Wealth, witchcraft, and little green candies that can lead to, erm, some delicious intimacy, the color green is packed full of meaning, myth, and magic. In our ongoing serious on the study of color, we are excited to show off one of the favorite colors of Braizen (well, it’s Tyrie’s favorite anyway … and he is writing this blog, so he should probably stop talking about himself myself in the third person) – GREEN!
Currently, being “green” means something altogether different than what it did just 20 or 30 years ago. What’s interesting is to look back at how the color has been used in modernity and seeing the ancient roots of those meanings. For instance, today green is often associated with the environment and environmentalism. Everyone from car companies to construction firms to soda companies are using “green marketing” to demonstrate their interest in saving the planet. But, this use of green isn’t anything new as green has been closely associated with nature since ancient times, in nearly every ancient culture. Anglo-Saxon folklore, Egyptian mythology, and the like all make reference to green as a color closely associated with the earth.
In 1939, audiences met the Wicked Witch of the West, in full color, with green skin. Not surprising considering green’s long association with witchcraft and faerie folk. In English folk ballads, the “merry green wood” was always full of lurking demons, naughty faeries, and witches ready to snag unsuspecting travelers (usually young women) for their evil purposes. Nothing new is really new. Personally, for me, green is the most relaxing color in the spectrum (devils and witches be damned) – maybe that’s due to its relation to the fourth, or “heart” chakra. Other popular green associations are, of course, wealth, lust (green m&ms, anyone?), envy, fertility, sickness (feeling “green”), and Catholicism (in the Irish flag, for instance, green represents the nation’s Catholics, the orange represents its Protestants, and the white symbolizes the hope for peace between the two religious groups).
All in all, green is a wonderful color (and I’m not just saying that because it’s my favorite).
.jpg "The Study of Green")
Photos via :: (1) Pasture, (2) Color Pencils, (3) Tunnel, (4) Spotted Eggs, (5) Stadium Seats, (6) Chevrolet, (7) Garden Maze, (8) Plant, (9) Lime, (10) Stairs, (11) Street Lights, (12) China.
