Tuesday 13 December 2016

Did the Song Dynasty (960-1279CE) provide us with arguably the biggest dichotomy in Chinese Medicine history?

Did the Song Dynasty (960-1279CE) provide us with arguably the biggest dichotomy in Chinese Medicine history?


NOTE: error in Jing Luo magazine article

Under the heading of 'Treat the Disease or Treat the Person' i said that pharmacists started to play the game of 'I Spy'. This was incorrect as it was actually the physicians that did this. With any luck you were able to work that error out based on what i wrote later in the article. I apologise for any confusion this mistake may have caused.


Do you treat your patient or do you treat their disease? Do you establish an underlying pattern of disharmony or do you use a tried and true formula for different disorders? Regardless of your opinion, this is the dichotomy that the Song dynasty physicians found themselves in. This blog will look at the reasons for why this occurred, during a dynasty that experts suggest was the ‘Golden Age’ of China (Hinricks & Barnes 2013; Unschuld 1985; Cotterell 1990).

In order for us to answer this question we need to look at two key historical events that contributed to this dichotomy – wood block printing and the rapid expansion of pharmacies throughout China. Having said that, a lot of other fascinating things were happening during the Song that I will also discuss.


How the Song Dynasty came into Power






Prior to the Song dynasty there was a period of disunity called the Five Dynasties (907-960CE). Before the Five Dynasties there was a peaceful period of harmony in China called the Tang dynasty (618-907CE). When the Tang fractured there was essentially 53 years of civil war, along with neighbouring countries invading and claiming large slices of China’s fringe regions.

The Five Dynasties has been named because there were five separate ruling houses that controlled the northern parts of China during that 53 years (Cotterell 1990, p. 164). Interestingly, there were actually ten separate states scattered throughout southern China that had no affiliation with any of the five northern dynasties during this period.

Eventually a very smart army general named Zhao Kuangyin (he changed his name to Tai Zu when he became emperor) managed to wrestle control of the northern states. He celebrated by getting totally tanked and when he woke in the morning his army crowned him the new emperor of the unified northern China. He then did four things that secured his position and that of the new Song dynasty (Cotterell 1990, pp. 169-171):

1)  He demanded that the current imperial family (and the officials in the palace) were spared their lives.

2)  That the royal treasury wasn’t pilfered.

3)  His soldiers were encouraged to resign from the army and retire to ‘large house and land packages’ and told they (and their future ancestors) would be looked after for generations to come.

4)  He convinced the majority of the southern states to unite with the northern states, thereby reuniting China.

These four key decisions ensured that he came into power with less enemies (and more friends). It obviously also meant he had money to spend on new infrastructure throughout China; and he took the power away from the army, and instead of employing army generals to important regional outposts, Tai Zu hired intelligent scholarly civil officials instead.

The Song were never expansionist in design and instead tried to shore up what they had. This was relatively successful during the period of 960-1126CE until Northern invaders pushed the Song into the South. There they remained strong from 1126 until the Mongols invaded all of China and officially took power in 1279. More on that later.






Wood Block Printing and Medical Text Publishing

Wood block printing was established in China around 600CE, but it wasn’t particularly popular until around 1050CE when movable block printing was invented. The reason for block printing’s popularity was because it allowed for a lot of texts to be produced quickly. Prior to block printing, every text was laboriously hand written, which negatively impacted on the spread of literary information throughout China.

“As a consequence of advances in printing, scholars were able to communicate as never before” (Cotterell 1990, p. 180).

In 1057CE, the Song emperor Renzong (Chia & De Weerdt 2011, p. 220) took advantage of the new movable block printing advancements and established the ‘Bureau for Editing Medical Treatises’ (jiaozheng yishu ju). In the space of twelve years (1057-1069CE) the Bureau collected, compared and then produced definitive editions for 11 of their medical classics. Among the list were the Yellow Emperor Basic Questions (Huangdi neijing suwen), Canon of the Yellow Emperor’s Eighty-One Difficult Issues (Huangdi bashiyi nanjing), Zhang Ji Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders (Shanghan lun), and the most famous texts from Sun Si Miao ‘Priceless and Essential Formulae worth 1000 Pieces of Gold’ (Qianjin yaofang) and ‘Priceless Supplemental Formulae worth 1000 Pieces of Gold’ (Qianjin yifang).

By the end of the Song dynasty (1279CE) the Bureau had 16 definitive editions of the classics written/printed, and had also written/printed 18 brand new medical texts (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, p. 104). To put that into context, in the entire recorded history of China, only five medical texts were printed in an official capacity prior to the Song dynasty.

“The recensions that we have today date to those Song imprints” (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, p. 107).





Pharmaceutical Trade – Medicine Distribution to the Population

Apart from the ‘Bureau for Editing Medical Treatises’ (Bureau), the Song were also the first dynasty to establish a Governmental policy for distributing medicines to the Chinese population in times of need. Previous dynasties had done it on occasion but it was very inconsistent and unplanned. The government also established medical schools, hospitals, pharmacies/apothecaries (Unschuld 2009, pp. 115-117), and hospices.

The apothecaries were controlled by the ‘Pharmacy Service’. They were responsible for founding new branches outside of city centres. By 1150CE they totalled 70 outlets (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, pp. 101-102). These pharmacies had two main responsibilities.

1)  Donating herbal concoctions to the wider Chinese population in times of epidemics.

2)  Selling medicinal drugs to the general population via patented herbal pills, powders or pastes (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, p. 102). In 1107CE, the Bureau wrote a Pharmacy Service patent formula text titled ‘Formulary of the Pharmacy Service for Great Peace and for the Benefit of the People’ (Taiping huimin hejiju fang).

What this essentially meant was that virtually every Chinese person could now gain access to herbs anytime they needed/wanted them. This was unprecedented in all of Chinese history prior to the Song dynasty. A census taken in 1083CE suggested over 100 million people were living in China at the time (Cotterell 1990, p. 182). By having access to pharmacies, as well as the specialist physicians that were scattered throughout China, the Chinese people had healthcare like never before.
What it also meant was:

1)  A person could go into a pharmacy and advise the pharmacist that they had a complaint, such as a bad cough. The pharmacist would then consult the ‘Formulary’ and prescribe a patent formula to treat the cough. This would lay the seeds for ‘treating the disease and not the person’.

2)  A person didn’t necessarily need to see a specialist physician anymore. They could now, essentially, cut out the middle man (physician). This would save the average Chinese person time and money. The physicians were seeing their livelihoods disappearing so they needed to do something about it, and quick!! This would lay the seeds for ‘treating the person and not the disease’. More on this later.

Prior to the Song, medical schools were primarily dedicated to training practitioners to treat the imperial family and for government service. At its peak the Tang dynasty (618-907CE) had 40 spots available for training medical students. In less than 200 years that number had grown to around 1000 (1113CE) (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, p. 102). In addition, the curriculum had expanded from nine subjects to 13. Included in the new curriculum were women’s and children’s disorders. Graduates started to specialise in different areas of Chinese medicine (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, pp. 100-102). Having said that, the Song didn’t open up additional clinical placements (within government circles) for these trained physicians so these new, and highly trained, physicians started to apply their trade within the community (more to follow).








