After a decade of an obsession with the color yellow, I recently found myself making a sudden and unexpected shift to a new color aesthetic. When I say obsessed with yellow, I mean that the color consistently made its way into my life - from my wardrobe to my home decor. My friends have teased me that I would be buried with the yellow beanie I’ve worn nonstop for the past few years!

A few weeks ago this all changed. I started to notice that greens were appearing in my life. It began with my houseplants flourishing in ways they hadn’t before (I’m notoriously a plant killer). I found myself drawn to a particular green sweater at our local TJ MAXX while searching for a cozy winter top. It came home with me. One day while journaling, I realized that I’d picked up a green gel pen instead of my usual ballpoint. Within a few days of that, I’d started a new Amazon wish list featuring a dark green duvet, floral sheets with deep green leaves, and green organizer baskets. Then, shockingly, I found myself tucking away my yellow beanie into a deep corner of the sock drawer and donning a DARK GREEN BEANIE.

Okay River, you might be thinking - what’s so notable about starting to like a new color? People change their home decor all the time!

Well, here's the twist – the colors we gravitate toward aren't just a matter of aesthetics; they reveal where our chakra system carries blockages and needs support! If you aren’t familiar with the chakra system, imagine your body containing an energy highway – a spectrum of swirling, vibrant wheels aligning from the base of your spine to the crown of your head. Each wheel, or chakra, represents a unique energy center that radiates a specific color and influences various aspects of your physical, emotional, and spiritual self.

At times, these energy centers may become congested or depleted through physical ailments, emotional and psychological wounding, and energy exchanges with the people or environments in our lives. This causes an imbalance that manifests in a variety of ways depending on the particular chakra/s affected - from poor self-confidence to depression and financial instability.

So what did my obsession with the color yellow say about my chakras?

For the years that I heavily utilized this color, I experienced the following symptoms of a deeply blocked Solar Plexus:

Low self-esteem and confidence
Intense anxiety
Fatigue
Feelings of being “stuck” (hi, I was in a toxic, unhappy relationship carrying the bulk of parenting)
Feeling disconnected from any sense of purpose
Fear rejection
Disconnection from wants/needs
Gestational diabetes
Overly critical of self and others
Difficulty advocating for self
Fear of self-expression

In surrounding myself with the color yellow for all those years, I was subconsciously trying to support my chakra system. When I became aware of this through working with an energy healer and learning about the chakras, I deep-dived the ways I could actively heal this imbalance. My “regiment” included: talk therapy, sound healing therapy, float tanks, chakra attunements and energy work, carrying crystals supportive of the Solar Plexus, and continuing to use yellow in my daily life. I also got divorced, learned to set and honor my boundaries, regulated my nervous system, and reconnected with my soul purpose. As this chakra started to heal, it’s no surprise that I felt a new and stronger sense of confidence, self-expression, and self-appreciation that also spilled over into my relationships and creativity.

At this point, you might be wondering about my shift to green (or perhaps running to Google to find out what the color you use says about YOUR chakra needs). While I won’t be expanding upon all the chakra colors in this post, I will share what the color green represents. This is the Heart Chakra, which governs the heart, lungs, hands, and circulatory system. When this is imbalanced, it can manifest as:

Fear of getting hurt
Feeling lonely and unloved
Bitterness
Unable to forgive others or self
Possessiveness
Self Doubt
Difficulty Manifesting
Holding on to grief
Inability to receive love
Codependency
Antisocial
Over-sacrificing
High blood pressure
Cardiovascular problems

When the green shift started, it corresponded with a few major changes in my life; I decided to quit my photography business and lean into other areas including life coaching, writing, art, and facilitating retreats for women. I became more intentional about my lifestyle and health and started Internal Family Systems Therapy to finally unpack my childhood cult trauma. I met a beautiful masculine soul whose presence in my life brought me to a space of deep healing around relationship wounds and my ability to receive and participate in healthy love - which I continue to examine and work through daily. I am supporting this by allowing the color green to take over my wardrobe, filling my house with more lush plants, buying that green duvet cover, and wearing heart-supportive crystals.

I happened to have a session with the shaman who supports me on my healing journey just a few days before starting this article, and she noted that I had broken through the deepest blocks of my lower-level chakras and am now working through removing blocks and balancing my heart Chakra.

It’s an earthy, soft girl, open-heart, green era.