What Colour Are You Wearing?

by   Hasna Farrukh

Imagine, wearing red shirt could make you more energetic or blue cap could keep your head from blowing off !!!! Seems ridiculous, doesn't it? It may be written with a bit exaggeration, as the process of colours' effect is obviously very slow, but it's true that colours do have an impact on your personality.

A suggested scientific reason may be that every colour has a frequency and wavelength of its own that is unique. When a human body is exposed to a specific frequency, it generates a certain response. So, a particular response is attributed to a particular colour. Moreover, it is proved by science that our minds also transmit waves with certain frequencies. Colours interact with the frequency of human mind and affect human emotions and ideas and hence, human behaviors and actions. Max Luscher developed a psychological colour therapy in the 1940's. He used 8 colours, red, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, gray and black and claimed that he could tell the stress level and psychological make-up of a person by the order with which he chose the colour or paired one colour with another colour.

This is the reason why artist focus on the use of colours so much. Merely changing a single colour in a painting can change the meaning of the painting and the thought behind it. The same melody of color and human feeling and emotions plays here too. Colour is not only a proper subject taught to Bachelor of Fine Arts students but people do their Masters and even PhD's in this subject.

Many people believe that colours have some powers in them and that's why they believe that stones of various colours can bring change in their lives. Now, some of you might believe it too and many of you might be thinking that I am linking a superstition to a fact hence proving that it is not a superstition. The matter of the fact is that probably the obvious but gradual effect of colours and stones was told to them by their ancestors but it was badly exaggerated to form a superstition.

"If this was true, every person on earth would have lived a desired life and would have built a desired personality" said my friend when I was talking to her about it. Obviously, this is not a magic. This is a phenomenon. Just as your peers' habits affect your habits too, colours affect but too slow to be drastic. And if you are strong and rigid by mind that you will stick to what you are, the affect of these factors is minimized to almost nil.

Have you ever though why we pay so much attention on the colour to be used to paint the walls of our houses??? Here you are with the answer. Somebody would say, "because it creates an effect of spaciousness or suffocation, depending on the colour", another person would say "Because it affects our moods..." What is mood? The current emotional state or feeling. If a single mood continues to exist for long it becomes a part of your behavior. This is how a colour seeps into your personality slowly.

Now, some of you would be thinking that "You have talked enough about colours colours colours. Will you tell us now what colour has what impact?" Sure. There are two types of colours with respect to their impacts. Red, orange and yellow forms a range of warm colours and blue, violet and green are cool colours. Let's take a look on few prominent colors and their effects.

Redsymbolizes love, passion, energy, vigor, action, confidence, courage, vitality. It's the warmest and welcoming colour; the colour of blood; the colour that brides wear.

Pinksymbolizes calm pleasant feeling, neutralizing effect to violence, contentment, acceptance, love, beauty. Pink is formed of red and white. The amount of energy in pink is determined by amount of red it contains.

Brownsymbolizes earth, order, convention, naturalness, solidity, warm, dependability, humbleness, consolidation. Too much brown creates a dull effect. Brown is a mixture of red, blue and yellow.

Orangesymbolizes vitality with endurance, power, change, creativity, thoughtful warmth, curiosity. At some places it may also symbolize negative energy. It increases appetite.

Yellowsymbolizes wisdom, joy, happiness, creative and intellectual energy, friendliness, memory and concentration, clarity of mind. It's the colour of sun.

Greensymbolizes life, energy of growth, increase or expansion, nature, fertility, desire, well being. It is the colour of balance and neutrality.

Bluesymbolizes youth, spirituality, truth, peace, coolness, intellectuality and knowledge, high ideas, flow of communication, sincerity, strength, cool energy. It is the colour of sky, ocean and twilight.

Indigosymbolizes intuition, meditation, deep contemplation, psychic power

VioletorPurplesymbolizes Royalty, magic, mystery, good judgment, purposeness, imagination, inspiration. It is the combination of red and blue. So, it's used to calm over activity or to energize from depression.

Whitesymbolizes Purity, Cleanliness, peace, openness, clarity, light, completeness. It's the colour of fresh beginning that can lead to any colour. White flag was used in wars to show end of war and peace.

Blacksymbolizes Death, evil, earth, stability, mystery, inconspicuous, fear of uncertainty, threatening unknown, something hidden or concealed. It is the absence of all color. Its also the colour of elegance and formality.

Graysymbolizes Sorrow, grief, security, maturity, dependability, responsibility and conservative practicality, void, emptiness, lack of movement, emotion & warmth, dullness. It is used to reduce the energy of other colours.

Now, you can check out which effect do you need.