from 瀛環志略 (A Short Account of the Maritime Circuit) by Xu Jiyu in 1849.
A high ranking official in Qing China, Xu Jiyu was the governor of Fujian where he met many foreigners and missionaries and learned many information of the outside world while trying to find the reason for China's decline, he would later published "A Short Account of the Maritime Circuit".
The book was ahead of its time for depicting the world from a non sinocentric viewpoint, the author not only introduced the history and culture of other countries but also their technology and governance where he points out that the west have since surpassed China in many ways.
Xu Jiyu had expressed his admiration for democracy like those in Ancient Greece and Rome, as well as US governance and British parliamentary system, even comparing Switzerland to a utopia, as a free and peaceful land despite surrounded by warring countries.
Xu on George Washington:
"George Washington was truly a figure unlike any other. His courage in leading the rebellion surpassed that of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, and his strategic acumen in governing a region exceeded that of Cao Cao and Liu Bei. Though he wielded a sword like Liu Bang, conquering vast territories, he did not covet titles or positions, nor did he establish hereditary succession, instead instituting an electoral system. This practice of entrusting the world to the people echoed the traditions of Yao, Shun, and Yu's era of abdication. His governance emphasized compromise, care for the people, and a lack of emphasis on military force, setting him apart from leaders in other countries. I have seen portraits of him, and his appearance and dignified demeanor surpass those of ordinary individuals. He was truly a hero among men. The United States, with its vast expanse of land, does not confer titles like kings and dukes, nor does it adhere to the norms of hereditary peerage. Instead, it entrusts the power of the state to the public, creating an unprecedented situation from ancient times to the present. How remarkable is this? Perhaps no figure in Western history can surpass Washington!"
Today the words could be found on a stone tablet in the Washington monument, donated by a group of Chinese Christians from Ningbo in 1853, which was mentioned by President Bill Clinton during a speech at Peking University, China in 1998.
Unfortunately, upon the book's release Xu was criticized by the Shidafu (scholar officials/gentlemen, an elite class in Imperial China), he was denounced as a traitor and was questioned his patriotism, the book would be banned until some time after the second Opium War.
Ironically his work would spread to Japan where it became popular which helps the Japanese to understand the world after the Meiji Restoration, Xu Jiyu was called "Galileo of the east" by the New York Times.

Hi everyone,
I want to talk about The Man ‘clock’; Reputation, Karma, and I am proposing a release date of Friday August 23 2024 for Karma! I think it is either a double album with Reputation or Reputation comes some time in September or early spring 2025 (the year of the snake).
Taylor has weaved Yin Yang Chinese philosophy, mythology and astrology throughout TTPD, the Eras Tour and other parts of her work, such as LWYMMD MV, to foreshadow Karma. I believe The Man easter egg wall is actually based on a Chinese Yin Yang calendar, as well as working with the ‘3,2,1’ theory. She is also using it to tell us she needs to make a big life change, and I think that change is coming out. Taylor is telling us she is ‘out of balance’ and she needs to take action to rebalance herself via Karma.
Warning in advance, this is a long post, but if you can bear with me I really think there is something in this.
From what I can see, she has been linking to Yin and Yang philosophy, the ‘Four Beasts’ in that philosophy, and Karma itself for a long time – since 2015/16 but potentially longer – and it’s got louder and bigger as the release of Karma draws nearer. Because yes, it’s definitely happening, and yes, it’s the album to burn it all down.
This is all connected to: TTPD and the use of Yin and Yang, her animal imagery – including outfits, lyrics and Eras Tour and music video visuals, her use of colour, particularly with outfits, and her repeated use of fire and orange, especially. It is based on Chinese philosophy, folklore and mythology, and it is so fundamental to her work at this point you could do an entire re-listen of 1989 onwards and find hints of this everywhere. Yin and Yang directly informs Karma.
I want to start off by saying if I get anything wrong, please do say! I know karma, yin and yang and mythology in general can be really misrepresented, and I want to share a theory most accurate when explaining historical and modern-day Chinese and Japanese mythology. Please just shout (if you feel comfortable) if I miss the mark on anything!
