The symbolism of colour

In this thoughtful exploration, colour is treated not merely as visual ornament but as a living language that shapes our emotions, culture, and even our sense of the divine. Drawing on poetry, art history, and early scientific observations, the author reveals how hues have been woven into myths, religious rites, and everyday speech, turning a sunrise or a painted canvas into a profound conversation between mind and world.

The book proceeds through a series of concise chapters, each devoted to a single colour—red, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, black, and the subtle tones of brown, grey, and the rainbow—unpacking their ancient “old languages.” Appendices broaden the inquiry, comparing colour theory across schools, linking pigments to planetary names, and even tracing the surprising resonance between colour frequencies and musical notes. Readers gain a vivid sense of how colour functions as a symbolic force, hinting at the ways modern science is beginning to harness its subtle power.