How Does Taoism Impact the World Today?

In Taoist (also spelled Daoist) philosophy, duality isn't about opposition.

Opposites, like the poles of the Earth, aren't adversaries; they coexist, naturally providing the necessary magnetism for our planet's function. In Taoist philosophy, this duality isn't about opposition but about how different elements support the entirety.

It's a different perspective from the Western notion of opposition; in Taoism, it's about acknowledging differences while contributing to the collective whole. Each part, though distinct, is essential for the existence of the other—a beautiful and symbiotic relationship. The Western mindset often gravitates towards creating adversaries, constructing a dichotomy where one side is exalted and the other vilified—a narrative that elevates one's standing by belittling the other. Or put it another way, it's a mechanism to self-justify the horrors of extractive mechanisms. It's a distortion, reflecting exceptionalism and colonist thinking, and a refusal to acknowledge the interdependence of all elements.

This understanding challenges the need to manufacture enemies, inviting a shift from adversarial constructs toward a more integrated worldview, much like how the North and South Poles are opposites, but not in opposition. The light of the Yang and the shade of the Yin offer a magnetism that allows Earth to be Earth. Lore suggests that Yin was once used to refer to the shady side of a mountain, and Yang to the sunny side of the same mountain. It's either co-existing or no one exists at all.

This view of conflict-based duality will only produce more conflict. Part of this creative writing series is to re-imagine what polarity could look like without cancelling the other, and in fact, suspending the view of 'other', and bringing them home as kin.

In this way, Taoist philosophy has real-world impact during a time where we see conflict everywhere we turn. Yin Yang principles can lay down the necessary foundations for decolonized perspectives, and function as a further returning to diversity in a fuller sense, in how we do everything. Through a Taoist lens, we can even decolonize our spirituality, magick, and other occultic traditions.

Black Holes Birthing Stars creative writing series will be exploring these notions in how we think, how we imagine, how we show up as human beings, and more importantly, as human becomings.