The Liver Xiu (宿) : Nu (女), Xu (虛) and Wei (危)
Nu (女) “Woman”
The Maiden constellation is very close to the Oxherd (that goes with the Gallbladder). Because of it’s location, this constellation is often confused with the Weaving Maiden, though Walter’s says that the Weaving Maiden is actually Vega.
The first star in the constellation is Epsilon Aquarii, also known as Albali, which is Arabic for “the Swallower.” This constellation is made of 3 other stars from the Aquarius constellation, as has asterisms in Capricorn. The Aquarius constellation is usually thought to have a correlation with water, though the actual symbol for Aquarius means “energy.”
Xu (虛) “Void”
This constellation, just like Nu, is in the belly of the Black Tortoise of the North. The meaning of the character is “void,” though it can also signify a tomb or sepulchre, according to Schlegel.
This character is made of the radical for “tiger” over the radical for “north.” (It’s interesting that Mo Lu, from Chapter 8 also has the radical for tiger in it.)
The constellation is made up of stars from Aquarius, Capricorn and Pisces. Both the Arabs and the Chinese regarded it as the bringer of the wet/rainy season.
Wei (危) “Danger”
The meaning of the character wei is “danger,” though according to the Book of Rites, this character means “rooftop.” This goes well with the Xu constellation, which can be seen as the rains coming down on this roof. This constellation has long been a sign of fortifications and earthworks, building, property and construction.
In the Jie Qi section below, the character Han is also used to symbolize a person under a doubly fortified rooftop, with ice underneath them. This theme of making fortifications can be seen to go with the Gallbladder, while the them of shivering under them, and getting ready to break free of them can be seen to go with the Liver. It is as if the rain, from the Xu constellation, is falling on the rooftop, and all of the fear that was associated with the Water phase, and the Winter, is now turning into anger and getting ready to burst free from the fortified house that the life has been stored in during that time.
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