We learn about the color blue by looking up at the sky above our heads, or out over the ocean as it stretches towards the horizon. It is the color of wide-open spaces that provide space to breathe and grow. When the clear blue sky is occupied by clouds, we start to feel closed in a restricted.
Blue always provides a feeling of tranquility, as it is the color of freedom. It is a color that lifts worries and anxieties and assures that all things are indeed possible. Blue can provide us with a feeling of inner peace, and also inner confidence. It helps us to see ourselves as someone who can grow, learn, change, and adapt. No challenge is too big.
Red and blue are contrasts, as while blue is the color of tranquility, red is the color of excitement, heat, and emotions. Red exists at the very end of the visible light spectrum, and is a color of extremes. Red has always been a primal color. It was one of the first colors used in prehistoric art, and the Egyptians, Mayans, and Romans all painted their faces red for important ceremonies.
The color of blood, red is the color of visceral life. It is linked with all of our strongest emotions including passion, anger, hatred, and lust. It is the color of the ego. The color that thinks about us as individuals and our own wants and desires. It is both vibrant and energizing, but also dangerous when uncontrolled. It is often used to form create spaces where intense thinking is called for.
Blue + Red = Purple
The contrasting colors of blue and red combine to make purple, a color often associated with royalty. It represents the power of the ego brought to bear, but mastered by the tranquility, serenity, and perspective of blue. It is the color of capability and success.
Purple is also associated with the esoteric and the things that exist just beyond the vale of what our conscious mind can understand. It is can enhance our spiritual awareness, and help us become more closely connected with our dreams, imagination, and even psychic abilities.
Balancing the often conflicting sides of human nature, purple is also a color of creativity, that allows us to form new connections and find inspiration in unexpected places.
Additional read: The art of color mixing