Color Series: Red

Red is often considered a very strong color. It’s a color that can overwhelm if there is nothing to tone it down. Many countries have used this color in their flags because it’s seen as a color of strength, honor, valor, and passion.

This is also the color of love. Red is the color of passion, lust, and romance. Pink is considered the color of new love or young love, but red is strong, passionate love. The most prevalent colors of Valentine’s Day, the day of love, are pink, red, and white: pink for shy, new, or young love; red for passionate or romantic love; and white for pure love. Along with red’s passion come other strong emotions and actions: anger, rage, aggression, courage and bravery, energy, power, violence, and battle/war.

Sometimes red is associated with danger or evil. Red is used for stop signs and stop lights not because it grabs the eye (studies have shown that school bus yellow is the color most likely to draw attention), but because it symbolizes the hazard of the intersection and offers a warning. Some animals have bright red skin or scales to warn other animals of their deadly poison. As a color of aggression, red is a warning and a symbol of violence. Although not necessarily a sign of danger (unless it’s danger to your wallet), red is the color used for sales because it’s a warning—technically speaking, it’s a warning to the consumer that a change has been made to the prices of items, and while it’s generally a “positive” warning, it’s a warning nonetheless. Color therapists say that red is such a strong color that it can stimulate brain wave activity, and for some the color can raise the heart rate or blood pressure just by looking at it. Often red is considered a stimulant.

In the United States, red is most often considered the color of either anger or love. The notion of red being symbolic of power or status is also prevalent in the States—we roll out the red carpet for celebrities and VIPs, for example, as a symbol of their status and power, and many sports teams use red in their team colors because of its powerful associations. In many Asian countries, red is the color of good luck, good fortune, and happiness, but for some it may also have the added associations of Communism (depending on your viewpoint, that may or may not be a bad thing). The traditional color for an Asian bride’s attire is red. A number of cultures and religions consider red to be the color of life because it’s the color of blood. Within Paganism, this color generally is thought to be the color of life or new life because not only is red the color of blood, but it is also the color most associated with reproduction and a female’s monthly cycle. In Christianity, red is associated with Christmas, martyrdom, and the blood of Christ, but it is also the primary color for the Devil. For some Middle Eastern cultures, red is the color of the Devil and evil as well. In South Africa, red is the color of mourning.

Red is the color of flame and the sunrise or sunset. It is generally not considered the color of the sun itself because we perceive the sun as light orange or yellow, even though satellite photos of the sun have shown it to be very red. Since flames and fire give us heat, red is the color of heat and is considered a “hot” or “warm” color. In Wicca in particular (and some other Pagan paths in general), red is the color of the Mother Goddess, the South quarter, and the Beltane and Midsummer holidays.

Of the chakras, red is the color for the base or root chakra. This chakra is commonly thought to govern basic human nature and base needs. If any of you have studied psychology, this would compare to the lowest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which is the level of basic human needs such as sleep, food, water, air, reproduction/sex, etc. Humans need this most basic level to be met and satisfied before any of the higher levels can be reached. In chakra terms, if your red base chakra is out of balance, you’re probably going to have trouble with the higher chakras as well. The root chakra is the link to the physical world and the physical body. Also associated with muscles, kidneys, arteries, and adrenal glands.

Uses
Red is a good color to use when you want an extra boost to your confidence level or if you want to attract attention. However, too much red can send the message that you’re coming on too strong and may overwhelm other people you interact with. Small touches of red, or red combined with other colors, can go a long way. For example, a celebrity may wear an all-red dress at a premiere to draw the eye and attract everyone’s attention, which in turn takes away from other celebrities around him/her. While I assume no one reading this is a celebrity, us regular folks can use the same principle—a red dress or suit to prom, for example.

Aside from a confidence-booster, red can also stimulate passion or romantic feelings. If you’re going on a date and want to set the tone in that direction, wear a red shirt or dress, or bring red flowers like roses. The image of a rose petal-strewn bedroom and red bed sheets is frequently used for a reason. As a stimulant, red excites us mentally and physically, and the outlet for that excitement is defined by the situation: a romantic red setting leads to passion; an angry red setting leads to anger, rage, and possibly violence; a violent red setting leads to battle or aggression; etc.

Wear red underwear or pants/skirts to stimulate the base/root chakra. If you feel too passive in your life and want to feel or be more active, try wearing red clothes, especially around the root chakra. It is NOT a recommended color for any kind of healing spells.

