Spiritual Meanings of Colors: A Breakdown of 8 Shades

Updated June 10, 2021
Woman holding a lotus flower

Colors give you greater beauty with their powerful spiritual meanings. With 8 shades of colors, you can choose ones to enhance your meditation practice, work, home décor, and fashion choices.

Spiritual Meanings of Primary Colors

The three primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. You can boost your own spiritual energy when you use one or more of these colors. There are common religious and spiritual meanings for primary colors. Some are hybrids of various religions and belief systems.

Common Spiritual Meanings of Primary Colors

Red

Red is the color of intense passion. This is certainly one emotion you may feel when you begin to discover your own spirituality. Red can infuse vitality and energize your spiritual nature. It can fuel your journey along the exciting inner path of self-discovery while supporting your desire to explore the depths of your spirituality. The color red can ground you and offer redemption through purification of fire.

When you explore some of the modern spiritual meanings for the color red, you may be surprised how powerful the vibrational quality of red actually is. In fact, the color often overwhelms people with its vigor and visual brilliance. If you aren't prepared to use these energies, you may want to start with a lighter shade of red, like a pale magenta that has a lower energy vibration. You can assess your spiritual nature and decide how you relate to the spiritual meanings of the color red.

For example, red is the color of blood and the official color of the Church since it represents Jesus, the Christ, and his ultimate sacrifice. In Hinduism red is used in celebrations and festivals as the representation of purity and sensuality. It's the ideal color for brides. In Buddhism, the fire color red is the energy color of life. In Judaism, red represents sin and blood. Red is also the color associated with Gabriel and Isaac.

These various spiritual meanings of red can help you discover new streams of divinity to explore. It is helpful to meditate on the color red. You can tap into Earth energies to fuel your quest toward spiritual enlightenment.

Yellow

Yellow is the color of joy, love, hope, and creativity. When you use yellow, you immediately feel how positive the color is. It is the symbol of sunlight, wisdom, and optimism. Yellow energy makes you feel free and provides you with divine inspiration. This may be the joy you feel when you tap into the stream of divine love. If you need an infusion of high spiritual energy, the color yellow will deliver for you.

Yellow gold is the divine color of God. The holiness and majesty of divinity are found in all shades of yellow. The spiritual energy of yellow gold is found throughout the world's religions. For example, yellow is the Christian color used to honor and represent God and divinity.

In Hinduism, yellow is the color of learning and gaining knowledge. It is a powerful color that symbolizes happiness. Deities are depicted wearing yellow and gold garments and jewelry. Buddhist monks sometimes wear yellow colored robes, or a combination of yellow and red. The color is worn as a symbol of humility and rejection of materialism.

These spiritual meanings can aid you when you meditate on the color yellow. Choose one aspect to focus on and then follow it into a new stream of divinity to find inspiration and creative ways to express your spirituality.

woman meditating on terrace

Blue

You may suddenly be drawn to the color blue as your spirituality grows. This color represents the sky or in more spiritual terms, heaven. It is often used as the color that represents infinity and the desire to reach enlightenment.

Many intuitives, psychics, mediums, and healers are drawn to the color blue. It's not surprising since the eternal umbilical cord that connects each soul to divinity is blue. It's the stream that allows you to communicate and tap into the divine spirit world. Other symbolic meanings of blue include angels and truth.

Blue is used in some religions for cleric robes. For example, in Christianity, the Virgin Mary is often depicted wearing blue. Blue also represents the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, blue is the color of Hanukkah and is a thread color used in the prayer shawl as instructed by the Torah to serve as a reminder that God dwells in the sky (heaven) overlooking all on Earth.

In the Old Testament, the elders went with Moses to Mount Sinai and saw God's feet as he stood on what appeared to be a sapphire pavement that was as clear as the sky (Exodus 24:10). Blue is associated with the Jacob and the Angel Uriel. In Hinduism, the protectors of humanity, Lords Krishna and Rama and Krishna, are depicted in sacred art as having blue faces and wearing blue clothing.

These and other religious meanings for the color blue can give you new ways to perceive your spiritual growth. If you seek a way to transmute negative emotions, try meditating on the color blue. This color never fails to inspire and enlighten. Moreover, the energies it delivers to you can transmute negative emotions, such as anger into love, ignorance, and prejudice into wisdom, and so on.

Meanings of Secondary Colors

Secondary colors are created when two primary colors are mixed together. They produce three more colors that also have spiritual meanings. Just as the primary colors have individual spiritual color meanings, so do secondary colors. And, like primary colors, these colors have various religious meanings based on specific belief systems.

Common Spiritual Meanings of Secondary Colors

Green

Green is the color of renewal, rejuvenation, healing, and rebirth. It is also the color of nature. Green indicates someone who is a healer and/or has a deep spiritual tie to nature. If you find yourself drawn to the color green along your spiritual journey, you should celebrate how far you have advanced. In your spiritual journey, green arrives to announce a new path for you to choose. You are at a crossroads and must now rely on all you've learned to guide you to choose the best direction to travel.

