly,” “the macaroni to my cheese,” and “the Yin to my Yang.” Have you heard these famous sayings before? Throughout time, couples have playfully teased each other with such sentiments.

A strong parallel exists between the Yin and Yang philosophy and between romantic love and relationships. Both concepts are comprised of different parts that blend to form a larger, unified whole.

The opposing male and female genders are relative, cannot exist without each other, and portray interchangeable qualities. In short, you can’t have Adam without Eve!

Maintaining balance and harmony is critical to preserving healthy equilibrium among forces and elements in the universe, similar to the equality and stability necessary for synchronization in relationships.

The Taijitu, or Yin Yang symbol, depicts a small piece of opposing forces within itself, the same way which is also true of relationships.

It is commonly believed that the unconscious and subconscious mind leads individuals to a specific type of partner, theorized to fulfill the missing pieces within them.

The Taijitu perfectly depicts this notion, as each force contains a tiny seed of its own life and the opposing party.

Similar to Yin and Yang, relationships are fluid and ever-changing.  Both forces and partners must continuously grow depressed and transform to preserve the unified whole and balanced energy.  Growth and change must be done simultaneously in relationships and mirrored within Yin and Yang.

If equality, balance, and harmony are not achieved, a relationship between two forces will fall apart as one force becomes dominant.

An excess or shortage of a quality or action defies balance in a relationship, such as too much self-centeredness or insufficient compassion and understanding.

Humans are flawed but can be strengthened and enhanced when joined together.

How Yin and Yang Are Expressed In Relationships

All individuals have facets of Yin and Yang energy intertwined with their personalities. Taoism believes the happiest can successfully navigate and learn from Yin and Yang theory.

Some aspects of Yin and Yang are exhibited more strongly within specific individuals than others. Interestingly, Feng Shui philosophy professes that an individual’s personality indicates how Yin and Yang balance within the body.

Chinese philosophy believes that the universe will ultimately balance out positive and negative forces while individuals simultaneously strive for their own balance.

A partner dominant in the Yin facet would portray intuition, emotion, calmness, and composure, while a Yang-dominant partner would depict characteristics of courage, adventure, determination, energy makeup, and ambition.

Yin and Yang Relationship & Personality Traits

In a relationship, the Yin dominant partner would express themselves primarily through open communication and would not be afraid to show emotions.

Verbal communication would not be as comfortable to a Yang partner, who would be more likely to depict their feelings in actions and goal-directed endeavors.

The Yin dominant partner would portray a sense of intuition, calmness, and peace, while the Yang dominant partner would exude fury, extraversion, boldness, and dominance.

The Yin dominant partner would represent purity, while the Yang dominant partner would portray excitement predominant energy, and adventure.

Do you now see the connection between yin yang meaning and the yin yang meaning for love and relationship energy, and motivating yin yang meaning and energy theory and how it can be applied to love and relationships?

Once individuals can identify whether they are more Yin dominant or Yang dominant, they can effectively evaluate compatibility with their partners and the balance within their relationships.

Balance

A person with a lack of balance signifies difficulty and the potential demise of a person with a balanced person in a relationship—problems without thinking, a person lacking the introspection and patience to assess situations fully. Two Yang-dominant individuals would likely have problems communicating from the heart.

They would have difficulty approving or stepping down from a challenge, as neither would want to lose. Ultimately, they would constantly compete for dominance within the relationship, thus fostering an environment of conflict and fury.

Excessive Yang energy results in rigidity and a dictatorial environment. Contrarily, two Yin-dominant individuals would talk, assess, and consider without ever being able to take action firmly.

They would portray a passivity and introversion that would limit their confidence and ability to proceed with their decisions. Their union would become boring; neither partner would be comfortable enough to challenge the other.

Too much Yin of yin energy, more yang energy. culminates in more yang energy because of yin energy, in a loss of limits and direction of yang energy.

A relationship between a Yin dominant and a Yang dominant personality would balance talking with action, intuition with impulsivity, peace with adventure, and timidity with dominance.

Partners are aware of strengths and weaknesses within themselves and their relationships, with a strong commitment to growth and improvement.

