Colors: Very Fun and Very Important Stuff
Color is light refelcted back to us. That light is actually medicine to us. More than mere Color Psychology, color and design influence and drive behaviour.
Red The energy of Red is exuberant, advancing and activating. In Feng Shui Red is associated with fire, outward expansion, networking, clarifying, and brilliant. It is the color of Life Force in China and considered the luckiest color. Other associations are Wealth, Health, and Happiness, also with Summer, Fame and Reputation. Red is used to activate spaces and therefore aspects of your life.
Red is the color associated with our physical body’s own connection to Life, besides being the color of oxygenated blood, it is associated with our electromagnetic system called Chakras. Red is the color frequency of our Base Chakra, that energy vortex within our bodies at the base of our spine that keeps us connected to Life, the Planet, and helps us survive so we can Thrive…so you can probably see the association of Red with Life, appetite and movement.
[Our own electromagnetic field is made up of energy vortices called Chakras; we have 8 major energy vortices that run along our spines at the junctures of our major neural plexi. Each Chakra regulates certain energies in our lives…remember that everything is interconnected.]
When to use Red: Use Red when you want increase activity, get things moving, increase passion, action or get noticed.
Use Caution though, Red is like a dash of tabasco, it can turn up the volume on your life. For instance: Red in a bedroom may increase passion but passion also includes arguments and tension. (Try adding a bit of warm rich pink instead, and you don’t even have to see it, place a little pink color under your bed for some reconnection and romance.)
Red in a dining room can increase appetite and digestion, but if you or guests start to argue or feel hypertensive, it will be time to decrease the amount of red or move to another room for dessert.
There are two healthy ways to use red: a small quantity of color or small quantity of time spent with the color. Just a little in a room, or a lot in room you spend a little time, will serve you better.
Orange Orange is the most socially oriented color and associated with Fire and Earth Energy, being a mix of Red and Yellow, a mix of expansive lifeforce and the gathering, social and happy energy of Yellow. Orange is also the vibrational color associated with our Second Chakra, the energy vortex within our bodies that regulate our sexuality, tribal associations and our ability to play.
Caution for Orange: The Chinese call the pastel version of Orange Peach Blossom Love…the reason? Peach is a color that can change your energy to attract a mate but the Caution is: if you are married, stay away from peach, it can cause either mate to look outside the marriage for some extra-curricular fun.
Yellow The Happiest color on the planet, the color that will draw out attention first, stimulates digestion and in the pastel form is good for stimulating mental activity.
Caution: It is also the most difficult to get right, in just the right amount or just the right saturation. Too much Yellow for too long can be similar to being around a ‘way-too-happy cheerleader’…you know the experience. It can quickly turn us into crabby people, overstimulate digestion, make us too detail oriented, or just have us rushing from the room. It is associated with our Third Chakra center that governs our digestion and mental process, our will and determination, so if you just don’t have the ‘stomach’ for something you might need a little yellow to center yourself and get back on your feet.
Green The most healing color of the spectrum, Green is associated with Health and our Heart Chakra. Thomas Jefferson painted the floor of his foyer in beautiful summer-grass green for that very reason, the healing nature of the color itself.
In Feng Shui, Green is associated with Growth, with Health (inherited from our family’s eating, thinking and living habits) and is upward moving energy. It stimulates independence and ideas, being akin to the energy of Spring shoots rising from the depth of Winter: try to hold those little plants down and you’ll get the idea of Green’s rising energy.
Caution: If you want a warm and nourishing relationship, do not use green or light blue in your bedroom, as green and light blue are independent colors and may be seen as restful because it allows us to focus on ourselves and our relationship to nature.
Blue Light blue is the color of Vision and in Feng Shui the Color of Air and energy of Tree and not Water Energy(See Black). The effect of blue is idealism, vision, trust, and is associated with the area of our homes that governs Abundance and Flow of Wealth called “Persistent wind”. Very similar in effect to Green, it instills independence and idealistic thinking and its energy is upward moving. Good for use in a bathroom, laundry room or even in bedrooms where someone might be too lethargic, overweight or need to have a boost toward independence.
Caution: Same energy as Green: If you want a warm and nourishing relationship, do not use green or light blue in your bedroom, as green and light blue are independent colors and may be seen as restful because it allows us to focus on ourselves and our relationship to nature.
Brown, Tan and Beige These colors are Earth energy colors and are grounding and nourishing colors. Use these colors anywhere you want stability and warmth, but be certain to add other shapes and colors to balance tans and browns.
Caution: An over abundance of Earth colors can cause weight gain, lethargy and depression. Relieve that with a bit of light blue, light green to draw the energy upward, white will get the energy moving again.
Black Is associated with the Flow of Life, with Career and Journey, Spirituality and Emotion and is associated with Water energy. In Chinese, the character for Water includes the character for ‘danger’ because going too deep into something can cause you to lose yourself, loose focus or forget there are other aspects to life to live. Use black as an accent, or in place of Water energy that would remind you to flow with life and get in touch with your own Life’s Purpose.
Caution: Be sure to balance black, especially if used in a kitchen, bath or bedroom. In a kitchen, black will douse the fire of digestion, called Agni in Ayurveda unless held in check by the addition of some Fire energy (red or lots of light) or Wood energy (green or blue or plants). Feng Shui says be careful about use of Black and too much Water energy in a bathroom, as it can actually increase the outflow abundance of the home and your life. In a Bedroom, be sure to balance black you use as black sends us deep inside: too deep could cause oversleeping, sleep hangovers or even emotional depression…if you have a hard time sleeping, introduce a little black into your room (reduce light to zero to sleep best).
White White is associated with Metal energy: purity, accountability, voice, harvest, mentors and travel. In general it is movement and creativity. White will make all things seem more intense, especially other colors in your home. Too much white can be over stimulating and cause us to feel rigid…and has many different associations in various cultures, at the base of which is a pure, clean experience. White is also the color of our Crown Chakra (energy vortex within our bodies) and one of our connections to our Spiritual Nature and one way Spiritual Life Force is distributed to our lower 6 Chakras and associated with Mentors, physical and spiritual, as well as travel and movement out into the world community.
Caution: Don’t use White as your default color because you inherited a white house or are afraid to choose a color. White should only be used with considered intention, as it will make everything seem more intense. For instance, white holds all the vibrations of the spectrum, and unless your room has a tremendous amount of sunlight, you will be missing out on some very important color ‘medicine.’ Northern exposures especially need to have a bit of yellow added to the white, to round out the primarily grey or blue nature of the light coming into the room and into our lives.
If you have a question about a specific color, like purple, lavender, turquoise or pink, please leave a comment or send an email and I’ll be happy to help you use your colors to transform your life into one that you LOVE living every minute.
All my best,
Fawn
