The use of color in our everyday
language is frequent and even expected in order to accurately describe an
emotion or event taking place in our lives. We have all heard of the
expressions: green with envy, red with rage, feeling
depressed (blue).
In the Greek Mysteries, red was
taken to signify the 'irrational, where consciousness was enslaved by lust and
the passion of lower nature'.
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| Initiation into the Greek Mysteries |
In the times of the early
Christian Church, red stood for suffering and the death of
Christ; yellow/gold signified glory, fruitfulness, goodness; the
color green meant youthfulness, fertility, prosperity; violet,
sorrow, humility, profound affection.
White or silver were the colors of light, purity and innocence and black, of course did not bode well as death, destruction or humiliation were to follow.
In the Zuni culture of
America, the red feather was associated with death.
In Aztec religion, there were
4 'Directions of the Aztec Gods':
East (associated with the rising of
the sun) created by the god Red Tezcatlipoca;
North created by Black Tezcatlipoca,
the Lord of the night Sky;
West (associated with the setting
sun) by White Tezcatlipoca;
South was created by Tlaloc,
the rain god also known as Blue Tezcatlipoca.
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| Tlaloc |
But it is the color blue that
is regarded in almost all faiths as being the ‘closest to God’. The blue skin
of Vishnu (Hinduism) is a symbol of the divine.
Even in the ‘ancient’ religions, the
colors of mankind were blue for the spirit, yellow for the
mind and red for the body. These colors corresponded to
the blue of heaven, the yellow of the earth and the red of
hell.
In Esoteric Philosophy, blue was
considered the true color of the sun, it's orange-yellow appearance being due
to its rays being 'immersed in the illusory substances of our world'.
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| Black Tezcatlipoca |
Even in the early Christian Church, blue was
of prime importance, signifying godliness, contemplation, the heavenly sphere.
"Blue...Nothing but blue...Blue
like the sea…Blue like the sky…Blue like Sophia’s satin gown." - The Tao
of the Thirteenth God
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