Few important posts and credits:
· u/courtingdisaster with the slideshow for a TTPD P3 with inclusion of the yin yang symbol here
· u/macandcheese359 who showed the links between the LWYMMD MV and Paris outfits here
· u/goldenheart411 with a wee theory in the comments of a post about TSMWEL that the yin and yang is Taylor's public self and her queer self - which i LOVE – and I think really informs this use of Yin Yang, and Karma is what will 'rebalance' this
· u/clydelogan, who has posted about yin and yang, numerology and astrology connections all related to Taylor easter eggings the Karma release, post here, and who has also theorised RepTV will be a double album with Karma as the vault tracks
· I started thinking about this in response to u/macandcheese359's post here on tigers
Yin & Yang
Yin and Yang comes from ancient Chinese philosophy, and it is the concept that all things exist as inseperable and contradictory opposites. Yin is black and Yang is white. As the Yin and Yang black and white circle symbol illustrates, each side has an element of the other which is represented by the small dots. Neither pole is superior: the goal of Yin and Yang is balance between the two 'poles' or 'sides' in order to achieve true harmony. Yin and Yang is so fundamental to China that it is not just contained to philosophy, but medicine and culture too. I also want to add that the original position is the white half on top, the black half on the bottom, as shown in photos. I believe Taylor is using both Yin Yang positions.
Crucially, when we're thinking of Taylor, the circular yin-yang isn't the only way yin-yang can be symbolised. It is also, very often, symbolised through an infinity sign. This is because in the ‘Bagua’, a set of Chinese symbols which illustrate the nature of reality as yin and yang, the number 8 represents infinity, and in the Bagua the number 8 also represents the eight primary aspects of Yin and Yang combinations which represent the universe. Source here.
Karma
When we think about Karma; the meaning of it is to act, to take action. Karma can be the seeds and the fruits of action, to reap what we sow. Karma addresses interior and exterior forces impacting us.
“Each one of us has a soul to keep in balance. Upset that balance with some foolish and hurtful misdeed and we spend a succession of lives re-establishing the Law of Opposites reaping that we have sown. The process of balancing is what we call Karma. It owes nothing to religion, but relies upon the knowledge and responsibility that we should (but usually don’t!) have. Yin and Yang is the oriental understanding of karma and that there are positive and negative forces in the universe that balance each other out. They balance due to how karma equalizes the energy flow and irons out all the ripples in the multi dimensional planes.” (source)
Yin Yang Imagery from TS
Taylor has been highlighting Yin and Yang imagery in TTPD, many of us have picked it up.The TTPD logo was released in black and white. The TTPD logo is simply switching the black and the white part of the bottom half; demonstrating a rotation of Yin Yang in her symbolism and therefore two calendars. This helped me figure out The Man wall.
https://preview.redd.it/x7fbf8ftzm0d1.jpg?width=200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d52acb34da92e1a7912a573317296b14cbdd594
https://preview.redd.it/kxsuk8ftzm0d1.jpg?width=200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ac8e55b2dcd7a565d545ebd9c395a76a05ca33c
At the TTPD library, there is the hand with the peace sign. Originally it was white. She then at some point changed it to black. This is using 2, ie the two parts of Yin and Yang, and the colour changes signal the fluidity of Yin and Yang. Tiktok in below images here.
https://preview.redd.it/a0mjl7y00n0d1.png?width=200&format=png&auto=webp&s=f8b6dee772c00ccd655bb4555f664f85d7c2e9ac
https://preview.redd.it/cc1hv7y00n0d1.png?width=200&format=png&auto=webp&s=efdc7cac4159986e1fe7f54af235d86a59032f8f
TTPD is both Yin and Yang, shown by using both black and white. The first drop of TTPD has white artwork, at midnight, meaning it is Yang: white, masculine, light, straight (yes, really), energetic, exterior, hard, odd numbers. The second deluxe drop has black artwork, it is Yin: dark, feminine, the moon, cold, discreet, rounded, soft, mental, even numbers. There is always a little Yin in Yang and Yang in Yin, as represented by the dots in the Yin and Yang symbol. Here is the track list of TTPD Midnight edition & The Anthology seperated into their representation of Yin and Yang, based on how each was dropped per imagery above.
https://preview.redd.it/wy25a6x70n0d1.png?width=623&format=png&auto=webp&s=202464871233635e3dac1092bf985dc61518408d
One important thing to notice is the sides are unbalanced. Does Yin represent the side she is suppressing, the side she needs to balance? TTPD has 16 tracks and the anthology 15; this demonstrates an imbalance – Yang represents odd, but Taylor’s Yang side has 16 tracks, Yin represents even, but Taylor’s Yin side has 15. She also is on TS11.
This leads me to my theory that she needs to ‘balance’ her yin and yang through Karma, it is bringing what is out of balance back into balance. She is repeatedly telling us something is wrong, something is unbalanced, hidden, obscured, ‘this is not Taylor’s Version’, that she is sick – and in Asian tradition, to be sick means inner and outer forces are out of balance.
