This is what I think.
Ding Chou makes me think of the Aurora Borealis or popularly known as the Northern Lights. Chou belongs to the winter season where it is cold and damp, with solitude and loneliness nature, very similar to the Northern Hemisphere of the earth. The Ding Fire is not able to bring warm in this cold weather nor can it act as guidance at night like the Northern Star. However, it lends a mysterious look to Chou. According to the legend of the Eskimos and Indians, it was believed that Northern Lights were the souls of animals dancing in the sky or the souls of fallen enemies trying to rise again. In the Roman mythology, aurora is the goddess of dawn flying across the sky announcing the arrival of the sun. In Chinese Metaphysics, Ding Fire and the four graveyards are always relates to matter of religion, gods and goddess, and spirituality.
Source: http://messiestobjects.typepad.com |