The 5th moon is represented by the Horse, which also happens to be the animal sign for the year, giving us an amplification of Horse qualities. Horses represent summer and peak yang energy. They symbolize movement, travel, momentum, independence, and personal freedom.

The month’s Horse is ruled by ...

The Yi Jing image for the month is Hexagram #44, which is often translated as Pairing, Coming to Meet, Encountering, or Temptation. Its image is Heaven over Wind, showing a single yin line beneath five yang lines. This suggests that something small has entered a previously stable situation. Traditio...

Lately I’ve been teaching counting the breaths. It's one of the oldest and simplest meditation methods there is. Count the inhalations. Count the exhalations. Count both. Count to 10 (or any of the numerous variations I’ve been teaching) and start over. If you lose track, simply return to one and tr...

The “Three Star Gods,” Fu, Shou, and Lu, are among the most recognizable figures in popular Chinese religion. Fu represents fortune, blessings, happiness, and good luck, Shou represents prosperity, status, success, official rank, and Lu represents longevity, health, and long life. Although the Three...

On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, one of the oldest traditional festivals in China is celebrated. Although the Dragon Boat Festival is most commonly associated with dragon boat races and eating zòngzi (sticky rice dumplings), its origins are complex and appear to predate both organized Taoi...

 In this video, I’m demonstrating a way of training that combines two of our main practices: the 16-Posture Before Heaven Taiji Form and the Taiji Ruler.

On the left side of the screen, I perform the Before Heaven 16-Posture Taijiquan Form in its standard empty-hand version. On the right side, I pe...

Internal Alchemy and the Purpose of Meditation

The Secret of the Golden Flower describes an alchemical process that gradually unfolds through meditation, and by extension through practices such as Taiji and Qigong.

Meditation does not create confusion, agitation, or psychological resistance. Inste...

Stuart used to write a section for the newsletter called A Few Words. I thought I would continue the tradition in my own way with A Few More Words.

I dream about Stuart all the time. In the dreams, we’re talking, working on classes, planning things, or just interacting normally. Then, somewhere in ...

As the Dragon month comes to a close, the Snake comes slithering in on May 17th to represent the fourth month of the Chinese year. This Snake month will be a Water Snake month, which tells us more about the kind of energy this Snake has.

Snakes already carry the ideas of strategy, concealment, pati...

Hexagram #1, Creativity of Heaven, is a hexagram that carries pure Yang energy. It is the most active, generative force in the Yi Jing and is characterized as strong, initiating, and forward-moving. It is about doing, leading, creating, and pushing forward with clarity and intention. It favors initi...

May 5 – August 6

Introduction

In this seasonal blog series, we offer Taoist perspectives on living in accordance with the larger seasonal changes unfolding throughout the year.

Rather than treating Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter as fixed blocks of time, the traditional Chinese system observes t...

Zhang Sanfeng is one of the most famous and mysterious figures in Taoism and martial culture. He is traditionally depicted as a wandering Taoist immortal, internal alchemist, martial artist, and spiritual teacher. Placed somewhere between the late Yuan dynasty and early Ming dynasty periods, he is p...