Color Symbolism

[Richard Amiel McGough]

I think it would be interesting to establish the symbolic meanings of colors as found in a broad range of cultures and religions. I would like to know if the meanings are consistently used within the Bible and across cultures. Some of the meanings are probably near universal (archetypal) since they relate to fundamental elements we all experience, like "red blood" and "green life."

So, I will begin with the obvious use of color in the Bible:

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

White = Purity, Innocence.
Red = Sin, Guilt

We see a very interesting variation of these associations in Revelation:

Revelation 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood [red] of the Lamb.

So now the red blood becomes the means by which the red of sin is removed and replaced with the white of purity, which is explicitly called "clean" in Revelation:

Revelation 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Thus we have the expanded set:

White = Clean, Pure, Innocent, Righteousness

And "white light" is used in the description of the Transfigured Christ:

Matthew 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

Mark 9:3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

And the Resurrected Christ:

Revelation 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

And a few other quick observations:

Green = Life
Purple = Royality
Gold (both metal and color?) = Incorruptibility, Extreme Value, Goodness

Well, that should be enough to get the conversation going.

Richard

[kathryn]

This topic fascinates me Richard. Thanks for starting it. I hear music in colors and have also, since a child, associated place names with color. I've painted for years and it was through color, not shape and form, that I learned perspective. It's as though a part of my brain is hyper-sensitive in this area...and yet dismally slow in others. I have a learning disability that was crippling when I was a child...and it was finally through a teacher who understood how I processed information...who began to work with me in this area. Anyway...all that to say, I have been fascinated with the symbolic meaning of color for years, so I'm looking forward to seeing this thread develop.
It's interesting that leprosy is also described in scripture as being "white as snow". We see this contradiction in gematria too...as both the Holy of Holies and leprosy are 216. The moon appears white when it reflects the sun and it's diameter is 2160. It is called "the faithful witness"...but we also see a type of it in Jericho..(moon).

[Richard Amiel McGough]

This topic fascinates me Richard. Thanks for starting it. I hear music in colors and have also, since a child, associated place names with color. I've painted for years and it was through color, not shape and form, that I learned perspective. It's as though a part of my brain is hyper-sensitive in this area...and yet dismally slow in others. I have a learning disability that was crippling when I was a child...and it was finally through a teacher who understood how I processed information...who began to work with me in this area. Anyway...all that to say, I have been fascinated with the symbolic meaning of color for years, so I'm looking forward to seeing this thread develop.
It's interesting that leprosy is also described in scripture as being "white as snow". We see this contradiction in gematria too...as both the Holy of Holies and leprosy are 216. The moon appears white when it reflects the sun and it's diameter is 2160. It is called "the faithful witness"...but we also see a type of it in Jericho..(moon).

Ah, that makes perfect sense. Folks with a well developed sense of music and art and poetry are naturally inclined towards a symbolic and metaphorical interpretations, which are required for a proper understanding of Scripture which is fundamentally parabolic. Indeed, folks commonly identify parabolic and metaphorical interpretations as "spiritual" - the irony being that they use that word as a pejorative, as if it were "bad" to be reading the Bible as if it were a "spiritual" book!

As for the "contrary" meanings of symbols and numbers. That is something folks encounter very early in a study like this. I was going to include some of the contrary meanings in my opening post, but thought it would be more fun to see how long it would take before someone else introduced that idea. Glad to see I didn't have to wait! But I don't think the "white" in leprosy is based on the color per se, but rather on the fact that the normal healthy color is missing. In other words, I doubt that "white" itself gains a symbolic value of "illness, leprosy" simply because of this association. Another example of something I thought gave a "negative" association to the color white is this verse:

Matt 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

But in this case, the "whited" aspect retains it's positive association as indicated by the fact that it "appears beautiful outward." So Christ is teaching about he deception of outward appearances. He was not using the color white as a symbol of something bad, but rather acknowledging its normal association with beauty.

Now there is an interesting possibility relating to the common value of holy of holies (Hb: davir) = 216 = leprosy (Gk: lepra). But before exploring that we need to review the facts of primary significance. It seems to me that the primary connection relates to the davir since it was physically a cube 20 x 20 x 20 and 216 = 6 x 6 x 6 is also a cube. And the concept of the davir (as the place were God spoke, davar) is a much more significant and central concept than that of leprosy. Furthermore, the primary meaning of the number 6 is found in the account of the six days of creation in Genesis 1 which is greatly amplified by the hexagonal geometry of the alphanumeric structure of those verses, and so the connection with God's speech by which the creation was enacted is profoundly connected with the Number 6 and hence the Davir = 6 x 6 x 6. In all this, the concept of "leprosy" seems quite out of place. So my first instinct would be to simply ignore the connection with leprosy as a "mere coincidence" that we frequently encounter in studies of gematria. But then again, there is an intriguing connection with the idea of violating the holy place:

2 Chronicles 26:16 But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the LORD -- valiant men. 18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God." 19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. 21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

The fact that he had to live in an "isolated house" comes from the law of leprosy:

Leviticus 13:46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

The word "alone" is BDD = 10 = Y (the tenth letter, Yod = hand) which has a strong sense as a symbol of the "self" which is always "alone" just liket God in the Holy of Holies. So leprosy as the penalty for violation of the holy place and the consequent isolation makes a lot of sense. The punishment "fits the crime."

