The following (text only) is taken from a foreword I wrote for a book
published in 2011 entitled Symbolic Colours by the Baron Frederick de Portal.
Although the world today
recognises that the spectrum of light available to the human
eye provides us with a vast range of colours, it hasn’t always been so. In the
ancient world, indeed even up until recent times, it was generally accepted
that the spectrum consisted of seven colours only, and although artists and
other specialists knew of a wider range, convention still maintained the
tradition of seven basic colours from which all other colours were derived.
in the ancient world this spectrum did not stand alone,
in splendid isolation. Colour was then, as it is now, not
only a fundamental part of everyday existence, but was also fully integrated
into the various cosmologies of the many
significant religions and cults of the ancient world. As diverse as the many
belief systems of the ancient world undoubtedly were, they generally thought of
the structure of the cosmos as consisting of a spiritual heaven and a material earth, between which lay a
succession of worlds, each represented by one of the seven planets and ruled by
a deity and/or a hierarchy of ‘spiritual’ beings. Each planet was also thought
to correspond, among other things, with a colour; with the primary sounds we
call vowels, and with the seven notes of the musical scale – a veritable
compendium of correspondences, many being as relevant in esoteric circles today
as they were then.
Of particular significance in
this context were the teachings of Pythagoras, who flourished in the sixth
century BC. He sought to establish human society upon the principles of the
harmony that he perceived as underlying the structure of the cosmos. To him sound, colour and form were all
expressions of one divine essence recognisable in number, in geometry, in the division of
the octave and in the spectrum of colour: analogues
of the one all-embracing harmony that is divine providence. Pythagoras’
efforts, although perhaps too idealistic for his time, were not in vain as his
teachings were very influential in many of the philosophic and esoteric circles
that succeeded him, most notably in the Athenian Academy. This was established
by Plato at the beginning of the fourth century BC, with the study of Philosophy as its primary
purpose. Plato’s teachings were heavily influenced by Pythagoras, as,
inevitably, were those of his student, Aristotle, who built on the
teachings of Pythagoras and Plato and gave to the world a
clear conception of an integrated world when he introduced his model of a
geocentric cosmos.
The geocentric model was further
utilized by the Neo-Platonists in the third
century AD and beyond. This school of thought quickly became the philosophical
foundation for numerous mystical and spiritually orientated associations, many
of which preferred to meet and practice secretly. Consequently, as time passed
what initially may have started as an area of specialised knowledge became ever
more esoteric, often requiring knowledge of sophisticated codes and keys to engage with
and understand it. Thus, Pythagorean ideas have continued to be propagated in
the world through the efforts of such bodies ever since, albeit in very
specialised ways.
In the world of healing, Celsus, a celebrated Roman physician of the first
century AD, discussed colour and its therapeutic application in his works on
medicine, as did his contemporary, Pliny the Elder, in his books
on Natural History. And there have been many others. It goes without saying
that it is intrinsic to our lives, but it is in the area of religion and
spirituality that colour plays a particularly interesting role, and it is this
role that Portal addresses so adeptly, for he stood between
two worlds: an ancient world full of mysteries and imagination and a modern
world promising those who dare the prize of the knowledge of the gods and
material wealth beyond dreams.
Most of what we now know about
colour is couched in Newtonian terms. Newton, who was one of the
greatest scientific influences at the dawn of the Enlightenment, demonstrated
that the spectrum of colour we commonly associate with the rainbow was derived from
bending light through a prism – that light and colour were synonymous,
thereby overturning the long held Aristotelian view that colour was a property
of objects. As children of the Enlightenment, Newton and his
successors continued their rational speculations and experiments, not least
with light and colour. Consequently, since the late seventeenth century the study
of light and its properties has become central to the domain of science in
general and the field of Physics in particular. Scientific research in
this field is constantly producing new information and the language to describe
it is necessarily evolving and changing. Today light is thought of as
electro-magnetic radiation visible to the human eye, and that which is visible
to the eye is merely a tiny fraction of the known spectrum of electro-magnetic
radiation. The part of the spectrum visible to the human
eye is perceived as a variety of colours, but they are in fact specific
wavelengths of light ranging between 400 – 800nm.
