Color

We begin with various occult meanings of color as recorded in history:

BLACK

Black is the Kabbalist's color of wisdom. In the West it has been symbolic of death, sorrow, and the underworld. To the Hindu it is time and Kali, the destroying goddess. To the Egyptians black was the color of rebirth and resurrection.

GOLD

Gold, the color of the sun has long been a symbol of majesty and the divine principle expressed through matter. To the Egyptians gold represented Ra, the sun god. To the Greeks gold was the symbol of reason and immortality as represented by the Golden Fleece found hanging on the tree of life by Jason.

BLUE

Blue has long been a symbol of intellect, peace, and contemplation. It is water and coolness, the sky and infinity. To the Ancient Greeks blue was the color of Venus, the goddess of love.
From the realm of science we find that blue reduces stress and calms anxiety by triggering hormones that relax the body.

GREEN

Green symbolizes the life of the sensations, of nature, growth, and decay. It is the color of jealousy. Green also helps heal by evoking feelings of peacefulness and serenity that slow the heart rate and decrease production of the stress hormones. Just reading green type slows your heart rate.

WHITE

White is primarily associated with purity, virginity, and transcendence though in the Orient it is the color of mourning.

VIOLET

Violet is known as a mystical color. It combines the authority of red with the sanctity and wisdom of blue. The color has also been associated with sorrow and mourning.

YELLOW

Unlike gold, the color yellow carries some historically negative meanings. It has been the symbol of faithlessness and betrayal. In the West a yellow flag often indicates disease and quarantine. Yet to China it is the national color and to Buddhists' yellow is the color of humility as shown in the monks' saffron robes.

RED

Tantra has always taught that red was the color of sexual activity and recent scientific studies have shown that red light stimulates the male reproductive organs and increases muscular tension. Red stimulates the nervous system, elevates blood pressure, increases respiration and raises the body temperature which helps fight infection and decreases sensitivity to pain.

Another study found that students working under red light had better skills at mathematics. Color affects our perception of time and red lighting seems to make time pass more slowly. For more on the magickal interpretations of the color red see Candles: The Colors and the Elemental designation of colors as shown below:

Earth - North, White
Fire - South, Red
Air - East, Yellow
Water - West, Black

The Elements are essential to the drawing of a circle as well as ritual orientation. The Directions and Colors align with the Four Suits of Tarot.

The Tower of Babel, the Babylonian Etemenanki, was designed as a miniature representation of the Universe. It had 7 stages, each representing one of the seven heavens of Babylonian Cosmology. Each level was identified with a planet, and painted a corresponding color. The bottom layer was painted black to represent Saturn, the next one orange for Jupiter, the third red for Mars, the fourth yellow for the Sun, the fifth and sixth blue for Venus and Mercury, and the top white, probably for the moon.

Tantra Color Meditation

See the body soaked first in red light, then in yellow, then in blue, and finally in white light -- this concentrates Prana.
For more on Tantra, see Tantra: Sex and Beyond by Wendell Wilkinson.

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