The table of colours given in the frontispiece has already been
thoroughly described in the book _Man Visible and Invisible_, and the
meaning to be attached to them is just the same in the thought-form as
in the body out of which it is evolved. For the sake of those who have
not at hand the full description given in the book just mentioned, it
will be well to state that black means hatred and malice. Red, of all
shades from lurid brick-red to brilliant scarlet, indicates anger;
brutal anger will show as flashes of lurid red from dark brown clouds,
while the anger of "noble indignation" is a vivid scarlet, by no means
unbeautiful, though it gives an unpleasant thrill; a particularly dark
and unpleasant red, almost exactly the colour called dragon's blood,
shows animal passion and sensual desire of various kinds. Clear brown
(almost burnt sienna) shows avarice; hard dull brown-grey is a sign of
selfishness--a colour which is indeed painfully common; deep heavy grey
signifies depression, while a livid pale grey is associated with fear;
grey-green is a signal of deceit, while brownish-green (usually flecked
with points and flashes of scarlet) betokens jealousy. Green seems
always to denote adaptability; in the lowest case, when mingled with
selfishness, this adaptability becomes deceit; at a later stage, when
the colour becomes purer, it means rather the wish to be all things to
all men, even though it may be chiefly for the sake of becoming popular
and bearing a good reputation with them; in its still higher, more
delicate and more luminous aspect, it shows the divine power of
sympathy. Affection expresses itself in all shades of crimson and rose;
a full clear carmine means a strong healthy affection of normal type; if
stained heavily with brown-grey, a selfish and grasping feeling is
indicated, while pure pale rose marks that absolutely unselfish love
which is possible only to high natures; it passes from the dull crimson
of animal love to the most exquisite shades of delicate rose, like the
early flushes of the dawning, as the love becomes purified from all
selfish elements, and flows out in wider and wider circles of generous
impersonal tenderness and compassion to all who are in need. With a
touch of the blue of devotion in it, this may express a strong
realisation of the universal brotherhood of humanity. Deep orange
imports pride or ambition, and the various shades of yellow denote
intellect or intellectual gratification, dull yellow ochre implying the
direction of such faculty to selfish purposes, while clear gamboge shows
a distinctly higher type, and pale luminous primrose yellow is a sign of
the highest and most unselfish use of intellectual power, the pure
reason directed to spiritual ends. The different shades of blue all
indicate religious feeling, and range through all hues from the dark
brown-blue of selfish devotion, or the pallid grey-blue of
fetish-worship tinged with fear, up to the rich deep clear colour of
heartfelt adoration, and the beautiful pale azure of that highest form
which implies self-renunciation and union with the divine; the
devotional thought of an unselfish heart is very lovely in colour, like
the deep blue of a summer sky. Through such clouds of blue will often
shine out golden stars of great brilliancy, darting upwards like a
shower of sparks. A mixture of affection and devotion is manifested by a
tint of violet, and the more delicate shades of this invariably show the
capacity of absorbing and responding to a high and beautiful ideal. The
brilliancy and the depth of the colours are usually a measure of the
strength and the activity of the feeling.
Another consideration which must not be forgotten is the type of matter
in which these forms are generated. If a thought be purely intellectual
and impersonal--for example, if the thinker is attempting to solve a
problem in algebra or geometry--the thought-form and the wave of
vibration will be confined entirely to the mental plane. If, however,
the thought be of a spiritual nature, if it be tinged with love and
aspiration or deep unselfish feeling, it will rise upwards from the
mental plane and will borrow much of the splendour and glory of the
buddhic level. In such a case its influence is exceedingly powerful, and
every such thought is a mighty force for good which cannot but produce a
decided effect upon all mental bodies within reach, if they contain any
quality at all capable of response.
If, on the other hand, the thought has in it something of self or of
personal desire, at once its vibration turns downwards, and it draws
round itself a body of astral matter in addition to its clothing of
mental matter. Such a thought-form is capable of acting upon the astral
bodies of other men as well as their minds, so that it can not only
raise thought within them, but can also stir up their feelings.