[Press printed pages are added to the journal]
Treatise on Chromomancy and its practical usages
1. Color
While color varies based on perceptions, cultural meanings and environmental factors, there are some color effects which seem to have near universal meaning. Those colors considered by most to be warm include red, orange and yellow. Such warm colors tend to evoke emotional responses ranging from feelings of warmth, comfort and creativity to anger, hostility and a heightened sense of the sensual or lustful.
Those colors considered cool include blue, purple and green. Such colors are often described as calming, relaxing or soothing, but can also elicit feelings of sadness, indifference and result in reduced activity levels.
White and black are often regarded as representations of all colors combined or the absence of color, also referred to as monochromes but literally monochrome means simply, one color. However, many paintings which are done entirely in different shades of a single color are also referred to as monochrome paintings, though they may be entirely red, blue or another color.
Metallics are the colors of metals such as gold or silver.
Warm or Solar Colors:
Red (Red Lead, Red Ochre, Vermillion, Cinnabar)
Orange (Ochre)
Yellow (Lead Antimonate, Yellow Ochre)
Pink (red tinted with white which results in a paler, softer, more delicate color. Such colors are also known as pastels)
Cool or Lunar Colors:
Green (Malachite, Verdigris, Chryscolla, Turquoise)
Blue (Azurite, Lapis Lazuli, Indigo, Cobalt)
Purple or Violet (Cobalt Violet)
Brown (Umber, Sienna, burnt varieties of both colors)
The Monochromes
Black (Ivory Black, Lamp Black)
White (Chalk White, Lead White)
The Metallics
Gold
Silver
2. The influences of Color on the mind and body
It has been observed that, cultural connotations and physical perceptions aside, many colors have consistent effects on the mood, psyche and physicality of humanoids. Many of these responses may be unconscious, so subtle is the influence of color, yet its influence cannot be denied.
Red: Stimulating of mind and body, known to increase circulation.
Orange: Increases energy levels, stimulates creativity
Yellow: Stimulating to the nerves, purifying
Pink: Initiates a calming effect which has been found to only be truly effective during the initial exposure.
Green: Promotes healthfulness, restive healing, fertility and renewal
Blue: Lowers pulse rate and body temperature, decreases appetite
Purple or Violet: Soothes illness and pain
Brown : Can create feelings of sadness, isolation, evokes a sense of strength and reliability.
Black: An indicator of power both sexual and physical, formality, sophistication. Represents death and mourning in many cultures and thus may elicit feelings of extreme sadness, dread and fear.
It may also however, have the connotation of life, fertility and rebirth to others, particularly those cultures where fertile soil is highly regarded yet scarce, such as desert nations.
White: Evokes purity, innocence, sacredness. Creates a sense of greater space and sterility.
Gold : Represents wealth, power, knowledge, solar energy.
Silver : Represents Lunar energy, occulted knowledge, mystery and to lesser degrees wealth.
3. Practical Applications of Chromomancy
A. the Fashion of Influence
Is it any coincidence that gendarme's are clad in a soft blue or those who keep things secure in Port a Lucine wear black? Or that those ladies garbed in pink enjoy a greater sense of delicate romance in their life while a woman in red is regarded as a sensuous creature? Wether consciously by design or not the colors of these uniforms and gowns do influence the reactions of those around them.
Blue is a color which has been shown to engender trust, easy compliance due to its soothing qualities and which also represents wisdom, law and objectivity in many cultural connotations. No doubt such a uniform aids in the ability of those men who don it to calm others and assume command of situations with ease.
The black worn by those who guard the security of goods or persons no doubt gives those men a greater sense of strength and power and sends the unspoken message that death awaits those who would cross them. Black is indeed a color which does not stand out, thus allowing such men to become 'part of the background' where their influence is still felt but not in such a way that it detracts from a fine dining atmosphere, or the precious jewels on display.
