On Colors and Auras

-"Colours are the soul of nature and the entire cosmos – and we become part of that soul when we live with the colours" -Rudolf Steiner

The nature of color represents an objective manifestation of the physical, natural, and spiritual worlds. Sir Isaac Newton reinvigorated our interest in color by projecting white light through a prism and observing the colors that were visible after the light passed through. Each color, in scientific terms, corresponds to certain elements, and activities, which can be observed in chemicals, the stars and planets, as well as the spiritual aspects of living beings. Dr. Rudolf Steiner dedicated a great amount of effort to the study of color as did Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Colors, as rays, can project healing or disturbing influences. They affect our moods and perceptions of things. When observed objectively, the manifestation of color reveals the inner nature of things. For example, colors, when observed in the light emanated from stars yields insight into the types of gasses and elements that are active within those stars including their temperature.

In his expansive studies of the human being and the world, Dr. Rudolf Steiner described the meaning of colors as they are visible within the threefold aura of the human being that, on average, expands to four times as wide and twice as long the space that a human being occupies in a corporeal sense. He was careful to provide conditions, variables, and nuances that characterize these aspects.

This page is an expanding list of quotes and references on colors and their meaning in the field of spiritual activity as observed primarily by Dr. Rudolf Steiner. Other quotes are provided based on research. Dr. Steiner observed, as have many others, that colors and shapes are visible within the activities of the human soul and are observable by those who have the ability to perceive them.

The study of the colors and astral forms is an objective study with an objective science that applies to all living things. The forms and colors of a living being's aura emerge and change based on feelings, thoughts, will impulses, intentions, foods and substances taken in, and activities. These colors are visible in the "aura" or energy field that surrounds all living things. This field is only observable through an expanded faculty of perception that most people lack today.

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"The threefold aura is thus the supersensibly visible expression of the being of man. The three members, body, soul and spirit, come to expression in it.

The first aura is a mirror of the influence the body exercises on the human soul; the second characterizes the life of the soul itself, the soul that has raised itself above the direct influence of the senses, but is not yet devoted to the service of the eternal; the third mirrors the mastery the eternal spirit has won over the transitory man.

When descriptions of the aura are given, as here, it must be emphasized that these things are not only difficult to observe but above all difficult to describe. No one, therefore, should see in a description like this anything more than a stimulus to thought.

... All three parts of the aura contain colors of the most varied shades, but the character of these shades changes with the stage of man's development.

...the precise thought of the thinker shows itself as a formation with definite outlines; the confused idea appears as a wavering, cloudy formation." -Rudolf Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9, Chapter III: The Three Worlds: 6. Thought Forms and the Human Aura, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

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Thus, there are three Auras that interpenetrate each other. Each "stage", or "tier" of the Aura projects similar colors but the meaning of the colors may indicate a different aspect as one proceeds from the lowest, or the first Aura where the base passions and undeveloped aspects of the human being reside, to the highest or third Aura where the purified and higher spiritual qualities of the human being shine forth.

Astral colors and hues reflect different things in the aura of any living being which is egg shaped and varies in size according to the individual including moods, deeds, and intentions. There is an objective science behind the spiritual meaning of colors that is universal and applies to all living things. Astral colors are living colors, and forces, that can only be perceived by one who has the ability to do so we turn to those who have this vision, such as Dr. Steiner and Goethe, for more information.

Quotes from Dr. Steiner

(1) "The color effects perceptible to the spirit eye that ray out around the physical man observed in his activity, and that envelop him like a somewhat egg-shaped cloud, are the human aura. The size of this aura varies in different people, but we may say that the entire man appears on the average twice as long and four times as wide as the physical man.