Partners nurture instead of exploit each other’s weaknesses while assisting them in their development.

It is often the case that partners are strong and adept in the areas where their partners are weak, satisfying the notion that the whole is stronger than the parts.

Do Opposites Really Attract?

Yin Yang Do opposites Attract

Scientists have extensively studied and researched whether similarities or differences between partners can predict the overall success of a romantic relationship.

Several studies have concluded that “birds of a feather” do “flock together” and that successful relationships result from like-minded partners. These studies profess that “opposites attracting” is a myth, as disharmony results when partners’ values, interests, and viewpoints do not match.

They conclude that compatibility is vital, as change is complex, unlikely, and unpredictable.

Chinese philosophy and Yin Yang theory disagree with compatibility theories, as it is believed that balance and harmony can only be achieved when opposing forces are present.

Individuals gravitate unconsciously towards certain partners to satisfy their unfulfilled needs and desires from childhood, thus fulfilling the “seed” within themselves.

Opposites strengthen each other’s weaknesses and allow for growth.

Other theorists believe that relationships with opposition create tension, and create conflict, thus giving rise to female energy and the type of passion and male energy and intensity to sustain long-lasting relationships.

Yin Yang’s theory acknowledges that some similarities and commonalities need to exist to foster stability.

Yin Yang theory stipulates that similarities exist in the universe’s shape and arrangement of forces.

In relationships, this energy can be interpreted as communication or energy, which can present in various forms.

What We Can Learn From Ancient Chinese Philosophy

Ancient Chinese philosophy educates about the importance of balance and harmony amongst constant change and flux.

The only constant in life changes will undoubtedly bring positive and negative outcomes.

If the scale of life becomes either too much yin and yang symbol too negative or too much yin yang balance too positive, we become unbalanced.

A negative outlook breeds darkness and depression, while an excessively positive outlook is unrealistic and ignores the negative.

Like life, a romantic love relationship is in constant flux and needs to re-calibrate simultaneously with individual change.

Chinese philosophy encourages individuals to decipher positive and negative forces within them to achieve harmony and balance.

Taoism teaches one to learn from Yin and Yang to prevent a fight with the universe or within them.

Yin Yang theory encourages individuals to put their partner’s needs above their own, as balance will occur effortlessly and simultaneously in a love relationship if conducted in this manner.

Yin Yang theory depicts that flawed polar opposites can become a unified whole when two opposites are joined together.

Taoism highlights the importance of maintaining individuality and concurrently forming the relationship and asserts that the whole is always superior to its parts.

Ancient Chinese philosophy teaches individuals to locate their “center” through meditation, mindfulness, and prayer.

Individuals benefit when they accept their Yin Yang energy while respecting opposing both their yin energy energies and points of yang energy.  This acceptance of balanced energy is necessary for satisfying relationships and fulfilling existence.

How To Find Balance In Your Relationship

Finding balance in relationships is attainable if both partners are dedicated, committed, and willing to work.

Individuals need to assess and understand where imbalances in their relationship originate and occur.

Additionally, individuals must be reflective and honest regarding their balance or imbalance.  If individuals are unhappy with their “part,” the relationship cannot attain a more harmonious relationship “whole.”

While the “seeds” of an opposing partner strengthen our missing pieces, it does not eclipse the importance of having the capability to enhance ourselves.

Although the Taijitu portrays a perfect circle, flawless symmetry, and seamless flow, perfect love does not exist.

Humans are flawed, change is unpredictable and relentless, and relationships require constant work and maintenance.

Conclusion

No matter how much balance is achieved in yourself, your relationship, life, or the universe, it is only temporary and fleeting.

To maintain continuous harmony, one must muster up all the chi energy and the Yin and Yang energies they can and keep doing their “parts.”

Photo of author

Tracy Smith, LPC, NCC, ACS

Tracy Smith, LPC, NCC, ACS is a Licensed Professional Counselor in New Jersey, a Nationally Certified Counselor, an Approved Clinical Supervisor, and a mental health freelance writer. Tracy has fourteen years of clinical and supervisory experience in a variety of mental health settings and levels of care.

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