Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26116863-20160926033550/@comment-26116863-20161007013949

I assumed that light and dark just represent good and evil, similar to how they are used on the show. The symbol itself uses black and white to represent the two. It's not really anything to do with the colors themselves, they're just used to represent two different concepts.

However, now that I've read a little more about it, I'm not sure that they are really meant to just represent good and evil. More like opposing forces, which would include good and evil.

So, although I'm sure it is meant to represent more than just the struggle between good and evil, since they are opposing forces any general concepts can be applied.

Some interesting aspects of Yin and yang which could be seen in the show: 

"This is a graphic symbol of the theory that everything is comprised of opposites, and within each opposition, there are the seeds of its opposing characteristic." Heros are capable of evil acts, and villians can sometimes be good.

Whether it's one or the other depends on which is prevalent.

" Yin and Yang control each other. Therefore, if one is too strong, the other will be too weak." Regina and Gold. Regina gave into goood and nutered that part of her, and was able to keep the evil side under wraps. Rumple gave into evil, and so any good that shows up in him is perverted.

"Yin and Yang mutually create each other, and they are inseparable." If there wasn't evil, would we have a concept of good, or vice versa?   Can one have any meaning without the existance of the other? What about villians, are they necessary to have heros?

"Yin and Yang transform into each other." I'm not sure how this would apply, because the way they explain it doesn't have any clear parallels in the show. It would not be healthy growth if say, Grumpy slowly descended into darkness, instead of a sudden transformation.

I'll keep reading about it. I'm sure my understanding of it is flawed at this point. But it's still interesting.