All languages have words for the colors black and white. When a third color appears, it is red. The English language has many words that describe various red hues: crimson, scarlet, ruby, maroon, vermillion, cherry, rose, cadmium, chestnut, russet, wine, burgundy, coral, cardinal, bay, brick, garnet, rust, and magenta. Say the colors aloud slowly, one at a time. Does that evoke a picture or feeling? Sunsets, sunrises, fires, and flames are frequently envisioned first. Reds can also be quite vibrant and memorable when observed in nature in jewels, birds, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
Black, white, and red were the first used by ancient humans because natural materials were readily available. For example, red ochre is colored red from the mineral hematite which contains iron oxide. A lot of cave art contains red ochre. Vermilion is truly ancient. It is extracted by pulverizing the mineral cinnabar. Hindu women wear a dab of vermilion on their forehead to indicate they are married. Cadmium red is a byproduct of zinc ore. About half of the cadmium produced in the world has been used for making car batteries, and a large part of the other half is used for making bright pigments.
Colors also come from harvesting insects. Red Lac comes from a substance secreted by various scale insects. Carmine is made from cochineal insects found on the pads of prickly pear cacti in Central and South America. A common characteristic of these red pigments is their translucency, and they were especially prized for use in oil painting throughout history.
Plants also could produce the color red. The root of the Madder plant, which grows widely in Europe, Africa and Asia, could be made into red dye. It has been found on fabrics in ancient Egyptian tombs, and its production in Europe was encouraged by Charlemagne for the early European textile industry. (Source for piments, insects and plants, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red)
Color therapies are often still considered pseudo-science by health professionals. But others consider colors to be useful components in healing techniques and therapies. Chromotherapy, sometimes called color therapy, proposes certain diseases can be treated by exposure to certain colors. Colorpuncture, or color light acupuncture asserts that colored lights can be used to stimulate acupuncture points to promote healing and better health. There are researchers who say that just looking at red by itself can stimulate brain wave activity. It may even increase heart rate and elevate blood pressure.
One of the most widely known health systems that uses color is the chakra system. Red is most associated with the root chakra, Muladhara, which focuses on the hips, legs, and feet. But red may also connotate other body associations like the heart, blood and the circulatory system, sexual organs, and sexuality.
Red colors may also have psychological affinities. Positive aspects attributed to red include courage, passion, fun, energy, boldness, stability, vitality, success, prosperity, tenacity, and the ability to focus. But it also has negative connotations like danger, evil, aggression, anger, violence, death, war, revolution, and martyrdom.
To determine if color therapies work, try an experiment or two on yourself. Select one of the red colors listed above and imagine a room with the walls, ceiling and floor painted in light and dark shades of only that color. How would that make you feel? Try another hue of red and notice if there is a difference. Since red is considered an energizer, imagine breathing a red hue into any part of your body that feels tired or run down. Does it become energized?
You can also try physical color experiments. For example, how do you feel when wearing red clothing, or jewelry? Do you prefer substantial amounts of red or just a little? Do you have any red furnishings or dishware? If so, how much and in what rooms? Is red used as an accent or main color? How do you feel when eating your favorite red fruits, or vegetables or when you look at flowers or birds with red coloring? Does wearing rose tinted sunglasses change your view of the world?
Red can illicit strong responses and a sense of urgency, tapping into primal responses related to survival and excitement. It is frequently used to signal danger too. When you encounter red, do you become more aware and alert?
Color is very subjective. Individual and cultural interpretations definitely play a role. But I believe it has an impact on health. In the coming months, I will explore other colors. I have tuning forks in color frequencies and a variety of meditations that include color activation’s. Contact me at wholeharmonichealing@gmail.com for a color focused healing session today.