Yin, the part of TTPD which has less songs, is ‘insufficient’ – which represents an over-focus on ‘night-time’ and symptoms like insomnia, and it can be caused by being overworked, it can cause burnout, it can result in feeling lost or not knowing who you are or hiding who you are. Yang represents the exterior and exterior forces, and an excess in Yang can represent that outside forces are at play and you lack honesty, authenticity, crave validation from the same forces which harm you; it could represent that she is ‘allowing’ the threat of the exterior, exterior forces, her career, her brand, her image, to determine what she hides and suppresses, and is paying a price for that. Many of us believe it is exterior forces which have forced her back into the closet.
This draws me back to what Taylor said in Miss Americana about being gone for a year end of 2016-17: “Nobody physically saw me for a year. That’s what I thought they wanted. I had to deconstruct an entire belief system, toss it out & reject it. It woke me up from constantly feeling I was fighting for people’s respect. It was happiness without anyone else’s input.”
Part of my belief in this theory is the use of the colour orange, I’ll go into this more but orange, in Buddhism, is the ‘essence’, it is the colour of flame or fire, it is an incredibly important colour and it describes a process of taking action and burning it all down to gain enlightenment and nirvana. (Source).
Clocks, Calendars and The Four Auspicious Beasts
Importantly, Yin and Yang in Chinese culture relates to clocks, cycles and calendars, which directly relates to The Man wall which I’ll explore further down the post. "The Four Auspicious Beasts" represent different parts of Yin and Yang and correlate to the Chinese calendar.
https://preview.redd.it/tytiyxgd0n0d1.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3567bcf2140f18ef0fb6eb6e9a09af61f524546
https://preview.redd.it/qtd8hngd0n0d1.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc6bc92f8e46dd232d2d8e475c88b17b7571a676
"The Four Auspicious Beasts" are also known as The Four Symbols, The Four Guardians and The Four Gods. Each Beast has their own season, colour and direction, and one of the five elements of fire, wood, earth, metal and water.
They are:

• The Azure Dragon (Yang) – which can also be depicted using Serpents or Vipers, representing East, spring, dawn, blue-green, and wood
• The Vermilion Bird (Utmost Yang), also called The Chinese Phoenix, representing South, summer, midday, red-orange, and fire
• The White Tiger (Yin) – which can also be depicted as orange, or with orange colours surrounding, representing West, autumn, dusk, white and metal
• The Black Tortoise (utmost Yin), also called The Black Warrior, depicted with a snake, sometimes the snake is wrapped around the tortoise subduing it, representing North, winter, Black, and water
• There is also a fifth Auspicious Beast as part of the Five Elements (knowing as wuxing); The Yellow Dragon, representing the centre, midsummer, yellow and Earth

Each animal directly relates to Yin and Yang. The Tiger and The Dragon represent the shape we see of Yin-Yang: they hold the shades of Yin and Yang throughout the relevant seasons on each of their sides of Yin and Yang, whereas the Vemillion/Phoenix Bird represent 'utmost yang' and the Black Tortoise 'utmost yin' – the very top and very bottom of Yin and Yang.
In traditional Chinese philosophy, Yin Yang positioning takes precedence over directional; despite the Vermilion Bird representing South, if Yin Yang is in the traditional position (black being the right, bottom position, white being the left, top position) then the Vermilion Bird is at the top and the Tortoise at the bottom. Yin Yang is sometimes turned clockwise as part of a ‘cycle’, like so:
https://preview.redd.it/wgiv2f4g0n0d1.jpg?width=463&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ec9148d79bab9705f77fd3298617f24b4203dff
Yin and Yang is always clockwise, the ‘upright’ position of Yin and Yang has Yin (black) is on the bottom right and Yang (white) is on the top left. You move from ‘utmost Yang’ (summer) through to Utmost Yin (winter) and back through to summer, hence why it’s a seasonal calendar.
Whether we listen to TTPD backwards, which would then follow the traditional Ying Yang, it matches up to the Four Beasts! “Looking backwards, may be the only way forwards”. This has been theorised before here and here. I’m including You’re Losing Me, honestly because it fits this theory, but it also fits the idea that Taylor uses the last song or couple of last songs to foreshadow the next album. It also fits if we were to listen to her discography backwards, as she points to, as You’re Losing Me being the last song of TTPD and the first song of Midnights.
