It goes without saying that I’m a fan of color. I honestly like all colors, with a slant toward cool blues and violets. Color curates. We use it to express ourselves and manipulate mood. Marketers study the psychology of color. Politicians utilize color to subtly sway voters. I could blather on about human perception of color and the neuroscience behind it, but this post is going to focus on the symbolic differences of a color. Wise ones weave their workings with color hoping to imbue their manifestation with the energy of that lightwave. And from my personal experience, yellow is a very divisive hue. I’ll start with my own relationship to yellow. Gold? Not typically a fan. I don’t choose it for myself. I prefer silver. Gold everything everywhere seems tacky and materialistic to me, yet I respect the deeper affinity to what I think is its symbolic sheen; the sun. Life giving, optimistic, enthusiastic, joyful, new beginnings. You get the idea.
In Jungian archetypes, yellow can also symbolize intelligence, innovation, and creativity. However, in some cultural contexts, yellow can also evoke feelings of caution, cowardice, or even illness. Jung himself used “yellowing” as a stage in his description of alchemy. Citrinitas represents a stage of transformation, particularly between the Albedo (whitening) and Rubedo (reddening). This stage is associated with the emergence of enlightenment, spiritual insight, and a higher state of consciousness. It signifies a shift towards balance and wholeness, where one can integrate the inner work of the albedo to the outside world and hold both light and shadow without fragmentation. This could be experienced as a vision, a big dream, or an intuition of one’s “truth”.
There’s also a recognition of the “yellowing” as the mark of time. Yellowing leaves, pages, teeth (which is another crazy way we psychologically fight death using extreme teeth whitening), eyes, bones, etc. The Citrinitas has been likened to the wise old man. I see it as a sieve stage where the albedo work is embodied and refined before the true rubedo can be lived/achieved. This sieve, to me, is the yellowing lens of mortality salience. That’s right, TMT. (Terror Management Theory; a topic we cover frequently over on the Patreon.) After doing that deep introspection, those core values must be run through the gauntlet of a world and mind terrified of death.
There’s a reason the philosopher’s stone is so mythical and highly sought after. The element that grants eternal life. The actualization of the Rubedo is achieved through living fully and truthfully in the face of death. It is only achieved in conquering death before dying. There’s no wonder alchemists sought a short cut.
The hooded warbler. A migratory songbird that breeds in North America, and winters in Mexico, Central America, and the Western Caribbean. They’ve already passed through Florida, but if you’re north of here, you might be able to spot them in dense understory and shrubby areas this time of year.
There are a few different interpretations of the “spiritual” symbolism for warblers, but for any animal, I like to focus on their appearance and behavior instead of someone else’s meaning for them. I am reminded of perfect timing and cycles of action when I see migratory birds. Songbirds are obviously related to using your voice. Hoods are a symbol for a few different things, but ceremonious intent is the major meaning for me. Whether it’s status/achievment, religious ceremonies, protection, or obfuscation, whatever the reason, there is distinct purpose in the donning of a hood. Whatever yellow means to you, you’ll feel it when you see a flash of a warbler. (Yellow is the most attention grabbing hue on the spectrum, so it’s hard to miss them.) Using my little formula, you could possibly interpret a Hooded Warbler in several ways, but one example might be that now is the time to trust your inner voice and put your intention into practice. It can be done by speaking or concealed in the understory, but it’s time.
I think the color of disobedient joy would certainly have flashes of yellow. Imagine birdsong in morse code, It doesn’t take too many context clues to figure out what letters I used. What does yellow mean to you?
Until next time, thanks for sticking around, and don’t let the bastards grind you down.
-D. Renee