Back to Black

When I see so many people garbed in black I secretly judge that their unhappiness is self-inflicted. In Los Angeles, black and gray ( a component of black and white) is a safe boring, and common color combination. While some say that black is the absence of color, in Art, if you combine the three primary colors of red, yellow, and blue—the result is very close to black.

In science, a black object absorbs all colors and none are reflected back to the eye. If color is seen as something generated by light, black can be defined as the absence of light.

So let’s delve deeper into the history of the color black.

Black in Storytelling

In old stories about knights, the color black was used to symbolize something mysterious and secret. Take, for example, the character Black Knight in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. The mysterious knight dresses in black to conceal his true identity and thus helps the hero to victory. Stories like this helped create an association between people dressed in black and mystery and concealment.

Black as a Sign of Mourning

Today, black is acceptable attire for funerals as a symbol of grief. This may be because death is associated with eternal sleep or darkness.

For centuries, people saved their best and most valuable clothing for going to church and funerals. For those special occasions, dresses were usually black, amongst common people and those in the countryside. I noticed that watching Downton Abbey. The Aristocrats wore color. But did you know that prior to the First World War it was common for wedding dresses to be black? Queen Victoria broke the rule for her wedding to Prince Albert. That could be one explanation as to why black attire is an appropriate color at parties and festivities.

But black hasn’t always been a color for grief. The French kings once used red as a sign of mourning, and later that changed to purple. White was even used for mourning in the past. It was Anna of Bretagne, a French duchess, who introduced black as the color of mourning in the late 1400s.

Black used as a symbol of Power

Men and women in positions of power often wear black, such as Court Judges. One reason is that in the past it was difficult to dye silk and other fabrics black and have the color be even. As the dying process became easier, black cloth was expensive to make, so only people with power and money were able to afford black clothes. It was a long time before common people could afford black clothing.

During the 1700s, black became a fashionable color and started to be worn for celebrations and festivals. Even today there aren’t many women who haven’t worn a 'little black dress' to a party or event. I myself own several. The same goes for men who wear a black suit or tuxedo on special occasions. King Edward VII of Great Britain started the tradition of wearing a white shirt with a black jacket and trousers to special events and celebrations.

In today’s climate, black is the color of rebellion for many young people, gothic style indicates all black. It was the first color used in cave paintings by the Native Americans. It’s associated with banishing spells and cleansing negative energy. Legend has it that bad luck comes to people when a black cat crosses their path. And if it happens on Friday the 13th, watch out! But these are superstitions.

There are a ton of other meanings behind the color black; a formal event is called black-tie. The phrase pitch black means no light or visibility is present especially when it comes to driving on a dark night. There are numerous synonyms for the word such as coal, ebony, raven, shadowy, dusky, and even pitch-dark. People can be so angry they blackout, or their vision goes black. To some the color black is associated with evil and the unknown. Black widow spiders as well as panthers are black. Black holes suck up everything in space.

Black as an Energy Source

The color black is used in magic and has many different uses in spells and rituals.

The properties of black return the same energy to its sender. There is black in divination, protection, dark goddesses, time, chaos, the beginning of creation, North, winter, rebirth, wisdom, the number 8, infinity, destroying bad habits, rest, investigation, and combating hyperactivity.

I can go on and on, such as black in lingerie and used as seduction, but that's another blog post that warrants my full attention.

What do you think about black? Does it make you feel powerful, and seductive like a cat, make you blend in, do you feel elegant or sad? Do tell. I chose Amy Winehouse as my lead in this post, I loved her music but she was tragic and dressed heavily in black.