In a recent essay, Red Collie drew connections between the 8 May 2008 Avebury crop circle (the Tai Ji, or the Yin – Yang symbol) and an earlier crop circle, which appeared at Stantonbury on 7 July 2007. The purpose of this essay is to explain in more detail the background of the Stantonbury crop circle in terms of Chinese metaphysics.  

As Red Collie describes, the Tai Ji symbol represents the annual movement of the sun on the earth. In Chinese metaphysics, the year is divided into two parts called, “Yin Dun” and “Yang Dun.” These halves are divided by the solstices: Yang Dun begins at Winter Solstice and ends at Summer Solstice, while Yin Dun begins at Summer Solstice and ends at Winter Solstice.  

During the Yang half of the year, Yang “Qi” or energies gradually increase until they reach their maximum expression at the solstice. The same holds true for the Yin half of the year, only in reverse.

 China has long maintained its own traditional calendar, which is mostly based on lunar movements. Each year is divided into twelve months and generally contains thirty days. Each month is divided into three segments. We may notice in the photo above that each segment in the circle contains three segments of gradually increasing length. These correspond the the Chinese calendrical notion of a month divided into three phases: initial, middle, and final. The fifteenth of every month corresponds to the full moon. 

Traditional Chinese Time  

The traditional lunar calendar of China is founded on Base Sixty mathematics, or the sexagesimal (base-60) numeral system with the Cycle of Sixty as the engine of temporal change.  

The Cycle of Sixty consists of matched pairs of the ten Heavenly Stems and the twelve Earth Branches.  

The stems and branches are applied to the Chinese lunar calendar, for the names of years, months, dates and hours, as the twelve numbers in the photo of the Stantonbury crop circle correspond to the months below:

Readers may be familiar with the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. These animals are associated with years in Chinese cosmology, which recur in cycles. The twelve Earth Branches are related to specific directions, such as North, South, East and West and the Five Elements of Chinese metaphysics. 

For example, Zi is always associated with North and Water, while Wu is always associated with South, the Sun and the Fire element. In similar fashion, Mao, Wood and the East are always associated, as are You, Metal and West.

 The Chinese long ago built upon these associations to create systems of divination, such as Qi Men Dun Jia (Magic Gates and Hidden Jia Stems) as well as Da Li Ren (Six Great Ren Stems).  

In Da Liu Ren, the twelve Earth Branches are arrayed around what is called the Earth Pan. Each Earth Branch is assigned a fixed position in the Earth Pan, and each position is associated with specific directions, and assigned specific characteristics. 

The Heaven Pan rotates around the Earth Pan. The twelve Earth Branches are assigned rotating positions in the Heaven Pan, and these are further matched with twelve generals or spirits:

The twelve spirits are assigned names and characteristics as well, some auspicious, others inauspicious.  

Why does Da Liu Ren have twelve spirits? Within the six yao (lines) of the eight trigrams (and 64 hexagrams of the I Ching ) there are six spirits. Yet Da Liu Ren uses twelve spirits. What is the function of these spirits? These so-called spirits are a means of associating human characteristics with the different qualities of phenomena. In other words, Da Liu Ren has taken these phenomena and assigned them Yin and Yang, Five Elements and Heaven and Earth qualities, to transform them into archetypes with associations to Qi types and numbers.  

Twelve Spirits of Da Liu Ren 

If we return to the circle of 8 May 2008 at Avebury, we see that we have not only one but two “Tai Ji” symbols, with one emerging from another. What meaning might this possibly have.  

Da Liu Ren is based on the universal concept that, “there are no parts of events or objects which do not comprise the Tai Ji,” of holistic theory where “the smaller reflects the larger.” This is related as well to the idea of a holistic model established by original principles concerning Qi qualities.  

The so-called Earth Pan, which is also known as the “fixed pan,” means to take the “Tai Ji Pan,” based on the rhythmic movements of Qi qualities on Earth and to construct a model of these qualities, rhythms and movements. This type of model idealizes the Earth’s twelve directions of Qi and solidifies them.  

The four cardinal directions are Zi, Wu, Mao, and You, which represent North, South, East and West. Chou, Yin, Chen, Si, Wei, Shen, Xu and Hai define the four odd numbers, symbolizing four dimensions, along with their Five Element characteristics and classifications among all beings and objects.  

The so-called Heaven Pan is also known as the “dynamic pan” which is placed over the fixed Earth Pan. The movements of the Heaven Pan follow the Month General added to hourly movements. The twelve moving Earth Branches of the Heaven Pan are divided and added over the fixed twelve positions of the Earth Pan. Together, this creates a complete model which reflects the movements of events and objects in the world.  

In summary, the circle makers may be alluding to divination by showing us different Tai Ji circles at different times. Tai Ji reflects our physical reality on Earth, or as the Chinese say, the “ten thousand creatures.” By illustrating a new Tai Ji emerging from the present Tai Ji, the circle artists may be telling us to expect a new physical reality emerging from our present reality, perhaps a world with more dimensions than our present world.