Yellow is usually associated with the sky and the element of air in western esotericism, probably because of the golden nature of sun and sunlight in art and symbolism. However the color is also associated with abundance, particularly in the context of food and harvests. Amber waves of grain, golden apples, the warmth of turmeric. The flag for Ukraine uses yellow on the bottom half to show the golden grain fields of the country that feed the world (Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava!). In the east yellow is associated with wisdom and nobility. Imperial Yellow was reserved for the Imperial family in China the way that Senatorial Purple was reserved for the Senators and their households in Classical Rome. Saffron yellow colors the robes of the eldest and most august Buddhist monks. It carries negative connotations, too, often the negative traits ascribed to the denigrated ‘other’.
In the modern chakra system Yellow is the third, called Manipura, located at the solar plexus. The solar plexus is significant physiologically and spiritually, but it isn’t the location given to this chakra historically. Beginning in the 10th c CE Manipura is cited as being located at the navel in the Kubjikamatatantra. The location of the solar plexus is likewise a bit ‘wibbly-wobbly’ in medical terms. It refers to the general area of the upper abdomen, where the Celiac Plexus radiates the nerves that connect your viscera to your brain. That includes your digestive system and diaphragm. The Celiac Trunk is also located within the upper abdomen as well and supplies blood to your entire digestive system. It’s the location of the diaphragm in this area that creates the feeling of having the ‘wind knocked out’ of you. With so many vital functions in one place at the center of the body it shouldn’t be surprising that occult traditions recognize it as a spiritual center of power. As such, Manipura is one of the few modern chakras that has historical basis, even if it isn’t exactly as described in indigenous sources. The things going on in that area of the human body can’t be ignored.
Not so unlike the color yellow, after all. There’s a reason it’s used so often on safety signs, emergency vehicles, warning markers and other things that shouldn’t be missed. It’s something we picked up from nature, where red is a warning and yellow is a big flashing ‘attention here’ sign. And so it is with magic, yet another natural process. There are parts that simply can’t be ignored.
✦ breaths ✦
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✦ bodies ✦
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✦ beginnings ✦
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