Colors are an important aspect of human life. They beautify a place, send messages and evoke certain emotions and actions in people. However, as colors play a pivotal role in the physical world, they also hold sway in the spiritual realm.
In this article, we will discuss the spiritual meaning and implication of one of the popular colors around us; the color green.
The Color Green
Green is an everyday color. It is one of the colors you are bound to see daily. Whether you are on the road through the traffic light, in the wild through leaves and plants, or in your home through currencies colored green. The probability of seeing the color green in a day is very high.
Due to its popularity, it is no surprise that the color is widely used in the physical world. The color green is used to symbolize a lot of things. Business brands and companies also key into some of these symbolisms and use the color green to design their logos.
However, before touching on these symbols, let us do a lowdown on the history of the color green.
History of Color Green
The color green has been in use for many centuries. They are tools in the hands of artists that create different types of colorful art forms. The color was obtained mainly from mineral pigments from the fifth century.
The murals and manuscripts in ancient Egypt and Rome had elements of colored copper, toxic verdigris, and malachite, giving them a green hue.
Another hue of the color green used at the time includes chrome green, green earth, mixtures of cobalt and zinc, as well as Viridian.
Green clothes symbolized social standing in the 18th and 19th centuries. While the nobles wore red, the gentries, merchants, and bankers wore green, leaving the commoners with gray or brown. This fashion trend contributed to the popularity of green dyes and synthetic green pigments.
Today, green is the go-to color option for creating logos for environmentally focused organizations and many non-governmental organizations.
The Psychological Meaning of the Color Green
To understand colors and their meanings in psychology, you must understand that colors communicate with the human brain in wavelengths. This means a color can either have a long or shorter wavelength.
Colors with long wavelengths are warm and arousing, while those with shorter wavelengths are relaxed and cool. This is because the eyes need to adjust to seeing the colors on longer wavelengths, while there is no need to strain the eyes to see those with shorter wavelengths, hence the relaxing nature.
Green is one of the colors with shorter wavelengths. This type of wavelength means that the color is usually associated with positive feelings and sensations. We examine some of these feelings and sensations below;
It is Calming
Being a relaxing color, it is no surprise that the color exudes calming effects in people. This is why most restaurants and hotels prefer to have the color green for their interior decor. This is also why people go to public parks to relax and unwind.
The research titled the green exercise effect showed that the green color could help achieve less mood disturbance as well as stress.
Fertility
In many ancient civilizations, the color green is used to show fertility. In Iran, the last month of winter is referred to as “Esfand” as it marks the return of greenness through spring to the earth. Also, Osiris, the god of the underworld, rebirth, agriculture, and fertility has a green face in ancient Greece.
Nature
The color green is a universally acceptable color for nature. Many psychologists believe that the calming effects of the color green are not related to its shorter wavelength but its association with nature. These psychologists further argue that the association of the color green with positivity has been wired to the human brain through evolution. This is because early humans used the color green as an indicator of where food, water, and shelter were.
Health
Research showed that green is intuitively associated with health or healthy options. In the research, participants choose candy with a green cover over one with red, believing that the one with green is healthier and more natural. The two candy bars had the same nutrient content.
Motivation
Another emotion evoked through the color green is motivation. As much as it is a color associated with relaxing and refreshing, psychologists found out that it could also exude a motivated feeling in people.
In a research carried out, people with a high need for achievement consistently chose the color green. This was against choosing the color red, which was chosen by those with a low need for achievement.
Success has also been associated with green, while red has the aura of failure written around it. The same thing goes for safety and danger. Green signifies safety, even in traffic lights, and red signifies danger.
Creativity
Another study into the effects of colors showed that creativity increased in people who were surrounded by the color green. The color green could come from plants or just a great view of lush nature. This led to the belief that the color green helps signify or enhance increased creativity.
Optimism
Another effect of the color green on humans is its influence on memories. Research has shown that the color green could help induce a sense of optimism and positive possibilities in people.
