Etymology
Blue – In Depth
In Egypt, blue was associated with the sky and with divinity. The Egyptian god Amun could make his skin blue so that he could fly, invisible, across the sky.
Blue could also protect against evil; many people around the Mediterranean still wear a blue amulet, representing the eye of God, to protect them from misfortune. In Islam,blue (including turquoise) is the color both of religion and community and is often used for decorating mosques.
In Greek and Roman days, blue symbolism was associated with the sky gods Jupiter, Juno and Mercury. In Judaism, blue symbolism is connected to God the Father. In the Catholic Church, blue symbolism is most closely related to the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven.
Blue symbolism associates blue with freedom, strength and new beginnings. Blue skies are emblematic of optimism and better opportunities. Blue is the color of loyalty and faith. Blue is power. Blue is also the color of protection. Blue symbolism is nearly universal in meaning. As a result, blue is used in national flags and symbols around the world, including the flag of the United Nations.
Blue represents water, the source of life. Agricultural people have traditionally worshiped water in the form of rivers, clouds, mist and rain. Many favorite garden flowers are also blue, including delphinium, larkspur, pansies, irises, anemone, bluebells, hyacinth, lobelia, veronica, and ageratum.
Although blue is even more popular in the western world than is other areas of the world, blue skies and blue water are full of positive meaning in every culture. We are, after all, living on the “blue planet.”
Etymology:
The English language commonly uses “blue” to refer to any color from navy blue to cyan. The word itself is derived from the Old French word bleu.
The modern English word blue comes from Middle English bleu or blewe, from the Old French bleu, a word of Germanic origin, related to the Old High German word blao. In Russian and some other languages, there is no single word for blue, but rather different words for light blue (голубой, goluboy) and dark blue (синий, siniy).
The root of these variations was the Proto-Germanic blaewaz, which was also the root of the Old Norse word bla and the modern Icelandic blar, and the Scandinavian word bla, but it can refer to other colors.
A Scots and Scottish English word for “blue-grey” is blae, from the Middle English bla (“dark blue,” from the Old English blood). Ancient Greek lacked a word for color blue and Homer called the color of the sea “wine dark”, except that the word kyanos (cyan) was used for dark blue enamel.
Several languages, including Japanese, Thai, Korean, and Lakota Sioux, use the same word to describe blue and green. For example, in Vietnamese the color of both tree leaves and the sky is xanh. In Japanese, the word for blue (青 ao) is often used for colors that English speakers would refer to as green, such as the color of a traffic signal meaning “go”.
Spectral coordinates:
- Wavelength: 450-495 nm
- Frequency: 670-610 THz
Color coordinates:
- Hex triplet: 0000FF
- sRGBB: (0, 0, 255)
- HSV: (240°, 100%, 100%)
Note: This post was compiled by Shirley Twofeathers for Color Therapy, you may repost and share without karmic repercussions, but only if you give me credit and a link back to this website. Blessed be.
Violet – In Depth
The learned compute that seven hundred and seven millions of millions of vibrations have penetrated the eye before the eye can distinguish the tints of a violet. ~Lytton
The word violet is from the Middle English and old French violette, and from the Latin viola, the names of the violet flower. The first recorded use of violet as a color name in English was in 1370.
Violet can also refer to the first violas which were originally painted a similar color.
In Arabic language Violet color is called Nile and the dye Nilege made from Viola flower (of the violet color) which was dominant on the shores of the Nile River, giving the Nile color as the name of the Nile river. The Violet shade of Blue is called Nili in Contemporary Arabic.
In Chinese painting, the color violet represents the harmony of the universe because it is a combination of red and blue (Yin and yang respectively). In Hinduism and Buddhism violet is associated with the Crown Chakra.
Violet is one of the oldest colors used by man. Traces of very dark violet, made by grinding the mineral manganese, mixed with water or animal fat and then brushed on the cave wall or applied with the fingers, are found in the prehistoric cave art in Pech Merle, in France, dating back about twenty-five thousand years.
More recently, the earliest dates on cave paintings have been pushed back farther than 35,000 years. Hand paintings on rock walls in Australia may be even older, dating back as far as 50,000 years.
It has also been found in the cave of Altamira and Lascaux. It was sometimes used an alternative to black charcoal. Sticks of manganese, used for drawing, have been found at sites occupied by Neanderthal man in France and Israel. From the grinding tools at various sites, it appears it may also have been used to color the body and to decorate animal skins.
