What's In A Name?
The Phoenix - Fèng Huáng
While most people think of the Greek phoenix that rises from the ashes and is reborn, that is not our namesake phoenix.
In Ancient China folklore, the Phoenix was considered one of the four sacred creatures residing over China's destiny. Often paired with the Dragon, the yang aspect representing the Emperor, the Phoenix represented the yin, feminine aspect displayed by the Empress.
The phoenix itself contains both a masculine form, known as "Fèng" and is the yang, solar, fire bird aspect to the feminine "Huáng" yin, lunar, aspect depicting beauty. The combination of the two aspects "Fèng Huáng" represents the complete Phoenix.
The flight of the Phoenix represented the ability to leave the world and its problems behind and chart new paths to clear skies. According to Chinese lore, the Phoenix appears rarely and only to mark the beginning of a new era or to signal in the beginning of peaceful and prosperous times. (Schumacher, 2014)
It's feathers blend the five colors: black, white, red, green and yellow. It's song is the harmony of the five musical notes. The whole of the creature symbolized the five cardinal Confucian virtues: "It's color delights the eye, its comb expresses righteousness, its tongue utters sincerity, its voice chants melody, its ear enjoys music, its heart conforms to regulations, its breast contains the treasures of literature and its talons are powerful against transgressor." (Schumacher, 2014)
"In The Feng Shui Handbook, Master Lam Kam Chuen writes: A mythical bird that never dies, the phoenix flies far ahead to the front, always scanning the landscape and distant space. It represents our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment and the events unfolding within it. The phoenix, with its great beauty, creates intense excitement and deathless inspiration." (Shumacher, 2014)
The Moon - Yuè
The Moon in Chinese culture and folklore represents peacefulness, gentleness and illumination. The Moon is considered feminine, yin and the carrier of emotions. Through it's varied phases, it represents the ability to transform. Offering illumination as well as shadow, the Moon provides both yin and yang. offers contrast allowing the ability to explore the 'shadow side of the moon' that exists within each individual.
In Indigenous People cultures throughout the world, the Moon is considered Grandmother and offers direction, navigation, instruction and guidance. She is powerful, offering balance to Grandfather Sun and resides in the Up Above direction along with other planetary bodies and powerful guiding forces including Ancestors and Creator (God, Jesus, Buddha, Elvis -- whoever your higher power is).
Phoenix Moon - Fèng Huáng Yuè
Phoenix Moon Acupuncture & Apothecary is a combination of the two most powerful yin energies inherent in Chinese Medicine and other indigenous cultures around the world. In combining the two, not only are they representational of the medicines we practice but also of the our owner, Dr. Cliff.
Schumacher, M. (2011, August 27). PHOENIX. Hou-ou (or Hoo-oo) -- the Japanese Phoenix. Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/ho-oo-phoenix.shtml.
Schumacher, M. (2014). Chinese Phoenix, Asian Phoenix. Phoenix, or Ho-oo, in China and Asia. Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/phoenix-china-popup.html.