https://preview.redd.it/krjw40ei0n0d1.png?width=754&format=png&auto=webp&s=b4df38eb263e35c7a00d930f61b5eb4ede9cf222
The Manuscript, “Lookin' backwards, might be the only way to move forward…. but this story isn’t mine anymore”, and then we have
YIN: The White Tiger
Robin: “Long may you reign, you're an animal, you are bloodthirsty… slowed down clocks tethered, all this showmanship, to keep it, for you, in sweetness, way to go, tiger, higher and higher, wilder and lighter, for you, long may you roar…Buried down deep and out of your reach, the secret we all vowed to keep it, from you, in sweetness, way to go tiger, higher and higher, wilder and lighter, for you… You'll learn to bounce back just like your trampoline, but now we'll curtail your curiosity, in sweetness, way to go, Tiger”
In Chinese mythology, the white tiger represents power, strength, and courage. It embodies the essence of nature’s wrath, serving as a guardian of morality and justice. As the white tiger represents Yin, it is the embodiment of purpose and patience and it is the ruler on Earth. It is a protector, and there are themes of protection and guarded secrets in this song. I greatly believe this is a song about her talking to her younger self, so I find it incredibly interesting it has themes of courage, patience, strength and guarding or righting morality and justice. The tiger is often used to symbolise action being taken to right wrongs, to reveal secrets, and to provide justice.
An excerpt from The Sexual Secrets of The White Tigress, written by Hsi Lai, which is a translation of an ancient Chinese manual, the White Tigress Manual, regarding female sexuality: "If you cannot face directly into your sexuality, you will never discover your true spirituality. Your earthly spirit leads to discovering your heavenly spirit. Look at what created you to discover what will immortalize you. Freedom, joy, peace, love, healing is found when you face your truth. They elude you when you turn away. Face your truths."
Utmost Yin: The Black Tortoise The next songs that are important are Cassandra and The Black Dog, which I believe are meant to be used together to symbolise The Black Tortoise with the snake, and therefore true to ancient Chinese philosophy and mythology. The Black Tortoise generally only represents Utmost Yin when depicted with a snake. The Black Dog sits directly at the point of which sits The Black Tortoise, representing utmost Yin. This is perhaps the least obvious one, because it is a dog, but with the rest of the theory really adding up, and it sitting at Track 15 backwards, I feel it fits. It also represents water, for which Taylor uses a lot of imagery of in the song.
The Black Dog: “And it hits me, I just don't understand, how you don't miss me, in The Black Dog….my longings stay unspoken, and I may never open up the way I did for you…And it kills me, I just don't understand, how you don't miss me, in the shower, and remember, how my rain-soaked body was shaking… that was intertwined in the tragic fabric of our dreaming, 'Cause tail between your legs, you're leaving”
Cassandra: “When the first stone's thrown, there's screaming, in the streets, there's a raging riot, when it's "Burn the bitch, " they're shrieking, when the truth comes out, it's quiet….. so, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say, do you believe me now? I was in my tower weaving nightmares, twisting all my smiles into snarls, they say, "what doesn't kill you makes you aware" what happens if it becomes who you are?”
A tortoise intertwined with a snake represents a sense of inner conflict or hibernation, the depths of winter. It can represent guarded secrets or something hidden, a sense of protecting one self, or feeling conflicted about those secrets or the struggle they contain. When the snake is subduing a tortoise, it represents control – it can sometimes signify exterior forces causing this inner conflict or struggle. There are clear themes of subduing with snakes in Cassandra. The tortoises shell signifies resilience, strength, and also safeguarding; it represents a shield to the rest of the world, a protection from harm. The snake or serpent with the tortoise embodies wisdom and adaptability in the face of advertisity, and the power and authority to take back control. When there is cohesion between the two, they are a powerful force: the tortoise signifies quiet, while the snake signifies swiftness to act. There are themes of all of this in The Black Dog and Cassandra; particularly an inner conflict, exterior forces, and ‘longings’, combined with imagery of struggles, fights, and water – emotion.
Yang: The Azure Dragon:
This was probably the hardest to match, but once figured out it becomes quite strong. The Chinese dragon is widely understood to have developed in myth from serpents and vipers, and it is usually depicted as being very alike to a serpent or viper. It represents Spring, dawn and wood, and its colours range from blue to green. Very importantly, ancient drawings of The Azure Dragon depict the dragon’s shape with a horse’s head and a snake’s tail and tendril-like whiskers. The song that draws symbolism for The Azure Dragon is But Daddy I Love Him. There are, however, other songs that have links to it; for example, the Dragon represents Heaven – and there are themes of heaven in several songs on the Yang side.
