Friday, October 15, 2010

Symbolism of Samhain colors

The colors associated with holidays haven't been chosen in random. I believe there are no co-incidents, and God made earth (soil) and night black and root vegetables and pumpkins and autumn leaves different shades of warm yellows and oranges for a reason.

Orange and warm yellows and reds stimulate activity and socialization. We get creative and happy of the color. Feng Shui says using orange in a home promotes lively conversations and good times in the home. It gives you emotional energy and general sense of well-being, so you can treat others with compassion and warmth, which is so needed at this dark time of the year. In chakras orange stands for joy and creativity, and the lack of orange makes us experience fear, anxiety, attachments to material things, a lack of compassion and distrust. (That sounds so familiar to me... I think there are more stories spreading fear and suspicions around this time of the year than any other...


Marigolds (calendula, tagetes) is the symbolic flower of Samhain.

Black is "the color of the night". The deep space behind stars is black, and the deepness of earth is black. This is why black is associated with solemnity and spiritual things, the depths of the unknown, which is so very present at this time of the year. Black is also the symbol of Other Worlds and Otherkin (fairies and such), and death (being part of the Unknown). In the modern world, black has also become a symbol of every activity happening in the dark, in secrecy, like crime and evil, but also magic and occult things, which Christianity banned into the darkness of night.

The word "black" comes from words meaning "burned" and "ink". The word "orange" comes from the Sanskrit word meaning the fruit tree, orange. Before that the color was simply called "yellow-red". (yellow = wood, and red = blood.)


For today: The Simple Woman's Daybook

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