THE MEANING OF THE COLOURS


The table of colours given in the frontispiece has already been
thoroughly described in the book _Man Visible and Invisible_, and the
meaning to be attached to them is just the same in the thought-form as
in the body out of which it is evolved. For the sake of those who have
not at hand the full description given in the book just mentioned, it
will be well to state that black means hatred and malice. Red, of all
shades from lurid brick-red to brilliant scarlet, indicates anger;
brutal anger will show as flashes of lurid red from dark brown clouds,
while the anger of "noble indignation" is a vivid scarlet, by no means
unbeautiful, though it gives an unpleasant thrill; a particularly dark
and unpleasant red, almost exactly the colour called dragon's blood,
shows animal passion and sensual desire of various kinds. Clear brown
(almost burnt sienna) shows avarice; hard dull brown-grey is a sign of
selfishness--a colour which is indeed painfully common; deep heavy grey
signifies depression, while a livid pale grey is associated with fear;
grey-green is a signal of deceit, while brownish-green (usually flecked
with points and flashes of scarlet) betokens jealousy. Green seems
always to denote adaptability; in the lowest case, when mingled with
selfishness, this adaptability becomes deceit; at a later stage, when
the colour becomes purer, it means rather the wish to be all things to
all men, even though it may be chiefly for the sake of becoming popular
and bearing a good reputation with them; in its still higher, more
delicate and more luminous aspect, it shows the divine power of
sympathy. Affection expresses itself in all shades of crimson and rose;
a full clear carmine means a strong healthy affection of normal type; if
stained heavily with brown-grey, a selfish and grasping feeling is