‘Treat the Disease’ OR ‘Treat the Person’?

For the average Chinese person, the new healthcare system that was established during the Song dynasty, was a dream come true. But for the Chinese medicine practitioners it became a battle between pharmacist and physician. As the pharmacies were gaining traction, the physicians started losing ground. In order to rectify this significant issue, the physician started to play the game of ‘I Spy’, or, “We see something you don’t see” (Unschuld 2009, p. 117). It was a truly brilliant game-changer and it went something like this:

Option 1

Pharmacy and Pharmacist
Two patients, Joe and Mary, visit the pharmacy and both complain of a mild sore throat. The pharmacist consults the ‘Formulary’ and prescribes Gui Zhi Tang.

Physician
Joe and Mary visit the physician instead. He asks a series of questions and determines that Joe has an acute wind heat invasion and is therefore prescribed Yin Qiao San and needles are inserted into LI4 (Hegu), TE5 (Waiguan), and LU10 (Yuji); Mary, however has a wind cold invasion so is prescribed Gui Zhi Tang and needles are used on LI4 (Hegu), LU7 (Lieque) and GB20 (Fengchi).


Option 2

Pharmacy and Pharmacist
Joe and Mary visit the pharmacy. Joe is suffering from fatigue and Mary has abdominal bloating. The pharmacist consults the ‘Formulary’ and prescribes Si Jun Zi Tang for Joe and Li Zhong Wan for Mary.

Physician
Joe and Mary visit the physician with the same complaints. After the physician asks his questions he determines that both Joe and Mary are suffering from Spleen and Stomach Qi Xu and both are prescribed Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang and are needled at SP6 (Sanyinjiao), ST36 (Zusanli), BL20 (Pishu), BL21 (Weishu), CV12 (Zhongwan), and LR13 (Zhangmen).

Summary
As you have no doubt worked out, option 1 indicates that just because Joe and Mary have the same complaint, this doesn’t automatically mean they have the same internal disharmony. Option 2 suggests that Joe and Mary can have different complaints but could actually have the same underlying diagnosis. In the end, neither the pharmacist nor the patient knows; only the physician knows! That’s the game of ‘I Spy’ that the physicians played; and they played it beautifully.







Divide Between North and South

When the Han dynasty came into power in China (206BCE-220CE) they set about to streamline and systematise everything in their external environment; and since the Chinese believed that their internal environments were a microcosm of their external surroundings, they did the same with their medicine. This resulted in the Huangdi neijing suwen being born and from it came a distinct fracturing of traditional medicine. Those that didn’t adhere to the new medical model could still practice their style of medicine on the quiet, or by moving to remote rural areas.

The physicians that transitioned into this streamlined medicine tended to remain in urban areas in the northern areas of China. They also referred to themselves as the elite, so by the time the Song dynasty came along nearly 1000 years later, this elitist model had built itself into a distinct entity. As a result, the Chinese elite would refer to themselves as Han Chinese (being descendants of the great Han dynasty). And seeing as they were elite, then the people not living in northern regions (such as those from southern China) were often referred to as barbarians. They also concluded that barbarian medicine must be noxious and the people that practiced this medicine were termed shamans or witch-doctors (wu). Their deities were also considered demonic! The southern people were even considered to be responsible for contagion, epidemics or plagues.

The medical care provided in northern and southern China was certainly different. Let’s look at epidemics as a case in point. The treatment for epidemics in the south was often isolating the patient to reduce the risk of the contagion spreading. However, in the north, they believed that the physician (and the ill patient’s family) should still help the contagious individual, even at the risk of their own health, because to do so was an ethical duty of care (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, p. 112).

What is interesting here is that the Song dynasty Bureau’s block printing of Zhang Ji’s Shanghan lun, reminded physicians about the six divisions discussed in the Huangdi neijing suwen. Namely, that external pathogenic factors could spread from a sick person to a healthy person, but only if the healthy person has poor Qi or Jing energies. So as long as the physician remained healthy, then they would be able to treat a diseased patient without the risk of getting sick themselves (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, pp. 113-115; Unschuld 1985, pp. 171-172).

When the Northern Song was defeated (1126CE) a lot of northern Chinese people fled to the south; this merging of northern and southern Chinese people created a significant melting-pot for transferral of information. But it also contributed to the increase in epidemics as the north merged with the south (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, p. 119). By the 1100’s the cultural centre – previously being in the North had moved its centre to Hangzhou (roughly 200km south west of Shanghai).

Even though the Northern view of medicine was aligned more with structured Confucian processes (from which the Han text Huangdi neijing suwen was derived), the south had continued to use Daoist traditional medicine dating from pre-Han dynasty times. This included demonological therapy, exorcism movements, and plague spirit cults (not all of these were Daoist). Wu soothsayers or shamans were often responsible for demonic exorcisms or magical healing; this included black contact magic or homeopathic magic (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, p. 119; Unschuld 1985, p. 163).

Whilst the northern Chinese would have liked to believe that the old medical ways used by the Daoists had ceased way back in 200BCE, in actual fact it had not. As I mentioned briefly above, it simply moved out to rural centres and into southern China and not only survived, but actually thrived. So when the north met the south and discussed their medicines they were obviously not exactly the same.








Physicians and the Elite Literati

As I touched on earlier, the Song government allowed for more of the population to sit the exams for government positions, including healthcare. Approximately 30 000 men were sitting the exams at the start of the Song dynasty; by the end of the dynasty this number had risen to roughly 400 000 (http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/). Unfortunately for the majority of the men that sat the exam, the number of positions available in the government remained the same, resulting in more people failing the exams and therefore searching for a career in the wings of the government – often that of a physician. This resulted in a much closer association amongst the elite literati and middle class physician. It was during this time that the two words were merged leading to ruyi, literati physician, or scholar physician. Interestingly, the ruyi were of the view that you had to ‘treat the person and not the disease’.

“Although most healing skills continued to be transmitted within families, increasing numbers of aspiring doctors studied from purchased books and travelled to study with renowned physicians … In the Jin [Southern Song], however, on the model of contemporary Neo-Confucian practice, some physicians began apprenticing exclusively with a single teacher and formed medical lineages” (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, p. 117).







Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism

Confucianism was still the state’s philosophy of choice but Daoism and Buddhism were definitely gaining in popularity.

From a medical perspective each of these three philosophies needs a brief discussion:

Daoism
As mentioned above, Daoism medicine was located in the more rural and southern parts of China. The medicine included demonological therapy, exorcism movements, and plague spirit cults. Wu soothsayers or shamans were often responsible for demonic exorcisms or magical healing; this included black contact magic or homeopathic magic (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, p. 119; Unschuld 1985, p. 163).

Daoist inner alchemy (neidan) continued to gain traction. It emphasised meditative breathing and visualisation, rather than the original external alchemy (waidan), which had emphasised concocting certain elixirs for consumption with the goal being to gain immortality (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, p. 121). What’s fascinating is that one of the original ingredients of these famed elixirs of immortality was cinnabar (dan); fascinating because cinnabar is actually deadly mercury sulfide.




