inspiration

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

Welcome and thank you for joining me on my descent into the fascinating world of color meanings and representation. In this post I will explore the meanings behind the 6 colors represented in the gay pride flag.

RED: LIFE

Red is the purrrfect color to kick things off! It’s the top (first) color in the gay pride flag, making it a logical starting point. Besides that, red is known in Feng Shui circles as the most active of all colors, making it a great color to examine in preparation for a month full of rainbows, parades and glitter-filled celebrations.

In the context of the gay pride flag, red represents life. Indeed, the many variations of red are associated with power and energy, two sure signs of life that I struggle with on a daily basis. The struggle is so real that I’ve done some pretty deep dives into the practice of Feng Shui over the years.

My go-to for any and all design concerns is a document known as a Feng Shui Matrix (or Bagua). I’m not an expert and it’s complex AF, but for the sake of Pride, I reworked the rainbow colors into a Matrix that should work just fine if you dare to dabble.

Please do dabble carefully – red corresponds with the element of fire.

Red also has the ability to deliver powerful messages of warning, some easier to receive than others.

If you ever happen upon a set of red curtains appearing in a circle of 12 Sycamore trees, know that the color red serves as a warning. Special Agent Cooper, Mr. C, and Dougie Coop know what I’m talking about.

ORANGE: HEALING

Orange you glad you’re reading this post?!? I know I am.

Orange is the second color in the gay pride flag, and in this context, it means healing. I’ve been struggling with this meaning because it’s so broad, yet so specific in the context of the gay community.

I’m going to keep it broad here and share that I think there are many reasons we all need to heal and many ways to do it. From a Feng Shui perspective, the color orange encourages communication, which connects for me. When I know I need to work through some shit, I find that talking to someone is always a good place to start.

Besides communication, the positive qualities of the color orange include happiness, concentration, and intellect. A negative quality of orange is rebelliousness, but I’m on the fence about this label. Without the rebelliousness of all the activists, artists and allies that work tirelessly toward a more inclusive world, we’d all be in trouble. BIG trouble.

YELLOW: SUNLIGHT

Yellow, yellow, want some jello? Me either.

I’ve been looking forward to yellow because, in the context of the gay pride flag, it’s the meaning I love and connect with the most. It means sunlight, which, on its own is pretty great. But let’s go a little deeper here – it’s about being yourself instead of hiding in the shadows.

Come out into the light and get some vitamin D, y’all!

Without sunlight, life as we know it would be nearly impossible. This correlates with the designation that Feng Shui practitioners give yellow – it represents the Earth element.

From a Feng shui perspective, yellow is also known to stimulate the brain and aid digestion. It’s associated with enlightenment, intellect, optimism, reason, and decisiveness.

GREEN: NATURE

Greed is good. Er, whoops, that’s a whole other thang. Green is the color of money though, and I bet if Gordon Gecko had a favorite color that would be it. This is where I really start feeling the colors of the flag.

In the context of the gay pride flag, green means nature. It’s interesting that green comes after yellow, or sunshine, which makes nature possible. Science!

This meaning is the one I relate to the most. Just this morning, we came upon a baby Black-crowned Night-Heron that had fallen from the nest and landed on the concrete sidewalk. The nest is high in the tree, so baby bird is in rough shape. That’s nature. It can be pretty harsh.

Green represents the wood element in Feng Shui.

Besides representing the wood element in Feng Shui, green is known as a restful and refreshing color. It symbolizes growth, fertility, and harmony. It is associated with optimism, freedom, and balance.

BLUE: PEACE

Blue is my favorite color. Like, hard. It’s kind of complex in the context of the gay pride flag though, so I’ve been struggling with this color meaning in particular. To keep it simple, I leveraged the decisive attributes of yellow and decided to focus on one meaning: peace.

I do believe in the concept of world peace and all that jazz, but for now, let’s keep it simple and think about it using the frame of inner peace. 

I know that inner peace would be a beneficial tool for me to have, especially when I’m feeling down or having a bad day. I’m not actually working toward it though, and that’s my bad – it looks really really hard.

Feng Shui practitioners use blue to represent the element water.

From a Feng Shui perspective, the peaceful and soothing color blue is linked to spirituality, contemplation, mystery, and patience. The positive associations of the color are trust, faithfulness, and stability. The negative associations are suspicion and melancholia, two associations I’m quite familiar with.

PURPLE: SPIRIT

All month long I’m doing my best to embody the meaning of the color purple – spirit. 

Learning that spirit is the meaning of purple in the context of the gay pride flag is one of the main reasons I decided to do a deep dive into color meanings. I mean, spirit? I think I know what spirit is, but how in the heck can it be articulated? Needless to say, challenge accepted, universe.

For me, this means spending time with people I love, and that love me too (including pets, of course). I’m hanging out in nature, letting myself be creative and am excited for the months and years ahead.

From a Feng Shui perspective, purple is known to be a spiritual color and is thought to encourage vitality. Some positive associations of purple are excitement, passion, and motivation. Negative associations include mournfulness and force. 

THE WRAP UP

I had fun researching the gay pride flag and am delighted to finally share what I know. I invite you to share this post with anyone that may enjoy it and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Until next time, I’ll be trying to live my best life and hope you are too!