Yin Yang Wolf: Symbolism and Origins

We see countless animal themes and motifs carved on Chinese heritage. Chinese, with their powerful insights and philosophical intellectuals, understand the deep meanings of animals. Each animal corresponds to some characteristics that have a historical origin.

People use these symbols alone in combination with the Yin Yang symbol (Yin Yang wolf) in the form of drawings and tattoos on the body, clothes, houses, or other buildings to represent their inner sentiments, visions, and power. That is why animal symbols hold a very special place in China and all over the Asian culture.

Similarly, when the symbol of duality, Yin Yang, is combined with the animal symbols, it adds to the Yin Yang symbol's power. Its meanings and appearance intensify. If you are also curious to know more about wolf symbolism in Chinese culture, keep reading and know everything about it. 🐺

Wolf symbolism in China

Wolf symbol may exhibit loyalty, cunningness, greediness, communication, companionship, friendliness, generosity, or intelligence.

Generally, Wolf is considered a ravenous beast who is aware only of his self-interest and greed and never winks to look at others' needs.

Irrespective of the general ferociousness and cruelty associated with them, wolves are loyal and powerful. They don't prefer living alone; instead, they are friendly and expressive with their partners. Due to their amiable nature, they can be considered excellent communicators. They make their point clear through body expressions, gestures, touch, and eye contact. 👁️

People whose totem animal is a wolf are more expressive, loyal, eloquent, and creative.

Wolf also has a symbolic base in Chinese culture, though not as strong as other animals have. Due to the huge prevalence in Northern China, wolves never got the proper attention and strong meaning like dragon, tiger, fish, or monkey.

According to the Chinese, Genghis Khan was also descended from a wolf.

Contrary to Chinese culture, Wolf holds a higher place in certain other cultures, such as Native Americans.

They view the wolf as someone having spiritual powers and great characteristics of loyalty and determination. They believe that wolves can transform into a human being and have a close relationship with humans. There was a common belief that wolf spirits were responsible for creating the world. The fascinating philosophies are ancient, but people still look back in the past and use the wolf symbol to sign loyalty and spirituality.

The Historical Origin of Yin Yang Wolf Symbolism

The historical origins of the yin yang wolf concept can be connected with a very famous Cherokee legend, "The tale of two wolves." The legend has two versions. One version is related to wolf symbolism. If you are more into philosophies, myths, and lore, then you must have listened to this great legend.

As the story forms the basis of yin yang wolf symbolism, we will briefly tell you about it.

The story starts when an elderly Cherokee man teaches his grandson about life. He said, "There is a continuous fight going inside me. The fight is dreadful and wrecking, and I have to face this fight daily. Not only me, everyone faces this fight”. ⚔️

It is a fight between two wolves that live inside us.

One is “evil and wicked." It is jealous, arrogant, greedy, regretting, liars, and lazy.

The other is “good." It is full of love, joy, humanity, faith, compassion, benevolence, hope, and truth.

We all have these two wolves inside us, and we all face this constant fight. Deep inside, we are more related to one wolf than the other. We don't relate to both wolves equally, and this is the reason why the fight starts.

Now, the grandson asked curiously, “who wins in the end?”

The answer given by the grandfather was, “The one you feed." It’s up to us to whom we feed. Sometimes we feed good, and sometimes we feed evil.

But do we have any rulebook to differentiate good from evil? No, so how could we know the good and evil. 😈

The answer also lies inside us. In every situation, good and bad changes. The thing that is good in one case might not be good in another condition. You have to feel about good and evil and decide the way. Instead of following other opinions, you have to follow your conscience and know whether you are feeding evilness or goodness inside you. And things don't end here. From here, the real fight starts. You have to tame both the wolves and create a balance between them. Only then the wrecking battle ends.

How is this legend related to Yin Yang wolf symbolism?

Yin Yang can be considered as the other side of this legendary story. It correlates the two wolves with the good and evil, darkness and light, day and night of yin yang. It refers to the middle way a man can choose to create balance. It advises us to choose the path wisely and feed both wolves in the right proportions to create balance. ⚖️

Yin Yang wolf symbolism teaches us to embrace our both sides and end that constant fight.

If you only focus on feeding the good wolf, the bad wolf will become ravenous and ferocious. The resentment inside him will grow insidiously and attack you the moment your defense lowers. We had seen many perfect people who end up being abusers, cruel, liars, and whatnot. It speaks for the wrong approach that we use. Focusing on one wolf will make the other wolf a silent beast.

