Basics of  color theory  

Introduction to color and crystals

Crystal   Birthstones by Month   Color healing   Crystal and gemstone properties for healing   Crystal Healing Theories and speculations   Crystal meditation    Crystals and mandala   Crystals in the home   introduction to color and crystals   Light boxes and color healing   Protection   Stones and crystals in the yard and garden   The Colored Stones of the Quartz Family  Visualization and crystals

    Stones and crystals are often chosen by color for specific purposes in fact for many crystal healing systems color is a primary mode of organization and guide to the properties and functions of the  stones in treatment . You can use color as a rough guideline to the use of a crystal.     The area of color healing and other  healing and work  with colored stones and crystals is a vast area of study . Color is not the only factor or guide to the function  of the crystal in healing and other work but it is one of the most obvious guides to use and organization

of your crystal companions .     Color vibration creates  a clear  and direct resonance effect on the energy body and the mind, body and spirit .Much of our response to color  is built into our genetic and spiritual blueprint. While cultural interpretations and beliefs about color can vary greatly from place to place and time to time  there are many aspects that appear to be almost universal.

    We have touched on  colors in some  other sections of the workshop including those on the  chakras and the  the aura  but have not gone into much depth . This Page begins  an exploration of   specific colored stones and the meanings and uses of color . This first page  on color is primarily about some basics of color theory rather than being about crystals and stones .

Basic color theory and other stuff Physical color in the environment effects our moods , relationships ,and well being . have a huge but often largely subconscious effect on your moods, actions,  and mental emotional states of being and function Our reactions to colors are led by a combination of biological, physiological, psychological, social and cultural factors.  Colors often have different symbolic meanings in different cultures. For   example, white is the color for weddings in western societies and is  for   funerals in traditional Chinese culture; red is associated with anger in America but with happiness in China.  Marketing experts ,psychologists, advertisers and designers  have long used color ,to affect us directly .The color in our surroundings has amazing power to effect our moods and decisions. We can use color as a tool to create wellness and contentment , to incite

passion or anger , to calm and soothe, to express  frivolity or seriousness. As a tool for healing, color can be gazed at, beamed as healing light, meditated on, bathed in  ,worn, used in art and in ritual such as candle magic and mandala work and painting . Spiritual light and color is used for healing the aura. and the physical body  for deepening   meditation and to promote specific effects in the energy field. There are many systems of color healing color  is of  itself a vital  for healing the aura, the physical body and for deepening  meditation and to promote specific effects in the energy field. Colored light is beamed through crystals using a light box or  light can be visualized and sent by intention amplified by crystals . Colors can be run as shakti energies . Sitting under colored light or shinning colored light on the skin  is called  Chroma therapy.  Color healing is a vast area of study with many different theories and practices.

    In the physical plane color  is the result of light  hitting an object. The color we see is the  frequency of light that is reflected off an object as light strikes it .     Colors that we are able to see form the visible spectrum .  The easiest way to become aware of the full spectrum in pure colored light is to take an old cd   and hold it in light while watching the play of rainbow color across it   rainbows are,  of course a full spectrum and have the range of secondary and tertiary colors as well as the primary colors  Colors react with each other either by harmonizing or contrasting with each other.   The color wheel is a valuable tool for understanding color. A color wheel is an image of the spectrum bent into a circle . The colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel form a related harmonious sequence.  When you are mixing colors of paint or pigments. the Primary colors are Red , Yellow and Blue    red and yellow make orange and they are equidistant on the color wheel   When you are working with light  the Primary colors are   magenta , cyan  and  blue  your computer screen is colored by light  rather than with pigment and the green (as a primary) is  a much lighter yellow green than the emerald or grass green hue  often used as the secondary color  in pigment based color charts.     Primary means that in theory you can mix all other colors from them though  it is not as  simple as it sounds  because  pure red ,blue, and yellow do not exist in pigments .

You can not mix the primary colors from any other colors.  orange, green and violet are secondary colors and are  made by mixing equal parts of two  primary colors. Yellow and blue make green,  blue and red make violet,   red and yellow make orange.

 The tertiary colors are mixed from equal parts of a primary and the secondary color next to it on the color wheel .  yellow- green, blue- green, blue- violet, red- violet ,red- orange,   yellow -orange, are the tertiary colors  White things reflect all frequencies of light  black things absorb all frequencies of light.

Complimentary colors are those opposite each other on the color wheel and they intensify each  other when placed next to each other . they can be mixed together to form a neutral gray and  when you view a photographic negative you will see the complimentary color of the positive  photo image. The complimentary colors of the pigment  primaries are  Red  compliment = Green  Blue compliment =  Orange Yellow compliment =  Violet.

All colors,  including browns, grays, and neutral colors are mixed from combinations of primary  and secondary colors.   Hue is another word for color it is used to describe close or similar colors ,  scarlet and crimson  are both hues of red for example.  Intensity ,chroma and saturation all refer to how bright a color is.   Vivid bright colors have strong intensity, pale grayed colors are weak in intensity, adding white to  strong red creates weak pink, graying a hue by adding the complimentary color also weakens it.  Tone refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a color . when white is added to a color the result is a tint of the color. Pink is a tint of red  adding black to a color results in a shade of the color.

  Certain color effects seem   universal, such as that of "warm" and "cool" colors. Warm colors generally  include magenta, red, orange, yellow, and   yellow green. They speed up our perception of time and produce feelings that are warm, cozy, and inviting. Warm colors tend to make things look near  These colors are associated with excitement, happiness and comfort. Cool Colors generally include violet, blue, light blue, cyan and sea green.   Emotions associated with these colors range from calm and peace to sadness, withdrawal and repression, cool colors create distance.. Red, orange, and yellow (in ascending order) will elevate pulse, blood pressure, and    incite arousal; even stimulate appetite. Blues and blue greens will calm and suppress the appetite, and lend a feeling of  peace. Though the exact degree to which you feel these emotions will depend on you.

   One of the most common ways for  choosing crystals is with the common chakra color  associations  here is a brief list of the most common associations with a few stones

First chakra root-Red and or black   Physical and survival issues  - might be garnet or ruby or red jasper  and or black hematite and  obsidian .

Second chakra sacral-Orange,  Emotional Issues  - carnelian,  fire opal, or fire agate, ,orange jasper

Third solar plexus-Yellow,  mental and will issues Citrine , topaz ,amber ,sunstone tigerseye

Fourth  heart - Green and pink,  love and spiritual issues  malachite -emerald, green calcite ,dioptaise, jade   rose Quartz , Kunzite -pink marble   pink calcite

Fifth throat -sky blue, communication  turquoise,  amazonite, kyanite aquamarine gem silica   (some systems  blue) lapis, sodalite ,blue  sapphire, azurite

Sixth brow - indigo or violet,  intuition  Lapis , Sodalite Sapphire /, amethyst sugulite, lepediolyte, azurite

Seventh crown- violet or clear higher spiritual understanding   amethyst  etc.  clear quartz,  diamond  in  some systems opaque white  stones are suggested quartzite
white  agate   etc.

 Subsequent color and crystals files will include detail about some of the uses for specific colors and some of the stones of each color.