Some of the other spiritual symbols of the color green have an equally powerful meaning. To create the color green, the colors yellow (God) and blue (heaven) are mixed together. In the Bible, cedars (evergreen trees) were used in purification rites. Christianity recognizes green as the color of immortality through the defeat of death by Christ. Green is the symbolic color of Islam. In Buddhism, the spiritual meaning of green is peace. The natural world created for humans by the gods is the meaning of green in Hinduism. It is the cycle of purity found in nature of birth, life, and renewal.

You can tap into the endless healing energies of the color green during your meditation. The rejuvenation of the power color of green can lead you to a spiritual renewal.

Woman doing yoga in nature

Orange

Orange is considered the color of fire. It is the combination of yellow (God) and red (fire). It is a powerful color that inspires risk-taking and allowing yourself to embrace all of your emotional nature and carry it into a spiritual level, so you can achieve a balance. If you only recently discovered your spiritual nature, you may be attracted to this color.

Orange is a highly charged color vibration that is undisciplined. You may be highly energized and motivated to explore your spirituality at a fast pace. It's always advised to practice moderation and bring your new spiritual energy under control through meditation, yoga, or other disciplines. This will allow you to continue to mature in your quest for growth.

In modern spirituality, orange often represents purification. This meaning is found in various religious texts when the color orange is discussed. For example, in Biblical text, the burning bush represented the presence of God, so orange is fire and the power it wields. It is also used to symbolize the purification process that is only reached by going through fire.

In Buddhism, orange is the spiritual color of illumination. It is the achievement of spiritual perfection. Buddhist monks often wear saffron colored robes as symbols of their dedication to achieving this state of being. Hinduism also considers orange a spiritual color of attainment, with monks donning orange robes to symbolize their devotion to gaining spiritual enlightenment.

You can meditate on the color orange to lift your emotional nature into a spiritual light. This practice can assist you in achieving that desired balance between mind, body, emotions, and spirit.

Purple

Purple is a color of divinity and represents enlightenment. Purple is also the color of cleansing of spirit and the connection with heaven or spirit world. If you 're drawn to the color purple, your personal energy is reflecting your spiritual nature that has become highly developed. You are on the verge of enlightenment, or you may have already achieved enlightenment. This color vibration connects you directly to the spiritual realm of divinity.

Purple is made by combining blue (heaven) and red (fire). In historic cultures, purple was a revered color since it was an expensive dye. During ancient times, only royalty and the rich could afford purple clothing. Roman soldiers mocked Jesus as King of the Jews by placing a purple robe around him. The Church uses purple for Advent (season leading up to Christmas) and Lent (season leading up to Easter). The Buddhist meaning of purple is one of mysticism and divinity. Hinduism views purple as the color of peace. In Judaism, purple is the symbolic color of God's redemption.

You can meditate on the color purple to assist you in tapping into your higher self. This color can guide you into the next level of your spiritual growth.

White

The color white is typically revered as the color of purity and is considered a holy color. It is a color that is associated with angelic beings and God's Light.

White clothing is donned on holy days. Christians wear white for confirmations since the color is one of purity and innocence. In other religious and spiritual traditions, white is considered a color of redemption and rebirth. In Buddhism, white is the color of spiritual growth, knowledge, and education/learning. In Hinduism, white is the color of spiritual purity and the peace of divinity. In Judaism, the color white represents the Archangel Michael and Abraham. Spirituality is often governed by the color white, as it leads each soul back to its origin.

You can meditate on the color white to gain a clearer perception of reality. This can be a very helpful practice if you are wrestling with a situation that requires a greater spiritual insight. The energy from the color white can aid in clearing confusion and delusions.

woman meditating in lotus position near lit candles

Black

Black is often considered a negative spiritual color, such as the dark and evil forces. However, in some religions, black takes on a different type of spiritual meaning that represents historical events. From a spiritual perspective, black might represent an inner spiritual conflict. If this goes unresolved, the energy of this inner battle can manifest as a physical illness or disease.

Biblical depictions of hell are given as being black and full of darkness. In Christianity, the Pentecost (festival of Holy Spirit descension on Apostles after Christ's Ascension) is represented by the color black. The Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuoth) is symbolized by the color black. The tallit (prayer shawl) often has black stripes. The black stripes are symbolic of the Temple of Jerusalem being destroyed and the Jews exile from Israel. In Hinduism, black is an inauspicious color that means evil, inertia, or negative energy. In Buddhism, black means hate, darkness, and primal emotions.

You can meditate on black in combination with other colors to help you transmute the negative aspect of black into the other colors. For example, you can meditate on black and white as a way to purify any negative obstacles standing in the way of your spiritual growth.

Ways to Use Color for Spiritual Growth

There are a few other ways you can use a specific color to advance your spiritual development. You can sit on a blue, yellow, red, or other colored rug or pillow to energize your spiritual connection when meditating or praying. Choose colored candles, décor furnishings and accessories to reinforce your spiritual journey based on specific color(s). You may also enjoy wearing clothing when you meditate or pray or go about your day to stay connected to the energies of the color.

Explore the Spiritual Meanings of Colors

There are many spiritual meanings of primary and secondary colors for you to explore. You can use these colors to assist you in your spiritual journey.

Spiritual Meanings of Colors: A Breakdown of 8 Shades