Associations
Element: Fire
Emotions: Love, anger, rage, passion, courage
Animals: cardinals, foxes, red deer, salmon
Astrology: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Chakra: base/root
Flowers: roses, carnations, poppies
Foods: peppers, red potatoes, apples, cherries, grapes, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, red cabbage
Metals: iron
Stones: rubies, garnets, rose quartz, carnelians, bloodstone, coral

Resources About Red
http://www.color-wheel-artist.com/meanings-of-red.html
http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/colorselection/p/red.htm

Question of the Week: Love Goddesses

In honor of Valentine’s Day and love-related things, this week’s question is about love.

Who is your favorite god or goddess of love?

You can choose anyone.  Aphrodite, Venus, Cupid, etc.  As always, put your answer in the comments section below!

Religion and Relationships

I’ve never really thought about it too terribly much before, but as a Pagan person, it’s bound to come up when it comes to relationships.  How does religion/spirituality as a Pagan person affect relationships, especially with someone not of the same path?

During one of the Interfaith Council sessions I attended, one of the girls asked if there were any restrictions or stigmas within Paganism against dating or marrying a non-Pagan.  I said that as far as I know, most Pagans don’t care if a Pagan dates or marries outside of Paganism, and many don’t consider differing religions to be a barrier when it comes to relationships.  As far as I can tell, that’s true–most of us don’t care.  It is what it is, and if two people can’t reconcile differing beliefs or agree to disagree, then that’s fine, no judgement or condemnation for believing differently.

I think a lot of Pagans end up dating non-Pagans, either because there are too few Pagans around in the area, or the Pagans that are around are in some way not their type.  To each their own, and that’s fine.  My ex was definitely not Pagan, though he was Pagan-friendly, and I figure that’s the best I could ask for.

Some do find partners within Paganism, though perhaps of a different tradition.  I can think of one friend who’s dating another Pagan, and I myself am involved with a Pagan now.  Considering all the different paths and traditions and types of Paganism, I think that dating within Paganism can be as challenging and as difficult as dating across religious lines can be.  Well, dating across Pagan traditions could be considered dating across religions in a way, depending on the traditions involved.  For example, say an Alexandrian Wiccan dates a shaman.  The beliefs and practices of each can be very different, and may be as different as comparing Wicca to Christianity.  It’s like a devout Catholic dating a Protestant.  Just because you’re dating within Paganism, it doesn’t mean you’re going to date someone with the same or even similar beliefs.  It’s not like a Presbyterian dating a Presbyterian, for example.  Even within Wicca it’s not necessarily a given that the other person will believe or practice similarly.  The wide range and huge diversity of beliefs and practices under the umbrella of Paganism can make relationships within a Pagan framework more complicated than they might at first appear.

Another dynamic I’m aware of is actively not dating within Paganism.  As one of my friends once said, “Pagans guys are just weird.”  True, that’s a major generalization, but what she was getting at was that the Pagan guys she had known and dated were too “out there” or too off her own path that she couldn’t reconcile it well enough.  Or they’re gay, which certainly takes them out of the running for a woman.  From what I’ve seen, this mode of thought, however unconscious, seems to be fairly consistent.  The Pagan relationships I’ve seen in other people just haven’t worked, for whatever reason, but they all ended and the people mostly went outside of Paganism to find partners after that.  It’s a very interesting and subtle dynamic I’ve started noticing going on.

I could have sworn I had a point to all this, but now I think I’m mainly just bouncing ideas and thoughts off the Internet and my lovely readers.  What do you think?  Do you date outside of Paganism or within?  Does religion play a large or small factor in relationships, or is it not a factor for you at all?

Love Spells and Influencing Other Peoples’ Will

What an attention-grabbing title!  If three years of high school journalism taught me anything, it’s that the title should always grab attention.  And what a provocative and debated subject!  If I don’t get a bunch of traffic from “love spells” alone, I’ll be shocked.

Love spells are one of those things that are popular, greatly discussed yet secretive, and one of the most misunderstood and stereotypical topics.  In general, I think most people don’t like to talk about love magick (especially in America, where most of us are prudes and sex is a dirty topic) but want to find information about it nonetheless.

Does this mean I’m going to give you love spells?  Hells no.  And while I might share some ideas for love magick later on, I will not be giving any recipes for spells or potions or anything else, and love magick is a topic for another day.  This post is more a discussion on the ethics of love magick and what that means in the context of the Rede and such.

Image from ThinkGeek.com

The Rede–granted, this belongs mainly to Wicca, but many other Pagans outside of Wicca also adhere to this–says “An it harm none, do what thou wilt.”  What does this mean for love magick?  In this context, it’s generally understood to mean that a love spell is not a good thing to do because it is harming the person the spell is directed toward, and it does so because the spell makes them more susceptible to the suggestion that they should be in a relationship (of some kind, from booty call to full-on boyfriend/girlfriend) with the caster.  It interferes with their free will and freedom of choice.