But Daddy I Love Him: “I forget how the west was won… I just learned these people only raise you to cage you…too high a horse, for a simple girl to rise above it, they slammed the door on my whole world, the one thing I wanted, now I'm running with my dress unbuttoned, screaming "But Daddy I love him!" I'm having his baby - no, I'm not, but you should see your faces, I'm telling him to floor it through the fences… Dutiful daughter, all my plans were laid, tendrils tucked into a woven braid, growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all, he was chaos, he was revelry…soon enough the elders had convened, down at the city hall, "Stay away from her" the saboteurs protested too much, Lord knows the words we never heard, just screeching tires and true love…I'll tell you something about my good name, it's mine alone to disgrace, I don't cater to all these vipers dressed in empath's clothing”
The Azure Dragon is a being which brings about order among chaos. It symbolises fertility, youth, sunrise and power, as well as the energy of transformation. It’s also creative and masculine, and represents power over authority. BDILH is a very rebellious song, rebelling against authority and reclaiming your power. The imagery being drawn out is that Taylor is rebelling, reclaiming power and defying authority. One of the things that really stood out to me and solidified this theory for me was “tendrils tucked into a woven braid”: not only does Dragon braids exist, but depictions and descriptions of The Azure Dragon consistently refer to tendril-like whiskers, and these are a large part of the imagery. The Azure Dragon also represents strength and courage, and part of reclaiming power is also reclaiming truth as per Chinese philosophy. The Dragon is also said to control the rain and water; which can be interpreted as learning to better control both surroundings and emotions.
The Vermilion Bird (Chinese Phoenix)
We end with You’re Losing Me: The Vermilion Bird, The Chinese Phoenix, which is ‘Chinese Red’; shades of red encompassing orange. This is incredibly strong, and most importantly it is an image and reference Taylor is clearly drawing from a lot.
You’re Losing Me: ““I'm getting tired even for a phoenix, always risin' from the ashes, mendin' all her gashes, every mornin', I glared at you with storms in my eyes, how can you say that you love someone you can't tell is dying? I sent you signals and bit my nails down to the quick, my face was gray, but you wouldn't admit that we were sick…How long could we be a sad song, 'til we were too far gone to bring back to life? I gave you all my best me's, I can't find a pulse, my heart won't start anymore”
The Vermilion Bird of the South represents death and rebirth. The mythology of the phoenix is that when one life cycle is ending, the phoenix bursts into flames to then be reborn; a new life is born from the ashes. The phoenix is ​​a sacred bird not just present in Chinese mythology, but also Greek, Egyptian, Persian and Japanese mythology. The Chinese Phoenix represents daylight, authenticity, truth. It is generally understood that the Vermilion Bird represents a significant life change, but more than that it signifies a rebirth of your self, and to do that it requires burning it all down to rebuild from the ashes. Importantly, it can also represent public reputation; it can signify shedding unneccessary need for validation from exterior forces and prioritising yourself and your truth. The Vermilion Bird symbolises fire, and it is ‘Chinese red’, meaning it is shades of deep red to orange, and it is depicted with red, orange and yellow, often against a backdrop of clouds. See below.
https://preview.redd.it/byutuxtl0n0d1.jpg?width=483&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2480ccc0f9938e36ec452dfbe0faf8caf9dd1349
You’re Losing Me is not the only song she draws imagery of death, rebirth, and fire. It is throughout TTPD, representing that The Vermilion Bird is perhaps the most important part of Taylor’s message and symbolism, in my opinion. Here are some other examples:
BDILH: “I'll tell you something right now, I'd rather burn my whole life down” Guilty As Sin?: “Oh what a way to die, my bedsheets are ablaze, I've screamed his name, building up like waves, crashing over my grave, without ever touching his skin, how can I be guilty as sin?” The Alchemy: “What if I told you I'm back? The hospital was a drag, worst sleep that I ever had, I circled you on a map, I haven't come around in so long, but I'm coming back so strong”Cassandra: “In the streets, there's a raging riot, when it's "Burn the bitch, " they're shrieking” / “they set my life in flames, I regret to say, do you believe me now?” / “Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul, you can mark my words that I said it first, in a morning warning, no one heard” (I think morning doubles as ‘mourning’ here).
