The Color Purple

No, I haven't read the book.

Yes, I want to.

But shockingly enough, that is not what this post is about.

This post is about my new obsession with the color purple. Even more shocking, I know. The color the color purple (as opposed to the book The Color Purple). Me, in love with purple? Who'd a thunk?

Purple is sly and seductive. I've always been a Red girl myself, but I was reviewing my projects over the last few months and realized that purple has weaseled it's way into all of my favorite ones.

The apron I made for Reena for Christmas.

My lovely front bed of perennials.

My kitchen hutch, recently painted in a lovely shade of eggplant.

I knew I had it bad when I decided to paint my red desk...purple. It is the ultimate betrayal. Sorry, Red. I've moved on.

Lately I've been browsing through The Lost Language of Symbolism by Alonzo Gaskill. Very, very interesting stuff. This morning, due to my recent discovery that I had unwittingly fallen in love with the color purple, I looked up it's scriptural significance. For your reading pleasure, I will relate what I learned.

Purple, as some of you may know, has long been a symbol of royalty, power and wealth. This is largely due to the fact that anciently the only way to produce purple dye was to extract and skillfully combine the secretions of two different mollusks. It was difficult, rare, and therefore pricey. In the Tabernacle and other temples of ancient Israel, purple, along with blue, scarlet, and white, were the only colors the Lord specified be used for the fabrics in the temple and the Priest's clothing. In addition, Purple (appropriately) symbolized spiritual progression.

Interesting scriptural usage: In Revelations, the Great Harlot wears purple as an attempt to counterfeit the priest's clothing. She is also depicted drinking out of a golden cup, similar to the chalice a priest would use in a wine offering in the temples of ancient Israel. She wears an inscription in her forehead stating, "Mystery, Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth". A priest would have had a miter with the inscription "Holiness to the Lord" on his head. So the whore sells sacred things for money, imitates the priesthood, and tries to steal the glory of God. Sound familiar? I guess it's always the same old story with Satan. Isn't that interesting?

Anyway...how tangential of me. I'm sorry. Back to the topic at hand...

Purple. So it's not as if I'm painting my walls or anything-- though Purple on it's best behavior, genteel and gray, would look lovely in my office-- but things are cooling down in my color world even as the weather is heating up.