COLOURS in the SANCTUARY GARDEN

Spring is in the air and so is Holi (the Indian festival of colours). This time of the year is all about freshness. What more can be an excuse to embrace colours and to give personal touch to enhance our personal spaces?

Everyone of us goes through colour decisions everyday. Which colour to wear? This scarf or that tie? Orange juice or green pear? Some decisions are made very effortlessly - our sub-conscious secretly guides us without us even realising when that happens. But, to be fully aware of what colours to be embraced in our homes and offices, we gently need to hit the reset button. So, what comes to your mind when you hear about colours? Seasons...flowers...rainbows...furnishings...curtains...tapestry...nature?

In the last article, we talked about spaces being planned with a living consciousness of an organism and how this 'someone special' is the basis of all design. This person, known as 'Vaastu-purush' lies flat on his belly - symmetrical along a mirror axis and fits nicely together in a square grid. Let us explore him in new light ... and colour !!! Nature provides us with all seven rainbow colours (which correspond to the seven energy chakras or centers of the body) - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The same rainbow colours are associated with various body organ. This is how they bring out responses in the body by healing it or disturbing it. Research also shows that moods, health and well being can be affected by colour therapy.

Vaastu too uses specific colours in each of the cardinal directions to enhance good luck, health and wealth. This is because each direction is governed by a planet, which has a dominant chemical element - represented by a specific colour. Take Venus for example - a planet high in Sulphur which is yellow in colour, ruling the south-east direction. Scientifically this can be explained by the fact that, we perceive colour only because of sunlight and the intensity of sunlight changes in different directions. Archaeologists have also discovered that thousand year old Egyptian temples used the same ways of solarisation to heal with pure colour. In the Greek city of Heliopolis, they even had the City of the Sun. When the sunlight entered the building, its rays split into colours of the spectrum and the individual colours were ‘conducted’ into different room where people would bathe in the colour that their state of health required.

Are you planning to re-decorate your house? Or may you recently have and still not happy with the results? Thinking of trying new drapes, flowers, artefacts, paintings, cushions, essential oils and many more. Let us energise spaces around us by applying a new way to use colours.This exercise will take you through the steps to make your own Sanctuary Garden in broad spectrum of areas around your space.

IS YELLOW YOUR COLOUR?
Brighten the north-east of your home or the office space with the light of the sun - YELLOW. North-east is represented by Jupiter, the highest deity of the Romans and Greeks. The ideal colour here is yellow or gold as it stands for purity. The Reasoning - the resultant vector of vital energies always flows from the north-east to the south-west. This flow is also depicted from the head to the toe of the Vastu-purush controlling the entire energy field. It is the best color to be used for private study, library or meditation rooms to make it pleasant for reading and private contemplation.

Try Tulips - the symbol for the Turkish Empire symbolize imagination, dreaminess, perfect lover, and a declaration of love. Yellow tulips mean "there's sunshine in your smile" and cheerful thoughts. It is said that tulips got their name due to the resemblance to the headgear worn by people in the Middle East, such as the Persians -- the turban. Changed into Latin, this became "tulipa," hence the name tulips. They will always be cheerful, stimulating and encouraging.

The east is ruled by the Sun. The preferred colour here is bright white giving purity. The Reasoning – the solar life energy enters the plot from the east bringing in warmth - shining and radiating the entire area. This direction therefore should be designed with warmth and decorated more openly, purely and harmoniously. Ideally the main entrance, prayer room or dining is located here.

Orchids symbolize love, beauty, refinement, thoughtfulness and mature charm. Its name comes from Ancient Greece and also associated with luxury, wealth and a symbol of manliness. It has the ability to grow anywhere and has the resistance power to bloom under any condition, that makes it a symbol of love. The pink orchid conveys pure affection and is also the 14th wedding anniversary flower. Another white flower, Daisy literally meaning “day’s eye” because it opens at dawn symbolizing new beginnings. Nothing can ever be as fresh as a daisy although these flowers are 4000 years old. This flower often depicted in meadows in Medieval paintings brings purity, innocence, loyal love, beauty, patience and simplicity.

South-east ruled by element fire and the planet Venus. The Reasoning - planet Venus represents love, femininity, aesthetics and also the success in one's career. Its yellow colour code combined with the fire element, improves the cooking and good health making it ideal to place the kitchen. White is the preferred colour to balance the radiance and lightness of the fire element. Yellow, orange, rose pink, chocolate and red colors are also good colors for kitchen. The heating, electrical panels, fireplaces and any other appliances connected to the element fire can be safely placed there as well.

South coral red or pink. Red is able to provide determination, assertiveness, physical strength and a fighting spirit to the inhabitants but we also very easily associate red with anger, energy and excitement. South is the direction of death and the purpose of life but not in a negative sense because death and life, purpose and destruction are closely linked to each other. A living with large windows and terraces in south works if one takes care not to open the entire south and the north is equally balanced and handled with care. A storeroom or storage in general or staircase also match the heaviness of the south.
Are u a LILY person?

Lilies are considered the star of summer, because they bloom when other flowers have faded away. Legend has it that a lily grew from Eve's tears when she was cast from the Garden of Eden. In the symbolic language of the Tarot, the lily holds symbolism of purity, innocence and fertility. The lily is a symbolic flower of health and the freedom to be ourselves - to grow and to create new relationships and births.

