Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols - Adele Nozedar - Страница 140

SYMBOLIC MEANINGS: truth and the intellect; wisdom, loyalty, chastity; peace, piety, and contemplation; spirituality; eternity.

Blue is the color of the Heavens and is related to the fifth chakra. Blue is traditionally worn by the Virgin Mary, the very embodiment of all the qualities described above. Whereas the reds, oranges, and yellows carry with them a carnival atmosphere, blue is more sober, even somber, despite its many variations. If we’re “feeling blue” then we’re depressed or melancholy. And yet the bluebird is a universal symbol for happiness. The color has even given its name to a rich vein of music. The “blues” actually refers to “blue notes.” These are notes, either sung or played, that are pitched down a little for expressive purposes. An example is Billie Holiday’s heart-breaking rendition of “Strange Fruit.”

There’s something cool and detached about blue that gives rise to its reputation for spirituality and chastity. Above all, blue is the color of the sky. Like the sky, blue is infinitely spacious. It contains everything, and yet contains nothing. The color is therefore associated with ideas of eternity. When filmmakers and animators want to place a subject against a different background, they film against a blue screen since the color can be made invisible. In Jewish tradition the city of Luz, where the Immortals live, is also called The Blue City. Similarly, the mythical sacred mountain of the Hindus, Mount Meru, is constructed entirely of sapphire on its southern face and it’s this that is said to tinge the skies with blue.

To put any color out of context can have an alienating and often frightening effect. Knowing this, early British warriors daubed themselves in woad. These blue-skinned savages must have been an alarming sight for Roman soldiers.

Members of the aristocracy or the royalty are described as having “blue blood,” but why? The phrase originated with the Spanish, sangre azul, and refers to the pale-skinned Castilian ruling classes who prided themselves on never having interbred with darker-skinned races. Therefore, their blue veinous blood was plainly visible underneath the surface of their skin. There’s even a particular shade of blue that is meant to represent this color, called Royal Blue.