FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2011

The Winter Solstice and Qi

December 22nd is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The Sun is at 270
degree on the ecliptic. In the past times, the Winter Solstice in China was regarded as an
official holiday and the New Year's day. The scholars and practitioners of metaphysics
have done important divination namely during the day of the Winter Solstice.
At the Winter Solstice the Yang energy starts to increase (and the days start to get
larger), while the Yin energy gradually starts to decrease (and the nights are becoming
smaller). Slowly and almost unnoticeably Yang in Nature and within the human body is
awakening and increasing from inside towards outside.

To a certain point, this is also related to the month of Rat (Zi) , in which we are now.
It is represented by Fu - the 24th hexagram in I Ching:

Lao Zi says "Returning is the movement of

Dao". Fu hexagram means Returning, Coming back" and it consists of 1 Yang and 5 Yin.
The past month (Hai) was completely Yin with 6 Yin lines, but now a new cycle is
beginning, in which the first rays of the Yang energy start to appear. In Chinese this is
called the appearance of first Yang (yi yang chu).
In ancient China the 10th month was named "kun month" representing the Kun
hexagram , which consists of 6 Yin lines. It was also called "Yin month" and
"Dark Winter" . In comparison, the 11th month, in which happens the Winter
Solstice, was named "the month of Returning", "New Yang" and "Return of
Yang" .
The several days before and after the Winter Solstice are characterized with very

powerful energy in Nature. This is important time for more meditation and relaxation.
Even in a non-meditation state one can feel that the energy and the blood circulation are
very intensified as if in a deep state of meditation. Now the qigong meditation is very
qualitative, it gets easier and faster to enter into the deep levels of subconsciousness.
During the different 24 solar terms of Chinese calendar, qi is concentrated at different
energy points (guan ) on the small heavenly orbit .

In the 15 days after the Winter Solstice the energy is concentrated at hui yin acupoint in
the body as well as in the lower dan tian. Now qi starts to activate du mai (the Yang
meridian) of the small heavenly orbit. At the same time, the energy flow is faster
throughout the whole body.

The days around the Winter Solstice are regarded as important time for qigong
meditation, during which easily occurs "interaction between Water and Fire" .
Here "Water" is a symbolic representation of the kidneys in the body. The 63rd

hexagram ("After completion") in I Ching is also called "interaction between Water

and Fire" . It describes a process that is very important in qigong.

Here Water trigram (Kan ) is above Fire trigram (Li ). The Water flows downwards
and the Fire goes upward, so when we have the conditions presented by this hexagram,
the Water is above to nourish and balance the heart, and the Fire is below, so to warm up
the Kidneys. In this way a good interaction is generated between the energies of the heart
and the kidneys.
The famous I Ching scholar Kong Yingda from Tang Dynasty in China has
commented that this hexagram gives a picture of cooking - "Drink and food are
completed by it". This is related to internal alchemy - a natural process of generating and
transforming qi during qigong meditation.

Happy Winter Solstice to all!