Buddhism
Had become very popular with the middle to lower class Chinese that found it a philosophy that was more manageable in their day to day lives than Confucianism was. Therefore a divide started with the elite Chinese society as they continued to embrace Confucianism. A census showed that Buddhism in the year 1221CE could count 400 000 monks, 60 000 nuns and 40 000 temples as part of their philosophical cause. Having said that, what’s surprising is that Buddhism was actually on the decline (Unschuld 1985, pp. 163-164); this was primarily because a new philosophical system termed Neo-Confucianism was emerging (discussed briefly below).

Buddhist medical practices were not necessarily confined to individualist healthcare. It also considered the wider implications of communal healthcare; and for this, they included some of the Daoist shaman practices. These comprised, but were not limited to, rain making, predicting the outcome of wars/military operations, and even divinations (which had long since ceased being an exclusive tool of the Emperor/Tianzi/Son of Heaven) (Unschuld 1985, p. 156).

Buddhist priests from China started visiting Japan (and vice versa) and, because of the explosion of block printing texts into the marketplace, took medical texts with them. As a result Japanese traditional medicine, which had remained fairly stagnant for the previous 300 years, once again was thrust into the spotlight. Japanese traditional medicine would never look back and would also never be the same again (Hinrichs & Barnes 2013, pp. 123-126).




Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism emerged as the philosophy/orthodoxy of choice for Song emperors. It merged traditional Confucian thought with Buddhist doctrine, and in so doing, changed the face of traditional medicine (Cotterell 1990, pp. 176-177; Unschuld 2009, pp. 113-114).

Confucian ideals/principles were also central to the civil service exams that thousands of Chinese sat each year. If you didn’t know the ‘Four Books’ (‘The Great Learning’ – Daxue; ‘The Doctrine of the Mean’ – Zhongyong; ‘The Analects of Confucius’ – Lunyu; ‘The Mencius’ – Mengzi) and, to a lesser extent, the ‘Five Confucian Classics’ (‘Classic of Poetry’ – Shijing; ‘Classic of History’ – Shujing; ‘Classic of Changes’ – Yijing; ‘Record of Rites’ – Liji; ‘Chronicles of the Spring and Autumn Period’ – Chunqiu) then you were not going to pass the exams (http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/).

“This differentiated development of Confucianism [Neo] soon radiated a great intellectual vigor and appeal. The study of the classics once more became a vital topic. The impulse to investigate carefully individual phenomena of nature and in so doing to understand one’s own position in the larger scheme of the universe, culminated in the scientific activities of the period” (Unschuld 1985, p. 166).



In the end, all three philosophies contributed to the development of traditional medicine during the Song dynasty, typically as separate entities, but occasionally with similar ideals and treatment protocols (Unschuld 1985, p. 167).


Other Song Dynasty Inventions/Achievements
Apart from inventing movable block printing, the Song dynasty also gave us gunpowder (Unschuld 1985, p. 163), rockets, flame-throwers, cannons, bombs, mines, fireworks, the compass, porcelain/china, paper money, coal, rainbow bridges, foot binding, and even the dreaded examination. A Song academic Shen Gua (1031-1095CE) hypothesised that the ocean tides were affected by the cycles of the moon. The Song also dramatically increased the number of tea houses and restaurants available to the general population, particularly in the urban centres of China (www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/song-dynasty.html; http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/).
Interestingly, movable block printing was eventually used by Johannes Gutenberg for the printing of the Bible (www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/song-dynasty.html). This didn’t occur until the 1450’s, almost 400 years after the Chinese Song government started using it.
Trade also blossomed throughout China as new inland waterways were built to enhance, and more efficiently, move materials around. New ships were also built to improve trade with foreign lands (Unschuld 2009, p. 113), particularly throughout south-east Asia. Having said that, the Chinese also traded with a lot of other countries outside of south-east Asia. These included, but were not limited to, India, Persia, Arabia, and even Africa (east coast).

A census taken in 1083CE suggested over 100 million people were living in China; over 1 million of those in the capital of Hangzhou (by 1270CE) which is located roughly 200km south-west of Shanghai in Eastern China (Cotterell 1990, p. 182; www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/song-dynasty.html; http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/). What’s interesting about this is that from about 2CE until 742CE the population in China was relatively steady at 50 million people. What that essentially meant is that in the space of about 300 years, the population in China doubled (http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/). To further put that into context, London’s population at this time was only about 15 000 people.

One of the main reasons for the population explosion was the dramatic increase in rice production. Rice was grown in southern China, whereas wheat, millet and sorghum were grown in the north.

“The elite of the city [Hangzhou] often formed clubs. A text written in 1235 mentions the West Lake Poetry Club, the Buddhist Tea Society, the Physical Fitness Club, the Anglers’ Club, the Occult Club, the Young Girls’ Chorus, the Exotic Foods Club, the Plants and Fruits Club, the Antique Collectors’ Club, the Horse-Lovers’ Club, and the Refined Music Society. Members gathered for lively discussions and socializing” (http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/).

Marco Polo supposedly visited China around 1275 and stayed about 20 years. Initially, however, he went to Beijing, which had become part of the Mongol empire. He became a friend and confidante of Kublai Khan, the emperor of the Mongol empire, and soon to be first emperor of the Yuan dynasty of China (1279-1368CE) (http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml).

Landscape painting and gardening were also particularly popular:

“… the Song was the most active period culturally in Chinese history … its greatest achievement lay in the visual arts … Chinese art found its perfect mode of expression. That is the painting of the landscape … Interest in gardening as an art ran parallel to that of landscape painting” (Cotterell 1990, pp. 178-179).






Collapse of the Song Dynasty

The Song dynasty collapse didn’t happen overnight, and was essentially set in motion in the first twenty years of the Song dynasty. After Tai Zu regained control of most of southern China, in 979CE he tried to regain control of the northern parts of China near Beijing. It was an epic fail and Tai Zu had to agree to pay tribute to the ruling state (called Liao) to stop them invading the Song territory (Cotterell 1990, p. 170). From that point forward, the Song stopped its dreams of expansion and settled on strengthening what they already had.

However, continued unrest in the northern regions of China (and beyond), and the fact that the Song dynasties northern border wasn’t defended by the Great Wall of China, meant that they were continually at threat from those regions. In addition, the western regions were active against the Song, so they had enemies coming from two different directions. So I guess it wasn’t particularly surprising that by 1126CE (166 years after the Song came into power) the northern and western invaders had driven the Song south and east. With less land to defend, and with the aid of an extremely helpful wartime item called gunpowder, the Song were able to hold on for a further 153 years as the Southern Song.

It’s impossible to predict the outcome of the Song had Genghis Khan and his Mongolian horde not taken an interest in conquering China. The Song may very well have thrived for several hundred more years, but of course history doesn’t work that way. Genghis Khan was real and he was a serious badass. He conquered a large chunk of the known world at the time (see map below) before dying in 1227CE as he was heading into the northern parts of China. Mystery abounds but apparently he died after falling off his horse; sounds like a rather boring way for such a significant historical figure to die. Wouldn’t it have been way more interesting had he died extremely outnumbered 20-1; Injuries to his face, groin and abdomen; yet still standing like an inhuman God? Wait, I have a better one, he could have died like the black knight in the historical fiction piece from the Monty Python ensemble called ‘The Holy Grail’. I should probably get serious again … haha!!

