Much often in our talks we say “I’m feeling blue” or “she went red” or even “he’s turning green!” It is not really about suddenly changing ones shade along the hues of the rainbow like a Boov from the blockbuster animation film “Home”, but the colors are more of an expression that goes beyond what the words say. On a much general basis it is a factor that animates our language. It may vary on the influences of the different cultures, religions and historic backgrounds, but psychology points out to much common references of colors.

Years of evolution have associated blood and fire with human life, that the sight of red evokes feelings of strength, courage, energy, danger, power, determination and war. No wonder why the color is found in many national flags and revolutions. But the color indicates passion, desire, and love as well. This is probably why it is also the color of valentines!

A mix of red and yellow brings about orange, which represents enthusiasm, fascination, creativity, attraction, success, encouragement, and joy. The color is an appetite simulator and often refers to food. Well, who doesn’t like the taste of an orange?

Yellow being the color of sunlight, often rhymes with the feelings of warmth, happiness, intellect and energy. But beware! It can also suggest impatience, criticism and cowardice.

Green is the color of nature. It kindles the feelings of balance growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Ever wondered why the hospitals have so much green in them? Well, it probably because the color has healing powers and most restful to the eye. While it may refer to self-reliance, it may also point to possessiveness.

The color of the sky and sea that our eyes have looked upon for ages is often related with depth and stability. The shades of blue bring about feelings of trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and peace. It can suggest conservatism and frigidity as well. Seems like it doesn’t have anything to do with feeling blue!

White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, safety, and cleanliness. It promotes positive feelings and sterility, often why the doctors and cooks wear it.

The opposite of white is black. While for most of the dramatic ones it signals of evil, fear, grief, death, negativity and mystery, it is also said to be associated with power, elegance, formality and prestige.

Pink, mostly avoided by the masculine bunch labeling it the ‘girly color’ signals romance, love and friendship. The color of purple brings about the sense of dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and quiet interestingly, magic. Hmm… now we know why Nymphadora Tonks from Harry Potter prefers purple hair!

Gold being the prestigious color means illumination, wisdom, and wealth. The color silver often brings out sleek, high-tech  as well as ornate, glamorous, graceful and elegant senses. And the color bronze or brown evoke strength, stability and comfort. While it prefers to blend into the background, this color is capable of letting the others shine.

The mixtures bring out ideas of the colors they are born from. So it can be hard to be sure of what they actually point to, but they certainly do mean things to dream and ponder about.

The world we live in is full of colors and for us humans, that same element means a lot of things. For the scientist, it is defined as the radiation that is reflected by objects after absorbing the light energy that falls on it; for the designer it means the sensations a view stimulates; for the artist it is a display of the inner emotions and for the racist it is the base that divides everything.

But what matters most is what it means to the individual.

So, what colors are you feeling?

References:

http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/meaning-of-colors.html

http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html