The Color Purple (Or My Purple Passion)

Look what Hubby bought me today! Against my better judgment, I allowed him a trip alone to our "Other Home". That's our name for Home Depot since we spend so much time there. I say against my better judgment because every time he goes it alone, he brings back some $100 power tool that he MUST have and I SWEAR he has no idea how to use. I think power tools are to men what shoes are to women. Anyway, I digress.....

While Hubby was at Home Depot he remembered that my gardening gloves had huge holes in them, which made it difficult & painful for me to trim my roses. He thoughtfully picked me up a new pair of PURPLE leather gardening gloves! Check out these beauties and TRY not to be too jealous!

My New Purple Gardening Gloves

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After pink (of course!) purple is my next favorite color. Purple makes me feel calm and anyone who knows me will tell you a need a LOT of help in that department! I love purple in all its variations and I was amazed to find, once I started taking pictures, how much purple I had in my own house!

My Purple Crocs for Gardening

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The History of Purple
Purple is defined as “any of a group of colors with a hue between that of violet and red” and as a “symbol of royalty or high office.” The opposites of hot red and cool blue combine to create this intriguing & mysterious color. Purple is associated with both nobility and spirituality. Historically, the color purple has been associated with royalty and power stemming from its use in heraldry to denote gentry. However, the secret of its power lies in the glands of tiny shellfish creatures.

Purple on the Color Wheel - Centered Between Red & Blue

By today’s standards the color purple is commonplace. However, prior to the wonders of modern science, purple dye was the single rarest nuance available in nature. According to Aristotle, the Greek philosopher and tutor of ‘Alexander the Great", purple “In its purest form it possesses a value ten to twenty times its weight in gold!"

The earliest archaeological evidence for the origins of purple dyes points to the Minoan civilization in Crete, about 1900 B.C. The ancient land of Canaan (its corresponding Greek name was Phoenicia, which means “land of the purple”) was the center of the ancient purple dye industry.

My Purple Dyson Vacuum
(ok, I don't actually USE it myself but the housecleaner says it works GREAT!)

“Tyrian Purple,” the purple dye of the ancients mentioned in texts dating back to about 1600 B.C., was produced from the mucus of the hypobranchial gland of various species of marine mollusks, notably Murex. It took some 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye. Legend credits its discovery to Herakles, or rather to his dog, whose mouth was stained purple from chewing on snails along the Levantine coast. King Phoenix received a purple-dyed robe from Herakles and decreed the rulers of Phoenicia should wear this color as a royal symbol. The Murex dye industry proved to be so lucrative to the Tyrians that the shell was adopted as a symbol of Tyr appearing on their earliest coinage alongside their city god, Melqart. Over the course of time, and through extensive trade networks stretching from Babylonia, Egypt, Persia, and Rome the Murex’s highly coveted dye became synonymous with wealth and an exotic trade rarity reserved for the rich. Although originating in Tyre (hence the name), man's first dye chemical industry quickly spread throughout the world.

The Murex Snail

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Of all countries that Phoenicia was to trade the Murex dye with it was Italy who would become her most loyal customer. The Phoenicians first traded in Italy with the Etruscans, a society of artisans particularly skilled in the art of jewelry fabrication. However, it was with the creation of Imperial Rome by Romulus in 753 B.C. that the Murex’s purple dye began to be synonymous with power, wealth and position.

My Breakfast

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Pliny the Elder, author of the world’s first Encyclopedia in the 1st century A.D. wrote: “I find that, from the very first, purple has been in use at Rome, but that Romulus employed it for the trabea…". The trabea was similar to the toga and decorated with purple stripes. There were various kinds of trabea; one was completely purple and sacred to the gods, another was purple and white and was the royal robe worn by kings such as Romulus and later Tullus Hostilius. Pliny continues: “As to the toga prætexta (a toga bordered with purple, worn by magistrates and free-born children) and the laticlave vestment (a purple badge of the senatorial order), it is a fact well ascertained, that Tullus Hostilius was the first king who made use of them…" From this use as a status symbol in early Imperial Rome it was a matter of time until purple assumed another moniker, ‘Imperial Purple.’