Genghis Khan started the invasion of Northern China before dying in 1227CE. His people continued the invasion of the South but it took them until 1279CE to conquer all of China. Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis) became emperor of China, moved the capital to Beijing and called his dynasty the Yuan (Cotterell 1990, pp. 186-187).

It might seem hard to believe that it took the Mongolian horde 50+ years to defeat the Song dynasty. The main reason it was so difficult for them was hinted at by me earlier – gunpowder! That one item, plus the unfamiliar and unkind terrain for the Mongolian war horses, pretty much guaranteed that the Song were going to hold firm. Unfortunately for them, some of their gunpowder specialists were seized and then forced to use their expertise against the Chinese. From that point on, the Mongolians were irresistible and officially seized power in 1279CE.

“Although scholars often consider the Song Dynasty to have been very weak, its use of gunpowder was the reason it was able to hold off the Mongols for many decades. Eventually, the Mongols were able to capture Chinese artisans and use the latest gunpowder technology against the Chinese. The Mongols used those people who had a special knowledge of technology and employed them in their own armies as engineers. They carried that technology to the West very rapidly because it was very helpful in their conquests” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/song-dynasty.html).








Concluding Thoughts

I absolutely love history! I don’t care what culture or what age, and Chinese medical history is one of my special interests, especially for those eras when the medicine has been shaped by historical events.

When events occur in history that alter how people view their health and well-being, well that’s where I want to be – fully immersed in it. I want to feel like I was there, learning from the Chinese people, peeking into all the nooks and crannies, searching for any heroes, or perhaps, some skeletons in closets. I want to know what was happening in their world at the time because I feel like this will help me to better understand the changes in their medicine.

I want to thank the Song Chinese (960-1279CE) for so kindly inviting me into their lives. They were such polite guests who treated me with the utmost respect. I also want to thank the editors of the Jing Luo magazine for asking me to write an article on something historically significant in Chinese medicine history. I was honoured and humbled by their offer and I immediately thought of using some of my old presentations and researched works I had on my computer. Pretty quickly however I decided to start afresh because it would give me the opportunity (and the excuse … haha!) to research something new.

It didn’t take long for me to get an idea from a student of mine who was asking me about some of the original Chinese medicine texts such as the Yellow Emperor Classic and the Shang Han Lun. She asked me how old these texts were because she had been given a variety of different dates from different lecturers, and her research had also left her none the wiser. I told her that the Yellow Emperor Classic was probably written somewhere around 100BCE and the Shang Han Lun somewhere around 200CE. This response seemed to be well received by my student and we parted ways as we headed off to different classes.

As I was walking to my next class my brain started to do its funky memory recall thing and I was reminded about the Song dynasty and the fact that they had written/printed definitive editions of a series of classical medical texts. And that, as they say, was it!! When I got home that night I did a bit of research on the Song dynasty and I was hooked. Initially I was going to focus solely on moveable block printing but once the Song Chinese started speaking to me it became apparent that they wanted you, the reader, to know about something more important – which was, do you treat the person or do you treat the disease?

I hope you enjoyed my blog even half as much as I enjoyed researching/writing it. I hope to post a series of additional blogs (on a variety of different topics) over the next couple of months while work is a little quieter. I will be sure to let you all know when these are posted.

Love and light to you all

David Hartmann

 “The Sung period thus constitutes one of the pinnacles of technological and scientific progress in Chinese history” (Unschuld 1985, p. 163).


References

Chia, L & De Weerdt, H (eds) 2011, Knowledge and text production in an age of print: China, 900-1400, Brill, Leiden.

Cotterell, A 1990, China: A history, Pimlico, London.

Hinrichs, TJ & Barnes, LL (eds) 2013, Chinese medicine and healing: An illustrated history, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

Unschuld, PU 1985, Medicine in China: A history of ideas, University of California Press, Berkeley.

Unschuld, PU 2009, What is medicine? Western and Eastern approaches to healing, trans. K Reimers, University of California Press, Berkeley.










Saturday 3 December 2016

Wu Xing & Wu Shen Personality Traits/Archetypes: Who do you think you are?



Way back in the stone age ... well 2008 to be precise ... I was neck deep in a Masters degree mini-thesis. The original idea for my thesis/project was to compare and contrast the Chinese philosophies of Kong Fu Zi (Confucianism) and Lao Zi (Daoism) with the Western philosophical concepts of Socrates (iknowthatiknownothingism – sorry but couldn’t help myself … haha!!), Epicurus (Epicurianism), and Seneca (Stoicism). I thought it was an excellent idea, as did my supervisor, but unfortunately it was too large a topic for a 20 thousand word project, so it was canned.

However it took me a good six months to reach this conclusion, during which time I collated and researched hundreds and hundreds of text books and websites. This journey took me to all sorts of wonderful places, and since I can get waylaid very easily (this is rarely a bad thing!!), I ended up learning about other Chinese philosophers apart from Confucius and Lao Zi. These included, but were not limited to, Mencius (Confucianism – Good Heart), Zhuang Zi (Daoism), and Xun Zi (Confucianism – Bad Heart). These variations on a theme then took me further away from my central topic and I learnt about the philosophical schools of the Wu Xing (Five Elements) and the Yin Yang. Now I was starting to research the origins of Chinese philosophy as well as the medicine; so even though I was now miles and miles away from my planned research, I was finding some really cool stuff. Stuff that wasn’t going to be used for my project, but stuff that I decided to file away for further analysis at a later time.

That future time ended up being in late 2013 when I was thinking of some new and interesting topics to present at two 2014 conferences I was presenting at – AACMA in Melbourne and WFAS in Houston. I was looking back through all my stuff that I can accumulated over the years and found my old notes/research on the Wu Xing (Five Element) philosophical school. As I read over my notes I was trying to find a topic within the Wu Xing that would make a catchy presentation. For those that know me, I always look for the obscure or murky realms of a known topic. I want to explore the regions that others don’t want to go. This is what fascinates me!

And so when I found a personality archetype system within the Wu Xing I knew I had found my prize. I hit the ground running and researched everything I could get my hands on, and this is the end product. It has had a number of edits and rewrites since 2013, and was also a topic I ended up presenting at the Rothenburg congress in Germany in 2015. My latest edition now includes the Wu Shen (Five Spirits) which are the Hun (Ethereal/Heavenly Soul), Shen (Spirit), Yi (Thought/Intellect), Po (Corporeal/Grounded Soul), and the Zhi (Willpower).

I truly hope you enjoy the read and please feel free to comment/provide feedback, or ask any questions you might have.

Lastly I will use the rest of this post to provide any additional comments on any of the pages of the PDF document.

Page 3 – you will notice for the first time I have highlighted some of my notes in orange. These were the areas I concentrated on in my presentations. It was impossible to cover everything in the notes – you will notice the orange highlighted parts continue throughout my notes.