Therefore, Yin Yang Wolves symbolism teaches us to never go out of balance and embrace our good and evil to reach the level of harmony.

Meaning of Yin Yang Wolf Symbolism

Before jumping on to this wolf symbolism part, it’s better to become familiar with the yin yang meaning and importance. ☯️

Yin Yang meaning and historical origin:

Yin Yang symbol is in the form of a circle. A curved line splits the circle and creates two tear-shaped white and black halves. The black half is Yin, and the white half is Yang. Each half has a small mid dot with the opposite color.

Yin Yang is an ancient duality concept that dates back to the Yin dynasty in 1400-1100 BCE. It holds a special place in Taoism and Confucianism. The famous Chinese martial arts, medicine, literature, and art are greatly influenced by this concept and depict it.

The symbol originated in the ancient Chinese timekeeping system. In that system, a pole’s shadow length was used to know the times of the year. The regular changing size and shape of pole shadow were linked with the Yin Yang symbol.

As per this belief, when the pole is at the summer solstice, daylight is minimal, and darkness prevails; this is where Yin (Darkness) begins. Whereas Yang (Light) starts when the pole is at the winter solstice, days are longer, and daylight is strong.

The changing shadow shapes are considered as Yin and Yang on the two sides of the pole.

The Yin Yang symbol is the essence of the world’s existence. It symbolizes night and day, light and dark that always coexists. There can never be light when there is no darkness and vice versa.

The symbol conveys the meaning of balance and harmony between two opposing forces or entities. This symbol depicts that when there are two opposite forces, they might appear to go against each other and contradict, but they are always dependent, and both work best when together.

Now comes the Yin Yang Wolf part,

When yin yang is combined with the wolf, it gives the meaning of dual powers inside humans. It symbolizes the presence of both dark and light power resting in the blood 🩸. The symbol also depicts that out of the two opposite sides only succeeds the side on which you work. If you invest in good qualities, you strengthen the light side of the symbol, and if you invest in bad qualities, the dark side will wrap you in.

Yin Yang Wolf Tattoos

Yin Yang tattoo is the most valued tattoo among the Chinese. But when combined with other historical signs, it gives a more charismatic look. When the Yin Yang symbol is combined with the wolf symbol, it recreates a new symbol with deep meaning and beautiful appearance. In fact, it's among the most popular yin yang tattoos. Men prefer this wolf tattoo more than any other yin yang tattoo. They get yin yang wolf tattoos in various colors and designs. For those who prefer large tattoos, they get it on their backs. Though popular among men, women can also wear wolf tattoos.

What do Yin Yang wolf tattoos show?

If you are also interested in getting the Yin Yang Wolf tattoo, get a more precise idea about this wolf symbol to understand its essence. 🐺

Yin Yang wolf tattoo is the perfect tattoo for those who genuinely admire wolves and have wolf traits.

Yin Yang itself is a symbol of harmony, peace, and balance. That harmony develops when two opposing entities interact with each other and embrace their differences. If there is no balance and harmony, then there is no goodness in your life. Adding wolf to yin yang adds up to the original meaning. The two opposing entities take the form of two wolves. These wolves are human conscience. The bad and good conscience. Keeping a tight check on both of them and never letting one outgrow the other creates balance. This is when the balance is achieved, and you accomplish goodness and success.

Yin Yang, combined with the wolf, represents the greatest powers one achieves when he controls his conscience and creates balance in his life for every opposing entity.

Express your own concept through yin yang wolf tattoo:

There is no restriction in expressing your own concept through your tattoo. You can represent a unique meaning using the yin yang wolf tattoo. People get this tattoo to attract the positive energy around them or express their body and mind's balance. They may express their determination and loyalty or intelligence and generosity. They can use this wolf tattoo to depict the control over their desires and let people know what their personality is.

Yin Yang wolf tattoos can be placed anywhere on your body. Whether you opt for a smaller tattoo or the bigger one, both look amazing. You can even decide to have matching tattoos with your friend or partner. The half side will represent you, and the other half side will represent your partner.

Final Thoughts

Whatever benefits you want to achieve or sentiments you wish to convey to the world, you have to believe in the power of the Yin Yang wolf concept. Only then will it be useful in constructing harmony in your life. ⏳