It is generally accepted in
scientific circles that the experience of colour is a biochemical effect,
taking place in the brain through the agency of specialised retinal
cells known as rods and cones. These cells
chemically respond to certain wavelengths of light, particularly the
complementary pairs of red/green and yellow/blue. Through them we experience,
recognise, and come to know colour, and there have been many attempts to
formulate structures and systems that connect human biology and psychology to the mechanisms
of colour vision. Doubtless this will continue, because the belief that
physical exposure to different colours has a direct and measurable effect on
human biology has been an important driving force
behind scientific research into colour and colour theory over the last two
centuries and shows little sign of falling out of favour today. Yet, one can’t
help observing that as new and different branches of scientific endeavour
emerge, the possibility of a simple contextual understanding of colour seems
increasingly unlikely.
T
his is, of course, more
properly the domain of theology wherein light is understood to be not
simply the source, substance and nature of colour as perceived by the senses,
but the divine Light of God, a light that sustains all things yet is truly
unknowable. This light has long been the subject of speculation among students
of spiritual mysteries. Indeed, within the deeper teachings of the world’s
religions it has generally been accepted that the infinite and ‘uncreated
light’ of God cannot be known directly, but only by analogy, through the veils
of archetypes and thought-forms
that fill our world. For although we may be creatures of light our realm of
experience is still, for the moment, the realm of created forms and not of the
undivided essence. Thus what we perceive through the filters of the mind and
the senses is only an analogue of the energies or activities of that ‘uncreated
light’, because our means of perception are designed for a world of duality not
a world of Unity. Consequently, for those who seek knowledge of the spiritual
dimension of creation the language of symbolism is a necessary tool for an
evolving understanding. It is a tool that opens the doors to the inner realm of
the soul wherein metaphor and allegory play such important roles.
his is, of course, more
properly the domain of theology wherein light is understood to be not
simply the source, substance and nature of colour as perceived by the senses,
but the divine Light of God, a light that sustains all things yet is truly
unknowable. This light has long been the subject of speculation among students
of spiritual mysteries. Indeed, within the deeper teachings of the world’s
religions it has generally been accepted that the infinite and ‘uncreated
light’ of God cannot be known directly, but only by analogy, through the veils
of archetypes and thought-forms
that fill our world. For although we may be creatures of light our realm of
experience is still, for the moment, the realm of created forms and not of the
undivided essence. Thus what we perceive through the filters of the mind and
the senses is only an analogue of the energies or activities of that ‘uncreated
light’, because our means of perception are designed for a world of duality not
a world of Unity. Consequently, for those who seek knowledge of the spiritual
dimension of creation the language of symbolism is a necessary tool for an
evolving understanding. It is a tool that opens the doors to the inner realm of
the soul wherein metaphor and allegory play such important roles. 
It is, perhaps, in the
recognition of the divine nature of light, of its closeness with our
perceptions of the true nature of consciousness that we as creatures have from the most
ancient times sought to harness the virtues, powers, and qualities of colour
within our lives, particularly in maintaining or restoring health. Indeed,
according to the mythology of Ancient Egypt, the art of healing with
colour was established by the god Thoth. Teachings attributed to him, which
include the use of colour in healing, passed via the Hermetic tradition into the
Greco-Roman world. Thus, both Ancient Egyptians and Greeks used coloured minerals, stones, crystals, salves, and dyes as remedies, and painted
treatment sanctuaries in various shades of colour to enhance the healing
process.
In Ancient Greece the understanding
of the significance of colour grew, so it would seem, in tandem with the
developing interest in the nature and function of the elements — fire, air, water
and earth, particularly after Aristotle, the student of Plato, revealed to the world
an interpretation of the nature of the cosmos that had been, until that time,
an ancient teaching given only to initiates of the Mystery Schools. What he
revealed was an understanding of the cosmos consisting of Heaven and Earth, and
of the elements that formed them. The centre of the cosmos, he declared, was
immovable and fixed and occupied by the life-bearing earth, the home of all
mortal creatures. Whereas the highest part was called
Heaven, the abode of the gods, which he described as being occupied by the
divine bodies we call stars. The whole cosmos was understood to be
spherical and continually turned upon a central axis at the extremes of which
were to be found the Arctic and Antarctic poles, and at the
centre the Earth.
The substance of the heavens
he called Ether, a pure element that was divine,
indestructible and unchanging. He described it as being in continual motion,
forever revolving in a circle, moved by the power of God, which he called the ‘Prime Mover’. Of the stars
contained within the heavens some moved only with the turning of the heavens
themselves, forever occupying the same positions in the firmament. These he
called the fixed stars. A pathway or road
was formed in their midst by the Circle of the Zodiac. It was divided into
twelve stations or regions known as the Signs of the Zodiac. This road was followed
daily by the Sun and his attendant planets. They were not
restricted in the same way as the fixed stars and were often
referred to as the “Lords that wander”; nevertheless, they still had their
allotted places, which Aristotle described as being seven concentric
spheres, each successively encompassed by the next from the innermost to the
outermost, which was in turn encompassed by the sphere containing the fixed
stars. The sphere of Ether was understood to be governed by fixed laws that
were free from disturbance, change, and external influence.
