The Dark Warrior is the ancient Chinese name, widespread throughout Asia, of the god Xuanwu, lord of the north, which in later times is replaced by the best known cosmic animal that represents the celestial north: the Black Turtle, formed by seven of the twenty eight constellations of the Chinese sky called “Xsiu”, placed on the equatorial belt (instead of ecliptic like the western Zodiac).
Depiction of the god Zhenwu (Ming era)
The guardian spirit of the north is connected by Fengshui, with the typical Heaven-Earth parallelism, on the morphology of the ideal site in the northern area where maximum protection must be found, that is, a high mountain that slopes gently bringing the Qi (energy) to the ” Xue ”, the Nest, the perfect home that can be both for the dead (funeral site) and for the living (home).
Snake Turtle
Even in the “urban” Ba Gua of today’s “Fengshui” it is possible to grasp the ancient symbolism that leads us to connect the north direction to three main aspects: Protection, Knowledge and Longevity.
Something remains of the oldest iconography related to the Dark Warrior or Xuanwu,
Xuanwu the Dark Warrior
but much more common are the images of the Turtle, usually depicted entwined with a snake (coincidentally also in the Bible the tempting snake of Adam and Eve represents knowledge ………) and used as a lucky charm in the practice of Fenghsui.
Snake Turtle
Very interesting are the morphological characteristics of the turtle combined with the snake, which reminds us of the structure of the dragon with its armor and coils. Both images lead us to recognize the meaning of these “hidden” animals in the landscape studied to identify the best site, ideal both for funeral sites and for the homes of the living. It is essential that there is a sinuous movement of the Qi before its arrest in the focal point (Xue) of the site and therefore the shield of the turtle on one side offers protection from the wind that disperses the Qi and the snake on the other conveys it in a way slow and sinuous to the chosen site.
Xue original scheme