Pink is the raw, primal force of red lust tempered with the purity of white, is it any wonder then that those ladies who wear pink are seen as delicate creatures of a soothing, open presence, romantically innocent yet imminently desirable and approachable? Or that a woman clad in vivid red entering a room might attract all eyes and elicit thoughts of raw lust, hungry desire among at least a portion of her audience? Hardly coincidence when one understands how very much color influences thought and mood.
The robes the Amazing Astoundo wears, of bright purple and yellow gold do much to subconsciously reiterate his statement he has entertained nobility and heads of state, for such colors often remind us of kings, princes and the power of knowledge.
B. Decor
Compare the mood and success of two balls held in rooms of differing color; One grand ball is held in a large room of deep blue hue such as indigo with plates in complimentary shades of purple with silver tableware and accents. The second is held in a smaller room with less attendants but this room is painted a cheerful yellow with plates of a red orange glaze and golden tableware and accents. Though the first ball is grand with a larger number of guests, it is the second ball which boasts the greater success among it's patrons who ate twice as much food, enjoyed lively discussions in an energetic manner and left the revelry feeling better for having attended. The "blue ball" was indeed just that, a quiet gathering of subdued if not outright suppressed festivity with conversations tending towards the melancholy. The enticing foods set out hardly touched, the guests depart with a lingering sense of gloom. A more fitting response for a funeral than a party. What went wrong might ever remain a mystery to the host or hostess of the blue ball, but those who understand color might smile with bemused expression and know that such a soiree was doomed from that moment the color blue was chosen as its primary thematic color.
The warm, rich browns of la Grande Bibliotheque accented by bright and golden yellows, rose tints, creates an environment well suited to study, where one may read in a comfort that is not too complacent, lest they retain nothing of that which they read for nodding off.
The predominately red thematic of the Puits d'Orchestre chambers with rich yellow gold accents goes far to create a warm and sensual atmosphere ripe for the enjoyment of musical entertainment. Most assuredly, the pulse quickens, the heart beats faster in a direct response to the colors, preparing the audience to receive an impending performance. It is interesting that the use of brown stone has caused many in my company to wonder and comment, this accent creates a transition between the brightness of the room and the utter void of the pit below, one which invariably elicits comments of the grave. Masterful use of Chromomancy indeed if this was the intention.
C. Religion
Hala: Though the robes of orders do vary in color most are white or powder blue. Powder blue being a pastel; a blue tempered by white, which retains its qualities of soothing wisdom and calmness but such properties have been elevated by the white which implies purity and sacredness. Thus much like pink being being a tempered, softer color than red, the powder blue results in a clergy which seems easily approachable to those in need.
Ezra: The significance of white and green among the Ezrite vestments is profound. White symbolizing of course the white of mists but beyond this evoking a sense of purity and sacredness. When the congregation dons white for ceremonies, no doubt they feel closer to a truly sacred purity for wearing it than they would had they donned any other color. Green is regarded almost universally as a color of abundant life, nature and its fertility. Green as the color most closely aligned with the heart may not have been lost upon those who decided upon its inclusion in traditional anchorite garb. The significance of the width of the white trim is perhaps obvious, white representing purity and those of higher ecclesiastical rank being regarded as the purest among the clergy.
D. Therapy: The use of color to promote the healing or stimulus of various physical or psychical conditions has long been practiced by certain cultures and civilizations, some more consciously than others. Foods of the solar colors, red, yellow and orange have been known to stimulate appetite, even foods served on tableware in these colors will have a similar effect. Sunbathing, or even spending time in yellow clothes or rooms, has been employed to stimulate nerves and banish depression.
The use of lush gardens filled with the lunar colors of green, blue and violet, accented with the pink of flowers and the blue white sparkle of moving water, has been known to have soothing, restorative effects upon those with highly agitated psyches. Due to the soothing effects being largely environmental, it is paramount that chromotherapy is not relied upon as the only means of healing, this method is best used in conjunction with others.