In the research, participants were given words written in different colors and asked to memorize them. It turned out that most participants recalled the words written in green better than those written in other colors. This result led the researchers to theorize that the color green positively affects the human brain.
Envy and Illness
The color green has been associated with positive feelings and emotions ever since. However, this does not mean that it does not have some negative connotations too. The color green can be used to indicate envy, which is a result of the popular expression “green with envy.”
The color green is also used to denote illness or sickness. This is because the human skin color changes to green when we fall ill.
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Uses of the Color Green
Due to its psychological meaning and connotations, the color green is used for many purposes in everyday life, business, and special occasions. Some of these uses include
Sustainability
Green is used in industries, especially manufacturing, to denote sustainability. These industries and companies brand their products in green to show that their constituents or use are safe for the environment. The color is combined with blue, which signifies purity and freshness.
Camouflage
The military uses the color green for its gears to act as camouflage for soldiers while on duty. Because many military operations occur in the wild areas, the color is perfect as camouflage.
Spiritual Meanings of Green
After touching on the physical and psychological meaning of the color green, we must discuss the meaning of the color in the spiritual realm. It is important to understand that colors have a spiritual and metaphysical dimension to them, and this dimension has a great effect on the physical realm.
Green is one of the colors used by the spiritual realm to communicate with the physical realm. This makes sense, as the color is associated with nature which is a great part of spirituality.
Thus when you see the color green in your dream, or you start to notice more green color around you, you should take note as it may mean any of the following;
A Need for Harmony in Your Life
Sometimes, the hustle and bustle of life means we have little time to recalibrate and make necessary changes. We get so wound up with life activities that we refuse to take a rest and look around us.
When you start to notice more green around you, it could be the universe’s way of telling you to take a rest, recalibrate and find some harmony in your life.
This means that it is time to spend more time on yourself, choose yourself before work or any other thing and also take in and enjoy the moments around you.
A New Beginning
When you dream of green color, it could signify the start of a new beginning or a new chapter in your life. It could indicate that you should start a new venture or a sign that a new phase of your life is about to begin. Either way, seeing green in a dream is a way for the spiritual realm to inform you of a new start in your life.
Meaning of Green Objects in Dreams
Context matters a lot in interpreting and understanding the meaning of dreams. Thus, you must consider the context of the color green you saw in your dream. The following are some of the possible meanings of seeing green objects in dreams;
Green Snakes
Depending on the number of green snakes in the dream, seeing a green snake could have a good or bad connotation. For instance, if you see several green snakes approaching you, it is a sign to be cautious around people because there are people with evil intentions against you.
Seeing a single green snake attack you in the dream could represent the difficulties you are currently facing in your life. In contrast, a single green snake in a non-threatening position could be a sign to gather your resources and strength, as it is time to transform your life.
Finally, if you see a green snake cut in half, you must sharpen your adapting skills as things may get uncomfortable soon.
Green Necklace
The meaning of seeing a green necklace depends on the state of the necklace and the actions surrounding it. For instance, wearing a green necklace in a dream could imply incoming financial problems, while dreaming of yourself breaking a green necklace could mean an increase in wealth. Receiving a green necklace in the dream could also imply financial stability.
Green Apple
When you dream of seeing a green apple, prosperity is coming. Whereas picking up a green apple in your dreams means that you have recently made a good or smart decision regarding certain activities in your life. Depending on the context, seeing a green apple could also mean that you are immature or naive about a certain matter.
Green Frog
Dreaming of a green frog is a sign of emotional balance and harmony. If the green frog is hopping in your dreams, it means that you can manage to deal with challenges and difficulties with fervor.
Green Field or Grass
Regardless of the context, seeing a green field or a field covered in green grass in your dream is a sign that an endeavor or venture will be successful. It signifies good health and prosperity.
Conclusion
Green is an important color in the spiritual realm, as it is in the physical. Sometimes, we get information about our physical life through spiritual dreams. Thus, we must understand how colors work and their meanings in dreams. This article did a great job of focusing on the spiritual and psychological implications of the color green.
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