I’m compounding several different topics into one video and probably should have done separate videos for each topic, but for me, they’re all related to each other, and so I guess from that personal perspective, it makes sense for me to be presenting them in one bundle.
Upfront, let’s clarify: I’m not teaching, I’m sharing. I wanted to learn more, went out and attempted to learn more, and this video and companion blog post is just me passing on to you what I’ve learned.
Dragon Gods of the Earth 土地龍神
Image Source: 香港古蹟行腳.
Dragon god(s) (土地龍神, tǔ dì lóong shén ) are personifications of the land, where mountains and rivers meet, and thus from a feng shui perspective, reveal dragon veins (龍脈, lóong mài).
Rituals (such as 化胎, Huàtāi; in Hakka, it’s pronounced Fā Tói) can be performed to harness the qi or powerful essence from these dragon veins to bless a home and bless lands that the Hakka now occupy to ensure good harvests, prosperity, safety, protection, and good health.
What’s distinct about Hakka dragon spirits veneration is its association with the earth rather than water. Traditionally in Chinese lore, dragon spirits/gods 龍神 and the Dragon King 龍王 are associated with the temperaments of the seas.
Retrograde Mars. Image Credit: Tunc Tezel. Source: NASA APOD.
So we, we being all the planets in the solar system, go round and round the sun in our orbits, right. Each one’s orbit is a little different, some are rounder and others more elliptical, and then there’s the tilt of the axis, each one tilted a bit differently from the others. Because of that, at certain times, earth will round a corner at a different pace than one of the other planets on its different-shaped orbit, i.e., maybe a little faster. At that point, from the earth’s perspective, because we’re rounding the corner a touch faster (and on a different-shaped orbit and a different tilt), that other planet appears to move backwards.
So the term “retrograde” kind of stuck.
At least that’s how I understand it. Hey, I’m no astronomer and barely even cut it as an astrologer.
Anyway, let’s just say that’s all about right. Well. Metaphysically, the change of pace is most definitely a change of energy flow and retrograde or not, astrologers are interested in how that change of energy affects life on earth. That’s basically what astrology is all about, whether you’re talking Eastern or Western astrology. It presumes the concept of a cosmic unity, that the whole universe is one being with a collective Spirit, and like our bodies, sometimes, something going on with the hands can affect what’s going on with the feet. So that’s the whole “As above, so below” and also the Dao and Qi concepts distilled into baby terms. And if you ask me, it’s entirely aligned with the concept of God.
We just survived an inordinately brutal Mercury in retrograde and now this. There’s Neptune in retrograde until the 15th of this month and Uranus in retrograde until December 22. It coincides with Jupiter going into retrograde on December 10.
That means right now you’ve got Neptune in Pisces and Uranus in Aries in retrograde (from the earth’s perspective) plus the Northern Node in Libra in retrograde plus Chiron in Pisces with Neptune in retrograde. November 13-14th-ish, the Northern Node goes stationary (but it won’t stay there or be prograde for long; more on that later). By noon Saturday November 15, 2014, Neptune will go stationary. November 16th onward, Uranus and Chiron continue in retrograde. On November 23, Chiron goes stationary; December 9, Jupiter goes stationary. Then December 10 onward, you’ve got both Jupiter and Uranus in retrograde. Oh, also on that same day, the Northern Node is in retrograde again. During that whole time, by the way, after my last statement about the Northern Node, it comes in and out of being stationary, in prograde, and in retrograde. I just stopped jotting down the dates as I cycled through the transit charts. December 22, Uranus in Aries finally goes stationary and is what we would call normal by the 23rd. Now Jupiter and the Northern Node continue in retrograde into 2015. Oh, and by the way, Jupiter is going to stay in retrograde until about April 7 when it goes stationary and then is back to normal after that.
And here’s what it kind of looks like animated:
Oct. 21 – Dec. 30, 2014 Transits
So what does all that mean? Depends on who you ask. Now let’s say you’re asking me, because– sad day for you– you have no one smarter to talk to about these things.
While reorganizing a closet that contained boxes of things I hadn’t touched in years, I came across some of my grandmother’s personal effects and found a trinket box with the above sigil painted underneath, on the bottom of the box. It’s a feng shui talisman of some sort, that much I know.
According to my mother and those who are in the know, it’s “a spell.” Their words, not mine. A blessing spell meant to guard and protect.
The left-most column of text calls upon the guardians of the four cardinal directions, which in feng shui theory are the Red Phoenix in the South, the Black Tortoise in the North, the Blue Dragon in the East, and the White Tiger in the West.
The right-most column of text calls upon the spirit guardians of the five relative directions, or Up, Down, Left, Right, and Center.
The center column is about the founder of the Ba Gua, or eight trigrams, and calling upon that energetic legacy for protection. I might liken that to praying to a venerated saint and hoping that the saint will come and bail you out of trouble.
Meanwhile the guardians of the four cardinal directions are about the universal, collective Qi energy while the guardians of the five relative directions are about the personal Qi, like a call for summoning up your own inner strength. Then the characters inscribed in the circles with the little squares at the center are just various characters for good luck and fortune, like happiness, prosperity, yada yada.
The square within the circle is symbolic of the harmony between heaven and earth. It’s basically a pictorial expression of “heaven is on my side.” The diamond thing forming the four points are representative of the four gates of…something. It’s a mandala thing.
The chain of lemniscates or infinity symbols reinforce the intensity of power or the efficacy of the spell. It’s the insurance policy. I suppose it’s like adding a string of exclamation marks behind a statement to show you really mean what you’re saying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then you have the overall form or structure of the painted sigil, which is meant to represent a bell or wind chime, which is superstitiously believed to ward off evil spirits. Allegedly, evil spirits are afraid of the sound of bells, which is a pretty interesting belief if you consider the cross-cultural employ of bells in religious services. A less abracadabra way of phrasing it (though no more scientific) is to say that the sound of bells or wind chimes can scatter malignant energies or bad Qi.
benebell wen 