Page 7 – there was a story/legend that I remember reading (didn’t reference the book at the time though – doh!!) about an ancient Chinese emperor who was plunged in thought (Yi/Earth Element). He was over analysing and over thinking everything in his life. He was so pensive that he stopped eating and refused to leave his chambers. After a few days his prime minster and scholar elite started to get quite worried but no matter how hard they tried, the emperor refused to eat. In desperation they put the call out to the wider community for someone that could heal the emperor. That someone ended up being a Chinese medicine physician whose name I have long forgotten, so we will call him Bill. Anyway, Bill shows up at the emperors palace and declares that he can heal the emperor, but only if the prime minister and scholarly elite didn’t interrupt him under any circumstances. They were desperate so reluctantly agreed. With that, Bill charged through the door and into the emperors private chambers, without even knocking. He then told the emperor to “Stop being a lazy fart/Pi and start ruling his country (Bill might not have said the word fart)”. As you would expect the emperor exploded with rage and anger. He roared at Bill and at his prime minister:
“Take this man away and have him executed at once … And bring me back something to eat because I’m starving”.
As you have possibly worked out, Bill understood that he needed to stimulate the emperors Earth element by firing off his Wood element, using the Ko cycle for an acute and immediate change. And the best way to do that was to make the emperor angry.
So what ended up happening to Bill? Well there are two endings actually – classic Chinese!! One ending was happy – the emperor is eating his food and realises what Bill was doing. He ordered a stay of execution just in time and saved Bill’s life. He also promoted Bill into one of his elite physicians in the palace, and Bill lived happily, and richly, ever after. The other ending was sad – by the time the emperor realised what Bill did for him he had already been executed. We have to realise that Bill would have known the risks going into the palace but he was also happy to give his life for the life of the emperor. After all, Bill was just a man, but the emperor was the son of Heaven Tian Zi).

Page 11 – I hope that this makes sense. What I am essentially saying is what Immanuel Kant (1724-1804CE) was trying to say, in his insanely difficult writing style; that is, we are born with both free will/desires as well as no free will/destiny. Basically we are born to live a particular life where we will learn a series of important lessons, but these lessons can be learnt in a number of different ways depending on the path we choose (free will/desires) in life. However, the paths that are open to us will be limited to ensure we learn the lessons we are supposed to learn (no free will/destiny).

Page 21 – this treatment option is structured exactly the same for all five of the elements. Its only one type of treatment option amongst many available ones. To summarise, the horary points will treat anything wrong with the organ, regardless of whether it is Shi (excess) or Xu (deficient).
Mother and Child points are a specific five element treatment option. Mother points will tonify (for Xu) and Child points will sedate (for Shi).

Page 65 – Pre-Heaven Intellect is knowledge that you already know (without having learnt it) and is passed onto you by your ancestors at conception. Post-Heaven Intellect is knowledge that you acquire after you are born via the use of your senses. Obviously Pre-Heaven Intellect is something that is a debatable topic, so if I could use an example from the animal kingdom to explain myself further. I have owned several Blue Heelers (Australian Cattle Dogs) over the years. I always get them when they are only 8-12 weeks old and have not acquired much knowledge. They always nip at my heels and herd me into the corner of the room for several months until they learn from me not to do that anymore. But how do they know to do that? Because it’s been bred into this dog breed for a long time (that is – to nip at the backs of cow’s heels to get them to go where the cattle driver wants them to go) and it’s become an inherent trait of the breed; as in, they just simply know how to do it without ever having learnt to do it. That’s what I mean by Pre-Heaven Intellect!

Page 99 – the single best comic joke I have ever seen. The dinosaurs becoming extinct!!

That’s it, apart from providing you with a scenario that will hopefully tie all of the Wu Xing together in a nice little example.

Picture yourself going at a party/gathering; you arrive about an hour late and everyone else is already there. You walk into a large room and take in everything that you see/hear in front of you. The first thing you notice is a group to the left with one particular person clearly the centre of attention. You can even hear him – he is discussing his most recent exploit to the group. He is clearly very proud of himself and letting everyone around him know it.

There is another group to the right that also draws your attention because of the volume. This group has a woman who is gesticulating wildly and who has the group laughing hysterically at what she is saying. You turn further to the right and notice three people sitting away from the others. There is a couple sitting on one couch and there is another person sitting opposite them who is leaning in and appears to be totally focused on the couple. She seems to be counselling them and the three of them are completely oblivious to anyone else around them.

Spinning back to the left you spot two people talking in what is very academic speak. One person is definitely the peer and you can tell that the other person, whilst clearly not overawed, is quite enthralled by what that person is saying. They look like they are trying to find a solution to a very complex problem; perhaps figuring out how to make a particular object better?

Lastly, you spot two other people talking (tucked away in a dark corner – you didn’t see them when you first arrived) in what is very philosophical language. They appear to be attempting to solve the world’s problems. There is also another person sitting close by listening in, but not contributing, to the conversation.

Have you worked out who is who?

The guy who is promoting himself is Wood; the lady gesticulating is Fire; the single in the group of three is Earth; the two people attempting to make an object better are Metal; and the philosophers (and person sitting on their own) are Water.



So now that I have done this post I will look to merge the Wu Xing archetypes with the Numerology Arrows of Pythagoras. This will hopefully be done within the next couple of months.


My next post, however, will actually be an in-depth discussion on the Song dynasty (960-1279CE), which is something that the Jing Luo magazine asked me to write for them. So please be on the lookout in the next week or so.

Love and light to you all


David Hartmann

Tuesday 12 July 2016

Numerology and the 'Arrows of Pythagoras'

 Numerology and the ‘Arrows of Pythagoras’


Before I get started I should point out that this is a huge post; which is why it’s taken so long to construct. If you don’t think you will plough through the entire document then your best approach is to read the first few sections and then when you get to the ‘Arrows of Pythagoras’, only read yours. If that wasn’t too much reading, then start to read your friends and families arrows as well; it is lots of fun once you get started.

The post today is on the numerology ‘Arrows of Pythagoras’. By now you hopefully have a base level understanding of your numerology archetype, particularly in the areas of your ruling number/life path number and your personal year number. By adding the arrows of Pythagoras it will help to round out a general numerology picture for you.

After this post I will be introducing a Chinese philosophical archetype system called the Wu Xing or Five Element classification. This will be followed by one more numerology post – where I hypothetically look at whether Chinese medicine/philosophy can link in with numerology. So in total I will have done six posts with numerology and/or Chinese medicine and philosophy as the underlying themes.

Anyway, let’s get started. So exactly what are these Arrows and how do you find out if you have any?


How to work it out?

Well to work it out you put your birthdate numbers into a chart as per the numbers below. There are no zeros therefore if you have a zero in your birthdate, you leave it out.


You also have to look for rows where all the numbers are present, and also for rows where there are no numbers. We will discuss what a full arrow and an empty arrow means shortly. To make it easier I have given the rows with full lines a red arrow, and rows with empty lines a green arrow.





I will give three examples to help you out.


Example 1: Birthdate of 10/10/1973




As you can see there are two arrows of empty lines, in the 4, 5, and 6 column and the 2, 5, and 8 row. These arrows are made up of missing numbers, whereas in other examples, some arrows will be made up with a full row of numbers.


Example 2: Birthdate of 31/5/1959




In this example there are no empty lines but there is a full line made up of numbers 1, 5, and 9 on a diagonal.



