Everybody loves a list, and astrologers are no exception.

Even Jeff Mayo could not resist ending his book The Planets and Human ehaviour !ith nineteen pages of traditional associations, including planetary colours. "or, of course, could he resist distancing himself from such apparent frivolities# $The follo!ing list of colours associated !ith the %un, Moon and planets has not been compiled for the purpose of satisfying the curiosity of any reader !hose interest in astrology is still on the fortune&telling level, but as a straightfor!ard presentation of evidence as to ho! confused and nonsensical many astrologers past and present can be in their applications of astrology. $ 't first glance, this scepticism may seem (ustified. )enus, for example, has been associated !ith the colours blue, green, yello!, and !hite* Taurus, !ith all of these, plus orange and bro!n. %ome attributions may indeed be nonsense, and others may have arisen from a confusion of the colours of the planets !ith those of their signs, but behind the apparent confusion and nonsense + believe !e can find pattern and reason. The first point to grasp is the distinction bet!een colours as transmitters of astrological influences, and astrological factors as significators of colours. These sound the same, but they are not. +n the first case, !e have colour used for its effect on man. Thus the colour therapist, interior designer, and magician all use red to produce a sense energy and !armth# to produce a Martian effect. +n the second case, Mars as a significator, usually in a horary chart, is interpreted as referring to an ob(ect or person characterised by the colour red. +n these t!o examples the e,uation of red and Mars !orks both !ays, but that is not al!ays the case.

The "ature of -olour %chool textbooks inform us that colour is produced by the !avelength of light# the light at the blue end of the spectrum has a shorter !avelength than that at the red end. This is actually a half&truth, since the eye cannot assign incoming light to a !avelength. +nstead it has three types of receptors !ith their maximum sensitivity at the ends and middle of the range of visible light# blue, green, and red. 's .oethe claimed, in opposition to the

teachings of "e!ton, colour perception is a matter for the mind, not the eye. This !as proved by Ed!in /and 0inventor of the Polaroid camera1 !ho sho!ed that !e could see a full range of colours !hen presented !ith a picture of a landscape pro(ected !ith red and yello! lights alone. +n that experiment, all the receptors are stimulated to some extent, even though no blue light is actually received* the vie!er therefore interprets the picture as fully polychrome on the basis of !hat it depicts. This initial analysis into blue, green, and red means that other colours can be produced by mixing these three primaries. 2igure 3 sho!s the mixing of light. 2rom any t!o of the primaries !e obtain a secondary & yello!, magenta 0crimson1, or cyan 0tur,uoise1* from all three !e get !hite light. 2igure 4 sho!s the mixing of opa,ue pigments. 5ed paint is red because it absorbs most green and blue light and so reflects mostly red* blue paint is blue because it absorbs most red and green. +f the t!o are mixed, the result !ill absorb almost all green and the reflected light !ill be a mixture of red and blue# purple. +n other !ords, mixing lights is additive & all the components are seen & but mixing pigments is subtractive & it lessens the amount of light reflected. 2or transparent pigments, such as printers6 ink, the primaries are the same as the secondaries for light, and vice versa. The complement of a colour is its opposite in the diagram. That of a primary colour !ill be a mixture of the t!o other primaries# the additive complement of red is cyan, the subtractive complement is green. The complement of a secondary !ill be the primary not involved in its composition. Mixing complementary lights !ill produce !hite, as all three primaries !ill be present. ' mixture of complementary pigments !ill produce something approaching black# either of the neutral colours, grey or bro!n. +f you stare at a bright colour for a time and then look at a !hite surface, you !ill see an after&image, !hich !ill be the subtractive complement.

-olour and Man -olours, unlike other symbols, speak directly to our perception and so tend to have similar associations in different cultures. Thus the association of red !ith both vitality and danger may be found in ancient Egypt as !ell as in the modern !orld. %imilarly, although devotees of political correctness have deplored the expression $black magic$ as racist, the association of evil magic and the colour black is as common in 'frica as in Europe# the symbolism refers to the dangers and mysteries of the night.

The basic contrast is bet!een !arm and cool colours. The !arm are yello!, red, magenta, and bro!n* the cool are violet, blue, green, and grey. 7arm colours are stimulating, cool ones calming. The effect is not purely psychological# red light increases blood pressure and blue decreases it, even if the sub(ect is blindfold. 'pplications of -olour The simplest application of the effects of colour is in designing interiors !hose schemes of decoration !ill be appropriate to the activity to be carried out in them. This has al!ays been done to some extent, but the systematic study of colour effects in this context !as pioneered by 5udolf %teiner for the design of his schools. 'nother use is in colour therapy# the patient is exposed to coloured lights, or even (ust asked to visualise a colour. %election of the appropriate colour is usually based on the patient6s colour preferences or psychometry, but astrological diagnosis is an obvious possibility. Treatment of physical problems, particularly chronic ones, is possible as !ell as psychological therapy. -olour therapy resembles the practice of the 5enascence philosopher Marsilio 2icino, !ho countered adverse astrological influences by attracting favourable ones !ith sights, sounds, smells, and tastes appropriate to them. This is, of course, an example of magic, a field in !hich colour has al!ays been important. +t has been said that magic is to metaphysics as engineering is to physics. "o! metaphysics is concerned !ith ideas, and it is ideas and symbols !hich constitute the tools !ith !hich magicians produce their effects. 2or example, !hen a magician handles a knife in a ritual associated !ith the element air, this is to concentrate the mind on the true operation !hich is being carried out on an inner plane* this is achieved because the knife itself, the yello! !hich its hilt has been coloured, and the sigils and names dra!n upon it, all symbolise air. %imilarly, in path& !orking & the clairvoyant exploration of the inner !orld along the paths of the Tree of /ife & the colours seen, along !ith other symbols, !ill confirm by their appropriateness that the explorer is on the right track. lack is formal, conventional, and dignified. +n ancient Egypt, it symbolised night, death, and magic* it !as the opposite of green, the colour of life. 7hite is precise, critical, and sincere. +n Egypt, it symbolised purity, femininity, and the Moon, contrasting !ith the masculine red. 5ed is active, daring, passionate, and optimistic. +t enhances alertness and encourages activity. .oethe held red to be the most intense colour, the furthest from both black and !hite, and it is note!orthy that those languages !hich only have !ords for three basic colours al!ays select black, !hite, and red. +n Egypt, red symbolised masculinity, life, and !armth, but also danger. +t !as the opposite of the feminine !hite# this can be seen in Egyptian art, !here the !omen are !hite and the men bro!n 0!hich !as considered a

