The Astral Colors
The term "astral," so frequently employed by all occultists, is
difficult to explain or define except to those who have pursued a
regular course of study in occult science. For the purpose of the
present consideration, it is enough to say that over and above the
ordinary physical sense plane there is another and more subtle plane,
known as the Astral Plane. Every human being possesses the innate and
inherent faculty of
sensing the things of this astral plane, by means of
an extension or enlargement of the powers of the ordinary senses, so to
speak. But, in the majority of persons in the present stage of
development, these astral senses are lying dormant, and only here and
there do we find individuals who are able to sense on the astral plane,
although in the course of evolution the entire race will be able to do
so, of course. The colors of the human aura, mentioned in the preceding
two chapters, and which arise from the various mental and emotional
states, belong to the phenomena of the astral plane, and hence bear the
name of "the astral colors." Belonging to the astral plane, and not to
the ordinary physical plane, they are perceived only by the senses
functioning on the astral plane, and are invisible to the ordinary
physical plane sight. But, to those who have developed the astral sight,
or clairvoyance, these colors are as real as are the ordinary colors to
the average person, and their phenomena have been as carefully recorded
by occult science as have the physical plane colors by physical science.
The fact that to the ordinary physical senses they are invisible, does
not render them any the less real. Remember, in this connection, that to
the blind man our physical colors do not exist. And, for that matter,
the ordinary colors do not exist to "color blind" persons. The ordinary
physical plane person is simply "color blind" to the astral
colors--that's all.
On the astral plane each shade of mental or emotional state has its
corresponding astral color, the latter manifesting when the form
appears. It follows then, of course, that when once the occultist has
the key to this color correspondence, and thus is able to perceive the
astral colors by means of his astral vision, he also is able to read the
mental and emotional states of any person within the range of his
vision, as easily as you are now reading the printed words of this book.
Before proceeding to a consideration of the list of astral colors in the
human aura, I wish to call your attention to a slight variation in the
case of the prana-aura, of which I have spoken in our last chapter. I
have stated therein that the prana-aura is colorless like a diamond or
clear water. This is true in the average case, but in the case of a
person of very strong physical vitality or virility, the prana-aura
takes on, at times, a faint warm pink tinge, which is really a
reflection from the red astral color, of the meaning of which color you
shall now learn.
Like their physical plane counterparts, all the astral colors are formed
from three Primary Colors, namely (1) Red; (2) Blue; and (3) Yellow.
From these three primary colors, all other colors are formed. Following
the Primary Colors, we find what are known as the Secondary Colors,
namely: (1) Green, derived from a combination of Yellow and Blue; (2)
Orange, formed from a combination of Yellow and Red; and (3) Purple,
formed from a combination of Red and Blue. Further combinations produce
the other colors, as for instance, Green and Purple form Olive; Orange
and Purple form Russet; Green and Orange form Citrine.
Black is called an absence of color, while White is really a harmonious
blending of all colors, strange as this may appear to one who has not
studied the subject. The blending of the Primary Colors in varied
proportions produce what is known as the "hues" of color. Adding white
to the hues, we obtain "tints;" while mixing Black produces "shades."
Strictly speaking Black and White are known as "neutral" colors.
Now for the meaning of the astral colors--that is, the explanation of
the mental or emotional state represented by each. I ask that the
student familiarize himself with the meaning of the Primary Colors and
their combinations. A clear understanding of the key of the astral
colors is often an aid in the development of astral sight.