Example 3: Birthdate of 5/8/2005




In example three, the person has one full line across the 2, 5, and 8 row, as well as two empty lines along the 1, 4, and 7 row and the 3, 6, and 9 row.

So hopefully you understand what I have written; if not then please reply to my blog post and I can assist you further.


What does a full arrow mean?

For those of you with a full line of numbers you have a full arrow. This full arrow is what I’ve always called a super-hero ability. You have an inherent or genetic strength that you can use at any-time in your life. It can be used when you are relaxed and can be used when you are under heavy stress. It literally is like donning a super-hero cape when you trigger the use of this arrow of strength.

What I find fascinating, is that most areas of research in the arrows will laud the full arrows and strongly advise caution regarding the empty arrows, but this should not always be considered gospel. Contemplate for a moment, a person that uses their full arrow all the time, in almost every situation that life throws at them. They might use it when they are making dinner; when they are mega-stressed at work; when they are relaxing on holidays; or even when they are offering advice to a close friend. To use the super-hero ability all the time, to the point where it’s a crutch, then this strength can become a weakness.

If, however, the super-hero cape is only donned on occasion then this full arrow is considered an inherent or genetic strength.

On occasion I use numerology in my Chinese medicine clinic. I do this in order to understand my patients a little more. Interestingly, sometimes my patients are unaware they have a super-hero ability. For whatever reason, it’s been squashed away under other layers of their personality, to the point where it’s an under-developed strength that is obviously also under-used. Imagine the patients surprise when they hear that they have a super-hero cape tucked under their clothes and all they need to do is duck into a phone-booth (a la Superman) to activate it; It’s priceless!!


What does an empty arrow mean?

So where a full line of numbers provides the person with a full arrow, an empty line gives the person an empty arrow. This empty arrow can be perceived a number of ways, with the most common being that the person has a weakness. This inherent or genetic weakness creates challenges in a person’s life that they can struggle with for their entire lives.

Similar to the full arrow already discussed, this weakness can appear at any point in day to day activities, regardless of stress levels or emotional disturbances. Having said that, it is much more likely to appear when you least want it to; hence the challenge attached to an empty arrow.

I have two empty arrows as per my birthdate in example 1 above; and whilst they are definite challenges in my life, I also consider them to be a strength as well. I certainly don’t want to don a frustration super-hero cape when I am under heavy stress (even though that does happen to me thanks to my missing line of numbers 4, 5, and 6), but this frustration is still what makes me who I am. 

Having an empty arrow certainly throws up some challenges, but the minute you realise that these challenges are there for you to grow as a person, then it’s never as bad. My patients are always grateful to me for pointing out their empty arrows (if they have one) even though a different part of them is also cursing me for telling them. Seneca put it perfectly when he said:

“It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness”


The Arrows of Pythagoras

There are 16 arrows in total – 8 full and 8 empty.

Let’s go through each of them one at a time.


Arrow of Determination

Birthdate example: 12/6/1957




As the name suggests you are a person that is determined and persistent. This determination can be achieved via patience, endurance, persistence, and planning, and it can also be achieved swiftly with drive and planning on-the-go.

This determination tends to mean people with this arrow have very distinct likes and dislikes. This should not be mistaken for stubbornness or selfish behaviour. They are who they are and this determination, if harnessed correctly, will help them achieve immeasurable success in life.

Two things to consider:

Be careful that the determination doesn’t become the only driving force in life. Pay attention to when there are significant road-blocks preventing your determination at achieving your goals. Step back and look to see that your determination is flowing with Universal energy rather than against it. If everything is pointing to stepping away from a task, reassessing and starting again from a different angle, then do that.

If your child has this arrow, allow them the chance to explain themselves when they are pursuing a task with bull-headed determination. Don’t automatically discount, or poo-poo their pursuit; hear them out and then decide on a course of action together. We under-value our children’s intelligence as it is. Don’t do it to children with this arrow!

Coincidentally, every single person born from January 1, 1950, through to December 31, 1959 had this arrow.


Arrow of Resignation

Birthdate example: 3/6/2007





Please note: this empty arrow hasn’t occurred to anyone on the planet from January 1st in the year 889 until the year 2000.

As the name suggests, this person can be completely resigned to their fate. They will likely lack motivation and exhibit the opposite of the full arrow of determination, which could come across as cowardice, fear, idleness, or timidity. They could be irresolute, indifferent, disinterested, hesitant, and doubt themselves on almost everything.

If they can learn to be diligent and to persevere with every task they start, they can learn to follow-through with jobs that they set themselves. This can give them a sense of achievement which can go a long way to ensuring that they complete the next task, and the next task, and so on.

There doesn’t appear to be any positives in what I have said so far for this arrow, but let’s not forget that it’s an empty arrow which means the person will have significant challenges to overcome in their life. Let’s also consider for a moment that not everyone has be someone that follows through with every task they perform. We probably all know someone that is, what we might call, a ‘rolling stone’? People that are not ‘caged in’ and love to just do whatever they want, whenever they want?

People with this arrow might not be very good at following through with things, but they are often very good at coming up with ideas for new things. So whilst people with this arrow are unlikely to complete the task, they can feel good about themselves because they thought of the task in the first place.


Arrow of Spirituality

Birthdate example: 5/3/2007





“This arrangement creates a deep spiritual awareness which is the vital basis for a balanced, practical philosophy of life” (Phillips 1980, p. 70).

This spirituality is developed via personal experience and research, rather than via advice from others. They practically apply this spirituality to their daily life, which is often full of challenging endeavours. It’s almost like the Universe is throwing everything at them, including the kitchen sink, to see how they react and respond. Their unwavering trust in their chosen spiritual pursuit will ensure they survive, succeed, and thrive.

It is worth noting that this trust (and sense of justice) will even be there in the early stages of their life, but as they evolve spiritually, their faith that everything will work out, will emerge even more. As parents it’s vitally important that you are always honest with your children (particularly if they have this arrow); anything otherwise and you are doing your child a disservice. They need to understand the world in all its strengths and weaknesses, in order for them to grow into their spirituality in the best manner.


Arrow of Scepticism

Birthdate example: 12/6/1984





What’s interesting about this arrow is that the name is somewhat of a misnomer. Whilst there is no denying that a person with this arrow will be a sceptic; what they are sceptical of is whatever they don’t understand religiously, scientifically, or philosophically speaking. So if the person embraces Western medicine and Christian doctrine then they will potentially be sceptical of complementary/ alternative medical practices and religions that don’t link in with their Christian views.

It is worth noting that the opposite also applies; meaning that someone that is brought up in a household that uses natural medicines and are fans of New Age texts and authors, then they may be sceptical of mainstream medicine and religious practices.

A person with this arrow uses their five senses to the point of overuse. Everything gathered via these senses are what they recognise as real and certain, thereby making then sceptical of anything else. If this is the case then they should be encouraged to explore areas outside their safety net or comfort zone. Perhaps consider learning a musical instrument, or take up writing or poetry; try painting or explore less mainstream philosophical thinking.

  
Arrow of Intellect

Birthdate example: 16/3/1948






People with this arrow, as the name suggests, will be highly intelligent.

