Meaning of the colour Brown
‘Brown is comfort in its softest form’ — Fida Islaih, A to Z poetry
Brown is the colour of nature, autumn, earth, wood, wildlife, human hair and eye colour. It evokes reliability, stability, honesty and comfort. It represents wisdom, protection, honesty and support.
That said, Brown suffers from being the least favourite colour because of its association with dullness and predictability.
As a pigment, Brown has been used since very ancient times. There are traces dating back to 40,000 BC and found in the Lascaux caves some 17,300 years ago.
In Ancient Egypt, Brown depicted dark skinned male figures. They all have Umber in common, a particular clay containing manganese and iron oxide.
Sepia, the reddish-brown pigment used by Ancient Greek and Romans, came from the ink of the cuttlefish.
Sienna, a yellow-brown pigment, and burnt sienna have been used since Roman times, derived from the soil around Siena, in Tuscany.
Brown was worn by the poor in Ancient Rome. In the Middle Ages, it represented humility, as worn by the Franciscan monks.
A statute of 1363 required destitute people in England to wear russet, a shade of greyish-brown.
It is interesting to note that in some languages, the word for Brown derives from the colour of food or beverages: in Turkey and Greece, kahve rengi and καφέ (kafe’) both derive from coffee; In Malay, coklat derives from chocolate and in Japan 茶色 (chairo) derives from the colour of tea.
Keeping us grounded, stable and secure, Brown maintains focus and anchors us to reality. It might be said that this colour possibly doesn’t stimulate imagination or daydreaming. Brown doesn’t inspire spontaneity but suggests respect for rules and loyalty. It also leans towards practicality and helps us merge into the background. That’s possibly why some animals have brown colouration.
In Feng Shui, Brown is associated with the South-West, grounding, boundaries, practicality and independence.
The Archangel Cassiel, the angel of Temperance, is associated to the colour Brown.
Brown Crystals
Brown crystals are grounding, protecting and purifying. They keep us centred and stable.
They are not suitable when energy, vitality or motion are needed.
Smoky Quartz
It’s used for protection, grounding, focus, chakra and aura cleansing and stress reduction.
crystal system: Trigonal
Bronzite
To fight exhaustion and stress, for harmony, grounding, composure and understanding.
crystal system: Orthorhombic
Aragonite
It helps with flexibility, grounding, stress and anger relief, tolerance and stability both emotional and mental.
crystal system: Orthorhombic
Chiastolite
For self-analysis, protection, dispelling fear and negative thoughts, promoting harmony and inner peace.
crystal system: Orthorhombic
Staurolite
To reduce stress, eliminate addictions, for grounding, self-analysis and strength.
crystal system: Monoclinic