Toga Prætexta with Purple Stripe

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Hundreds of years later, with the demise of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the Byzantine Empire, the usage of ‘Imperial Purple’ and ‘Tyrian Purple’ had been strictly reserved for nobility and the church. By the fall of Byzantium in 1453 the Murex shell had all but vanished, and in 1464 the Pope Paul II introduced the ‘Cardinal's Purple,’ authorizing the use of cochineal insect to dye cardinals' and archbishops' robes instead. The ‘Cardinal Purple’ of the cochineal was much closer to what we call purple than the Murex’s ‘Tyrian’ or ‘Imperial’ variety, and led to our modern interpretation of purple being a mixture of red and blue. With the decline of the Roman Empire, the use of “Tyrian Purple” also declined, and large-scale production ceased with the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A.D. It was replaced by cheaper dyes such as lichen purple and madder.

In My Garden - Pot with Shades of Purple

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Pope Paul II in 1464 introduced the so-called “Cardinal's Purple,” which was really scarlet extracted from the Kermes insect. This became the first luxury dye of the Middle Ages. From this point in time onwards the stone amethyst, echoing the same purple color, became a regular feature in the ornamentation of Rome’s holy men, worn as rings and amulets as a sign of pious virtue. It is from these various associations that amethyst, with its emblematic colors of the Roman Catholic Church, took its place amongst diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald as a ‘Cardinal Gem.’

Amethyst

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The chemical birth of the synthetic dye industry can be traced to the discovery of an aniline-based purple dye, mauveine, by William H. Perkin in 1856, who accomplished this while searching for a cure for malaria. Perkin was an English chemist who changed the world of his time by making this purple color available to the masses. It became quite fashionable to wear clothing dyed with “mauve,” and Mr. Perkin became a very wealthy man.

Purple In My Office - Network Cable & Stapler

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Looking back into American history, the color purple came to represent positions of honor and valor. In 1782, George Washington created The Purple Heart, the military’s oldest and most admired decoration, when Continental Congress told him he could not award commissions or advancements to soldiers. This token of valor was originally a heart made of purple cloth.

The Purple Heart (Medal of Valor)

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The color purple is used in churches and religious sects to represent the holy aspect of the Advent, the birth of Christ. Lavender is used in Advent wreaths to represent purity and virtue. In Christianity, purple means penitence. In Hindu belief, purple is the color of the crown chakra.

In My Garden - Purple & Red Fuchsia

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What Your Favorite Shade of Purple Says About You
Lavender - You're an optimist with an appreciation for nature. You're almost always in a sunny mood, and friends rely on you for a glimpse of "the brighter side."


Mauve - Your sophisticated surface projects confidence that conceals a sexy side. You've cultivated a worldly exterior to protect the sensitive soul within.

Magenta - Daring and attractive, you like to stand out from the crowd - and your unique sense of style helps you succeed in grabbing center stage!

Plum - Stately and formal, your high self-esteem lends you a serene exterior, because you know you always land on your feet.

Periwinkle - A born dreamer, your youthful sense of wonder keeps your mind buzzing.

Lilac - You're an adventurous individualist who emanates confidence, and your genuine ability to like yourself impresses others.

Violet - Self-assured and dependable, you have a strong sense of character, and you possess a playful streak that makes you an amusing companion.

Eggplant - You're highly fashionable, with a developed taste for the finer things in life. Your vivid imagination allows you to take calculated risks in love.

