What colour are you drawn to?
In feng shui, colour is energy. The tradition says the colours we wear and the colours we live with all affect how we feel, and how the people around us feel too.
We tend to choose them differently. What we wear often says how we feel that day. What we paint a room is usually about how we want to feel when we are in it.
So here is a question worth a minute of your time. What colour do you keep coming back to?
The sweater you own in three shades of the same green. The cushions. The mug you reach for first. The idea is that if you are drawn to the same colour again and again, some part of you is asking for more of that energy.
What the tradition associates with each
- Red. Energy, determination, passion, courage, power and self confidence.
- Purple. Spirituality, vision, intuition, understanding and romance.
- Blue. Knowledge, decisiveness, imagination and trust. Cool, refreshing and tranquil.
- Orange. Wisdom, happiness, courage, success and resourcefulness.
- Pink. Friendliness, compassion, faithfulness, creativity and kindness. Soft and beautiful.
- Yellow. Enthusiasm, play, optimism, clarity, focus and communication.
- Brown. Stability, patience, reliability and practicality. Earthy and grounded.
- Green. Abundance, vitality, balance and peace. Calm, comfortable and restful.
Does it describe you?
Look at your favourites and see whether the words fit. Sometimes they describe who you are. Now and then they describe who you are trying to become.
Tastes often change over the years, and colours change with them. If you find yourself drifting toward a colour you never used to wear, pay attention. It may be telling you something about what you want next.
If a colour keeps turning up in your wardrobe and nowhere in your house, try it in a room you use every day. A cushion or a throw is enough to see how it feels to live with.
From the archive. First written for my journal years ago, and rewritten for life after 50.
