Meaning of Colours

Curious about colours?  Have you ever taken a colour personality test?  Nowadays schools, corporations and colleges are giving more importance than ever before to colour tests.  These tests claim that they reflect a current state of your emotions as well as future predictions, and can be used to help career choices for example.  Some dating sites also use them to match couples.

Additionally psychologists agree that colours can have different influences on different people, however some say that the colour tests deliver generalised meanings.

Colour tests are considered to have started with Max Lûscher back in the 1940s, coming from the premise that different colours influence our emotions differently.  Then for the purpose of the tests he reversed the logic, so that it was that different colours represent different behaviours.  The colour test give choices of colour preferences which then reflect our handling of our emotions and the world around us.

Results of the Luscher Colour Test:

Appreciative and sensitive, but you do not wish for great responsibility, particularly in relationships.  You desire to be viewed as fascinating and charming by others, thereby exerting some control over them.  You have a tendency to view own wishes, dreams and desires as reality.

You always want to be involved and are committed to whatever you are involved with.  You have no problem in showing people your feelings.  You usually behave naturally which is opposite to people who like the colour grey.

Comments:

There is a certain amount of truth here, but there are a couple of statements that are not true at all.  However for such a quick test it is interesting to see what comes back.

Then would you believe it is the same person (me) taking another colour personality test, this time it shows the top 10 personality features.

1. Comfortableness - Free from stress or conducive to mental ease; having or affording peace of mind.

66

2. Nurturer - To help grow or develop; cultivate: nurture a student's talent.

66

3. Extroverted - Marked by interest in and behavior directed toward others or the environment.

74

4. Unrestrained - Free of constraint; spontaneous and natural.

78

5. Dependable - consistent in performance or behavior.

78

6. Intimacy - very close in friendship or affection

78

7. Playful - Full of fun and high spirits; frolicsome or sportive.

88

8. Being Loved - a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude.

90

9. Gentle - Considerate or kindly in disposition; amiable and tender.

92

10. Desirability - Worth having or seeking, as by being useful, advantageous, or pleasing.

92

Career Colour Test  

Then I did another colour test which gives top career choices according to a test of 66 colour combinations, of which you prefer.  What is interesting is these results were very close to the mark for me.  The top two choices are spot on as I am fascinated with human social behaviour and with the second choice being English Language, here I am writing.  The third choice is of interest as in my family there are a lot of lawyers, so when I was younger I considered following into law in some shape or form.

1. SOCIOLOGY - The study of human social behavior

2. ENGLISH LANGUAGE

3. CRIMINAL JUSTICE / CRIMINOLOGY

From my experiments I believe the second test is more thorough.  To take this test go to colour personality test, it takes about 5 minutes to take and if nothing else it is a bit of fun.

Another interesting fact about colours is that people who prefer certain colours are more likely to go into a deeper experience of hypnosis.  This is connected with having a good imagination, in other words what people may call a colourful personality!

What about the colours we choose to wear?

How do they affect us? Apart from black being a slimming colour, why do so many women favour the little black dress?

Black is considered to be sexy, dynamic and mysterious. It is used powerfully by women both in business and pleasure to get the desired results.

Black is inner strength and is the colour that holds the potential of what we can be.

It helps discover one's own individuality.

it can be combined with other colours to have different results.

Black with Green: gives feelings of adaptability and harmony

Black with Indigo: gives knowledge and correct behaviour

Black with Sky Blue: for feelings of sincerity

Black with Red: gives physical power and leadership qualities

Black with Yellow: for mental agility and clarity, persuasive talking

Black with Orange: to feel sociable power and confident

Black with Violet: for feelings of true inspiration

What effects do the other colours of the spectrum have on you when we wear them?

Yellow will make you feel open to new ideas, while making you feel happy and confident. It will make you feel warm yet alert. Yellow is excellent in learning situations, brainstorming, so its very good for seminars and conferences.

Orange is to make you feel extroverted and sociable. It can make you feel younger and fun loving. Orange stimulates creativity. Orange is a great colour when meeting new people, or meeting people that you wish to know better.

