The first of my Gay Spirituality LGBTQ+ blogs this month (June 2021) in honour of Pride month focuses on the Pride Flag.
Sometimes called the Gay Pride Flag, the Rainbow Flag or the LGBT Pride Flag it has evolved and changed since its creation into that flag depicted at the header of this post but I want to start with a quick look at the original flag – THE FLAG THAT STARTED IT ALL – with specific emphasis on its spiritual associations!
The original was created by Gilbert Baker in 1977. Tasked by Harvey Milk, a historic figure in the fight for LGBTQ rights, to create a flag for the queer community Baker created a rainbow flag with eight different colours.
Inspired by the classic song “Over the Rainbow” from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, Baker created a rainbow flag to represent the LGBTQ community. Each colour in the flag having a specific meaning.
Before we examine those in detail lets pause for a moment to think about this choice of imagery – the rainbow. Spiritually speaking the rainbow has powerful associations with numerous cultures and mythologies around the world. A symbol associated with Veiled Isis in ancient Egypt and Bifrost the Rainbow Bridge of the Norse people of Denmark, Sweden and Norway – not to mention the Swirling or Whirling Rainbow of the Navajo and Hopi Native American cultures plus many others around the world.
The symbol represents hope – recovery and restoration, regeneration and the promise and potential of ascension. It is also a mythical and magical bridge (used still by shamans today) as a connecting force that binds the multi-dimensional universe together – undoubtedly the inspiration for the concept of the magical land of Oz – from the Wizard of Oz – being “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”!
This then in itself is interesting – that such a symbol should be used for a community ostracised and discriminated against – almost as if someone somewhere knew that this community had something powerful to offer the world in regards to its evolution and spiritual progression! Also the symbol itself offering a healing energy to the community and hope and promise that it would one day rise up and been seen as a powerful, creative healing force!
So … the colours of the original flag … I have copied below the ORIGINAL meaning of the colours followed by my commentary in regards to what we might associate with those colours now.
Hot pink symbolises sex – a big part of the LGBTQ+ community as it is in any community be them straight or other wise, sex being not only the seed of life and continuity but also pleasure and senselity. something which many now see as being a principle part of spirituality and divinity.
Red equals life – and now we would say grounding too, physicality and existence, being present in the body and in the now.
Orange symbolises healing – in the spiritual community specifically harmony and rebalance, endurance and stamina.
Yellow stands for sunlight – the Divine Masculine, also the mind, mental body and life force energy.
Green represents nature – as well of course the Heart Chakra and our connection through it to the natural world.
Turquoise equals magic and art – the combination of the mental and emotional bodies – head and heart it also represents the nurturance of the Divine Mother. So interesting – I think – that not only was magic included in the original flag but also that it was associated with art – as magic and expression are indeed closely linked.
Indigo stands for serenity – we might now say serenity through perception or attitude – the third eye and clairvoyance.
Violet represents the spirit of LGBTQ people – the spiritual colour of high vibration and of course connection to the Soul and the Divine through the Crown chakra.
So interesting then – don’t you think – that the original creator of the flag thought in such spiritual and magical terms and associated these with the LGBTQ+ community. In later posts we will explore maybe why this was as we delve deeper not only into those LGBTQ+ spiritual peers and pioneers but also those Gods and Goddesses associated with the community!
As said over the years the flag changed many times – sometimes because of practical reasons …
… in 1979 a six-color flag was used which included the colors red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, and violet on it. Hot pink wasn’t included in the fabrication of these flags, because the fabric was hard to find as the demand for the flag started to rise and the turquoise colour was also taken off the flag to keep an even number of colours there.
Also as the LGBTQ+ community began to expand new flags emerged for the Lesbian community, the Non Binary community, the Trans Gender community as well as the Intersex and Asexual communities – to name but a few!
This too I think is fascinating as I have always believed that the LGBTQ+ community has a major role in grounding the true nature of the Soul on Earth – the Soul being in truth a thing transcendent of polarity and gender. The LGBTQ+ community slowly and in its own way has begun to express this – encouraging more and more people to see that gender – irrespective of body – is a sliding scale or spectrum comprised of those who exist all along the line from straight men and women through manly men and womanly women to feminine men and manly women to gay men and women, transgender, asexual and non binary.
Given then the evolving nature of the LGBTQ+ community and society at large, the modern pride flag integrates many of these flags into one. Thankfully, it has been redesigned to be more substantially inclusive with stripes to represent the experiences of people of colour, as well as stripes to represent people who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming (GNC) and/or undefined – once again see the flag at the head of this blog post.
There are then – in my mind – three interesting things here of conclusion – the first being the foresight of Gilbert Baker and how he seemed to know – consciously or unconsciously – of part of the Divine Mission of the LGBTQ+ community. Secondly the potential nature of that mission itself – to ground and anchor a quality of Soul which is transcendent of form and gender and thirdly the intimated power – held within the community – as a result of their unique expression of the Divine and how this has played out in the world so far – something which I will explore in further posts.
I hope you have enjoyed this trip through the rainbow with me and now will look upon the Pride Flag in a slightly different light. If you feel that this post will in any way help any one you know PLEASE feel free to share it.
In love
Edwin C
PLEASE NOTE all spiritual views expressed in this blog post are mine and mine alone and not necessarily those views held by all within the LGBTQ+ community itself! I speak only for myself in regards to my thoughts and theories and urge everyone – in all walks of life – to use their discernment when reaching their own conclusions about the spiritual mission of those LGBTQ+
All historical flag info is from the instagram page of @cadehildreth