Imagery of The Auspicious Beasts and Chinese Philosophy
The Chinese Phoenix: Fire, Red Yellow & Orange
Image from u/clydelogan in this post
https://preview.redd.it/fqnrf5kv0n0d1.jpg?width=550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ba0aba40be19c69f1f3a347b50ffaae313d9f52
https://preview.redd.it/r7s1s12y0n0d1.png?width=858&format=png&auto=webp&s=18dba6257d71e1eb0397fdba8b9465ab432deead
https://preview.redd.it/hecft02y0n0d1.jpg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25d8c05e0aa9c15b0af02d8fcb300baaba9e245b
https://preview.redd.it/b8awr02y0n0d1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6edf4a7a832cc72c3c88468a0d67f024173e7361
The Azure Dragon & Koi
https://preview.redd.it/zmeiug411n0d1.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98c33ec049719bafd084e594ce3913b92584d794
https://preview.redd.it/a0drye411n0d1.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7b1716be59df64cff9550b82110ced995153546
https://preview.redd.it/xqfq6by21n0d1.jpg?width=487&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd2fd9cb796cab7def6da65ed68fc94d6bdebbe3
A Fifth Auspicious Beast and Koi
There is also a fifth auspicious beast, The Yellow Dragon. It is the Yellow Dragon of the centre of Yin Yang, and it symbolises the centre of the earth. There’s a really important story concerning the Yellow or Golden Dragon that I think Taylor is drawing from, that I’ll share below.
In Chinese mythology and legend, koi is an incredibly important fish - and it has links to Yin and Yang. Legend is, in the Yellow River there was a large school of fish, koi, that would swim upstream and against the current towards a waterfall. When the koi would reach the waterfall, many would attempt to leap up the waterfall to get to the top. Some versions of the legend believe this attracted local deities who made the waterfall even higher. The koi continued to try to get to the top for 100 years, until finally a single koi made it. The gods rewarded this amazing achievement by transforming the koi into a golden dragon - a very well known Chinese symbol and image. The Golden Dragon can also be The Yellow Dragon; the centre of Yin and Yang, representing true harmony. The waterfall then became known as "The Dragon Gate" and the story is said to symbolise strength, courage, perseverance, telling us to never give up, no matter what, no matter the odds.
Koi is therefore often used to symbolise Yin Yang. In Chinese culture, pairing the Koi with the yin-yang symbol holds great significance; the sides masculine and feminine energies of koi swimming together, perfectly representing the harmony of two opposite energies coming together as one and creating a perfect balance.
See the above images of koi imagery and her recent social media post promoting The Eras Tour (The Extended Version) with a lyric from Long Live “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you” with a yellow heart, and then a dragon emoji. Here’s the post.
I would also like to point to this post from u/magnificently-cursed highlighting how Virginia Woolf used fish to represent “women’s forbidden desires”.
Colour Theory
Yin and Yang and Chinese philosophy also informs colour theory as we know it today. Earth is represented by Yellow whereas Heaven is represented by Purple. Pointing to a post (see here) from u/glowoffthepavement, Long Live was cut from The Eras Tour Theatrical Version and multiple songs from Speak Now are performed in the yellow dress, which in colour theory can represent closeting. Is ‘Earth’ to her where she has to closet, and so she wants to stay in that lavender haze (heaven)? And is she ready to ‘burn it all down’ and come out?
Orange
I've already pointed out that the Phoenix is the colours of sunset, and how Taylor is using orange and fire throughout her work and visuals. In Chinese folklore and tradition, orange represents rebirth. Buddhist monks wear robes in the colour of orange, which symbolise simplicity and letting go of materialism. Orange is thought to represent the 'very essence of Buddhism' as it signifies wisdom, strength and dignity. Saffron as an orange dye was a natural one available, but there's also other reasons for the robes - saffron symbolises flames, a symbol of truth. It is known as 'the colour of illumination, the highest state of perfection'.
It draws to the mind for me: “I looked around in a blood-soaked gown, and I saw something they can't take away, cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned, everything you lose is a step you take, so make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you've got no reason to be afraid” (You’re on your own, kid)
Orange, is, ofcourse, the colour we all think represents Karma, the lost album. I think she is drawing us backwards because something is missing, her art and her work is unbalanced, her story is unbalanced, and she is hiding herself and her truth. I think she is ready to burn it all down, with Karma.
Okay, so what does this all mean? Well, there’s more.
The Man Calendar: it is Yin and Yang symbolism
This is a working theory, but here’s what it looks like. I’ve used both Yin Yangs as Taylor has used both, but so far only Red sits on the traditional Yin Yang, which is interesting considering TTPD’s work sits on the traditional Yin Yang. My theory is she’s attempting to rebalance that.
https://preview.redd.it/ashhv7le1n0d1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a261d015c8746ac1f062739756f3aa67ec86520b
https://preview.redd.it/skxm7nle1n0d1.jpg?width=1584&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=16d7c5ac1cc769a6c0aff5b5007e10554e7f41a9
The release... of Karma the lost album!
If The Man clock works as a calendar based on Yin and Yang, then this is when I theorise Karma and Reputation releases
· I believe Karma sits on the left calendar, the traditional Yin Yang position.
