Yang Water
REN (Yang Water) is the ninth Stem. Symbolized by a large ocean of water, it is powerful, majestic, flowing.
Associated with MengDong 孟冬Early Winter, late evening, stage of retirement, direction of north, Trigram Kan Water, urinary bladder and ear.
Likened to the expansive ocean that is constantly moving, Ren embodies adaptability, diplomacy, movement and communication between people. A chaotic network of moving parts, it's the current that brings people, ideas, concepts together, trading, exchanging, encouraging growth and movement in all directions. Always strategizing, a visionary, a connector, an experimenter of life; the process of moving toward our vastness, toward our potential, towards being whoever we decide to be.
Ren contains the power of the tidal wave, which surges continually without retracting. In its depth of the sea are memories, sentiments, acceptance, synthesis, return, fluidity, completion, and death. Ren is the intuitive knowing of winter, containing the darkness that is necessary for the seed of beginnings. It is gentle, but all powerful; nothing may resist its constant push and yearning to spring forth.
Ren is the force of creation, sensuality, the power of originality, creativity, effortless progress, and willpower. If you fear stagnancy, pick a direction, any direction. This is a time for experimentation. The process will reveal the knowledge you desire. Trust in the waves of change to make clear the reality you are questioning. You can’t know what you haven’t tried.
Be like the ocean: strong, mighty, vast, adventurous, messy, deep, and chaotic. Without the earth to hold the water, the ocean cannot exist. Your boundaries and limitations birth the possibilities alive in your deep, resounding, creative waters.