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Meaning Of The Color Purple
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Color Meaning: Meaning of The Color Purple

January 5, 2011 Jennifer Bourn

This post is part of the Color Meaning Blog Series, detailing the meanings associated with colors such as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, grey, black, white, brown, pink, turquoise, gold, silver, and beige.

Purple combines the calm stability of blue and the fierce energy of red. The color purple is often associated with royalty, nobility, luxury, power, and ambition. Purple also represents meanings of wealth, extravagance, creativity, wisdom, dignity, grandeur, devotion, peace, pride, mystery, independence, and magic.

The color purple is a rare occurring color in nature and as a result is often seen as having sacred meaning. Lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are considered delicate and precious.

The color purple has a variety of effects on the mind and body, including uplifting spirits, calming the mind and nerves, enhancing the sacred, creating feelings of spirituality, increasing nurturing tendencies and sensitivity, and encouraging imagination and creativity.

Purple is associated spirituality, the sacred, higher self, passion, third eye, fulfillment, and vitality. Purple helps align oneself with the whole of the universe. Different shades, tints, and hues of purple have different meanings. Light purple hues represent feminine energy and delicacy, as well as romantic and nostalgic feelings. Dark purple hues evoke feelings of gloom, sadness, and frustration. Bright purple hues suggest riches and royalty.

Light purple or lavender is a feminine, graceful, elegant color that has long been associated with refined, wealthy women. While the color purple represents royalty, lavender represents beauty and femininity. Lavender is considered to be the “grown-up” pink. Its lighter lavender shades have a sacred place in nature, with lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers considered delicate and precious. The color lavender suggests uniqueness and specialness without the deep mystery of the color purple.

Too much purple brings out qualities of irritability, impatience, and arrogance. Too little purple brings out feelings of powerlessness, negativity, and apathy.

Because the purple color is created by combining a strong warm with a strong cool color, the color retains both warm and cool properties. On one hand, the color purple can boost imagination and creativity, on the other, too much purple can cause moodiness.

Throughout history, purple robes were worn by royalty and people of authority or high rank. Many believe this to be true because the rare occurrence of purple in nature made it one of the most expensive color dyes to create. The United States Military awards the Purple Heart to soldiers wounded in battle. In Thailand, purple is the color of mourning for widows.

Purple or violet gemstones are believed to increase your imagination, remove perceived spiritual obstacles, calm confrontations, and re-energize the learning of new things.

Other meanings associated with the color purple:

  • The phrase “purple cow” refers to something remarkable, amazing, unique, stand-out, eye-catching, or unusual.
  • The term “purple prose” is used in reference to large exaggerations, lies, and highly imaginative writings.
  • The expression “purple speech” is used to describe profanity and bad language.
  • The saying “purple haze” refers to confusion or euphoria which may be drug-induced.

Additional words that represent different shades, tints, and values of the color purple: violet, plum, lavender, lilac, puce, thistle, orchid, mauve, magenta, royal, amethyst, wine, pomegranate, eggplant, mulberry, plum, lilac, thistle, orchid, mauve, purple.

Related Posts

  • The Meaning Of The Color Red
  • The Meaning Of The Color Orange
  • The Meaning Of The Color Yellow
  • The Meaning Of The Color Green
  • The Meaning Of The Color Blue
  • The Meaning Of The Color Purple
  • The Meaning Of The Color Grey
  • The Meaning Of The Color Black
  • The Meaning Of The Color White
  • The Meaning Of The Color Brown
  • The Meaning Of The Color Pink
  • The Meaning Of The Color Turquoise
  • The Meaning Of The Color Gold
  • The Meaning Of The Color Silver
  • The Meaning Of The Color Beige
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Category: Graphic Design Tips Tags: Color Meaning

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About Jennifer Bourn

Creative Director · Digital Strategist · WordPress Evangelist

As founder of Bourn Creative, Jennifer is an award-winning designer who has been working in the branding and design trenches since 1997. Today she consults on brand development, website strategy, and content strategy, works closely with clients on graphic design and web design projects with WordPress as her platform of choice.

When not immersed in client projects, Jennifer manages the Bourn Creative brand and our internal systems and processes. She speaks often on podcasts, summits, and at live events, and writes not only for our blog, but for several other websites, sharing her expertise on freelancing, client services, agency growth, blogging, marketing, and branding. Jennifer also co-organizes the Sacramento WordPress Meetup and is lead organizer for WordCamp Sacramento.

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