The Color Orange

?More than just the color of a popular fruit, orange is a color that carries many different connotations and meanings today depending on how it is used.

Orange is not just the color of the orange tree’s fruit, it is also a power color. It is a close relative of red, and seems to fuel more controversy than any other color as there is usually strong positive or negative association to it, as many people either like it or despise it more than other colors. Although the color red is associated with extreme heat, orange is associated with the warmth and energy of the sun. Orange is a healing color and it can affect us physically by encouraging activity, stimulating appetite and encouraging socialization. It is often said that people who like orange are usually more thoughtful and sincere than others as well.

Orange is the color associated with the Sacral Hara Chakra representing human sexuality and reproduction, and opening this chakra is said to stimulate sexuality a well as increase fertility and creativity. Semi-precious gemstones that said to help the Sacral Chakra include carnelian and orange agate. Other orange gemstones are used to promote general personal power and some people carry or place orange gemstones around the home or office to stimulate their creativity and mental quickness. In addition to orange carnelian and agate, favorite orange stones include Fire Opal, Sunstone, Orange Calcite, Tangerine Quartz and Orange Kyanite.

Orange is also associated with curiosity and the exploration of new things. When people need a change in their lives, they can use orange to liven things up, to increase creativity, and to provide some relief when things get too serious. Wearing the color orange is said to increase the willingness to embrace new ideas with enjoyment and a sense of creative exploration.

In the past orange has been a color the American Indians associated with kinship and in China and Japan, orange has been used to symbolize happiness and love. The political associations of the color include orange as the Netherlands' national color, dating back to the Dutch War of Independence and the Prince of Orange, and oddly enough, orange is associated with "gluttony" in Christian literature.

However, you use it; orange is a bright color that definitely attracts attention and sets things apart from their surroundings. This quality has led to the development of an official color called “Safety Orange”
that is currently used in the United States for traffic signs, cones and other construction zone marking devices. The color works so well as an attention-getter that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) now requires that specific construction equipment must be painted safety orange on every job site in the nation.