How significant are colours on a card?

[Japann]

I have just been having a look through my gilded tarot pack. What jumped out at me was that the Knight of Pentacles is mainly green. There was another Knight card that was mainly red.

Is there anywhere that has basic meanings for all the colours.

 

[franniee]

Hi Japannn,

Each suit is a different color. You'll notice all the swords are blue and all the cups orange, pents are green, wands are red..

edited to add:
I meant in the gilded there is a little oval on the top and each suit is a different color - the majors don't have the oval colors just their corresponding number... - but the minors are colored by suit.
It really is nice - the way the gilded is like that.

I am sure they picked the colors to correspond to their meanings wands correspond to fire, pents to earth, swords to air and cups to feelings and passion...

anyway enjoy them

 

[Diva3000]

Water/ Cups are usually blue... to symbollize the flow of emotion.
Fire/ Wands are usually red... to emphasize passion and action... its a movement colour

Air / Swords are also usually blue... it connects with the notion of air and flowing how one thought connects to another
Earth / Pents are green to symbollize growth and prosperity =) those are some of the norm you see in tarot.

 

[Astraea Aurora]

Well, surely colors are important. They provide messages. Mostly message everybody can understand (pink for a baby girl or red as an alarm sign to watch out and be careful). But the messages can also vary from one person to another.

Not so long ago, maybe two or three weeks, there was a thread where one member mentioned a web address where you can look up almost every color. Arg! I don't remember what they where talking about.

 

[Thirteen]

I have just been having a look through my gilded tarot pack. What jumped out at me was that the Knight of Pentacles is mainly green. There was another Knight card that was mainly red.

Is there anywhere that has basic meanings for all the colours.

The problem with working out color associations for any deck is that it depends entirely on the sensiblities of the artist/creator. What colors symbolize what to them, and in accordance with what the tarot suits symbolize to them.

HOWEVER, in the case of the Gilded Tarot, the answer is pretty simple. Here's what one reviewer has to say on the subject:

"Ciro [the artist/creator] informed me that he specifically wanted to avoid color associations which may have been influenced in the past by pragmatic considerations such as printing limitations, and instead approached the choice from an artist’s perspective. The gemstone colors are derived from the Aces of each suit. Thus, the orange-gold color of the gemstones on the Cups cards stems from the golden color of the cups as reflected in the water; the blue for the Swords is taken from the blue sky behind the sword; the red for Wands comes from the fire topping that suit’s Ace; and the grass on the Ace of Pentacles leads to the green gemstone for that suit’s symbol, which itself contains green gemstones."

So that's the why behind the color choices in the Gilded Tarot. Take note, by the way, that the Majors are "black" gemstones.

Edited to add: there was apparently a short discussion on the Gilded Tarot's color choices with some disagreement over his choice to give the color blue (which usually stands for water/emotions) to Swords and gold (which usually stands for airy intellect) to cups. You can find this discussion here: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=38819

 

[rissa]

Colour is important, because not only is it symbolic of what the cards represent, but because it initiates an emotional response as you read.

Colour is a huge factor for me in choosing a deck. I don't respond well to very bright or primary colours in a reading (Marseilles is out!), nor does black and white do it for me. I feel I interact with the card best if it is in muted or jeweled tones--I just feel a connection with them. My sister is the opposite--only bright decks for her. ANd the feelings she associates with certain colours are not the same as the feelings I associate with them. That is why it is crucial to have a deck you truly feel connected to.

If you find after some study that you can't work with the colour-coding of this pack, there are others out there that might speak to you better.

 

[StellarMyst]

I have this deck too...I have a suggestion or 2...if it's alright...?

I have been using a book called "The Complete Book of Color Healing" By: Lilian Verner-Bonds with my Gilded readings. There is more to that deck than the artist's take being a little different. Analyze the colours in the card you are having a problem with by taking a Psychological perspective. You will be pleasantly surprised when you see the way you find yourself reading with the Gilded deck.

Also take a look at the symbolisms used in the deck from the same stand-point. This gives the readings an interesting turn-out.

I hope this helps a little.

StellarMyst

 

[Mellifluous]

Usually, the suits each have a predominant color to help them look like they go together and the majors do as well. (Sort of like in a regular playing deck, the hearts are all red, spades all black, etc.)

In my deck - my first one, that is, and the only deck I had for years and years - cups are pink and maroon, wands are orange and red, swords are light and medium blue, and pentacles are light and medium green. The majors have a purple theme.

As you can see already, it varies from deck to deck (artist to artist). Some decks don't have that feature at all. For that reason, I don't tie too much significance to it beyond whatever general associations we have with colors in everyday life - which do seem to be fairly consistent. Not completely though.

If you ever get into candles, you'll probably pick up a lot more about color associations through that as well. lol Still, there are variations in meanings depending on who you ask - like anything else.

If your deck comes with a good companion book, it's always good to find out what the artist intended by their choices of colors and symbols.

Enjoy your deck!

 

[Emily]

Hi Japann,

I love to use colour in my readings - colours can add so much and you can make them personal, especially with the variations of colour, or just keep to the basic meanings.

Here's a thread you might find interesting.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=78604


Have fun.

 

[Japann]

Thanks for the replies. I will check out the other threads I have been referred to.

I think that colours go a lot deeper than i first thought!!!