Written by LA Judge

Personal Colors

As humans we very visual creatures. We spend our days responding to and being influenced by visual input in both a direct and subliminal manner. The way we interact with shape, motion, and color forms and defines much of our daily existence. Of these influences, color is most often the least understood. As vampires we are not only influenced by the visual color, but also the energy of the color and how it interacts with the other parts of its environment in an integral fashion.

Color is a subtle visual influence that is hard to avoid. We see it , yet few ever truly understand why they are influenced by it. Psychologically researchers have known for along time that color is a driving force in how we are stimulated, how we remember, and the choices we make. Marketing firms pour millions annually into design ads with colors designed to generate sales. It is no mistake that there is a Coke-a-Cola red or a Goodyear blue (both btw are copyrighted colors). The psychology behind the color achieves the desired affect and conveys the product message on a subliminal level. Red stimulates both hunger & passion responses. Blue coveys a sense of safety, well-being & trust. Color can carry forth the product message without the product ever being mentioned.

Through color usage you can influence your environment and your responses to it and in doing so use it as an effective shield. You can use both the colors you wear and the colors in your work & personal spaces to define the way the energies around you interact with you.

Personal or Signature colors are those colors that best define you as a person. These are the colors that you feel most attuned to, most at ease with, and often are your favorite colors. Although there is not hard and fast rule for determining these colors, other that personal preference, there are a number of things you can also consider. Colors of an individual may be determined by using their astrological / birth date or birth element (Pagan), the Ba-gua (Feng Shui) or any other of a host determining factors. Personal colors often change as a person ages and as they grow & redefine themselves. What colors define you today may not be the same colors that define you 20 years from now since you will not be the same person.

Keep in mind when choosing personal colors there are some basic psychological factors that seem "hardwired" into our reactions to color as humans. These factors, cutting across all cultures, have been known in folk traditions for centuries and are today what is being unraveled by researchers. White, for instance, while in one culture may signify birth and in another culture death, always carries the meaning of purity, peace & spirit. Here are some of the basics and their significant factors to keep in mind:

Blue = Wisdom, peace, well-being, good fortune. Water element color

Green = Health, growth, healing, success. Earth element color

Yellow = Leaning, achievement, intellect, communication. Air element color

Red = Passion, strength, power. Fire element color

Black = Protection, absorbs negativity, absence of all color

White = Peace, purity, protecting, presence of all color. Color of Spirit

Determine your personal colors and make them the central part of your everyday wardrobe. Use them to surround yourself with a personal comfort zone. Use that comfort zone or bubble as your buffer to interact with the other energies around you. Feeling less than confident about a speech you need to give? Wear more yellow that day, it will assist you in communication. Need to protect yourself from the hostile intentions of a bizarre roommate? Wearing more black may be the answer. Use color to redirect the energy and influence the way you react and others react to you.