Berries of the genus rubus, such as blackberries, were a common source of dyes in antiquity. The ancient Egyptians made a kind of violet dye by combining the juice of the mulberry with crushed green grapes. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder reported that the Gauls used a violet dye made from bilberry to color the clothing of slaves. These dyes faded quickly in sunlight and when washed.
During the Middle Ages violet was worn by bishops and university professors and was often used in art as the color of the robes of the Virgin Mary. Violet and purple retained their status as the color of emperors and princes of the church throughout the long rule of the Byzantine Empire.
While violet was worn less frequently by Medieval and Renaissance kings and princes, it was worn by the professors of many of Europe’s new universities. Their robes were modeled after those of the clergy, and they often square violet caps and violet robes, or black robes with violet trim.
Violet also played an important part in the religious paintings of the Renaissance. Angels and the Virgin Mary were often portrayed wearing violet robes. The 15th-century Florentine painter Cennino Cennini advised artists: “If you want to make a lovely violet colour, take fine lacca, ultramarine blue (the same amount of the one as of the other)…” For fresco painters, he advised a less-expensive version, made of a mixture of blue indigo and red hematite.
The violet or purple necktie became very popular at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, particularly among political and business leaders. It combined the assertiveness and confidence of a red necktie with the sense of peace and cooperation of a blue necktie, and it went well with the blue business suit worn by most national and corporate leaders.
Seeing Violet:
Violet is at one end of the spectrum of visible light, between blue and the invisible ultraviolet. It has the shortest wavelength of all the visible colors. Violet is a spectral, or real color – it occupies its own place at the end of the spectrum of light. Violet is the color the eye sees looking at light with a wavelength of between 380 and 450 nanometers. It was one of the colors of the spectrum first identified by Isaac Newton in 1672.
In the traditional color wheel used by painters, violet and purple lie between red and blue. Violet is inclined toward blue, while purple is inclined toward red.
Symbolic meanings of violet:
- Knowledge and intelligence
- Piety
- Sobriety
- Humility
- Temperance
- Peace
- Spirituality
Spectral Coordinates:
- Wavelength: 380-450 nm
- Frequency: 800-715 THz
Color Coordinates:
- Hex triplet: #8F00FF
- sRGBB: (143, 0, 255)
- CMYKH: (44, 100, 0, 0)
- HSV: (274°, 100%, 100%)
Note: This post was compiled by Shirley Twofeathers for Color Therapy, you may repost and share without karmic repercussions, but only if you give me credit and a link back to this website. Blessed be.
Green – In Depth
When students were given creativity tests, those whose test-cover pages had a green background gave more creative answers than those whose pages were white, blue, red or grey. ~Sue Shellenbarger
Since the beginning of time, green has signified growth, rebirth, and fertility. In pagan times, there was the “Green Man” – a symbol of fertility. In Muslim countries, it is a holy color and in Ireland, a lucky color. It was the color of the heavens in the Ming Dynasty.
The word green comes from the Middle English and Old English word grene, which, like the German word grün, has the same root as the words grass and grow.
It is from a Common Germanic *gronja-, which is also reflected in Old Norse grænn, Old High German gruoni (but unattested in East Germanic), ultimately from a PIE root *ghre– “to grow”, and root-cognate with grass and to grow.
The first recorded use of the word as a color term in Old English dates to ca. AD 700.
Latin with viridis (and hence the Romance languages, and English vert, verdure etc.) also has a genuine term for “green”. Likewise the Slavic languages with zelenъ. Ancient Greek also had a term for yellowish, pale green – χλωρός, chloros (cf. the color of chlorine), cognate with χλοερός “verdant” and χλόη “the green of new growth”.
For the ancient Egyptians, green had very positive associations. The hieroglyph for green represented a growing papyrus sprout, showing the close connection between green, vegetation, vigor and growth.
In wall paintings, the ruler of the underworld, Osiris, was typically portrayed with a green face, because green was the symbol of good health and rebirth.
Palettes of green facial makeup, made with malachite, were found in tombs. It was worn by both the living and dead, particularly around the eyes, to protect them from evil. Tombs also often contained small green amulets in the shape of scarab beetles made of malachite, which would protect and give vigor to the deceased.
It also symbolized the sea, which was called the “Very Green. Interestingly, in Japan, the words for blue and green (“ao“) are the same.