Now as for the diameter of the moon being 2160 miles: I have a difficult time seeing any significance in that number because it depends upon the units chosen. If we used kilometers, the number would be 3476 km. And besides, shouldn't we could use cubits if we wanted to be biblical?

Great chatting! I look forward to exploring the more "intuitive" aspects of Scripture. The constant debate over the literal interpretation can get quite tedious after a while.

Richard

[kathryn]

Hi Richard..You've made some very interesting comments in your post and I hope to explore some of them further when I'm not working. For now..just a few comments of the following:

As for the "contrary" meanings of symbols and numbers. That is something folks encounter very early in a study like this. I was going to include some of the contrary meanings in my opening post, but thought it would be more fun to see how long it would take before someone else introduced that idea. Glad to see I didn't have to wait! But I don't think the "white" in leprosy is based on the color per se, but rather on the fact that the normal healthy color is missing. In other words, I doubt that "white" itself gains a symbolic value of "illness, leprosy" simply because of this association. Another example of something I thought gave a "negative" association to the color white is this verse:


Yes, I see your point. What do you make of it being referred to as "white as snow"...as is the raiment etc.


Matt 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

But in this case, the "whited" aspect retains it's positive association as indicated by the fact that it "appears beautiful outward." So Christ is teaching about he deception of outward appearances. He was not using the color white as a symbol of something bad, but rather acknowledging its normal association with beauty.

Yes...I agree. But could it also show the leprous condition of their souls ?



Now there is an interesting possibility relating to the common value of holy of holies (Hb: davir) = 216 = leprosy (Gk: lepra). But before exploring that we need to review the facts of primary significance. It seems to me that the primary connection relates to the davir since it was physically a cube 20 x 20 x 20 and 216 = 6 x 6 x 6 is also a cube. And the concept of the davir (as the place were God spoke, davar) is a much more significant and central concept than that of leprosy. Furthermore, the primary meaning of the number 6 is found in the account of the six days of creation in Genesis 1 which is greatly amplified by the hexagonal geometry of the alphanumeric structure of those verses, and so the connection with God's speech by which the creation was enacted is profoundly connected with the Number 6 and hence the Davir = 6 x 6 x 6. In all this, the concept of "leprosy" seems quite out of place. So my first instinct would be to simply ignore the connection with leprosy as a "mere coincidence" that we frequently encounter in studies of gematria. But then again, there is an intriguing connection with the idea of violating the holy place:

Yes...I agree with all you say above....but again...there's that added reference to snow. A snowflake is hexagonal

[Richard Amiel McGough]

Hi Richard..You've made some very interesting comments in your post and I hope to explore some of them further when I'm not working. For now..just a few comments of the following:

No rush ... that's the beauty of forum software. Each conversation can wait till it's convenient to answer.

Yes, I see your point. What do you make of it being referred to as "white as snow"...as is the raiment etc.

I think "snow" was just the whitest white that folks in the ancient world could ever experience, so it became the standard.

Yes...I agree. But could it also show the leprous condition of their souls ?

I really don't think so, because good people, believers, could also be buried in "whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward" - the point is that the "white" looked "beautiful" but the hidden part was ugly. This would not work if the "white" was a symbol of leprosy since leprosy is ugly.

Yes...I agree with all you say above....but again...there's that added reference to snow. A snowflake is hexagonal

Yes indeed, and the phrase "of snow" sums to the value of the Greek LOGOS = 373 which is a prime that "condenses" the palindromic primes 37 and 73 which are Hexagon/Star pairs and 373 is the Logos Star which is the fractal variation of the simpler "Star of David" numbers. See here:

[kathryn]

Originally Posted by kathryn View Post
Yes...I agree. But could it also show the leprous condition of their souls ?

Richard:
I really don't think so, because good people, believers, could also be buried in "whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward" - the point is that the "white" looked "beautiful" but the hidden part was ugly. This would not work if the "white" was a symbol of leprosy since leprosy is ugly.

Just a quickie while I'm on my break. I agree that the meaning in this context certainly shows that their outward appearance was hiding the ugliness within. But, I still think the other application could provide some more depth to the expression as far as the symbolism of color is concerned(in a paradox). The word "whited" is an expression used for a wash of lime that's applied around the entrance to warn of defilement. I don't know...it appeals to me (can you tell my mind isnt on my work today...ha!)