The most varied shades of color flood the aura. This color flooding is a true picture of the inner human life. As this changes, so do the shades of color change. Certain permanent qualities such as talents, habits and traits of character, however, express themselves also in permanent fundamental color shades."-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

(2) "We have to compare the auras of various soul-experiences with each other in order to learn to understand the meaning of the color shades. To begin with, take soul-experiences shot through with strongly marked emotions. They may be divided into two kinds — those in which the soul is impelled to these emotions chiefly by the animal nature, and those in which these passions take a more subtle form, in which they are, so to speak, strongly influenced by reflection. In the first kind of experiences brown and reddish-yellow streams of color surge through the aura in definite locations. In persons with more subtle passions there appear in the same locations brighter reddish-yellow and green shades." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

Purple/Violet: an astral color that appears in one's aura that reflects piety, devotion, and who immerses themselves in genuine prayer. This color is also associated with the crown chakra.

(3) "...blue is the sign of a capacity for selfless sacrifice for all beings. If this capacity for sacrifice rises to the height of strong willing, devoting itself to the active service of the world, the blue brightens to light violet." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

(4) "A spiritual life combined with noble devotion and capacity for sacrifice shows rose-pink or light violet colors." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

Red: An astral color that reflects one who wants to be active in the best sense as a service to others and the world.

(5) "In red, man experiences the divine in fear and awe at the threshold of consciousness between sensual and supernatural perception." -Assja Turgenieff, The Goetheanum Window Motifs (Translated from German).

(6) "Rose-red indicates a benevolent, affectionate nature"-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Search.php?q=green&type=keywords

(7) " A violent anger that breaks out suddenly creates red streams..." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

(8) "Thoughts that spring from the sensual life course through the soul world in shades of red. A thought that springs from devoted and unselfish love rays out in glorious rose red." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

(9) "Inquisitiveness also announces its presence through red-yellow flecks." Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

Green: An astral color that reflects the earth and the sphere of activity connected to the physical world. It also indicates balance and the seeking of balance while one is connected to the earth and the spiritual worlds.

(9) "In green, man seeks to strengthen the balance between his personality to the opposites he recognizes beyond the limits of consciousness." -Assja Turgenieff, The Goetheanum Window Motifs (Translated from German).

(10) "One can notice that as intelligence increases the green shades become more frequent. Persons who are very intelligent, but who give themselves over entirely to satisfying their animal impulses, show much green in their aura, but this green will always have an admixture more or less of brown or brownish-red." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/ReinImmort/19180425p01.html

(11) "...green expresses understanding of life and the world. Children who learn easily have much green in this part of the aura." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/ReinImmort/19180425p01.html

(12) "Green expresses love towards all beings;" -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Search.php?q=green&type=keywords

(13) "...feelings of injured dignity that expend themselves in a sudden welling up can be seen appearing in dark green clouds." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

Blue: An astral color that reflects one who is yearning for the spirit and a quest to overcome one's egotism through piety, devotion, and prayer.

(14) "...blue is the sign of piety." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/ReinImmort/19180425p01.html

(15) "...blue is the sign of a capacity for selfless sacrifice for all beings. If this capacity for sacrifice rises to the height of strong willing, devoting itself to the active service of the world, the blue brightens to light violet." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

(16) "Shades of blue appear in soul-moods full of devotion. The more a man places his self in the service of a cause, the more pronounced become the blue shades." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

(17) "Shades of blue appear in soul-moods full of devotion. The more a man places his self in the service of a cause, the more pronounced become the blue shades. In this class also one finds two quite different kinds of people. There are natures who are not in the habit of exerting their power of thought — passive souls who, as it were, have nothing to throw into the streams of events in the world but their good nature. Their aura glimmers with beautiful blue. This is also the appearance of many religious and devotional natures.

Compassionate souls and those who find pleasure in giving themselves up to a life of benevolence have a similar aura. If such people are intelligent in addition, green and blue currents alternate, or the blue itself perhaps takes on a greenish shade. It is the peculiarity of the active souls in contrast to the passive, that their blue saturates itself from within with bright shades of color." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

Indigo Blue:

(18) "Idealism and an earnest view of life in a higher sense is to be seen as indigo blue." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

Pink: An astral color that appears out of unselfish, spiritual love.

