Orange demands attention: it exudes confidence, enthusiasm and even flamboyance. It heralds unstoppable change in life.
As a warm colour, orange is able to speed up your perception of time, enhance excitement and make you feel more sociable. Lighter shades such as peach and mandarin are even friendlier and more soothing. Like pink, orange has a mixed history and is often misnamed in favour of its progenitor red and regal gold; examples include redheads and goldfish. It's even absent from heraldry as it was believed that it may be mistaken for red; brown is sometimes considered its substitute on coats of arms. Despite the secondary status it is often given, orange never fails to grab your attention, eliciting memories of Autumn, sensuality and history.
Frank Sinatra once said, "Orange is the happiest colour in the world."
AGENT ORANGE:
Agent Orange (A-O) is the best known of 15 herbicides used during the Vietnam War. It was widely sprayed by plane and ground forces between 1961 - 1971 as a chemical agent to destroy foliage used for the concealment of enemy troops. The usage in military operations was 20 to 40 per cent stronger than that used in agriculture and it was identified by the orange stripes on the barrel drums it was stored in.
Within two weeks, the soil would become barren and be unable to support vegetation. The effects weren't felt only by nature, however. After decades, the dioxin in A-O was recognised as a potent poison, leading to severe, long-term illness and birth defects in the Vietnamese people.
SACRAL CHAKRA:
The Sacral Chakra is associated with the colour orange and it governs sensuality and sexuality. While meditating you can concentrate on this Chakra emanating hues of orange that will enhance your creative potential and spontaneity; stimulating this Chakra boosts your joie-de-vivre!
Seeing orange in your aura indicates your emotions and subtle variations in the shade can indicate an imbalance. Mentally, orange can signify a new stage of self-awareness and insight into your needs and desires.
Orange will lift you out of depression but avoid it if you're feeling crowded, sick. frustrated or claustrophobic.
EMOTIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
There are many aspects to orange that can be described positively and negatively, depending on your mood, and some colour effects that just leave you plain emotional.
The positive feelings can be:
*Joyous
*Self-confident
*Enthusiastic
*Independent
*Sociable
*Constructive
*Creative
Some negative feelings can include:
*Despondency
*Pride
*Exhibitionism
*Dependency
*Destructive
*Attitudes
*Unsociability
*Great difficulty interacting with others.
CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS
Orange associations vary across the globe.
* It means learning and kinship in some Native American systems.
* In Ukrainian pysanky design, commonly seen on eggs, the colour is steeped in symbolism. Orange represents endurance and worthy ambition: it is the passion of red mixed with the wisdom of yellow.
* The monarchs of the Netherlands originate from the Dutch region of Orange-Nassau. This heritage has made orange the national colour.
ORANGE SYMBOLS:
*Jack O'Lanterns
*Autumn leaves
*Sunsets
*Reflective road signs
*Fun
WHAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE:
*Astrologically, orange and gold colours are associated with Leo.
*Fire is the element of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius and encompasses these Zodiac signs with a fiery glow of licking flames.
*In the wheel of life, Brigid is a fire goddess and she brings the first buds to bloom. Lammas is the god of grain and oversees the turn of summer and the first harvest.
*Lammas, the Autumn Equinox and Samhain take place in the Autumn when leaves turn to orange.
*In Tarot, the Wands represent energy and drive and as such are related to the qualities of orange.
*In palmistry, the Sun Line can indicate fame, happiness and considerable wealth.
*An orange wall can brighten your day no matter what the season or the weather!
Subject: Focus on Happy Orange 
Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:33 am