Red is energy giving and stimulates our passions. It encourages feelings of courage and determination. Red is ideal for getting the job done when you need the drive or to look stunning for a romantic outing.

Sky Blue is the colour to inspire trust. It reflects sincerity and shows a calm persona. It is also helpful to keep your nervous system, so would be a great colour for an interview situation.

Pink relaxes and shows a woman who feels confident about her feminity. Pink is quite flexible for both romance and work.

Green is for openess and harmony. To feel diplomatic and vital at the same time. So it is especially good for a negotiation.

Violet shows a person with purpose and integrity. It makes you feel good about your self-worth. This is another good interview colours. It can be chosen for any situation where you wish to be trusted by those around you.

Brown is earth and secure. However it is the colour of the materialist, so it is good to wear when you wish to attract money but not good to wear in situations where it may make people feel less well off than you.

White is the colour of purity, and should really be worn when you feel your best as otherwise it can be draining on you. It reflects back like a mirror. It shows a person who is joyful and openminded.

Many people are not fully conscious of how important colour is in their lives and both in interior design and buying clothes some people will opt for whatever current fashion trends dictate.

For interior design purposes going with the current colour trends could be a mistake and it could even affect your health.

I know that this sounds quite dramatic but without an appreciation of how certain colours make us feel, people can be convinced that the latest trendy shade of yellow will be gorgeous in their child’s bedroom.

With yellow your child is unlikely to have a good night’s sleep and over time this is not much fun or good for his health!

In this article I have described each colour and its qualities, followed by its complementary colour and its qualities. Additionally these qualities have been corresponded the chakra system which are the wheels of spinning energy some believe lie at certain points around our bodies.

Each colour also has a complementary colour, which on a colour wheel will be the colour that sits opposite to it. The complementary colour will make a striking effect when added to the same room, and depending on the structure and purpose of the room you can do this either quite subtly or add more to create a stronger look and feeling.

For interior design you will still achieve these results by using variations of shades which correspond to the colours. If you wish to have the balance that is created by complementary colours but would prefer to make the room less dramatic, then choose paler shades of the colours.

Before choosing the colours remember that form follows function, and the “form” or energy of the colour should be appropriate for the purpose of the room.

Yellow is a colour which stimulates mental activity and is therefore the last colour you should choose for a bedroom. It also is good for studying or reading, whilst promoting self confidence at the same time. So actually yellow is the perfect colour for the room where your children do their homework or for a home office.

Yellow is the colour for the solar plexus chakra which relates to our feelings of self worth, so how we feel about ourselves and how we think others feel and think about us. This chakra is about the personality, the intellect and the ego.

Yellow’s complementary colour is violet.

Violet is calming for the mind and body, and is a colour that heightens awareness and makes us feel like doing our best. It is a purifying colour and can strengthen feeling of dignity and purpose.

Violet is ideal for entrance areas, especially into clinics, and places of worship or meditation. It can be used in a pale version in the bedroom, but if you wish to use yellow to complement it you need to be very careful to use only a subtle amount and shade.
The crown chakra is violet and this chakra relates to self-knowledge and spiritual awareness. With this colour in balance a person has an increased respect and love of life, can be extra helpful to others and is idealistic.

Orange is a warm and energizing colour, and is great for sociable areas and creative/active areas. It is best avoided in the bedroom as it encourages liveliness.

It is the colour of fun and sociability.

The chakra it relates to is the sacral chakra which is about giving ourselves the freedom to be ourselves respectfully. It is also for the ability to give and take with others.

When balanced it is creative, sociable and joyful.

The complementary colour for orange is indigo.

Indigo is a quieter colour and therefore perfectly suited to bedrooms, and areas that should ideally be calm. It also helps us feel intuitive.

It corresponds to the brow chakra, which is also known as the third eye. (Not literally a third eye, this is a term for the intuitive channel between the two “real” eyes).

The positive aspects of this chakra are being tuned into your true life path and responsibilities. It means having an organised mind, integrity, being loyal and seeing things clearly.

