Yellow Color in Dreams – Symbolism and Meaning
While we often focus on symbols and intricate stories in our dreams, colors rarely get noticed or easily slip from our minds. Some people really dream in black and white; however, for most of us, our dream colors fade away from our memories.
However, colors are rich with meanings and can add to the story significantly. Paying extra attention to color in a dream means upping the interpretation game.
Because it is one of the primary colors, so vibrant, and so common in nature, yellow is undoubtedly one of the colors that can tell an exciting tale and change the course of dream interpretation if its appearance is dominant enough.
Let’s explore how to interpret colors in dreams, and especially the glowing yellow.
How to interpret colors in dreams?
The intensity of colors in dreams and how you remember them is a personal trait, but it can also vary between individual dreams. While some may feel greyish and dull, others will feature a vibrant display of various hues. As we’ll see later, the dream objects and symbols with a distinct color are of special interest for interpretation.
The meaning of each color has at least three layers to it. The first one comes from the vibration and the tone of the color (e.g., warm vs. cool colors); psychologists (and designers) know that colors can impact our moods and our thoughts.
The second set of color meanings comes from our culture or tradition, as colors have been associated with different states and emotions since always.
The third layer is a meaning of a certain color to you personally. Perhaps a significant person in your life had a distinct preference for a particular color, and you consequently always associate it with this person throughout life.
All of these layers of meanings are embedded within our dreams (as if things weren’t complicated enough already!). Figuring out what the color represents can really shed new light on your dreamscape.
It is important to note that the shade of color also matters for interpretation – specifically if the color was bright, strong and vivid, or bleak and washed out. The strength of the colors relates to the intensity of your emotions, desires, or needs.
For a full interpretation of all colors in a dream, check out our article – meanings of colors in a dream.
Dreaming of Yellow – Meaning, and Interpretation
Yellow is a color with multiple meanings. It is the color of the sun, bright days, and many renowned spring flowers such as dandelions and daffodils. Therefore, it is often associated with being full of energy, vibrancy, warmth, and light. Bright, radiant yellow in dreams often conveys feelings of joy and liveliness.
However, there are many other dream messages that the yellow may carry in dreams. In the dream realm, yellow often symbolizes intellect and can be connected to your thought process and can signal that you’re thinking clearly. On the other hand, if you’ve been in a bad mood lately, the Unconscious may be trying to tell you to cheer up a bit.
Because of its association with the sun, the yellow color is also associated with enlightenment, intelligence, and wisdom. If a significant character in your dream was wearing bright yellow, it might indicate that you feel intellectual attraction towards this person. The message doesn’t have to be about the very attraction itself but can imply that you desire to adopt some of these qualities yourself.
Unlike the previous meanings, culturally, yellow has been associated with cowardice and jealousy (and let’s face it, jealousy is a form of cowardice). So the appearance of yellow can also symbolize these traits, especially if the color is murky, smudged, or muddy. These hues of yellow can indicate fear, betrayal, treachery, and blocked intuition. It can suggest that somebody has no positive goals in life and is just weakly drifting through their experience.
Yellow Symbols In Dreams – Meanings
Now, let’s look at some common objects and symbols and how their color – in this case, yellow – can affect their meaning in a dream.
A yellow bird or another animal can indicate liberation from some burdensome aspect of your life. Also, because of their inherent association with freedom, yellow birds can notify you that you should express certain positive, joyful feelings towards someone or something.
Yellow flowers are usually a sign of change and an internal creative uprise. The fact that many yellow flowers appear in the spring – after a long winter – can indicate an awakening of the long-forgotten intellectual and creative aspirations.
Certain types of flowers can also have specific meanings.
Yellow rose stands for friendship and caring.
Buttercup, yellow by default, is associated with childhood, simple pleasures, and optimism.
Daffodil is one of the first flowers to decorate gardens when the spring arrives, so it symbolizes joy through renewal. If one appears in your dream, it may signal a new phase in your life or that you may desperately need some optimism.
The yellow iris, often called a flag iris, can have additional meanings because of its names. The flag means that the symbol may want to call your attention to something important or forsaken. Iris may refer to your vision and the need to take another look at the state of your life.
Falling autumn yellow leaves can stand for aging or a sign of closing a life chapter – whether it’s a relationship or a personal phase.
To dream of a yellow lawn means that you have a fear for your reputation in the eyes of others. You may be scared of seeming incompetent or disrespected. As lawns are a symbol of outer appearance, you may be scared of your looks withering away with age as well.
Consuming yellow food or drinks in a dream can indicate that you miss a boost of positive energy in your daily life, physical or mental. Nurture your joy in real life, so you don’t get hungry for it in your dreams.
Yellow teeth indicate lies, untrustworthiness, and a lack of character.
Yellow underwear or pajamas can signalize secret fears.
Conclusion
As you can see, the yellow color can have multiple meanings. In all the described cases, broader context and characters that appear in a dream and interact with these symbols are a key to the full interpretation. If a color is repeatedly associated with a particular symbol, it is definitely worth paying attention to it.
Also, how your dreams feel is of major importance. If the dream feels serene or joyful, and the hues of yellow are bright, the positive role of yellow is certain. On the contrary, if yellow appears in some murky context and the dream feels unpleasant, try considering negative associations connected with yellow instead of the positive ones.
Did you ever have an important dream that featured yellow color? What do you think it meant? Let us know in the comments!