Colors and their Meanings

Colors and Their Meanings

Gray- Elegance, humility, respect, reverence, stability, subtlety, wisdom, anachronism, boredom, decay, decrepitude, dullness, dust, pollution, urban sprawl, strong emotions, balance, neutrality, mourning, formality, March.

White- Reverence, purity, snow, peace, innocence, cleanliness, simplicity, security, humility, marriage, sterility, winter, coldness, clinicism, surrender, cowardice, fearfulness, unimaginative, air, fire, death, hope, Aries, Pisces (star signs), January.

Black- Modernity, power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, style, evil, death, fear, anonymity, anger, sadness, remorse, mourning, unhappiness, mysterious, seriousness, conventionality, rebellion, January.

Red- Passion, strength, energy, fire, love, excitement, speed, heat, leadership, masculinity, power, danger, gaudiness, blood, war, anger, revolution, radicalism, socialism, communism, aggression, stop, Mars (planet), respect, Gemini (star sign), December.
Studies show that red can have a physical effect, increasing the rate of respiration and raising blood pressure; the red ruby is the traditional 14th wedding anniversary gift; red sky in the morning, sailor's warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight.

Blue- Seas, skies, peace, unity, harmony, tranquility, calmness, coolness, confidence, conservatism, water, ice, loyalty, dependability, cleanliness, technology, winter, depression, coldness, idealism, obscenity, tackiness, air, wisdom, Earth (planet), Virgo (light blue) and Aquarius (dark blue) (star sign), strength, steadfastness, light, friendliness, July (sky blue), February (deep blue), peace, mourning (Iran), truthfulness. love.
In many diverse cultures blue is significant in religious beliefs, believed to keep the bad spirits away.

Green- Nature, spring, fertility, youth, environment, wealth, money (US), good luck, vigor, generosity, go, grass, aggression, inexperience, envy, misfortune, coldness, jealousy, illness, greed, life, air, earth (classical element), sincerity, hope, Cancer (bright green, star sign), renewal, natural abundance, growth, health, August, balance, harmony, stability.
During the middle ages, both green and yellow were used to symbolize the devil.

Yellow- Sunlight, joy, happiness, earth, optimism, idealism, wealth (gold), summer, hope, air, liberalism, cowardice, illness (quarantine), hazards, dishonesty, avarice, weakness, greed, femininity, gladness, sociability, friendship, Taurus, Leo (golden yellow, star signs), April, September, deceit, hazard signs, death (Middle Ages), mourning (Egypt), courage (Japan). Yellow ribbons were worn during times of warfare as a sign of hope as women waited from their men to return.
During the middle ages, both green and yellow were used to symbolize the devil.

Purple- Sensuality, spirituality, creativity, wealth, royalty, nobility, ceremony, mystery, wisdom, enlightenment, arrogance, flamboyance, gaudiness, mourning, profanity, exaggeration, confusion, pride, Libra (violet, star sign), May, November, riches, romanticism (light purple), delicacy (light purple).
Purple is the color of mourning for widows in Thailand, favorite color of Egypt's Cleopatra, and the purple heart - given to soldiers who have been wounded during warfare.

Orange- Hinduism, Buddhism, energy, balance, heat, fire, enthusiasm, flamboyance, playfulness, aggression, arrogance, gaudiness, overemotion, warning, danger, enthusiasm, desire, Sagittarius (star sign), September.
Orange has less intensity or aggression than red and is calmed by the cheerfulness of yellow.

Brown- Calm, depth, nature, richness, rusticism, stability, tradition, anachronism, boorishness, dirt, dullness, filth, heaviness, poverty, roughness, earth (classical element), October, Capricorn, Scorpio (reddish brown, star signs), down-to-earth. Brown can stimulate the appetite, wholesomeness, steadfastness, simplicity, friendliness, and dependability.

Pink- Gratitude, appreciation, admiration, sympathy, femininity, health, love, June, marriage,