Today, green is no longer just a color. It’s now the symbol of ecology and a verb. Today’s greens can be found in a wide range of objects: pea soup, delicate celadon glazes, sleazy shag carpet, sickly bathroom walls, emeralds, wasabi, and sage. The English language reflects some strange attributes: Would you rather be green with envy, green behind the ears, or green around the gills? (Idiomatic American English for extremely envious, immature or nauseated.)
Green in other cultures:
Green is usually considered lucky. A green shamrock symbolizes this. However, this is not always true in every culture, venue, or situation. For example:
- You won’t find many green cars at racetracks because they are considered unlucky.
- Circus and traveling showmen in Australia may consider green to be bad luck.
- An old English rhyme about wedding colors: “Married in green, Ashamed to be seen.”
- In China, Green may symbolize infidelity. A green hat symbolizes that a man’s wife is cheating on him.
- In Israel, green may symbolize bad news.
- In Spain, racy jokes are “green.”
Seeing Green:
There are more shades of green than that of any other color. Greens range from yellow-greens, such as lime and avocado greens, to those with a blue tinge (such as emerald). Aqua or turquoise are colors that are typically half green and half blue.
Color Blindness – Approximately 5% – 8% of men and 0.5% of women of the world are born colorblind. People who are protans (red weak) and deutans (green weak) comprise 99% of this group.
Some European countries have outlined certain traffic light colors so that it is clear which is green and which is red, by the color that has a rectangle around it. Some states in the U.S. have placed diagonal lines through green traffic lights as an aid for the colorblind.
Green exit signs have an important advantage when there is smoke in the air (in other words, when a fire is burning). With red exit signs, it looks like a fire – firemen have actually rushed into burning buildings and tried to put out the signs! With a green sign, people know it isn’t the fire itself but the way to safety.
Spectral coordinates:
- Wavelength: 520-570 nm
- Frequency: 575-525 THz
Color coordinates:
- Hex triplet: 00FF00
- sRGBB: (0, 255, 0)
Yellow – In Depth
The sound of colors is so definite that it would be hard to find anyone who would express bright yellow with bass notes or dark lake with treble… ~Wassily Kandinsky
The word “yellow” comes from the Old English geolu, geolwe, meaning “yellow, yellowish”, derived from the Proto-Germanic word gelwaz. It has the same Indo-European base, –ghel, as the word yell; –ghel means both bright and gleaming, and to cry out. Yellow is a color which cries out for attention.
The English term is related to other Germanic words for yellow, namely Scots yella, East Frisian jeel, West Frisian giel, Dutch geel, German gelb, and Swedish gul.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the oldest known use of this word in English is from The Epinal Glossary in the year 700.
In Ancient Egypt, yellow was associated with gold, which was considered to be imperishable, eternal and indestructible. The skin and bones of the gods were believed to be made of gold.
The Egyptians used yellow extensively in tomb paintings; they usually used either yellow ochre or the brilliant orpiment, though it was made of arsenic and was highly toxic. A small paintbox with orpiment pigment was found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. Men were always shown with brown faces, women with yellow ochre or gold faces.
The Dark Side of Yellow
Yellow is the only color that reacts badly to black: Add a little black and it becomes a sickly yellow-green.
In some cultures and situations, the color yellow represents cowardice, betrayal, egoism, and madness. Furthermore, yellow is the color of caution and physical illness (jaundice, malaria, and pestilence). Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the sources of yellow pigments are toxic metals – cadmium, lead, and chrome – and urine.
The original formula for Indian yellow, the bright yellow long used in Indian miniatures was banned due to the way it was made. Cows were poisoned with mango leaves and the color was made from their urine.
In Russia, a colloquial expression for an insane asylum used to be “yellow house.” Bright “marigold” yellow may be associated with death in some areas of Mexico. Those condemned to die during the Inquisition wore yellow as a sign of treason.
A yellow patch was used to label Jews in the Middle Ages. European Jews were forced to wear yellow or yellow “Stars of David” during the Nazi era of prosecution.
Interestingly, in China, adult movies are referred to as yellow movies.
Seeing Yellow:
Although yellow occupies one-twentieth of the spectrum, it is the brightest color, the most luminous of all the colors. It’s the color that captures our attention more than any other color.
