The Color of Magick, Part II

People

The final domain of influence is interpersonal. One way we influence people is by our observable actions, but we’ve already discussed color in the physical world. In this section we’ll be considering the another method of influence: language. Magically speaking, our word has great power.

The words for colors are some of the very first words we learn, and each one spans a wide gamut. Who’s to say what your or my experience of “red” is, but if I’m asking you to pass me a coloured pen, I’ll indicate it with a word, not a hex code.

Although there are lots of fun colour names out there, we can strip it back to the essentials. In English at least, there are eleven basic color terms. These are colors that if swapped out for an approximation, would sound odd. “Yellow-red” sounds like a peculiar way of saying “orange”, but if you said “Yellow-green” rather than “chartreuse”, no one would protest, apart from maybe your interior decorator.

In English, the basic color terms are ‘black’, ‘white’, ‘red’, ‘green’, ‘yellow’, ‘blue’, ‘brown’, ‘orange’, ‘pink’, ‘purple’, and ‘gray’. Most modern languages, with some variation, have corresponding equivalents. Some languages, for example Italian, Russian and Hebrew, also introduce a basic term for light blue or blue-green, ciano in Italian. Seeing as cyan came up in the digital domain too, it’s likely important. Let’s keep it.

The Zodiac

There are 11–12 basic color terms and 12 signs of the zodiac. Even the most staunchest naysayers of astrology will know their sun sign if you ask them. I think this seems like a good starting point for interpersonal influence, what do you think?

Method

By this point, we have a new association between elements and color ranges. There’s also a well trodden, and pre-existing association between signs and elements. We can build on these two to pick appropriate colors for each of the zodiac signs.

I’ve used the following 3 guidelines:

• Each Zodiac sign should have a color taken from the color range of its element.
• If we can use a basic color term, including cyan, let’s do that.
• Summer signs, e.g. Leo, Cancer, should be brighter, and Winter signs, e.g. Capricorn, Aquarius, should be darker.

The Fire signs

• Aries = Red
  Cardinal fire. The warrior. First blood and warning signs.
• Leo = Yellow
  Fixed fire. The creator. A bold flame, a crown, a lion’s mane. The creative force.
• Sagittarius = Orange
  Mutable fire. The explorer. A fire’s embers, a hiker’s backpack, the saffron robes of a monk.

The Water signs

• Cancer = White
  Cardinal water. The nourisher. Clouds and falling or turbulent water are white. This is because of Mie scattering. A cloud, the rainfall. The intuitive force.
• Scorpio = Blue
  Fixed water. The alchemist. A body of water. The place of dissolution.
• Pisces = Cyan / teal
  Mutable water. The artist. The green-blue sea, algae, seaweed. Of life emerging.

The Air signs

• Libra = Pink
  Cardinal air. The lover. Harmony, beauty, the pale delicate pink of the rose.
• Aquarius = Grey (with a purple tint)
  Fixed air. The visionary. The grey of sage, the clouds, the overcast sky.
• Gemini = Purple
  Mutable air. The magician. The deep purple robes of the wizard or trickster.

The Earth signs

• Capricorn = Black (or very dark green)
  Cardinal earth. The student. The dark green, pine trees, or the black of volcanic rock, first earth. The devotion of time.
• Taurus = Green
  Fixed earth. The earth spirit. The green of grass, foliage, of herbs. Serene summer days. Simple pleasure.
• Virgo = Brown
  Mutable earth. The hermit. Humble, like the earth, or the robes of Fransiscan monks. Seeking simplicity, purity, stillness.

A few last words

15 years ago, I received a schizophrenia diagnosis. One dark night, in January, color and meaning entered my life in a dramatic way. I started noticing colors everywhere, and, panicking about what they meant, I landed in a psychiatric ward. The relationship between schizophrenia and magick is a topic for another time, but I’m glad to now have a set of symbolic associations for color that no longer disturb, but inspire me.

Maybe you’ve nodded along; maybe you’ve thrown the golden dawn scales through the screen at me. Either way, this is a work in progress, and I’m interested in how you respond to it, and especially if it has inspired you to do or make something colorful. License wise, if you want to use any of this feel free, but please let me know.

If you’d like to discuss more, feel free to drop me a line, and definitely hit me up on telegram if you’re in the Electric Yes community.

Now, go forth and be a color witch!

It was octarine, the colour of magic. It was alive and glowing and vibrant and it was the undisputed pigment of the imagination, because wherever it appeared it was a sign that mere matter was a servant of the powers of the magical mind. It was enchantment itself. – Terry Pratchett