Left Blue Dragon, Right White Tiger, Front Vermilion Bird, Back Xuanwu. What does it mean?

The Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird and Xuanwu are the four sacred beasts in the eyes of the ancients, known as the "Four Spirits". The "Four Spirits" originated from the ancient observation of the sky and the worship of the stars and constellations of the ancestors.

The ancients roughly divided the sky into four major regions: the stars in the east combined into the image of a dragon, called the "Green (Cang) Dragon"; the stars in the west combined into the image of a tiger, called the "White Tiger"; the stars in the south combined into the image of a bird flying with spreading wings, called the "White Tiger"; the stars in the south combined into the image of a bird flying with spreading wings, called the "Four Spirits" in the eyes of the ancients. The stars in the south combine to form the image of a bird with wings spreading and flying, which is called "Vermilion Bird"; the stars in the north combine to form the image of a tortoise and a snake entangled together, which is called "Xuanwu".

The ancients said: "Canglong, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Xuanwu, the four spirits of the sky, in order to correct the four directions."

Thus, the "four spirits" became the "gods of the four directions", that is, the "four elephants" in space: the Eastern Blue Dragon, the Western White Tiger, the Southern Vermilion Bird, and the Northern Xuanwu.

The "Four Spirits" change with the seasons: at dusk at the turn of winter and spring, the Green Dragon appears; at the turn of spring and summer, the Vermilion Bird rises; at the turn of summer and fall, the White Tiger shows its head; and at the turn of fall and winter, the Xuanwu rises.

Thus, the "Four Spirits" also correspond to the "Four Seasons" in time:

The Blue Dragon, in spring, is of wood, and is green;

The Vermilion Bird, in summer, is of fire, and is red;

The White Tiger, in fall, is of gold, and is white;

The White Tiger, in autumn, is of gold, and is white;

The White Tiger, in winter, is of the same color as the Green Dragon. , the five elements of gold, is white;

Xuanwu, winter, the five elements of water, is black.

The "Green Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Xuanwu" in Feng Shui mainly refers to the geographical location and the five elements.

Expanded Information:

Ancient China established the twenty-eight constellations, which were divided into four groups of seven constellations each. These four groups, respectively, are the stars of the sky in the four seasons of spring, summer, fall and winter. Each season is paired with an animal and a direction.

Spring with the East, the spirit of the (Green Dragon), because the (Green Dragon) represents the vitality of spring, the growth of all things. （The vitality of (Qinglong) is the same as the spring image of budding flowers and plants.

As for summer, the weather is hot, so it is represented by red fire. Moreover, birds are especially active in summer, so the spirit of summer is the (Vermilion Bird). (Vermilion Bird) is the red fire sparrow. In addition, summer is paired with the south.

Autumn carries a solemn and murderous atmosphere, and in ancient times, executions were mostly carried out in the fall, which was called the autumn judgment. Moreover, with the arrival of fall, the trees are yellow and the leaves fall. Therefore, (White Tiger) represents the desolate and murderous atmosphere of autumn. In the fall, it is associated with the west. In winter, it is the north.

Winter is a time when flowers and trees no longer flourish and animals hibernate. Therefore, (Xuanwu) represents this season. The so-called (xuanwu) is a big black tortoise, because the tortoise has the sign of collection. The black color represents astringency.

Reference: Left Blue Dragon, Right White Tiger_Baidu Encyclopedia