(19) "A spiritual life combined with noble devotion and capacity for sacrifice shows rose-pink or light violet colors." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

Yellow:

(20) "The fundamental colors of the third aura are yellow, green and blue. Bright yellow appears here if the thinking is filled with lofty, comprehensive ideas that grasp the details as part of the whole of the divine world order. If the thinking is intuitive and also completely purified of all sensuous visualizations, the yellow has a golden brilliance. " -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/ReinImmort/19180425p01.html

(21) "A thought by which the thinker rises to higher knowledge appears in beautiful light yellow." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

Brown:

(22) "A personal conceit that is entirely rooted in low inclinations, thus representing the lowest stage of egotism, shows itself in tones of muddy yellow to brown." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/ReinImmort/19180425p01.html

Orange:

(23) When we enter the world and unite with the orange surface we move in such a way that with every step we take, we feel that by experiencing orange, by living in the forces of orange, we are becoming stronger and stronger, and that what comes to us out of orange does not come merely to punish us and break us with its judgment, but is a source of strength. This is how we go into the world in orange. We then feel the longing to understand the inner nature of things and to unite it with ourselves. " -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA275/English/RSP1984/19150101p01.html

(24) "If the individual is ambitious, the aura will contain a lot of orange." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA096/English/CMP2001/19070612p01.html

Additional Quotes on Astral Colors and Hues from Dr. Rudolf Steiner:

(25) "...the faculty of cognition; and feelings are for the soul what food is for the body. If we give the body stones in place of bread, its activity will cease. It is the same with the soul. Veneration, homage, devotion are like nutriment making it healthy and strong, especially strong for the activity of cognition. Disrespect, antipathy, underestimation of what deserves recognition, all exert a paralyzing and withering effect on this faculty of cognition.

For the spiritually experienced this fact is visible in the aura. A soul which harbors feelings of reverence and devotion produces a change in its aura. Certain spiritual colorings, as they may be called, yellow-red and brown-red in tone, vanish and are replaced by blue-red tints. Thereby the cognitional faculty is ripened; it receives intelligence of facts in its environment of which it had hitherto no idea.

Reverence awakens in the soul a sympathetic power through which we attract qualities in the beings around us, which would otherwise remain concealed." -Rudolf Steiner, Knowledge of Higher Worlds and its Attainment, GA 10, Lecture I. How is Knowledge Of The Higher Worlds Attained? https://rsarchive.org/Search.php?q=brown&type=keywords&category=books&sort=title&rows=10&snippets=3&fragsize=300

(26) "In persons with more subtle passions there appear in the same locations brighter reddish-yellow and green shades. One can notice that as intelligence increases the green shades become more frequent. Persons who are very intelligent, but who give themselves over entirely to satisfying their animal impulses, show much green in their aura, but this green will always have an admixture more or less of brown or brownish-red." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/ReinImmort/19180425p01.html

(27)"Where the desires are passionately bent on some goal beyond the reach of the capacities already acquired, brownish-green and yellowish-green auric colors appear. Certain modern modes of life actually breed this kind of aura. A personal conceit that is entirely rooted in low inclinations, thus representing the lowest stage of egotism, shows itself in tones of muddy yellow to brown." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/ReinImmort/19180425p01.html

(28) " Inquisitiveness also announces its presence through red-yellow flecks. A bright yellow mirrors clear thinking and intelligence; green expresses understanding of life and the world. Children who learn easily have much green in this part of the aura. A green yellow in the second aura seems to betoken a good memory. Rose-red indicates a benevolent, affectionate nature; blue is the sign of piety." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/ReinImmort/19180425p01.html

(28) "... If we observe a man under the influence of an attack of fear, we see this, for instance, in his aura from top to bottom as undulating stripes of blue color suffused with a bluish-red shimmer. When we observe a person who expects some particular event with anxiety, we can see red-blue stripes like rays constantly streaming through his aura from within outwards." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA009/English/AP1971/GA009_c03_6.html

On Colors and Auras

References

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