Dreaming of certain colors in your dreams can have great significance when it comes to unlocking what a dream means.
Since we are affected by color in waking life (we often associate color with emotions and moods) - it only therefore makes sense that our dreams also use color to help guide us and help us understand ourselves better.
Now, before we go over what all the different colors often mean, it is important to remember that colors in dreams can have many different meanings, and they will vary from person to person.
Someone who is fond of the color yellow will think much differently than someone who hates the color yellow. So while these meanings below will give you a good start on interpreting your own dream colors, bear in mind you are the best interpreter of your dreams!
Here are some of the common color symbols and their meanings:
Black: Black is the darkest of all colors and to dream of black can have a number of different meanings. It is often a color associated with loneliness, sadness, emptiness, mourning, and depression. It can often signify the unknown or mysteriousness. Black can also mean hatred, fear, anger, and darkness.
Blue: Blue is a cool, often tranquil and peaceful color. We often see blue associated with water, heaven, and the sky. It can signify a flowing of ideas/thoughts, creativity, calming, loyalty, honesty, and soothing feelings, or relaxation. Blue can sometimes also mean sad and depressed (feeling blue).
Brown: Brown is an earthy color that we often associate with dirt, stone, and wood. To dream of the color brown often means you need to be "grounded" or need to go back to the origin of a problem. Brown can mean friendliness, trustworthiness, and wholesomeness (think whole grain bread). Since brown is a darker shade of orange, it can also mean a dulled sense of hopefulness and adventure. Light brown or beige can mean neutrality or predictability.
Gray: Gray, a mixture of white and black, is a neutral color. It can mean indecision, uncertainty, or confusion. It may mean isolation or detachment. It may also mean lifeless or dull.
Green: Green is another cool color that can signify peace and tranquility. Green is a color of healing and hope. Green can often mean "go", such as power on button or a traffic light. Green can symbolize newness and freshness. It can also symbolize money, wealth, riches, and prosperity.
Orange: Orange is a fun, bright and bold color and often symbolizes hope, freshness, zest, vigor, and optimism. Orange is a stimulating color that can be a symbol for hunger, desire, creativity, or sociability. Orange makes you feel alive and well and on top of the world.
Pink: Pink is a lighter shade of red, and can be a symbol of romance, love, sharing, generosity, kindness, affection, protection, and innocence. It can also be a symbolism of notice/observation.
Purple: Purple, the combination of blue and red, is considered to be a very spiritual and majestic color. It is sometimes associated with royalty and good judgement. Purple is a very creative and inspiring color and possesses a mixture of passion with calmness. Violet, a lighter shade of purple, can mean delicate, precious, or highly regarded. Shades of deep/dark purple may represent moodiness.
Red: Red can mean many different things to different people, so when interpreting a dream with the color red, it is important you think about the context of the color in the dream and in connection with your waking life. For some it may mean love, romance, passion, lust, desire, and intimacy. For others it may mean anger or violence or to control and over power. Dreaming of red can also be a warning (ever hear the expression, raised a red flag?) or a sign to stop (think traffic lights and stop signs).
White: White is the opposite of black. It signifies love, acceptance, purity, peace, knowledge and brightness. While white usually has positive connotations, it can sometimes have a negative meaning, as white is a color of mourning in Eastern cultures. There are also many sayings and phrases that use the color white that may be applied to your dream, such as "white out" and "white wash", which mean to cover up/conceal.
Yellow: Yellow is a color with various meanings, usually either positive or negative depending on the context of it being used in the dream. On the positive side it can mean innocence, hope, happiness, and lightheartedness - to have a "sunny disposition". On the negative side it can mean indecision, cowardliness, or sickness. Pay careful attention to how the dream made you feel to understand the meaning of the color yellow in your dreams.
Some Useful Tips for Decoding Dream Color Symbolism
Understanding the different meanings of colors in dreams can definitely help you with dream interpretation. While the above meanings are common, they certainly are not the only meanings for a certain color in your dream.
Here are some more tips that will help you get an accurate interpretation of what different colors mean in your dream:
If You Remember a Color, It's Probably Important: If you remember that something is a certain color, it's probably important. After all, we don't really go through our day to day lives and identify the color of every object we come into contact with. So if you dream of an object that is a certain color, don't dismiss it - that color very might well be tied to the greater message of the dream.
Look for Color Combinations: Often times we'll see color combinations. For example, maybe you dream of a yellow and blue bird. This might mean that you feel at peace and happiness, or it could mean you feel cowardly and depressed. When you tie two colors together, it can help you greater understand the meaning of the dream.
Consider Your Personal Relationship With the Color: If your favorite color is hot pink, and you dream about it, that would mean something different to you than if you dream about yellow, your least favorite color. Think carefully about your relationship with that color. Do you like it? How does it make you feel? What experiences in life have you had with that color?
Remember the Context of the Dream: The other dream symbols will certainly play a role in what the colors mean to you and help you find the meaning of the dream. If you are dreaming about that blue and yellow bird locked up in a cage trying to escape, that is different than dreaming about a blue and yellow bird singing on a tree branch.
Remember to Write Your Dreams Down: Writing your dreams down as a daily habit will definitely help you be more likely to remember your dreams, as well as make it easier to interpret them. When you write down your dreams, try to include as much detail as possible about the colors of each object in the dream.
Think About Color Names/Different Shades of Colors: There are thousands of colors and even more names for the basic colors, like turquoise, aqua, fuchsia, burgundy, olive, maroon, crimson, ivory...the list goes on and on. If you happen to have a color like that in your dream, consider whether the name has any significance - then think about the shade. For example, turquoise is a shade of blue green. As you can guess, it has qualities of both blue and green. Burgundy is a deep, dull red color - which could signify a dulled passion or love interest for example.
Are there any colors we may have missed? Do you have any tips for interpreting dream colors you would like to share? Have you used these color definitions to help you interpret a dream? We'd love to hear from you in the comments section below!