· Therefore, Karma would be summer - I think Karma could be released on 23 August 2024. This would be the six year anniversary of the announcement of Reputation, one day before the six year anniversary of LWYMMD. Given the easter eggs in LWYMMD (post here), I think this could really fit. Karma was meant to be her sixth album. Additionally, 8 is her destiny number, and we are seeing 2’s, 3’s, and especially 5’s, all over the place and 2+3=5.
· If Reputation is also released this summer, it would be on the rotated Yin Yang calendar on the right. This could represent the ‘balance’ of re-releasing Reputation with its ‘sister’ album Karma.
· It could very well be a double album, representing a balance between the two.
· If it is not a double album, Reputation could be released next year in early Spring, to sit on the left calendar. Next year is The Year of the Snake. She could possibly do a drop during Chinese New Year, which is January 29^th to February 12^th.
So.. that’s it. I’m so sorry this is so long, I did my best to keep it short.
Would absolutely love to hear people’s thoughts and whether or not they think I’m a bit mad.
Thankyou for reading!
TLDR: Karma is coming this summer, either with Reputation or followed by Reputation early next year. Taylor is using Yin Yang symbolism, The Four Beasts and Chinese philosophy to weave ideas of imbalance throughout her work, to Easter Egg the arrival of Karma as a re-writing of the narrative, a redressing of injustice and imbalance in her life. There are consistent themes of needing courage, needing to speak her truth, and needing to rewrite a grave wrong and stop being so impacted by exterior forces. The Man wall is Yin Yang symbolism, highlighting a calendar of when she drops Karma & re-releases. This could be followed by a coming out!

Stupid stupid sleeping mat why won't it just have all the holes at once instead of having a new one each night. I've cut my remaining patches such that I'll have enough to cover 20 holes if necessary. I'll go to war with this thing before I give in and buy a new one. I patched the thing on the roof of the tent by dribbling water on it til I found bubbles. I'll do it again tonight and probably find more. Nasty holes. Terrible holes.
Anyways I slept fine, just a little interrupted. Every day I feel like I'm not sick and every morning I still am. Maybe today's the day. I dragged my ass in the morning, not moving too quick. The spot we picked was nice and chilly to let us sleep a little longer, nobody bothered us under the bridge this time. Last night we had a real treat in the form of a golden sunset over the mountains, hues of orange and pink lighting up the evening sky. It was very lovely. I forgot to mention we met another person doing a long distance ride, we've seen this person a few times since leaving Tokyo. Japanese travelers love pinning a piece of paper on their back that says where they're off to if they're traveling some ridiculous distance, for this person it was Tokyo to aomori. A respectable distance, but he nearly fell over when we showed him how far we've gone.
Eventually we got moving and did some sightseeing. The castle in aizuwakamatsu was rebuilt in the 60's as a museum, so we read about the history of the area. In a nutshell, it used to be called Aizu up until the local clan sided with the shogunate during the Meiji restoration and caught the wrong end of a brutal smackdown. In a way it felt framed in such a way that they didn't deserve it, and the subsequent suppression of the local people has left a simmering resentment. The city was renamed Wakamatsu, but is now aizuwakamatsu, and many t-shirts for souvenirs just say Aizu. The history of the city prominently includes the story of the Byakkotai, the "white tiger unit". They are hailed as heroes, but were teenagers who rushed into battle unprepared and were either slaughtered or committed suicide after hiding in a cave. Only one survived after a failed suicide to tell the tale. I guess things were different in the past, but poorly trained child soldiers killing themselves out of clan loyalty just strikes me as a tragedy, not a heroic epic. You know who disagrees? Fascist Italy and the Nazis, both of which donated monuments to the shrine for the Byakkotai and both of which remain to this day.
Alongside this bizarre tableau was the hexagonal shrine with a wooden spiral staircase, the only Edo period wooden structure still around and one of the oldest in the world. Honestly I'm surprised they let people walk through it, it felt so old. But they managed to build a double helix tower many hundreds of years ago and I was duly impressed. The ancient rafters and walls were covered in paper pasted to the walls to indicate a particular pilgrim was there. None of the old timey stickers looked new, as I imagine if people still did it the shrine would be covered like feathers on a bird. People did feel the need to scrawl their names in the wood of the wall directly, though. The whole place looked like it is in need of refurbishment and maybe someone to scold people with pocket knives.
After the shrine, we stopped to get some sandwiches at a conbini and then a drug store to get me better meds. The bufferin just wasn't working and I needed something to help me clear the congestion in me. We found some better meds and in took those. The feelings of having taken meds that really didn't work well and the stress of the heat of the day got to me and I had to stop and have a big cry. I hope I get better soon. We'll be stopping for a few days soon, I'll plan to just rest in bed. Doing a whole week of craziness followed by a week of biking in hot weather while a cold racks me has brought me to a low.
