The Colour Green

Green is above all else the colour of nature, and our relationship with nature has always been an ambivalent one. Right from mankind’s earliest times, the green of forests, jungles, long grasses and other wild places has indicated a world which mankind depends on, but in which he is not entirely welcome. Despite the dangers however, for most of mankind’s history the natural world was the only widely available source of resources. Green is therefore associated with wealth, currency, employment, good luck and fullness. The green colour of the American dollar has compounded this association.

Another aspect of nature’s greenery that has been passed on to the colour is its lush fertility. Green represents all things that grow, the natural world – particularly where being ‘natural’ is considered desirable – and by extension health, longevity, vitality and endurance. Rolling fields and tidy grasslands are signs of beauty and tamed nature, a great pleasure for most of us, and in that aspect, as a harmonious, peaceful colour, green indicates stability, beauty, compassion, growth, transformation, unconditional love and sharing. This has been translated into permission to proceed in a number of important contexts, including traffic lights and most other transport-related situations. Similarly, business projects that have been given the go-ahead are said to have been green-lighted.

Into the Green by FreeWine

But there is a darker side to the natural world as well. In countries all over the globe, green has a history of representing danger and death. The natural world has long been a great source of menace to mankind as well as his supporter. Dense woods and jungles – and long grass – can hide all sorts of menaces, from large predators to ankle-snapping holes to all manner of diseases and poisons. Robin Hood, the famous legendary green-clad outlaw, appears to have been at least partly related to Celtic ideas about death. His green outfit makes him an embodiment of nature – both a source of food and wealth for the hungry, and a lethal source of menace, although the hero killed only the unrighteous. The green of army camouflage and its automatic association with combat and death is an updated take on this meaning.

In western cultures, green is also commonly found as a sign of jealousy, inexperience, greed or nausea, particularly in its lighter shades. The Chinese use it as a sign of cuckoldry, particularly when linked to hats. In religion, it is a sacred colour for Moslems and Catholics, and an indicator of growth in general Christianity. Politically, it often represents ecological awareness. It is frequently used as a colour of light in electronic devices because it is physically the easiest colour for the eye to perceive, and the one in which we can distinguish the greatest number of shades. It is also one of the most fundamental colours. As languages develop words for colours and shades, black and white are always the first to arrive, followed by good old red, the colour of blood. Green is the next named colour, and interestingly, if blue does not have a name, it is always lumped in with green — something to do with the tone perhaps, or the prevalence of both to make up large swathes of natural settings.