Master Bedroom is best located in the South-west which is ruled by the shadow planet, Rahu. Pink is an auspicious color for bedroom. Light blue and light green are also good for bedroom. The Reasoning - Rahu stands for expansion, intensity, hard work and material profit. But, like everything, it also has a dark side leading to greed and violence. Pink is the right balance between red from the south and the blue from the west. A soothing colour like blue is also preferred. The pink, green and blue colors are good for dining room in the west to make it refreshing for the family to eat and entertain. Black and white or mixture of black and white in the west should be avoided.

Success is the most common meaning of Laurel flower - the easiest and most tolerant evergreen shrub, which will brighten any dim dark corner of the room by its happy presence. The ground laurel is a symbol of perseverance, the ability to sustain odds, overcome obstacles, and emerge a winner. The mountain Laurel is usually associated with high ambition, which motivates a person to reach outwards and upwards in life.

The Lotus flower holds in itself the secret of happiness, cheerfulness and enlightenment. It basically symbolizes the clarity of heart as well as the mind. Some scholars have even talked of the lotus flower being a universal representation of the spiritual presence in human lives.The lingering fragrance of the lotus flowers holds the perfect potential of bringing a tender smile on any-body's lips. In Egyptian mythology, the Lotus is associated with the sun, because it bloomed by day, and closed by night. It is a sacred flower for Buddhists and one of the eight auspicious signs of Buddhism - an eight petalled lotus. A bud symbolizes potential and untouched by the impurity. Since the seeds have been found to last for thousands of years and still perfect for re-germination, it is a symbol of strong vital force that could withstand extremely adverse conditions. The lotus flower thus represents long life, health, honor and good luck. This depth of thought has made the lotus the National Flower of India.

At the time of sunset, when the Sun is in the west, man realizes that the activities of the day have exhausted him. The west is where after sunset the birds return to and likewise activities of man generally become slower in the west. The Reasoning - The body demands peace and relaxation after sunset. This direction is ruled by Saturn and the colour preferred here should be grey or dark blue which is for satisfaction, maturity and courage. A study, room for kids, a dining room or a pantry / storeroom, toilets or the studio of an artist can be best placed there.

Blue always calms and soothes the mind to relieve many kinds of pain. However, if a person gets too ‘blue’, it suggests that he is too passive and too introverted – all of which can lead to depression. Take the Iris flower - it denotes faith, hope, wisdom, courage and admiration. The Greek Goddess Iris, the messenger of the gods and the personification of the rainbow, acted as the link between heaven and earth. The most popular variety is deep blue colour which can bring on a relaxed state.

Purple lilacs symbolize the first emotions of love, while white lilacs represent youthful innocence. It will never fail to inspire peace and relaxation.

A darker purple has a more healing effect just like Ivy is for wedded love, fidelity, friendship and affection. The summer sun spreads the magic of Ivy Flowers. Since long, Ivy stands as an emblem of true love. Symbolized as a woman, Ivy is perhaps one of the most romantic plants to weave the marvel of affection, care, warmth, love and constancy in the most elegant way. A lot more than just being a love flower, Ivy brings the promise of a better tomorrow amidst its seethe and magic.

Coming to the North-West corner, the second best choice for the kitchen. It is also preferred for a guestroom, an office or a pantry, for all kinds of vehicles, pets or animals, kids' playground or a herb garden. The Reasoning - the northwest is important in the life of a person because it is responsible for movement and change, internal as well as external. This also refers to relationships with other people, friendships and commerce. It is governed by the moon. The ideal colour here is therefore, white or light yellow as it denotes purity and wealth.

North is ruled by Mercury and the colour suitable for this direction is green as this gives intelligence and wealth. Choose green color for kids’ bedroom to help increase concentration to learn and study. It can be also reserved for the living room with open and large entrance areas surrounded by green plants. The Reasoning – the north is the ideal direction for recovery and healing from where all the organic, earthy parts of the life energy enter. Green is the color of peace, hope and healing and is a great balance between the warm,it vibrant colors and the cooler, more calming colors. It truly applies a transition from earth to the heavens. The quality of the light in the north makes it ideal for challenging and important activities like studying, establishing a studio or exhibiting arts.

The fern was one of the first plants on Earth and a wonderful architectural plants. Beautiful, versatile, fascinating, tactile, robust and long-lived and give a sense of well-being to any space. Ferns can be found floating, submersed, climbing, at the edges of water, in crevices, woodlands, deserts, in mountains and high up in the canopy of tropical rain-forest trees.

So, are you still feeling a bit ‘Off Colour’? Let us not forget, colours work at all levels - from a vast open park in the north of a city to a green flowery garden on the entrance to a house or simply, a small red vase with pink flowers in the right corner of a kitchen. Try out new ways to add colour to your sanctuary garden - be it with herbs, plants, furnishings, oils, carved candles, lights or simply a lick of paint! 

Do you want to know more and use colours to excel and support the qualities of your personal direction? Discover the bio-energy laws for buildings from Vedic traditions and use them as powerful tools for success – to help heal and find total abundance. To get in touch for possible solutions for your home and business, please send your queries to us.

Happiness and abundance is all for you - in your space and your mind... just give it a chance!

Copyright photo courtesy : Sejal Shaktinandan