Chinese medicine talks about two types of intelligence, ‘Pre-Heaven’ and ‘Post-Heaven’. Pre-Heaven intelligence is the knowledge that you are inherently born with. It’s the stuff you just know without having learnt it first. I used to own a number of Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle) dogs. They were always purchased as puppies that had never spent significant time with their parents; yet the minute I get them home they are chewing and nipping at my heels. This is something that is typical of the Blue Heeler breed – it’s a way for them to nip at a cow to get the cow to go where the farmer needs it to go. It’s an inherent, genetic, feature of this breed. This is what I term as ‘Pre-Heaven’ intelligence. You were never taught it – you just somehow know it!

Post-Heaven intelligence is what you learn via your senses after you are born.

A person with this arrow will have both Pre-Heaven and Post-Heaven intelligence. They will also have an exceptional memory, both short-term and long-term.

Since a person with this arrow is so intelligent they tend to gravitate towards pursuits that challenge them on an intellectual level. This can mean they appear aloof, indifferent, or lack feelings towards others, particularly those with a lower IQ. This is not the case with their peers, who they consider vital to their intellectual development.

They are not the type of person that will hide away from the world. People with this arrow are actually very happy in the world and like being around others. It is here that they can use their intelligence and it is here where they feel most valued as a human.


Arrow of Poor Memory

Birthdate example: 14/8/2002





Being the opposite of the intelligence arrow, where the person possessed an exceptional memory, this person has problems with poor memory.

What’s fascinating is that everyone born from the years 1889 until 1999 couldn’t actually have this arrow in their birth-chart. What’s also interesting is that two of my three daughters actually have this arrow. To date they have actually shown an extremely strong memory for things. I will often ask them where something is and they will know, even if it’s something that has been missing for days.

When you learn more about this arrow however, you learn that the poor memory actually starts to develop later in life, but considering most people seem to lose some of their memory later in life anyway, it certainly makes for a rather perplexing arrow.

When you delve deeper, you learn that apart from poor memory, these people can also have trouble learning, particularly in the current school environment that we have developed in the West. They might be forgetful, learn slowly, have poor concentration, be vague, and appear quite disinterested. If you can keep this person stimulated, and interested, in a project then they will be much more likely to sustain a strong level of memory into their more elderly years.


Arrow of Emotional Balance

Birthdate example: 16/5/2008

Whilst there is no denying this person’s emotional balance, what I have found interesting over the years is that people with this arrow tend to be anything but emotionally balanced in the earlier stages of their lives. This can persist until at least their 28th birthday if they are not careful, and even beyond, if life has really thrown challenges their way. Some would argue that this is exactly what was needed for these people to achieve an emotional stability; first comes the chaos and then comes the peace!!

Some of my most challenging patients over the years (from a psycho-emotional perspective) have had this arrow. As they come through this difficulty they are reborn and never look back. These ex-patients end up helping others achieve serenity in their lives.

Another interesting thing to mention is that people with this arrow can tend to be a little too serious for their own good. It’s almost as if, by ensuring there is emotional balance, they have removed everything in their lives that could create drama and stress. If this is the case then encourage them to watch funny movies and look for lighter things in life. Try not to take everything so seriously.

People with this arrow have been through a lot and this makes them exceptionally good healers. If they can harness this power they will help hundreds/thousands of other people.

“Their balanced sensitivity helps them to perceive readily other people’s points of view. This can be put to excellent use in their healing work since counselling is an intimate part of healing” (Phillips 1980, p. 78).


Arrow of Hypersensitivity

Birthdate example: 6/10/1976


I have this arrow and, let me tell you, it’s a shocker!! But this is what makes it such a great arrow to have. It has helped shape me into what I am today. What I find fascinating is that both the full arrow (emotional balance) and the empty arrow (hypersensitivity) in the 2, 5, and 8 have challenges to overcome; and these challenges actually help these people to heal in order to heal others.

The hypersensitivity comes across as two distinct features:

Acute sensitivity to others views about them. This can be real or perceived – it doesn’t actually matter because they are both real to them. People with this arrow will be offended, hurt, and upset over the smallest things, especially when it’s targeted at them. This can be directed at them face-to-face, or more like a snake-in-the-grass; regardless it hurts!! Even if someone were to just think a bad thought about them they will feel it. Their hypersensitivity has them very in-tune with Universal energy, and thoughts hurt just as much as a physical or verbal action.
They are also easily offended by the assumption that someone thinks ill of them.

Justice Meter – because they have such a finely tuned sensitivity to Universal energy, they can pick up on significant world events unfolding without the need for social media to inform them that something bad is going down. I call this my ‘Justice Meter’, and when bad things happen to others my meter fills up, and when it’s full I lose my shit briefly.

This hypersensitivity to others suffering, as well as my own, can often mean that even when I am asleep I can feel injustice unfolding. This can lead to serious insomnia, with the worst dreams you can possibly imagine, with death and destruction on a grand scale. Recognising this for what it is has helped my sleeping over the past few years, without the need for any other type of treatment.

The key features of this arrow tends to mean the person either withdraws from the world so they can avoid getting hurt; or they change their personalities to suit the people they are around; in this way they can come across as fitting in with the crowd, and this limits their emotional vulnerability getting exposed. Neither of these choices are a good strategy and the sooner this is recognised the better. You are you in all your faults and glory’s!! These sorts of mantras are key to learning who they are and how they can fit into the world as themselves.

  
Arrow of Practicality

Birthdate example: 2/6/1947


This practicality will often manifest via the physical. This can mean they are extremely gifted with their hands thereby making them exceptionally good musicians, artists, or with any form of trade. Anything creative is where their heart generally lies. They also tend to love nature and so outdoor careers that require physical work that is of a practical nature will suit them down to the ground.

Interestingly, they can get caught up in the materialistic world and can also take things for granted.
A second interesting thing is that whilst they are kind and will often want to help others, this can make them poor judges of character. If they get burned too many times they can pull back and become stubborn and selfish.

People with this arrow should always feel valued via their practical gift; they should be loved and appreciated for this gift. Don’t force this onto them; just remain friendly, kind and appreciative of their services.


Arrow of Impracticality

Birthdate example: 30/5/2009








Please note: this empty arrow hasn’t occurred to anyone on the planet from the 30th September in the year 999 until the year 2000.

Let’s face it! The world that we live in is an extremely practical one. When you look up practical synonyms, you get hands-on, amongst others. Ever since our ancestors moved away from hunting and gathering, and started to grow crops, we have been a practical planet. Well numerology suggests that it’s time for a change. And this new bunch of children being born (from 2000 onwards) are just the people for the job. Why? Because they are impractical!!

In Chinese medicine and philosophy, when you are too grounded and practical, you are stuck in your Earthly soul. This means you have lost connection with your Heavenly soul, which is artistic, creative, and dreaming. These unpractical people will change the world for the better, but it’s going to be a serious challenge, and will test their resolve immensely. This shouldn’t be surprising since this is an empty arrow after all.

So here we have idealistic souls being born into a world that doesn’t understand what they are and where they came from. This will likely result in people with this arrow withdrawing from the world, rather than getting out in the rough and tumble that is life. They need to embrace the challenge, and this is exactly what they need to be encouraged to do – because if they persevere, and fight the practical world, they will eventually win, and change the word for the better.


