The colour indigo

hibou_creations_the-colour-indigo

Now this is a weird one. When I think about the colour indigo, I’m “confused”. Is it blue? A dark blue? A purple? Just a shade of blue? In general what comes to my mind is tie dye. The best way I’ve found to describe this colour (or the shade I’m referring to) is with the HEX code #4b0082. Looking at it, I actually realise that I have a couple of clothes in my wardrobe with this colour. However I’d just call it purple. This said, I have found out researching this colour, (again with the HEX code), that purple is a different shade with HEX code #800080, which I don’t think I wear much. To be honest, depending on which resource you’re looking at, the shade they use for indigo can look more purple than blue, and in others, it looks more blue than purple.

Facts

In the spectrum of visible light, Indigo is a hue located between blue and violet. It is a combination of deep blue and violet and holds the attributes of both these colours. The name indigo comes from the Roman term indicum, which means a product of India.

Indigo is one of the oldest dyes in the world and was used concurrently in ancient China, India, Africa, and South America. The oldest known indigo-dyed cloth is over 6,000 years old and was discovered at Peru’s northern coast at Huaca Prieta, an ancient burial ground.

It was one of the most vital dyes that played a major role in international trade and economics. Which is why traders once referred to it as “Blue Gold” and it was considered such a commodity.

Indigo was originally made using plants, and blue indigo from India was the most prized. This was because India is home to the Indigofera tinctoria plant, which yields a large amount of dye and produces a higher quality blue compared to indigo plants indigenous to Europe. Throughout the Middle Ages, indigo dye from India was one of the most expensive and valuable imports to the continent.

Chakras

In the world of chakras, indigo is the colour of the sixth energy centre – the third eye chakra. The third eye chakra is the sixth of the seven main chakras. It is located between the eyebrows, just above the bridge of the nose. The third eye chakra is also called the Ajna chakra, which translates to “command” or “perceiving,” hinting at this chakra’s role in how we perceive the world. It’s our source of wisdom and inner guidance, allowing us to differentiate between dreams and reality and to make decisions neutrally and objectively.

Meaning, symbolism & cultures

Indigo is the colour that opens the consciousness and brings awareness to higher planes and connects us with the spiritual world. It is said to be the colour of intuition, perception and the higher mind. It can mean idealism and structure as well as ritualistic and addictive. It is a colour which relates to the “New Age” – the ability to use the Higher Mind to see beyond the normal senses with great powers of perception. It relies on intuition rather than gut feeling.

Wearing indigo

It’s recommended to wear indigo when you want to meditate, focus on personal issues, turn inward, and develop intuition or a new perspective on life. It will help when accessing spiritual abilities. When you wear indigo, you are saying to the world, “I move toward my vision with clarity and purpose.”

Wearing indigo also suggests unconventional thinking, it shows a priority for being different. It would definitely indicate an intuitive inward thinking personality.