[kathryn]

Richard:
Now as for the diameter of the moon being 2160 miles: I have a difficult time seeing any significance in that number because it depends upon the units chosen. If we used kilometers, the number would be 3476 km. And besides, shouldn't we could use cubits if we wanted to be biblical?


Hi Richard...hmmm...I'm not sure why we would have to use cubits. The sun and moon were to be for signs. This wouldn't apply just to biblical times would it? (and isn't it the glory of God to conceal a matter..the glory of Kings to search it out?:-)
Looking at the moon another way(I am taking this from a book called "Beginnings..the Sacred Design" by Bonnie Gaunt): 3,168 is the gematria for Lord Jesus Christ.

A square superscribed on the Moon
Perimeter of square 3,168 MMi.

A square superscribed on Earth
Perimeter of square 3,1680 miles.

The diameter of the sun, 864,000 miles can be converted to 456,192 feet (dropping all zeros)
144 x 3,168= 456,192
Multiply the digits and it equals the diameter of the Moon
4 x 5 x 6 x 1 x 9 x 2 = 2,160

The Sun remains in each sign of the Zodiac for 2,160 years; and the complete circuit would take 25,920 years.
12 x 2,160 = 25,920 years
1 x 2 x 2 x 1 x 6 x 2 x 5 x 9 x 2 = 4,320
Radius of Sun = 432,000 miles
432 = All things (universe)
"Let them be for signs , and for seasons, and for days and years. (Gen. 1:14)
(There is more on the 2,160, but you get the gist:-)

[CWH]

Well, leprosy started as a white anaesthetic patch on the skin, and the Bible is correct in this aspect. Yes, it is an ugly disease but luckily 95% of humans are naturally immune to leprosy and easily treated. But how widespread was leprosy and how accurate were their diagnosis of leprosy during Jesus time in Israel is dubious. It is also interesting to know that only two animals in the world are known to be susceptible to leprosy....humans and armadillos.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy

http://www.dilloscape.com/leprosy.html

Many Blessings.

[Richard Amiel McGough]

Richard:
Now as for the diameter of the moon being 2160 miles: I have a difficult time seeing any significance in that number because it depends upon the units chosen. If we used kilometers, the number would be 3476 km. And besides, shouldn't we could use cubits if we wanted to be biblical?


Hi Richard...hmmm...I'm not sure why we would have to use cubits. The sun and moon were to be for signs. This wouldn't apply just to biblical times would it? (and isn't it the glory of God to conceal a matter..the glory of Kings to search it out?:-)
Looking at the moon another way(I am taking this from a book called "Beginnings..the Sacred Design" by Bonnie Gaunt): 3,168 is the gematria for Lord Jesus Christ.

A square superscribed on the Moon
Perimeter of square 3,168 MMi.

A square superscribed on Earth
Perimeter of square 3,1680 miles.

The diameter of the sun, 864,000 miles can be converted to 456,192 feet (dropping all zeros)
144 x 3,168= 456,192
Multiply the digits and it equals the diameter of the Moon
4 x 5 x 6 x 1 x 9 x 2 = 2,160

The Sun remains in each sign of the Zodiac for 2,160 years; and the complete circuit would take 25,920 years.
12 x 2,160 = 25,920 years
1 x 2 x 2 x 1 x 6 x 2 x 5 x 9 x 2 = 4,320
Radius of Sun = 432,000 miles
432 = All things (universe)
"Let them be for signs , and for seasons, and for days and years. (Gen. 1:14)
(There is more on the 2,160, but you get the gist:-)

Hey there Kathryn,

I'm sorry to "burst your bubble" but Bonnie's books are filled with many errors in both logic and facts. I could never recommend any of her books.

Case in point: She says the diameter of the earth is 7920 miles. This is false. There are three diameters typically associated with the oblate spheroid called "Earth" and none of them equal 7920 miles. The numbers are:

Mean Diameter: 7917.51 miles (Bonnie's error: -2.49 miles)

Equatorial Diameter: 7926.33 miles (Bonnie's error: +6.33 miles)

Polar Diameter: 7899.86 miles (Bonnie's error: -20.14 miles)

This is typical of Bonnie's books. She is very sloppy with numbers () and makes many claims that are demonstrably false. Such errors are exceedingly egregious when making claims that are supposed to prove the Bible to be designed by God, especially when those claims assert that the numbers reveal the design. The first responsibility of any proponent of Gematria is extreme precision and complete honesty. I find both missing in Bonnie's books.

All the best.

[kathryn]

Wow...this surprises me Richard. How could anyone juggle numbers to come up with such exact patterns? and so often , and in so many varied ways? My poor little nuerons are sizzling. I can barely grasp mathematics let alone bad mathematics. I think I'd better go to bed now. Another vain imagination hits the dust. Thank you!