shade of red1. Pink is milder and more affectionate than red, feminine rather than masculine* it is good for comfort and healing. 8range is more ambitious and self& sufficient than red, and lacks its !armth* it has the intelligence of yello! !ithout its loftiness. +t is used therapeutically to bring (oy and heal grief. 9ello! is intellectual and communicative. +t is used to produce detachment and reduce depression. .oethe observed that yello! !as the most positive of colours, the opposite of blue, and the closest to pure light. +n Egypt, it symbolised the %un. .reen is healing, sympathetic, steadfast, and restrained. +n the environment, it reduces stress and movement. .oethe observed that green is soothing because it balances the positive yello! and the negative blue. +n Egypt, green symbolised life, gro!th, and rebirth* it !as opposed to black, the colour of death. -yan 0or tur,uoise1 combines the effects of green and blue. +t is charming but self& absorbed* it enhances self&confidence, calms and refreshes. lue is idealistic, rational, honest, and tran,uil. .oethe observed blue to be the most negative colour, the closest colour to black. Many languages do not distinguish bet!een blue and green# in Egypt, light blue !as considered green and dark blue, black. /ight blue is more spiritual, dark blue more sociable. Purple 0or violet1 is grand, idealistic, and sensitive, but may lack self& criticism and maturity. .oethe considered this to be a disturbing colour, balanced uncertainly bet!een the positive red and the negative blue. +n most languages, violet is called blue# $roses are red, violets are blue$. /avender is lighter and more feminine, conveying dignity and encouraging reflection. Magenta 0or crimson1 is less aggressive and more spiritual than red, more practical than purple. +t is optimistic, volatile, and affectionate, producing feelings of contentment and self&respect. ro!n is the !arm neutral colour* many languages identify it !ith red. +t is practical, earthy, obstinate, and conscientious.

.rey is the cold neutral colour* many languages identify it !ith blue or green. +t is calming, but may convey uncertainty and lack of commitment* silver is nobler and more spiritual.

-olours symbolised 'strologically /ists of colours to indicate clothing and ob(ects signified in horary charts are given by most medieval astrologers. These lists are based on an older tradition, since )alens gave one for the planets. The assignments are presumably based on the impressions !hich the items !ould make and conse,uently there are many overlaps, the choice often depending on shade and texture. Thus Marsilio 2icino suggested that rich shades of purple are associated !ith Jupiter and the %un, pale ones !ith )enus and the Moon. Practical considerations are also involved# blue !as listed infre,uently, since good blue dye !as expensive, and the colours also had to reflect the fashions of the times. +t is hardly surprising that such lists sho! variations & they need to be !orked out afresh for every generation and nation. Modern astrologers, such as %epharial, have continued to devise them, usually in connection !ith attempts to predict the !inning o!ner6s colours in a horse race: P+-'T5+; '/ +5<"+ + " E=5' /+//9 %EPH'5+'/ Moon orange> blue green green green yello! orange> !hite orange > orange > yello! yello! yello! !hite !hite Mercury blue purple blue blue mixed grey grey mixed pink yello! )enus /ight blue !hite light green light blue light blue light green yello! light green light green !hite %un yello! orange red yello! orange red purple Mars red red red red red Jupiter green bro!n green purple !hite %aturn black> dark black> dark black> dark !hite > black> dark pale > ashy > black > dark '5+E% red !hite !hite yello!

T'<5<% .EM+"+ -'"-E5 /E8

green yello!ish green !hite grey

!hite bro!n yello!ish green grey pink yello! grey red red

green mixed !hite grey yello! bro!n purple !hite green grey red grey green red yello! grey black !hite green yello! grey green !hite

yello! !hite !hite red green bro!n green red blue black > bro!n bro!n yello! green bro!n black blue blue !hite

light blue light blue green orange green yello! red black purple !hite

yello! bro!n red )+5.8 crimson !hite /+ 5' purple green grey %-85P+8 red grey %'.+TT'5+<% red grey -'P5+-85" greensih blue red black '?<'5+<% green yello! grey P+%-E% green !hite

blue green yello! !hite

!hite