Another take on love spells I’ve heard fairly recently is that this view is–for lack of a better word–ridiculous.  The argument against the “love spells interfere with free will” idea ran thus: a spell cannot actually control someone else’s will, and if the spell “succeeds”, then the person it was cast on was already open to the idea presented in the spell.  So, for example, if I were to cast a love spell on a guy I like so that he asks me out, and he actually does ask me out, then the spell didn’t really influence his free will, it only “worked” because he was already open to the idea.

I can see both sides of this, I think.  I personally would not cast a love spell on another person.  That isn’t to say I never have–when I first started out in exploring the Pagan path, I cast at least two love spells on a particular person.  They didn’t work, surprise, surprise, and I actually felt pretty horrible about it after with just the thought that I might be controlling or influencing someone else.  I believe it’s wrong to intentionally send energy to or cast on another person without their consent.  If I were to cast a spell for love, it would be more general and less specific–meaning, I would be looking to attract love but not a specific person, so I wouldn’t be placing energy on someone else.  Does that make sense?

Image from eHow.com

While I can see the argument that a love spell can’t actually control someone’s free will like we think of in fairy tales and stories, I also think it’s imprudent to discount so heavily the influence energy can have on another person.  Can you make someone fall head over heels in love with you and be your love slave forever?  No.  I doubt very much that that is possible.  But if you send enough energy their way looking for love from them, I do think it’s reasonable to think that if given enough time (and assuming that the person isn’t already open to the idea of love with the caster) the target’s natural energetic defenses could wear down and make them more susceptible to the suggestion of the spell.  In some way, shape, or form, I think the love spell does have an effect on the targeted person, and I can’t see how that is right or justified in any way.

So, to summarize:

• I will not give out love spells.  So don’t even ask.
• A love spell or love potion does not work like they do in fairy tales and movies to create an immediate or all-consuming lover.  Such spells and potions instead tend to give the suggestion of love to the targeted person.
• While a love spell will not allow the caster to control another person’s will, I do think the spell can allow the caster to give the suggestion to the target.
• It is not wise to think that energy targeted to another person will have no effect at all, even if it is not the intended effect.
• Instead of casting a love spell on a specific person, I recommend performing love magick that draws love to you rather than a specific person.  This avoids the idea that you as the caster are influencing someone else’s free will and choice, as all you are doing is sending out energy to the universe saying that you’re looking for and are open to love.

Herb Spotlight: Rose

Guest post by Tori

Medical Uses:
Rose hips are commonly used as a supplement.  They contain vitamin A, B1, B2, C, E, K, calcium, citric acid, iron, niacin, phosphorous and tannin.  The calcium is not a lot though, so you cannot replace a good glass of milk with it, but at least you do not have to worry about getting too much.  Rose hips are also taken to help with infections, cold and flu, uterine cramps, heavy menstrual flow and some breast disorders.  It is a dieuretic, helps with nervousness, and can help with some stomach troubles.  The most common way to take rose hips is either as a capsule or a tea.  There are some possible side effects from rose hips, but very few people suffer from them.  These can include headache, heartburn, insomnia and nausea.  Not so bad, in my opinion, if you can get some cramp relief while enjoying a nice tea!

Magickal Uses:
Like many others rose seems to be a very diverse herb.  However, when you consider that it is a water element, its different uses are not surprising. According to Cunningham’s encyclopedia, rose is good for love (no surprise), fast luck, psychic powers, divination, healing and protection.  The way I like to use herbs that have a lot of different uses like rose is to find the most powerful (usually the most common) use and use that as the base for the others.  In the case of rose, that use would be love.  So I would use rose to amp up any protection, healing spells, or divination that I do for loved ones, especially divination to find love.  Rosewater is a common addition to spells. If you are into color magic roses are a good place to use it.  Since roses come in a variety of shades you can buy the one that works with your spell and use those.  Use a dark red rose for a lust spell instead of a yellow one, which you may use for more a light hearted romantic fling.

Recipe:
Love Sachet
This is to find love or bring it to you.  It is NOT to make someone fall in love with you.  Also, the aspects of it are what I wanted to find.  So if you want something that is more passion or more wild or whatever you should tweak the recipe to emphasize the herbs with the aspects you want.

• 1 part Lavendar – peace, dream like situation
• 3 parts Rose – romance, joy, happiness, healthy relationship
• 1 part Galangal Root – aphrodisiac (you know why)
• 1 part Red Sandalwood – sexual and spiritual

Use pink felt and add a garnet for an extra boost.