Significance of Colours within Paganism?

Question

I was wondering if certain colours within Paganism were significant and if so which and why.

Red and Yellow are the ones I mainly need to know about, but its always fun to learn new things

Many thanks.

Answer 1

Even without Paganism, colors have meaning. There's some psychological basis to the art of color symbolism. http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/color/a/symbolism.htm

Red is a passionate color, it's vibrant and volitile.

Yellow is usually associated with the intellect, but also with insanity and tension.

Answer 2

I don't belong to a group or tradition. The idea of rules and limited thinking is what drove me away from Christianity. I tried Wicca and a few others, but the at the first admonition that I had to do this or that, or that I couldn't do this or that, I was outta there. I call myself an anarchist Pagan because I like to consider everything and every possibility in my spirituality. I will not have a person or a tradition telling me I can't think or do something.

Answer 3

In many pagan traditions each of the four elements is associated with a color. Red = fire, blue = water, green = earth, yellow = air. Some traditions begin rituals by "calling the quarters" where they have an alter to each element and call upon the spirits of that element to join them in the ritual.

Answer 4

Really depends on the religion within Paganism. For some folks, it means air (or any of the other listed below). For others, it signifies cowardice.

Associations change depending upon which group you check with.

Answer 5

Primarily colors mean what they mean to you. However, there are some common correlations.

Red is one of the Primal Triad colors, along with white and black. These three colors are highly symbolic in storytelling, particularly storytelling that has to do with understanding the tripple goddess figure. It's the color of passion all right, also the color of blood, which is life, both that which runs on the ground in death and that which a mother spills giving birth to her children; it's the color of fire, of energy, of pain, of love. It's the symbol of Kinetic energy, energy in motion.

Yellow I agree is typically associated with intellect and the element of air, but it's also the color of cheerfulness, since it's the color of the sun.

Answer 6

I am assuming you want to know about red & yellow due to the tool song "lateralus"
In my tradition red represents the active force of the will energy in motion and yellow represents the intellect or rational mind. Elementalwise red is fire and yellow is air, both are masculine or "active" energies but yellow is the more "human" and red the more "animalistic"...BTW listen to the lyrics of lateralus "black then white are all i see red and yellow then came to be makes me see,,,

Answer 7

what Tawaen said ...
you may get help with studying the chakra and aura colours

but red is for passion ... which covers both positive and negative sides of this depending on the shade of the red and where it is seen
Yellow for intellect/learning ... so may be seen on a student/teacher etc

Answer 8

Oh gosh. Colors mean so many different things to so many different groups of people. I even saved an entire list of things in WordPad...I'll just give you Red and Yellow, tell me if you want the rest....

Red ----------------health, strength, love, Gemini, stimulates brain wave activity, increases heart rate and respiration and blood pressure, energizes the first chakra (coccyx), root chakra, warmth, awakens physically, energizes blood, prosperity, fire, connects to physical self, physical desire and passion, courage, victory, physical strength, vitality, fire, life, birth, stimulating, intense, highly-charged, will, ego, potential, anger, aggression, lust, war, courage, strength, fear, be cautious because it can be wild and unpredictable, bold, assertive, impulsive, power, transformation, loyalty, force, blood, healing, protect, independent, highly perceptive, release pent-up energy when things are intense, self-reliance, observation

Yellow -------Leo, relieves depression, improves memory, stimulates appetite, solar plexus chakra, energizes (re-energizes mind), wisdom, connects to mental self, harmony, enhance knowledge, communication skills, confidence, visualization, repels negative energy, intellect, thought, mental, analysis, sun, creativity, concentration, learning, telepathy, mental abilities, thoughts, students, mental action, physical action, clarity, happiness, health, relaxing, intellect, communication, air

Answer 9

What tawaen and pangel said.
roffle.
They also have ties to the north and east in solomonic (Abrahamic) magic, but a lot of Pagans use that anyways.

Answer 10

In my flavor of paganism (Asatru), colors are pretty much meaningless.
They're pretty ways to decorate. :)