Taoist Astrology and the Structure of the UniverseThe animal names used in Chinese astrology came to China from India. They were
based on the legend of the Buddha. He was visited by 12 animals that came to say goodbye
to him before he left the earth.
Before this, the earthly branches, in combination with the older decimal system of the
10 heavenly stems, was used. The combination of stems (10 or two times five) and branches
(12) (gives a series of 60 based on the twelve animals and the five elements) was used to
count the years and days and was also called 10 mothers and 12 children. Research
shows the strongest difference between modern western and traditional Chinese astrol-
ogy is the focus on the North Star as the ‘Heavenly Gate’. This shows the direct relation-
ship with the Taoist spiritual practices. Chinese astrology and direct astronomical obser-
vations have always been closely related. They made observations constantly and based
many of their calculations directly upon them. The appearance and movement of a planet
or star as well as its brightness, aura and shades were closely studied. Some Chinese
Emperors had a 24 hour a day observation crew. In this way all signs from the universe
were picked up and used to make personal and political decisions. Many stars and plan-
ets were connected to gods, emperors or sages. Changes in the expressions of heavenly
bodies were seen as direct signs from the divine world.
Although they had no astronomical tools in their own terms, Taoist astronomers knew
about supernovae (exploding stars), black holes (imploding stars), pulsars and quasars.
Chinese astrology is based on direct observation of the sky and it is used in this book
as the information bridge to universal energy.
Many astrologists all over the world, focus on their tables and books, only looking
down, instead of connecting with the universe. Even in China, the traditional art of astrol-
ogy is hard to find these days. It has been taken over by western astrology or other
methods of prediction. As
Taoist Ming Shu stated,
“very few are still combin-
ing their astrological calcu-
lations with spiritual prac-
tice and with observing the
sky.” This, of course, gives
less depth to their work.The Zodiac band ex-
tends above and below
the plane of the
ecliptic.The Zodiac with
its 12 signs is known in
many different cultures.Fig. 3.3 Western Zodiac, Zodiac Band and Plane of Ecliptic