Page 572 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

HUOHOU 53!

The term huo j( (fire) refers to the circulation of vital breath (*qi), or simply
the power of the effort in practice, while hou 1~ (phase) denotes the sequence
in which the practice is performed. Fire phasing therefore represents the most
secret part of neidan, the inner rhythm that one must find and experience for
oneself. Knowing how to do~e activity and inactivity, movement and quies-
cence (*dong and jing), the adept becomes the master of time; the accurate
measuring tools symbolized by the trigrams and hexagrams of the *Yijing,
the moon phases, and so forth, which represent the course of time during the
year, month, or day, allow one to experience this cosmic time within one's
body. Time is thus spatialized, and the body becomes a celestial clock which,
turning in a regular way, is similar to the chariot of the Northern Dipper
(*beidou), while the heart (*xin) is the pole star, the motionless axis around
which the cosmos unceasingly revolves.
To achieve control of time, fire phasing in neidan is divided into different
stages. The first is a phase of "yangization" in which Yang augments and Yin
decreases. This is described as a warlike or martial period, corresponding
to the advancement of a light called Martial Fire (wuhuo iER;j() or Yang Fire
(yanghuo ~ j() that purifies by burning and eliminates defiled elements to
release the Original Yang and increase it. At the cosmic level, the beginning of
this phase is symbolized by the winter solstice (*zi r) and by the hexagram
fo ~ ~~ (Return, no. 24), which indicates the return of Yang. This is followed
by a phase of balance, a time of rest called *muyu (ablutions). At the cosmic
level, this phase is symbolized by the spring and autumn equinoxes and by
the hexagrams dazhuang jcjj± == (Great Strength, no. 34) and guan U :§:§
(Contemplation, no. 20). The third stage is a phase of "yinization" in which
Yin augments and Yang decreases. This period, called Civil Fire (wenhuo X
j() orYin Fire (yinfo ~t4), corresponds to a decrease of the light. The adept
achieves the alchemical work spontaneously and without any effort or vol-
untary intervention; water descends to moisten, fertilize, and temper fire. At
the cosmic level, this phase is symbolized by the summer solstice (wu Lf) and
by the hexagram gou ~ __ (Encounter, no. 44).
Fire phasing in neidan means that in every instant the practitioner should
find the balance between Martial Fire (action, movement, temporal expan-
sion) and Civil Fire (inactivity, immobility, temporal reduction). Alchemical
texts repeatedly state that this is the innermost secret of the alchemical work,
which cannot be transmitted in words.

Monica ESPOSITO
m Oespeux 1994, 163-69; Esposito 1997, 45- 50; Esposito and Robinet 1998;
Pregadio 1995; Robinet 1995a, 120-31
* muyu; sanguan; zhoutian; Yijing; neidan; COSMOLOGY