Red is a great colour for any activity area, but you need to be choosy about the shade so the room does not feel smaller or oppressive. If it is used well it will make a room feel cosy.

Red relates to the base chakra, at the base of the spine, and this area is about survival the most basic human instinct of them all.

Used positively it should make a person feel courageous and with strength of will. It promotes assertiveness in the right measure.

Red’s complementary colour is blue.

Blue is a calming colour and makes people feel relaxed. It can be used in any room except for one where you wish to stimulate physical activity. It is also the colour of communication. So for example it is perfect for a lounge or sitting room area.

The chakra for blue is the throat chakra and this relates to self-expression. So it’s all about communication, the ability to speak and communicate our needs and wishes. If balanced it helps us to be trustworthy, calm and loyal.

The eighth colour of the spectrum is magenta which is a mixture of red and violet. This is a combination of the physical and the spiritual put simply. It is not suitable for play areas, but is good in lecture and study areas.

As a combined colour it picks up from both the base and crown chakra qualities.

Magenta’s complementary colour is green. Green is very harmonising and encourages tolerance and understanding. It would of course be ideal for negotiations between politicians...

Green is a colour that you could use in any room really, and the tip here is to be aware of the shade. So you wouldn’t choose one with too much yellow in it for a bedroom.

It is important to balance out green with another colour, or colours as too much green may lead to inactivity.

The heart chakra is the one that relates to green. This is the energy of being able to give and receive love, including self love.

When in balance it will make you feel compassionate, loving, generous and well-balanced.

Different people will at different times of their lives be attracted to certain colours, and this can change as your life circumstances change.

To add some flexibility into a colour scheme there are a wonderful range of colourful glass door knobs by Bombay Duck. These can also be used to spruce up wardrobes and furniture.

Brown is a made by adding black to shades of yellow, orange, red or rose, as well as the combinations of complementary colours.

We will only perceive the colour brown when there is one of these brighter colours present: red, orange, yellow or rose; and brown is technically considered a tertiary colour.

It is considered to be a colour to avoid in cases of people who are prone to depression or sadness, as it can exaggerate this.

However the positive qualities of brown are that it is associated with the earth element, and can in the right balance be nurturing, fertile, and comforting. It can make you feel safe, warm and cosy.

Brown can encourage seriousness, earthiness, reliability and support. However if it is out of balance it can result in a lack of sense of humour, lack of personal will, heavy feelings and a lack of sophistication.

Choose brown for your environment or clothes if you feel you need:

• To fit in more to society, personally or professionally
• If you need to be more organised in your life
• If you have an objective that you need to achieve, brown will ground you and help you feel more stable during this quest
• To feel a deeper connection with the earth, nature and animals
• To become more conventional

As with all colours we need to source its qualities in the right balance to avoid over immersion and the possibility of crossing the line into the negative aspects of the vibration of the colour brown.

For a person who sees auras, they would be wary if they see a person who has brown in their aura. This can be the warning sign of a person who is involved in business dealings with dishonest or suspicious motives.

Another way to consider integrating some brown in your life is to wear jewellery or carry a brown stone.

Brown Stones include:

Tigers Eye, Amber, Brown Jade, Hawks Eye, Mahogany Obsidian, Boji Stone, Brown Jasper, Brown Selenite, Brown Tourmaline, Chiastolite (also called Cross Stone) Fire Agate, Moss Agate, Sardonyx, Topaz, Smoky Quartz

If you are keen to include it in your interior design colour combination, choose shades of brown which are complementary to the other colours in that room.

So for example, if you are re-painting your sitting room, orange which is sociable would be a good choice. In this scenario a warm shade of orange based brown would be ideal.

Another way to introduce brown gently into your home is to buy light shades or lamps which are brown.

Or another alternative if it is for a bedroom, it to add a dream catcher which often have different shades of brown in them.

There are various beliefs around dream catchers but it is generally believed that they should filter only the good dreams to come through!

Another decoration which can work well to experiment with brown is an Etruscan Money Amphora which has stylish horizontal lines.

It is made from earthenware and stands between 17cm and 19cm high.

Hope you found this useful!