Purple Hankys from My Collection

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Purple Color Meanings
The color purple is symbolic of power, healing, the divine, spiritual goals, passionate belief, magic, and mystery. It represents visionary leadership, respect, wealth, luxury, and sophistication. Purple has been worn by emperors, kings, military commanders, and other high-ranking officials. It also has come to symbolize psychic ability, success, wisdom, power, spiritual growth, and independence. Purple is the color of passion, romance, sensitivity, and good judgment. It is also the color used by people seeking spiritual fulfillment and is a good color to use in meditation. It is said that if you surround yourself with purple, you will have peace of mind. Various shades of purple have come to represent specific characteristics as shown below:

Deep Purple - Sorrow
Warm Purple - Power
Light Purple - Gentleness, Wisdom
Lavender - Reverence, Royalty
Violet - Purpose
Indigo - Intuition

In My Garden - Purple Flower in Pot

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Purple Flower Meanings
Lavender Rose - Love at First Sight, Enchantment, Uniqueness
Violet - Modesty, Faithfulness, Humility, Honesty, Virtue
African Violet - Promotes Spirituality and Peaceful Vibrations
Purple Lilac - First Emotions of Love, Luck
Purple Columbine - Resolved to Win
Purple Carnation - Capriciousness
Lavender Heather - Admiration, Solitude, Luck
Purple Hyacinth - I Am Sorry, Please Forgive Me, Sorrow
Purple Orchids - Love

Remember Deep Purple?

Purple Stone Meanings
Many people believe that stones and crystals have their own vibrational frequencies. Many of these stones are believed to produce a resonance with specific energy locations in the human body. Purple gemstones are associated with mysticism and purification. They are used for meditation, to sharpen psychic awareness, and to connect with one’s higher self. Here is a list of purple stones and their respective meanings:
Amethyst (purple) - Intuition & Peace
Charoite (dark purple) - Clears Negative Energy
Fluorite (Purple/Blue/Green) - Calming/Breaking out of ruts
Lolite (blueish purple) - Truth/Simplicity
Lepidolite (Lilac/Light Purple) - Brings Hope & Eases Stress

My Purple Bathroom

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Using Purple in Interior Design
Using pure or predominately purple scheme in interior design lends itself to strong lines and authoritative designs, and creates an extremely dramatic interior. Most children love the color purple, and it is the color most favored by artists. Since purple is a combination of blue and red (the coolest and warmest colors), many consider it to be the ideal color. Violet and plum hues (with higher concentrations of red) can help warm a cool blue design. Indigo (higher concentration of blue) can help cool a warm orange interior. Pairing purple with yellow (complements) provides a dramatic but well-balanced interior. Combining various shades of lavender and lilac with deep plum accents can create a tranquil and romantic space.

In your feng shui color applications, purple should be used with moderation. It is a very strong, high vibration color, the color of connection to the spiritual realms (7th chakra.)

Feng shui-wise, it is not recommended as a wall color. Many feng shui masters believe that color Purple on the wall (or an overwhelming amount of it in any feng shui decor applications) may trigger blood disease. True or not, purple is a very high vibration color and the feng shui advice is to use it sparingly.

The only feng shui spaces purple color can be used freely are a healing room or a meditation space. Use in moderation throughout your home or go for much lighter color tones, like lavender. Limit it in the feng shui areas of East and South east areas, as well as the West.

An excellent way to bring the royal Purple in your environment is with amethyst, one of the most powerful feng shui crystals.

Purple Stained Glass Window

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Did you know…
Purple glass was invented by mistake? Purple turned up in colonial homes when clear window glass was imported from England. A defective batch, made with too much magnesium, was shipped to New England, and windowpanes turned purple when exposed to the sun. Some people thought the glass looked faulty but many preferred the beautiful purple hue. When the company was asked to produce more, they could not replicate the mistake. The purple glass panes are still installed today in Boston’s historic Beacon Hill close to the Statehouse.

Purple Plate

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Good purple

* Purple cow - something remarkable, eye-catching, unusual
* Purple prose - exaggeration, highly imaginative writing (also has negative connotations)

Bad purple

* Purple speech - profanity, raunchy language
* Purple prose - exaggeration, colorful lies
* Purple haze - state of confusion or euphoria, possibly drug-induced, type of marijuana

Purple Sunset

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Some other common names for purple include grape, lavender, lilac, magenta & maroon. If you leave a comment & can give me another name for purple, your name be entered in a drawing to take place on September 13th. The winner will receive a WONDERFUL GIFT! Trust me, you'll LOOOOOVE it!