In the centre of the cosmos lay the sublunary world
consisting of four elements that are continually subject to change,
external influence and disturbance, and consequently corruptible and
perishable. Aristotle describes the outer ring of the
sublunary world, as consisting of a fiery substance kindled by the Ether above
it. Below this fiery element is the element of air, a substance that is
naturally murky and cold as ice, but when illuminated and set on fire by motion
it grows bright and warm. This element undergoes every kind of change
imaginable, interacting with the fiery element above and the watery element
below, for beneath the element of Air is the element of Water. Finally, located
beneath the element of Water is the element of the Earth, firmly fixed at the
centre of the Universe.
The five elements are thus
arranged in concentric spheres forming five regions, the less being in each
case surrounded by the greater – namely, earth, surrounded by water;
water by air; air by fire; and fire by Ether, the total constituting
the entire Cosmos. The outer portion (purple
area) is that of Ether and represents the heavens, the dwelling of the
immortal gods, whilst the lower is the elemental realm, the abode of mortal creatures. The four sublunary elements were
thought to differ from each other only in their qualities. Thus, fire was understood
to be hot and dry, air hot and moist, water cold and wet and earth cold and dry. It was
believed that by changing one or both of their qualities it was possible to
transmute one element into another. Such transmutations were thought to take
place constantly, adding to the unpredictable nature of sublunary realm. (As a point
of interest the mechanisms of this process have been central to Alchemy and the work of
alchemists ever since).
These fundamental constituents of the world also
corresponded with the four humours of human biology, as did colours: to
Fire was attributed Choler and ‘yellow’ bile; to Air Sanguine and ‘red’ blood; to Water
Phlegm and the colour ‘white’, and to Earth Melancholy and ‘black’ bile.
These humours were thought to reside in four organs in particular — the spleen, heart, liver, and brain — and to determine
emotional and physical disposition. Good health involved the proper balance of
these humours, and disease would result if their
mixture was in an unbalanced state. Colour was then considered
intrinsic to restoring the balance. Coloured garments, oils, plasters,
ointments, and salves were often used to treat disease. For
example, in the first century AD Celsus followed the doctrines
established by Pythagoras and Hippocrates, and included the
use of coloured ointments, plasters, and flowers in several treatises on
medicine. Avicenna, the great Persian physician, who lived
at the turn of the second millennium, and whose books were a great influence
upon European thought until the beginning of the Enlightenment in the
eighteenth century, considered colour to be of vital importance in both
diagnosis and treatment. He used colour in the treatment of sickness, insisting
that red moved the blood, while blue or white cooled it, and yellow reduced
pain and inflammation. He prescribed potions of red flowers to cure blood
disorders, and yellow flowers or sunlight to cure other disorders. His methods
were followed by many physicians; thus, in the sixteenth century Paracelsus regarded light and colour as essential
for good health and used them extensively in treatment, together with elixirs,
charms and talismans, herbs and minerals.
Science may explain the mechanics
of colour and to some extent, perhaps, its functional role in our lives, which
is no bad thing, but there are dimensions science cannot enter, dimensions in
which our relationship with light and colour transcends
the rational processes of the mundane world. It is to this area that Baron Portal draws our attention. He
introduces us to a world of symbols and symbolism wherein colour is a
fundamental part of its language. He reminds us that it is an ancient language,
as old as civilisation itself, in which colour is neither a biochemical
reaction to radiation nor a feature of a given figure, but a
manifestation of the energies of the essential qualities of a person, place or
object, and as such adds another dimension of understanding to what is conveyed
by their form. In simple terms colour leads us beyond the obvious
significations of form into a world of varied and subtle meanings and Baron Portal’s extraordinary book
sets a context whereby we may begin to explore that world.
If you want to know more about Symbolic Colours then visit
Alternatively, you can order a copy through your local bookshop.
Details: Symbolic Colours, by Baron Frederick Portal;
ISBN: 978-0-9558415-5-2, Price £12.50
ISBN: 978-0-9558415-5-2, Price £12.50
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