the magic of colors
it seems that the use of colors has been closely connected to ritual magic practices in the early history. people believed in the divine protection by colored amulets. dyes were identified as particularly meaningful and honored as delightful effective power sources.
shamans :
therefore, all forms of painting and visual arts were reserved for the shamans. people were convinced that due to the help of colours medicine men and women stood in direct connection to nature spirits. few insiders had the hidden power to know and use these colors.
this tendency to secret teachings and traditions of mythical were incidentally found in all primitive cultures. in a very concrete sense knowledge was power, and it was so jealously guarded and hidden from the public. the first characters were secret, even dealing with numbers was reserved only to the initiated. only a few people could read, write and calculate.
other branches:
also, the astronomy, medicine, metallurgy and music have been developed first as magical arts.
grave paintings:
people did not distinguish between science and religion.
grave finds from the time of the neanderthals indicate that colors at religious ceremonies have already been of great importance.
weapons and food were offered to the graves of the deceased. just as important were also pearls and colored stones. chiefs and priests were after their death, thus honored, that their bones were painted red.
the venus of willendorf:
the famous statuette of the paleolithic venus of willendorf seems to be a goddess of fertility. the lush female figure carved from a mammoth bone shows the remains of a red ocher paint. this color was apparently an important part of this cult sexual object.
cave paintings:
in recent paleolithic, about the 20000th years, people created impressive cave paintings. the walls and ceilings of the caves of lascaux and altamira are decorated with magical images, mostly hunting scenes with deers and bisons. even here you will mostly find red, ocher and brown colours.
the early people:
the early people seemed to prefer to use reddish shades for the manufacture of ceremonial objects and talismans, which had magic power for them.
the ancient custom, to make up and to tattoo the skin, also rooted in the magical thinking of our ancestors. the color was exactly prescribed to a pattern of a war paint. therefore the colors were reserved to the sacred realm of the gods and spirits which gave the painted bodies supernatural strength, wisdom and beauty.
other cultures:
egyptians, greeks and arabs transmitted this tradition to the present day. the once secret rites were gradually desecrated and were finally open to everyone. they are now the foundation of the modern cosmetics industry!
therapy of color of karl ryberg mosaik verlag 1992 page 22-24
