The Colours Violet and Purple

There is a great deal of confusion between violet, the final colour of the visible spectrum, and purple, which does not actually exist within it. While the two colours are similar, violet is distinctly bluer than purple, and also considerably less saturated. In practical terms, violet – which, like indigo, is almost impossible to reproduce truly in print or on screen – is light at a wavelength which marks the eye’s threshold of perception, specifically around 380 to 420 nanometres, while purple is a mixture of blue light and red light, and contains light of two or more totally different wavelengths. Violet sees relatively little use in the day to day world, and is usually associated symbolically with spirituality and the divine – thanks primarily to its correspondence to the Hindu crown chakra.

Purple Mosaic by Stormwatcher

Symbolically, purple is by far the more important of the two colours. A deep, rich hue, purple has traditionally been difficult to reproduce. Its exclusivity meant that producing purple goods was extremely expensive, and hence it has been firmly associated with rulers from locations all around the world, both royal and imperial. As such, it is also associated with the virtues that rulers typically wish their subjects to believe that they possess – wisdom, power, wealth and luxury. Other associations also come from this attribution, including ceremony, mystery, arrogance, transformation and cruelty. Linguistically, the colour has come to symbolise excess, as in ‘purple prose’ or ‘purple haze’.

As a fusion of reds and blues, purple has often been used in recent years to indicate coalitions, compromises, blends and, by extension, homosexuality. In addition to its worldwide association with rulership, the colour also indicates penitence in Christian thought and widowhood in Thailand. Advertisers commonly focus on purple as a sign of wealth, luxury and prestige, a way of suggesting to potential customers that while spending money on a particular chocolate or cigarette or what have you may not help you become Emperor, it will still provide elements of the associated lifestyle.