by Ross Bishop
There are many symbols representing life; you probably know this one and may know something about its meaning, but let’s take a closer look.
In ancient Chinese Taoist philosophy, Yin and Yang were fundamental dynamics of the universe. They symbolized balance and harmony and spoke to the interconnectedness of seemingly opposite yet complementary forces that interacted and perpetuated one another.
The yin/yang concept emphasizes the importance of balance in all things. Together, these “opposites” form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the sum of its interdependent parts, and both are essential to the whole's cohesion. It teaches that harmony arises from the interplay of opposites.
Yin (represented by the black side of the symbol) is associated with darkness, femininity, passivity, receptivity, and stillness, while Yang (depicted by the white side) embodies movement, light, masculinity, activity, logic and penetration.
The symbol’s swirling design represents the cyclical nature of life, in which change is constant and nothing is eternal. These qualities exist in everything, and one cannot exist without the other; thus, each carries the seed of its “opposite.” Together, they illustrate that these two are necessary for the balance of the universe.
For example, rivers (yin) require banks (yang) to contain them, lest they overflow. In order to remain healthy, you require both rest (yin) and activity (yang). An imbalance of either would lead to physical and/or emotional difficulties.
When you were born, you were helpless (yin), needing others (yang) so that you could survive. Eventually, you grew to stand on your own (yang), and then, in old age, you slipped back into a state of dependency (yin).
The Earth’s crust (yang) contains the underlying magma (yin). When the magma breaks through the crust and explodes through the surface, we experience a volcano.
In the universe, stars begin their life in a giant gas cloud, known as a nebula (yin). Then gravity causes the gas and dust to collapse and form a protostar (yang). Once the star coalesces, it enters a stable phase, which is the longest phase of its existence. Eventually, as its fuel becomes exhausted, the star expands into a red giant (for average stars) or a supergiant (for massive stars), either becoming a white dwarf or exploding in a supernova (yin), essentially starting the process all over. And so it goes for all things in the universe.
For at least 600 years, Western society has been on a serious yang binge, and we have paid a substantial price for that imbalance. The complete dominance of masculine (yang) energy in our politics, education, medicine, business, military and international affairs has introduced a decided bias into both Western and Chinese cultures, leading to incessant conflicts over territory and endless wars. One can only speculate, but I wonder how different things might have been if the feminine had played a more significant role in both leadership and decision-making during the period.
I am not unmindful of recent developments in the women’s rights movement in America, but the evolution of those rights has been relatively recent (and long overdue). In this country, women were denied the right to vote until 1920 and were not granted equal pay until 1963. Although comprising one-half of the population, women make up only a quarter (28%) of Congress, and that is a considerable increase from where things stood just a decade ago. Similarly, 48 women (11%) now head Fortune 500 companies. And according to the 2025 Women’s Power Gap (WPG) report “Barriers and Breakthroughs,” women are as, if not more, qualified as men to lead.
Although expressed in somewhat different terms, a cyclical pattern, or as it has been called, the “Turnings” philosophy, applies to 25-year patterns in Western society. In my recent article, “The Cycles of Life,” I write about the four cycles that have repeated every century for the last three thousand years. Collectively, these cycles are known as a “Speculum.” They are: Crisis, High, Awakening, and Unravelling.
A Crisis is a period of revolution, during which society undergoes considerable upheaval, typically precipitated by war. In the High, the revolutionary forces of the Crisis are integrated, and society settles into a new pattern. The Awakening is the full manifestation of those changes. Then the Unravelling speaks to the dissolution of the established order in search of an even better way of life. Thus, the cycle repeats, and has done so for thousands of years.
In our recent history, the Third Turning of this century - an Unraveling (1984-2025): we find culture wars. Beginning from Reagan’s “Morning in America” speech in 1984 to Trump and MAGA’s social disruptions of 2008 and again in 2024. Remember the Apple Computer ad featuring a young woman wielding a sledgehammer to smash an image of dull-faced 1950s men, with a voice-over saying, “1984 won’t be like 1984!” America smiled at the crushing of Big Brother.
The new values regime was no longer controversial. The rebels were inside the gates. Public trust in institutions sank to new lows. New Age Spirituality was everywhere. Behavior gaps widened between genders, races, religions, generations, and especially between those who had children and those who did not. The era of the conventional family was no longer the norm (today it is 26%, down from 40% in 1970). President Clinton proclaimed, in 1996, that “The era of big government is over.”
The next phase or cycle, The Fourth Turning - a Crisis cycle - which we have just entered, should run from 2025-2045. The script hasn’t been written yet, but the potential situation is explosive! Trump, MAGA, the Republican Congress, ICE and a complicit Supreme Court have set the stage for unprecedented social upheaval both domestically and internationally. It promises to be an unprecedented political and social brawl. Even if Trump survives impeachment, it will take many years and considerable conflict to unravel the effects of MAGA. Added to this will be the social impacts of AI. AI promises to bring a major revolution which could shake society to its very foundations and potentially realign the social order. The gap between the rich and the poor in society has already widened exponentially over the last decade. No one can predict where the evolution of AI will take us, but major change is certain.
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