In the natural world, yellow is the color of sunflowers and daffodils, egg yolks and lemons, canaries and bees. In our contemporary human-made world, yellow is the color of Sponge Bob, the Tour de France winner’s jersey, happy faces, post its, and signs that alert us to danger or caution.
Spectral coordinates:
- Wavelength: 570-590 nm
- Frequency: 525-505 THz
Color coordinates:
- Hex triplet: #FFFF00
- sRGBB: (255, 255, 0)
- CMYKH: (0, 0, 100, 0)
Note: This post was compiled by Shirley Twofeathers for Color Therapy, you may repost and share without karmic repercussions, but only if you give me credit and a link back to this website. Blessed be.
Orange – In Depth
“Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.”
— Wassily Kandinsky
The color orange is named after the appearance of the ripe orange fruit. The word comes from the Old French orenge, from the old term for the fruit, pomme d’orenge. That name comes from the Arabic naranj, through the Persian naranj, derived from the sanskrit naranga.
The first recorded use of orange as a color name in English was in 1512, in a will now filed with the Public Record Office. Before this word was introduced to the English-speaking world, the color was referred to as ġeolurēad (yellow-red).
In the 18th century, orange was sometimes used to depict the robes of Pomona, the goddess of fruitful abundance; her name came from the pomon, the Latin word for fruit.
Oranges themselves became more common in northern Europe, thanks to the 17th century invention of the heated greenhouse, a building type which became known as an orangerie.
Seeing Orange:
Orange is the color most easily seen in dim light or against the water, making it the color of choice for life rafts, life jackets or buoys. It is worn by people wanting to be seen, including highway workers and lifeguards. Prisoners are also sometimes dressed in orange clothing to make them easier to see during an escape. Lifeguards on the beaches of Los Angeles County, both real and in television series, wear orange swimsuits to make them stand out. The Golden Gate Bridge at the entrance of San Francisco Bay is painted international orange to make it more visible in the fog.
Spectral coordinates
- Wavelength: 590620 nm
- Frequency: 505480 THz
Color coordinates
- Hex triplet: #FFA500
- RGBB: (255, 165, 0)
- CMYKH: (0, 50, 100, 0)
Note: This post was compiled by Shirley Twofeathers for Color Therapy, you may repost and share without karmic repercussions, but only if you give me credit and a link back to this website. Blessed be.
Red – In Depth
In ancient Egypt, red was associated with life, health, and victory. Egyptians would color themselves with red ochre during celebrations. Egyptian women used red ochre as a cosmetic to redden cheeks and lips, and also used henna to color their hair and paint their nails.
The word red is derived from the Old English rēd. The word can be further traced to the Proto-Germanic rauthaz and the Proto-Indo European root reudh-.
In Sanskrit, the word rudhira means red or blood.
In the Akkadian language of Ancient Mesopotamia and in the modern Inuit language of Eskimos, the word for red is the same word as “like blood”.
The words for colored in Latin (coloratus) and Spanish (colorado) both also mean red, whereas in Portuguese the word for red is vermelho, which comes from Latin vermiculus, meaning “little worm”.
In the Russian language, the word for red, Кра́сный (krasniy), comes from the same old Slavic root as the words for beautiful-красивый (krasiviy) and excellent-прекрасный (prekrasniy). Thus Red Square in Moscow, named long before the Russian Revolution, meant simply “Beautiful Square”.
Healthy people are often said to have a redness to their skin color (as opposed to be appearing pale). After the rise of socialism in the mid-19th century, red was used to describe revolutionary movements. The word is also obviously associated with anything of the color occupying the lower end of the visible light spectrum, such as red hair or red soil.
Red Indians is a British term for Native Americans. American terms for this ethnic group include redskin, redhead and red man, though they are not the preferred terms.
Seeing red:
The human eye sees red when it looks at light with a wavelength between 620 and 740 nanometers. Light just past this range is called infrared, or below red, and cannot be seen by human eyes, although it can be sensed as heat. Red light is used to help adapt night vision in low-light or night time, as the rod cells in the human eye are not sensitive to red.
Spectral coordinates:
- Wavelength: 620-740 nm
- Frequency: 480-400THz
Color coordinates:
- Hex triplet: #FF0000
- RGB: (255, 0, 0)
Note: This post was compiled by Shirley Twofeathers for Color Therapy, you may repost and share without karmic repercussions, but only if you give me credit and a link back to this website. Blessed be.
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