What represents opposites, good and evil, dark and light? What are the most common symbols of opposites and duality in the world? The answers to these questions and more are all in this article. Read on to find out.
Yin and Yang, the Most Prominent Symbol of Opposites
Yin and Yang are the opposite but complementary forces that interact within the natural world. They are believed to represent everything in existence, including the sun and moon, light and dark, good and evil.
Yin and Yang, the ancient Chinese philosophical concept of light and dark, can be seen in the natural world. For example, day and night are opposites but cannot exist without each other for balance.
Similarly, a seed needs darkness to grow into a plant. After that, the plant will need sunlight to grow. This pattern of light and dark continues to shape life on earth as we know it.
These two forces are always moving, changing, balancing and interpenetrating each other in a continuous cycle. This is similar to the idea of feminine and masculine energies being equal but different.
Yang is usually seen as the good, light force and Yin as the evil, dark force. They are not vastly different forces, though. In fact, they depend on one another to exist at all.
Sun and Moon, the Universal Symbols of Opposites
The Sun and the Moon, which are often depicted as opposites, are also universal symbols of opposites and duality.
The Sun is often seen as masculine while the Moon is seen as feminine. This has led to many different interpretations of what these two celestial bodies represent.
However, the symbolism behind the Sun and the Moon is not limited to that.
In Indian mythology, the Sun is known as Surya whereas the Moon is called Chandrama. In Hinduism, both are gods with different powers. The Sun is said to be the god of energy whereas the Moon symbolizes peace.
In Chinese culture, the Sun is associated with Yang while the Moon belongs to Yin. Yin represents darkness while Yang stands for light or daytime.
Black And White Colors
There are a number of symbols in our world that represent diametrically opposed concepts. Black and white colors are one of these symbols, often considered to represent opposites, especially in the Western world.
Black is a color that symbolizes darkness or evil often used as a symbol for death or mourning. White, on the other hand, is often associated with innocence and purity. It can also be seen as a symbol of goodness or peace.
Upward Triangle and Downward Triangle, the Alchemical Symbols of Duality
The last item on our list of symbols of opposites is the triangle. Triangles have been widely used in alchemy and other disciplines and forms of art since ancient times.
They were associated with different concepts depending on their use. For instance, in alchemy, an upward triangle represents the element of fire while a downward triangle represents the element of water.
In line with this alchemical symbolism, an upward triangle is considered to be a symbol of masculinity while the downward triangle is considered a symbol of femininity.
This wraps up our post on the symbols of opposites and duality. If you liked reading it you should definitely check out our article on the symbols of harmony here and the symbols of fate here. Thanks for reading.