Naturally, when I get real low, that's when I feel the need to do big emotional processing. I knew it would happen eventually, though I'm impressed I could avoid it for three quarters of the trip. I wanted time and space to do some thinking, some crying, and some healing. The topic is private, of course. There was a bike path that led from aizuwakamatsu to kitakata to the north and we followed that, the depths of my thoughts so severe that I barely even acknowledged I was moving at all. Bryce told me later we were going pretty fast, so I guess it's good we were somewhere I could be on autopilot. The views in the valley were lovely, the panoramic mountains ringing the bowl shaped valley we were in. We biked towards snow capped mountains, but I was fully turned inwards, my process taking all of my focus.
Before too long we were in kitakata, a city that reminded Bryce of Roblin in Manitoba. It was a pretty quiet place, and rural too. It was known as one of the big three ramen regions in Japan, the second of which we've seen. We found the place that is most well known in Japan for kitakata ramen and got in line there. It was busy, as to be expected, but we got in relatively fast. We got the usual, whatever was the house special with extra chashu for protein. While the noodles were excellent, we both found the broth a bit boring, a pork on pork experience. It didn't taste particularly deep or complex, and was almost simple to a fault. Perhaps we've reached the limits of our tastes here, but it was just okay to our palate.
We got back on the bike route north, hoping it would continue a bit further before we had to get on the mountain highway. We would have to eventually, as no other roads led through the mountain pass. The bike route wasn't listed on the map, but was in front of us, so we pressed on. Much like the previous section it was a raised lane with gentle curves, likely an old rail line. This path eventually spit us out near an onsen, and then we were on our own. The road we wanted to take onto the highway was unexpectedly closed, so we had to detour up a road that went on top of a dam nearby. We enjoyed seeing some more wisteria, the ones around here growing wild and festively adorning trees in pale purple blossoms.
The dam was big, and had a road on top to ride on. I wanted to see the penstock and the spillway, the latter far below the road we biked on. Below in the shadow of the dam was a defiant onsen, oddly juxtaposed against the huge forward wall of the dam. We took some time to figure out what road would take us up to the highway which was some 100m above the dam. One road went into a tunnel and seemed a sure bet from the road signs near it, the other wound around the dam reservoir and disappeared into the woods. Looking at our maps, one said the road would continue and join up later, the other two disagreed saying the road ended. I voted for the sure bet, Bryce agreed but bet me a rice ball the road went through.
The tunnel indeed brought us up to the road, which was less of a road and more a series of bridges interspersed with tunnels piercing the mountaintops. It felt like we were on a great arc that hit the tips of every mountain, the gentle gradient of the road more important than anything else. We appreciated the easier climb, but the tunnels were tricky. Many of them had construction ongoing, so we were escorted through one set of tunnels to avoid stopping traffic in the single lane that switched directions periodically. At each tunnel entrance we worried the construction worker would bar our way but most were friendly, apologizing but firmly telling us where to go. As we approached a very long tunnel, an excitable construction worker stopped us and told us many things, but the best parts we could gleam were that the tunnel ahead was very long and we needed to have lights on inside.
The tunnel was indeed long, the longest we've been permitted in this far at 4km. The tunnel was completely straight too, giving a bizarre feeling of being in an infinite tube, perspective lines perfectly converging. The perspective made it feel like we were going uphill, but my speed told me it was downhill. Very confusing. Eventually we made it out and begun a very long and coasting descent, the grade again just gentle enough that we could coast at full speed and not tap the brakes. Usually we bike up the mountain just to waste the energy on brakes on the way down, here we could coast a lovely 10km, perhaps getting a little chilly from the lack of pedaling.
Yonezawa was our destination for the day, and despite really wanting to take it easy we still somehow did 100km. Tired and dirty, we took our biking clothes to a laundromat and went for dinner at a Chinese place. We had a black bean pork dish that was sticky and good, a chili fried chicken dish that was delicious but full of bones, and a fried rice that was mediocre at best. Waiting for our laundry to come out of the dryer, we had some snacks and commented that this city was extremely quiet at night. Not much activity going on here.
Bryce had a park in mind for camping, so we went there. We landed up making our way to the back of the park and found a spot to camp behind a few trees in a weedy area. Nobody should care we're here, but we're near a train line and every so often a passenger train roars by with big booming noises. Hopefully it doesn't run too early, but we might get woken up.
With the new meds, this evening is feeling better than days previous, though I have a lot on my mind for processing right now. A good sleep will help with that.