Colour symbolism and meaning - why does colour have meaning?

We at Mookychick Towers were wondering why colour has any symbolic properties at all. This idea that black is moody, chic, evil... or that pink is fun and vibrant, or that purple is mysterious, dangerous and mad... WHY?

We know that colour has symbolism and meaning attached to it. But colour symbolism doesn't spring up out of nowhere, or just because someone charismatic four centuries ago thought black looked a bit moody and everyone else agreed. So why do we ascribe meaning and symbolism to colour? We did a bit of knocking around on the internet and this is what we found.

It's obviously only the tip of the iceberg. But you have to dive in somewhere...

Apparently, colour conveys meanings in two primary ways - natural associations and psychological symbolism. No, it's not mind control.It's just that people are comfortable when colours remind them of similar things. For example, a soft shade of blue triggers associations with a clear, benevolent sky, a feeling of expansive tranquility and a psychological sense of calm.

Sometimes the source of colour meanings can be quite obvious in nature - red is the colour of blazing fire and blood (and lobsters), blue is the colour of cooling waters and sky, green is the colour of lush plant growth (oh, those dirty, lush, sexy plants, growing and propagating all over the place). Other meanings may be more complex and not universal.

If we look at those nature colours first, then colours strongly associated with nature are often agreed to symbolise something that's universal and timeless. For example, the fact that green is the colour of vegetation can be considered a universal and timeless association - renewal, perhaps, or life.

Colour can also generate another level of meaning in the mind. This symbolism arises from cultural and contemporary contexts. As such, it is not universal and may be unrelated to its natural associations. For example, green's associations with nature communicate growth, fruitfulness, freshness and ecology. On the other hand, green may also be symbolic of good luck, seasickness, money and greed - all of which have nothing to do with green plants. Or, while the West associates white with purity and life (weddings and christenings), the Chinese see it as a colour of mourning. These associations arise from a complex assortment of sources.

Furthermore, colour may have both positive and negative symbolism, also known as dual symbolism. For example, although blue is the beautiful colour of the sky on a sunny day, it can also be symbolic of sadness or institutional conventions. Red is another example of dual symbolism... As the colour of fire and blood, it's energizing, aggressive and bold. In direct contrast, red is used for "STOP" signs throughout the world today, and the red of blood can mean danger and violence as much as it means life and energy.

Oh, and let's not forget personal colour symbolism! Jung, was well up for the concept of personal symbolism. He believed in dream symbolism and was a strong advocate of paying attention to the symbols in your dreams to learn more about yourself and your spiritual state of mind. He thought that, rather than an event symbolising the same thing for all people, it was a personal symbol. So if your teeth fell out in a dream, you'd have to ask yourself lots of questions about your emotions and aspirations in the dream and real life (and any past experiences that might have coloured your thoughts, like, um, all your teeth having fallen out at some point) to determine what those teeth meant to you. Similarly, if you had a lilac comfort blanket as a baby, lilac wouldn'tt symbolise the same for you as it might for anyone else.

Although there are no absolutes, there are logical sources for the range of complex and sometimes contradictory psychological/cultural meanings of colours. These may arise from:

1. Cultural associations with colour meanings

The colour of currency, traditions, celebrations, geography, etc. can really affect a culture's attachment of symbolic meaning to colour(green is associated with heaven (Muslims) and luck (U.S. and Ireland).

2. Political and historical associations

A colour's symbolic meaning can be influenced by a nation's use of colour in flags, political parties, royalty, etc. (green is the colour of Libya's flag; it's the favourite colour of Emperor Hirohito - and the source of "Green Day" in Japan and the Green Party in Europe and the US).

3. Religious and mythical colour symbolism

Colours can be associated with spiritual or magical beliefs (For example, the green man was the God of fertility in Celtic myths, a symbolism that carries over into today's associations of Green M&M candies with sexuality (apparently) and the Jolly Green Giant who grows us all that nice sweetcorn. Also, in contemporary Western culture, green is associated with extraterrestrial beings. Or grey. And grey's a tone not a colour, so like black and white it has even weirder symbolism than all the rainbow colours put together.

4. Linguistic associations with colour meanings

Colour terminology can change from language to language. For example, South Pacific languages refer to shades of green by comparing the green shade to plants in various stages of growth. In Scottish Gaelic, the word for blue ('gorm') is also the word used for the colour of grass. The Berimi tribe of Papua New Guinea have completely separate categories for blue-green and yellow-green. Best of all, the Indonesian Dani language has only two words for colour - light and dark.

5. Contemporary usage and fads

Colours should be timeless - but they fall in and out of fashion. Mint green and neon were the business in the Eighties. Avocado green was the number one colour choice for US appliances in the Sixties. Lime green has been achingly hip in fashion / advertising since the late 1990s, mainly because no-one has the balls to wear it. High Street fashion is throwing a different colour at us every season - "Now purple! Now green! Now electric blue!"

Colour symbolism links for artists, psychologists and imagineers:

• www.colourmatters.com
• www.colourlovers.com (Awesome colour blog that asks questions like "Does magenta really exist?"

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Mookychick believes that climbing trees and riding giant turtles is more fun and girly than worrying about make-up. But if you want to worry about make-up instead of turtles? Fine by us. Be you feminist, kitten, punk, emo, indie, goth, witch, vegan, horror junky, intellectual, christian goth, corset queen, geek, unicorn, sea monkey... be you into alternative style, alternative health, spirituality, comics, manga, j-pop, harajuku or jock culture... we will always love you.