Azure white lilies on a cool white marble slab, a flock of white doves flying overhead, a white satiny gown and a bunch of dew-dripping Edelweiss ... What does that bring to your mind? Now isn't that a perfect poster for peace and tranquillity? When girls think of their prince charming, he is always astride a white steed. He can never ride a black or brown one, simply because he is a harbinger of peace and happiness and so the colour of the steed has to be white.
Sitting at a colour therapist's parlour, I was picking up colours at random from a spectrum chart. In ten minutes, the therapist began giving me quite an accurate description of my personality, likes, dislikes, affinities and allergies. Was it possible for her to actually know so much just by a bunch of colours I picked up from the spectrum or was it plain guesswork? Maybe she was a good mind-reader, I thought to myself.
But colours and their complex symbolism and meanings have been around for thousands of years and what is preordained by convention seems to have been integrated into our DNA now. Perhaps the colours we like or feel energised by must be an indication of our personality type.
Auspicious
Across the globe, happiness and warmth are symbolised by a sunny yellow, be it a host of golden daffodils in the UK or the melted gold and yellow of a spread of mustard fields in India. Yellow, therefore, is considered auspicious and in India turmeric and marigolds are a must on festive occasions.
Red is the colour of passion. Subcontinent brides wear blazing red saris or tunic-gown sets for their wedding. That is perhaps also why luscious red lip stick shades are the natural choice for someone in love. Hearts, candles, balloons and flowers are red by choice on Valentine's Day as well.
Green stands for prosperity and nature's bounty. A sea of tall grass or healthy plants nodding in the wind can inspire a unique sense of equanimity and heal our frayed nerves. That is why many hospitals choose green for linen, bed-spreads and curtains as it reminds us of our bond with nature.
Calm and introspective
Blue always reminds us of aqua blue waters and the azure hue of the canopy of the sky. It inspires a feeling of being protected and calmed by these forces of nature. The colour therapist points out that those who show an affinity for the colour blue are those who have made peace with their demons and are unusually calm and introspective.
Purple is the colour of grandeur. The blood that flows in royal veins was deemed to be a shade darker than red, bordering on a hue of violet and purple. At least that was the belief and that's why all things royal came to be symbolised by this colour.
Black perhaps is the only complete colour in itself. It is so strong that it can never ever take on the shade of any other colour in the spectrum. We fear giving such a definitive meaning to our personalities and that is why few people choose it on the shade card.
Our choices in colours were made many millennia ago when humans beings had just begun writing the first chapter of their lives on this planet. Choosing the colours from the spectrum chart I had a feeling of déjà vu, as though I had done this before, and if asked to do again would, without doubt, pick out the same five colours as I had done then.
I felt I was naturally gravitating towards some colours to the exclusion of others, inspired by some intuitive knowledge that may be a part of my collective human memory.