That certain asylums and hospices are now making use of white as a predominant color in uniforms and painted rooms shows how even the most enlightened societies can benefit from the knowledge of chromomancy. White creates a sense of open space and soothing distance, something which helps to quiet those souls troubled in mind as others are in body.
The additional use of splashes of living color in such environs, such as few well chosen flowers or a potted plant, has been known to keep that distance from seeming too cold and removed from all life, which has been found to be contradictory to true healing.
E. Torture:
It goes without saying, I am sure, that physical torture is a crude art at best and mental torture an elevation of the crude into a more enlightened form of information extraction. Thus only the use of color in the higher forms of torture will be discussed here.
It is quite obvious I am sure how black and red figure into creating an atmosphere of dread, pain and probable death. Red even going so far as to increase blood flow, heart rate and excite the subject physically. While these colors certainly accent the more physical aspects of torture quite well, they are indeed often counter productive to the more sophisticated methods if overused.
It should not be ignored how effective for example the colors brown and dark blue can be for inducing a sense of isolation or despair, even making a subject feel physically colder through the room temperature remains unchanged. The sensation of unchanging reliability often evoked by the color brown, implies to the subject this situation can continue, indefinitely.
The stark coldness of white can create a mood of sacred judgement, neutrality and dispassionate questioning while still eliciting a sense of physical coldness and sense of isolation. Any color placed in such an environment will no doubt elicit the subject's full attention and an appropriately predictable response.
Bold geometric patterns in black and white, create a confusion in many subjects as to the true mood of the situation, even if unconsciously. It then becomes easier to lead the subject with skilled questioning. If the patterns are chaotic and have little sense of order, confinement to such a room for prolonged periods combined with sleep deprivation, could result in an utter disruption of the subject's psyche, eventually leading to long term mental incapacity. It is of course common knowledge that lack of sleep or proper rest will eventually kill a subject so such methods can only be safely employed in periods of two days or less at a time. It is amazing how the use of recuperative lunar colors in another room such as pale green can accelerate the recovery time necessary for subsequent sessions.
While black is intimidating and indicative of death in many cultures, purple is also near universally regarded as a color of power in rule and knowledge, it commands a sort of respect that does not elicit obedience through fear so much as obedience by right of superiority. Combined with the metallic color gold the sense of power which radiates is often absolute, where with silver the sense of superiority is lent a mysterious air. The need of many subjects during prolonged questioning or incarceration to find one among their 'tormentors' which they can identify as a representative of hope can be manipulated, through the use of costuming and color, to gravitate towards a particular interrogator.
The use of colored glass globes over candles in a white room is a very effective and easily adjusted method of choosing predominant colors for questioning. White robes or costumes will, just as the walls, reflect the color chosen. When combined with other sensory stimulus such as sound or smell, or the deprivation of those senses, the possibilities for manipulation of the psyche are as limitless as the practitioner's own imagination.
In Summation
Art or science, illusion or reality, by what ever classification it is difficult to deny the influence color has upon the mood, health and mental states of sentient humanoids. To the knowledgeable, skilled practitioner of chromomancy such information is put to practical use in daily situations both mundane and profound thus benefitting from or influencing each interaction to their own success or agenda.
Glossary
Brightness: The perception elicited by the luminance of a visual target. This is a subjective attribute/property of the object being observed.
Chromotherapy: The use of color as a means to promote the healing or stimulus of the psyche or physical form.
Hue: One of the main properties of a color described with names such as red, yellow etc. In painting, a hue often refers to a pure color, one without tint or shade (added black or white pigment respectively).
Pastel: A color tinted with white, such as red tinted with white results in pink, blue tinted with white results in a paler blue such as that known as powder blue, or purple mixed with white resulting in lavender.
Saturation: The difference of a color against its own brightness
Shade: The mixture of a color with black which decreases lightness.
Tint: The mixture of a color with white which increases lightness.
