Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
THE SYMBOLISM OF
LIGHT AND COLOR
By
Manly P. Hall
>
THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
Los Angeles, California
;)1'
Second Printing
A LL rights reserved.
Published by
THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY, INC.
3910 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Printed in the U.S.A.
life.
The
sun
was
also
the
foundation
of
of
light
and
color.
This
(The
point
is
clearly
life
undisciplined
thinker
accepts
what
he
sees
without
with mountains,
forests,
and
oceans
he
became one of the wisest men who ever lived. His reputa
tion for learning reached the Imperial ear, and he was
appointed librarian of the Library of the Chou. The man
who read few, if any, books was made custodian of the
wisdom of China.
Another important concept which has descended to us
from the past is the belief that the universe is a living
Being. Creation is a manifestation of that Being which
ensouls all of the forms which emerge from it and bear
witness to its inexhaustible resources.
It is generally
s
_
Lin-,,,_
things,
()
ing his own conduct by the two great lights of ethics and
morality. He begins to realize that all the delinquencies of
society and the shortcomings of his own nature result
from failure to guard the flame flickering on the altar of
his own soul. This is the everburning lamp of the Rosicru
cian mystics which must never be left untended, and rep
lenishes itself forever from within itself.
The alchemists were called "philosophers by fire."
Each had his laboratory, and here stood the furnace upon
which all his experiments depended. If the fire was too
hot, the materials in his vessels and retorts were destryed.
If the fire was not warm enough, the elements with which
he
pass
through
their numerous
( The
the
promise
of
the
resurrection
of
the
dead.
vital,
emotional,
and
mental
vehicles and
their
pattern
or
design unfolding
on
the
blind cannot
and
natural
laws.
The
10
reconciliation
of
all
as
or
astronomical
towers
of
Babylonia
and
of
the
various
divinities
wore
vestments
of
11
blue
is
associated
with
meditation and
the
It
13
II
the
color
of mortality,
mourning,
and
14
recognized.
(1)
and
(3)
(2)
the self-moving,
the self-moving,
the moved.
By this
( Kannon) ,
and the
into
15
16
meaning.
Eastern
doctrines
are
basically
lent processes.
Dr. Edwin D. Babbitt in his classic volume, The Princi
ples of Light and Color, writes: "All Beauty and all Natural
Growth exemplify Moral and Spiritual Perfection. All objects
which do not do so are deformed. The person who takes cog
nizance of suns, stars, leaves, flowers, trees, landscapes
and sounds as merely an assemblage of forms, colors, and
17
With them,
19
20
at the moment.
21
22
were
the
Christian
faith.
The
colors
were
carefully
means
for
c lassifying
many
forms
of
23
into
the
surfaces
of precious
s tones
selec ted
of
the
differen t
combinations
of
plan e t s .
Oran g e .
the body.
elimin ation .
Li b r a : Green . Proc esses involving distillation, sub lima
tion, glan d u l ar secre tio n , and the fluids of the body.
Kidney fu n c tio n s .
Scorpio : B l u i s h gree n . Procreation , pigmen tation and
body coloration in gen eral .
Sag i t tari u s :
Blue.
The
motor
nerve
ac tion.
The
Violet
blue.
N ucleolation,
in duration,
( and
t h e i n d i g o range ) . T h e defense
24
mechanisms which pro tect the body from toxin s and the
inroa ds of infec tions. There is emphasis upon the lungs
and the nervous system.
Pisces : Red-violet. Lympha tic system. Perspira tion, the
ac tion of the lachryf!1al glands, liver func tion, and cir
culation to the extremi ties.
Many of the wisest ph ysicians of bo th Eas tern and
Western na tions have believed tha t sickness begins wi th
the obstruction of na tural processes. This is firs t evi
denced by a debility or impairmen t of t he free circula tion
and in terac tion of energies which maintain heal th. Food,
for example, must con tain most of the nu tri tional ele
men ts which provide energy to the body. If, for any
reason, essential elemen ts are lacking, the sys tem gra
dually becomes incapable of accep ting certain nutritive
ma terial. Magne tic fields in the differen t struc tures of the
organs and tissues are like small constella tions. They
draw energy from the food through the law of sympa thy.
Nutrition would fail if the sources ou tside of the body did
no t have magne tic polari ties within the body. Color is a
dis tribu tor of nu trition and can s timula te the in ternal
resources in their labor of breaking down obs truc tions.
The principal field upon which energies mus t labor is the
abdominal cavi ty, for i t is obstructions here that most
direc tly disturb the alchemical miracle of assimila tion. As
one doc tor put i t, " Mos t persons die firs t in the digestive
sys tem. " In addi tion to the zodiacal correspondences
each of the plane ts had i ts part to play in preserving
health. Following the formula mentioned earlier, the
plane ts were direc tly associa ted wi th the psychic life of
man and the reac tion of temperamen tal and dispositional
attitudes upon the physical body. Here again, there are
numerous systems for classifying the par ts of human
charac ter upon which the plane ts ac t mos t direc tly. The
color arrangemen ts may appear arbitrary, but they are
sanc tified by the venera tion of ages.
Moon : Silvery- grey, the achroma tic range, and some
times green. The lunar cycle par ticularly affec ts the emo
tions. Likes and dislikes are in tensified . Func tional disor
ders, especially those resul ting from neurotic pressures.
25
Me rcury :
Blue,
sometimes slate
violet,
plaids and
sonality.
surfeit
within
the
syste m .
Inordinate
and
sky .
Molecular
nutrition,
including
cell
P e rsonal
magnetism, ar tistic
instincts .
Sleep
26
struct ure
of
human
nature
and
finally
27
Hindu
philosophy
solves
this
d ilemma
by
differentiated
manifestations.
Its
final
unity
is
28
1 597
In every
arising
in
his
environment.
each
moral
color
there is
wide
range of
personalities
may
suffer
29
from
delusions,
be
are
often
dissolute,
superficial,
and
even
vulgar.
The Sun suggests personal dignity, a liberal and demo
cratic spirit, constructive dedication and a love of educa
tion. At the lower end of the tonal range is ostentation,
pomposity,
inordinate
ambition,
and
respect
for
strengthens
the
analytical
powers,
inspires
is
over-conservative,
pessimistic,
stubborn,
sense
perception,
and
therefore
implies
the
30
32