We often claim to have dreamed in colour but when we are questioned, we fail to clearly tell which colours we dreamt in or what was the colour of a particular object or so. Every colour possesses its own symbolism for each of us. Colours play an important psycho-physiological role in our lives.
Dreaming is quite visual in nature, but those who have heightened awareness of colour during waking hours may be more likely to recall their dreams in colour than their less colour-aware counterparts. Dreams can’t be captured or encapsulated, they are subject to the filter of consciousness, which makes them difficult to study. In our waking state, colours stimulate emotions. Similarly, colours also stimulate emotions in dreams.
Scientific REM studies have proven that we tend to dream in colours but we do not always recall them. The meaning of colours in dreams is not just indicative of the dreamer’s emotional state but also one’s personality traits.
According to Robert Hoss who has extensively studied the significance of colour in dreams and its interpretations, dreams are characterised by the following aspects:
- Most people cannot recall their dreams and hence perceive them to be colourless.
- Only 25 per cent of dreamers recall colours in their dreams. This is because people can only remember the emotionally stimulating parts of the dream.
- The colours and shapes in dreams come completely due to internal stimuli which may be based on the psychological associations the dreamer places with those objects and colours.
Colours and their meanings in dreams:
- Brown represents practicality
- Burgundy represents wealth and success
- Cream means acceptance
- Green represents life force
- Gold relates to spiritual healing
- Grey represents denial, lack of commitment, or a depressed state
- Indigo represents clairvoyance
- Ivory relates to tainted purity
- Lilac indicates responsibility
- Mauve means endurance
- Maroon represents courage and strength
- Navy blue indicates a lack of individuality
- Orange relates to energy, drive and ambition
- Peach represents empathy
- Pink indicates a desire for unconditional love
- Purple can relate to a spiritual leader or teacher
- Red represents passion, while dark red is anger
- Scarlet is lust
- Silver represents intuition
- Yellow is an intellectual colour, dark yellow represents clouded thinking and light yellow represents enlightenment
- Black and white play significant roles in dreams because they have their own meanings, but they also have influence on other colors as well. White purifies other colours, and black adulterates them.
Black represents fear. hate, anxiety, guilt, depression, lack of hope, lack of faith and nothingness.
White represents enlightenment, hope, faith, purity, confidence and perfection.
Together they may represent extreme beliefs or perception. The images and events in the dream play a significant role in interpreting the meaning of colours. For example, a yellow shade can represent energy, but it can mean illness or betrayal in others.
That said, interpreting a dream using colour alone may yield inaccurate results. It is important to consider other symbols, and your relation to the colours you dream about.
The writer is a tarot reader and spiritual mentor
