White Copper Four Symbols Yuan Dou Antique Pendant

Look up and name the stars, and what you remember first is usually four directions rather than twenty-eight mansions. The Four Symbols are the twenty-eight mansions divided into four groups: the Azure Dragon's seven in the east, the White Tiger's seven in the west, the Vermilion Bird's seven in the south and the Black Tortoise's seven in the north. The old astronomers split the circuit of the sky into four quarters, each with a beast, to fix direction and mark the seasons. The Huainanzi already sets the scheme out clearly. Among the mansion names, Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei (Tail) and Ji belong to the Azure Dragon, while Dou, Niu, Nu, Xu, Wei (Rooftop), Shi and Bi belong to the Black Tortoise; the mansions are not evenly spaced. The names are obscure, and not knowing them all is no disgrace. Old books agree on the order of the four.

Xuanwu is a tortoise with a snake coiled around it, not a turtle on its own. This is often got wrong, and many modern designs draw only the tortoise and leave the snake out, which strictly speaking is no longer Xuanwu. The arrangement of the four is also fixed: east on the left, west on the right, south and north at top and bottom. Reverse it and you have a mirror image. The four also pair with the seasons and the five colours: Azure Dragon for spring, White Tiger for autumn, Vermilion Bird for summer and Black Tortoise for winter, its black answering to the north.

The pendant sets the four beasts around the rim and leaves the Dipper at the centre. Dou means the Northern Dipper, which Daoism takes seriously, holding it to be bound up with a person's lifespan and the register of their destiny; setting the four symbols around the Dipper gathers direction and star deities in one place. Doumu governs the seven stars of the Dipper, though accounts of her differ. The centre is left uncarved, letting the beasts enclose it themselves, which breathes better than filling the space with pattern. If the Dipper sits off centre, the beasts no longer enclose it.

After the white copper is antiqued, the outlines of the four beasts depend on light and shade. The dragon's scales, the tiger's stripes, the bird's feathers and the tortoise's shell have to be distinguished, not all cut with the same line. Four animals crowded into a small circle will blur first at the bird's tail feathers, where a few lines close together become a solid block. Their orientation should also be consistent, all facing the centre or all facing outward.

The four options are gold and silver, each available as a pendant or on a necklace. The gold is plated, and worn edges will eventually show the base metal; people who like an aged look don't mind, and people who want consistency choose silver. The pendant has thickness, and it looks better with a V neck than a round one. Use a mid-length chain so the face stays forward, and since the diameter is not small, too fine a chain makes it look top-heavy; two millimetres or more. Keep the chain plain, so it doesn't compete with the pattern.