Arrow of the Planner


Birthdate example: 3/8/1942
Interestingly, this is one of the most common arrows available in birthdates, so you are likely to run into it fairly regularly, if you look up other people’s arrows.

Skilful planning is the order of the day with this person. Everything is included here from rapid fire and ‘on the run’ planning, to in-depth and analytical planning that can take months and months. They could be plans that appear of little importance, all the way up to grand schemes that are career defining.

“An inherent love for order, method and the scheme of things is present here. However, the planner prefers to concern himself [herself] more with organisation than with practical details” (Phillips 1980, p. 83).

Because they are forever thinking up new and wonderful projects, they can be quite removed from the people around them. This can come across as being aloof, indifferent, elitist, self-centred, selfish, ‘not of this Earth’, vague, uncommitted, detached, uncooperative, and unkind. Whilst some of this is certainly possible, this person is just so caught up in their schemes and plans that they just don’t consider what others are thinking and doing. And to be fair, if people with this arrow had to be there for others as well as themselves, they wouldn’t be half the planner they could be. Not everyone can possess every life skill, regardless of what full or empty arrows a person has.

If you know someone with this arrow, the best thing you can do is allow them the space to be great, and encourage them to take a break occasionally and enter the world of the living, even if it’s for only a brief moment.

Interestingly people with this arrow are very trusting of others motives and can therefore take a while to realise when someone has done them wrong.
  

Arrow of Confusion


Birthdate example: 4/8/959


Please note: this empty arrow hasn’t occurred to anyone on the planet since the 9th September in the year 999; and coincidentally won’t occur again until the 4th April in the year 4000.

Basically the arrow suggests that the person will have significant issues with planning, across every facet of their life. They won’t be able to plan out their own life and that will apply for anyone that they know. This would make them incapable of looking after/caring for someone else. They can’t even look after themselves!

Their life will be full of confusion, disarray, disorder, and misunderstanding. Having said that, if the person is aware of these difficulties, it can help them process and chart a course of action to learn to cope with this arrow. As I’ve already stated earlier, life was never meant to be easy, and people with empty arrows tend to struggle more than people that have full arrows, or no arrows at all. Life is what you make it!!


Arrow of the Will


Birthdate example: 5/4/2016


Please note: Ignore the fact that this person also has a missing arrow at numbers 7, 8, and 9; the arrow we are discussing is a full line at numbers 4, 5, and 6.

As the name suggests this person has a serious amount of willpower, as well as drive, determination, along with intense activity/action. People with this arrow will do whatever is necessary to complete tasks, often to the detriment of other things in their life, as well as other people’s feelings. Having said that, this is actually an incorrect assumption made by those around them, because they are extremely kind people, and their underlying interests lie in the helping of others. But they would prefer to help others in a quiet solitude, where they can fully commit to the task at hand.

If they set their mind to something then they will be dogged, stubborn and show extreme perseverance. This willpower comes only after they have analysed, processed and charted a course of action; thereby the commitment to complete the task comes from the knowing that what they are doing is worthwhile for themselves, but more importantly for the people around them.

One final comment is worth mentioning; people with this arrow can’t actually know what others want/need the most, and let’s face it, nobody can! But this can be a significant issue for these people. They think they know what’s best, and so they push themselves to solve the world’s problems and they fall short, purely because they don’t understand the big picture.


Arrow of Frustration

Birthdate example: 2/10/1988


I have this bloody arrow, and guess what one of my favourite words to use is when I am stressed or under the pump? No surprises – I get so “frustrated”!!!! But how/why do people with this arrow get frustrated? Basically the frustration is directed towards two areas – themselves and those around them.

Frustration with themselves – let’s face it, everyone on the planet has that little voice inside their heads that can be both complementary and critical. And that voice is particularly uncomplimentary for people with this arrow. It gets stuck into you ‘Royal’! Nothing you do is ever good enough, and that voice lets you know about it 24/7. As you can imagine, after a while this builds into a serious level of frustration about yourself which can be a real negative hit to your self-esteem and self-worth. Even if you do manage to do something amazing, that little voice will still find something that you did which wasn’t perfect, and will hone in on that little negative nugget, and will torture your sense of achievement, and sense of self-worth.


 Frustration with those around them – because you are so self-critical, this naturally leads into you lumping an unrealistic expectation on other people.

“We should realise that frustrations could be avoided if only we learnt to appreciate people for what they are, rather than what they can be or should be” (Phillips 1980, p. 86).

The goal for people with this arrow is to realise that life is challenging, but that’s the point; because life’s challenges will force them into evolving into the best person they can be. One that understands and appreciates themselves and others for all their strengths and weaknesses. Nobody is perfect after all.

  
Arrow of Activity

Birthdate example: 1/8/1976


As the name suggests, people with this arrow show an increased level of activity in their day to day lives. Sometimes they show so much activity that people around them can get fatigued just by watching them go-go-go!! They will gravitate towards jobs that keep them moving and active, particularly ones that involve the outdoors and nature. The same applies to their leisure life – it’s active too. In fact it’s rare for them not to be doing something. They wake, are active, then sleep; repeat!!

If they sit still for too long they become irritable and show nervous tension; you can almost see them ready to explode. If you are sensitive you are likely to feel the caged-in energy from them, almost like the hum from power stations when you get close.

Children with this arrow can be extremely hyperactive, and can find it very difficult to sit still for long periods. Plus their brains seem to work best when they are active. ‘Active body, active mind’ will be their motto! Therefore they can find it very hard in the day-to-day grind of school and in sedentary jobs as they get older. Not surprisingly then, children with this arrow can be diagnosed as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), and the worst thing you could do is to put them on medication to quell their natural tendency to be outdoorsy and active.

People with this arrow also love peace and harmony in the world, and can get very agitated if there is conflict and fighting.


Arrow of Hesitation


Birthdate example: 11/5/2006


Please note: this empty arrow hasn’t occurred to anyone on the planet from the year 26th December in the year 1666 until the year 2000.

Other names for this empty arrow include inactivity, procrastination, lethargy, and laziness. They are also likely to be unmotivated, apathetic, and disorganised. People with this arrow prefer to contemplate life from a secluded distance rather than actively living it. They will often have multiple plans of action on the go at once, but these rarely reach a conclusion. This can be because of the desire to perfect their idea first, or because they end up lacking the required motivation to finish the task, or because they end up besieged by too many tasks at once.

These people need to set goals that are realistic and then show serious self-discipline in order to achieve them. ‘Practice makes perfect’ as the saying goes; and if they start to finish small tasks, they will find it more manageable to move up to harder, more complex tasks.

It’s also extremely important to get these people outdoors and active as often as possible. This will require consistent effort on your (and their) part but the more you do it the easier it becomes.

Lastly, there is the slight possibility that a person with this empty arrow, will reject mainstream religious and spiritual beliefs. It just won’t feel ‘right’. Encourage them to explore different religious and philosophical concepts that are not so conventional, and they are likely to find something that they can resonate with; alternatively, if they are motivated, they will create their own belief system.

So that’s all the arrows analysed. I hope you enjoyed the journey. I thought I would leave you with another quote from a truly remarkable philosopher, Seneca.

“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood”


Love and light to you all


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