SCIENTIFIC VASTU FOR CHOOSING COLOURS | An Architect Explains

Colours are known to influence the human mind and body. Admittedly, colours have the ability to either depress or exhilarate and play a very important role in our health and happiness. For more information on the effect of colours on us humans, go to: Vaastu Colours for a Home. Therefore, choosing colours for the different rooms of a building is an important task. 

In this post, I have described the Vastu guidelines for choosing the right colours in your house. According to Vastu Shastra, you could choose colours based on the zodiac sign of the owner or based on the directions of the rooms. But before you choose, it is worthwhile to understand the scientific reasoning behind these Vastu guidelines. As an Architect, I have explained these guidelines rationally and scientifically under the following headings, so that you have a choice and can decide what you want to follow or don’t instead of looking at Vastu as a superstition:

What role do colours play in our lives?
What are the effects of colours on humans?
What are the Vastu guidelines for choosing colours for a house based on the zodiac sign of the owner?
What are the Vastu guidelines for choosing colours for a house based on the direction of the house?
What are the Vastu guidelines for colour shades for rooms of a house?
What are the Vastu guidelines for use of colour contrasts in a house?

WHAT ROLE DO COLOURS PLAY IN OUR LIVES?

Our body absorbs colour energy through the vibration each colour gives off. Through colour, we receive all the energies we need to maintain a healthy body, mind, and soul.  When something goes wrong or is out of balance, we can strengthen our energy centers through the conscious use of colour.

Healing by exposing a diseased body to the right coloured light, is known as Colour Therapy, and was the first type of treatment therapy, man used. So even in ancient times, colours played an important role in Vastu Shastra. In Vedic periods, all colours were obtained from vegetables and flowers. Though the options were far less than what are available today, they were more permanent, soothing to the eye and more natural in appearance.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF COLOURS ON HUMANS?

Light consists of the seven primary colour energies: VIBGYOR or Violet. Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. Each colour is associated with a particular part of our body and will affect us differently emotionally, physically, and mentally.

It has been scientifically confirmed that colours affect us, though we may not be aware of it. Our mood, health, happiness are all affected by the colours around us. For example, at times we like wearing bright colours, while sometimes we prefer to wear dull ones. This is why Colour Therapy has become popular today. Here I have explained the effects of different colours on us:

RED: represents power, vitality and zest. It displays warmth and enlightens our mood the moment we look at it. It ignites passion and desire and creates excitement and enthusiasm for life. It is used in those areas where one needs excitement, warmth and elegance. However too much of red can induce aggression and violence.

ORANGE: Orange colour inspires spirituality as it represents transcendence and an otherworldly aspect of life. No wonder spiritual people wear saffron robes. It also has the ability to stimulate our appetite. It enhances communication, positive feelings, cheerfulness and interaction.

YELLOW: Yellow is associated with Sun and so is a very bright and energizing colour. It stimulates the brain and nurtures clarity of mind. Yellow also gives patience and wisdom. Hence it is recommended for all rooms where brainpower is used such as study room, office etc. This colour is however not recommended for rooms where sunlight enters directly to the room.

GREEN: Green represents harmony and peace. As green is symbolic of nature, it generates calm and inner peace in the house. It also augments intelligence.  Green is good for a study room as it rejuvenates the ideas. Green goes with every other colour and makes it a natural neutral.

BROWN, GREY, DARK LUE, BLACK : It is best to avoid colours like brown, dark blue, black and grey in a study room and rooms were we want to be active because these colours make us lazy and may cause frustration and depression.

BLUE: Blue, the colour of the sky and water, is associated with nature and so naturally creates calm, tranquility and peace in the mind of the beholder. This colour is recommended for bedroom, meditation room or for a room designed for relaxing or sleeping. However, if used indiscriminately, it can produce strong feelings of melancholia and uneasiness and can be quite depressing.

PINK: Pink color reflects joy, happiness and pure feelings, essential for a happy life.

Choosing the right colour scheme for our house can be a difficult task. Nevertheless, this is where Vaastu Shastra comes to our aid. According to Vaastu, there are two thoughts on how colours for a house should be selected, as explained here:

 

WHAT ARE THE VAASTU GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING COLOURS FOR A HOUSE BASED ON ZODIAC SIGN OF TH OWNER?

In the first and most commonly followed method, select the colour schemes in conformance with the raashi (constellation / zodiac sign) of the owner to bring good luck and happiness.

Aries – Coral red
Taurus – Milky white
Gemini – Green
Cancer – Rose red, pearl white
Leo – Ruby red, dim white
Virgo – Emerald green
Libra – Cement color, milky white
Scorpio – Pink, coral red
Sagittarius – Golden yellow
Capricorn – Dim red
Aquarius – Pink, blue
Pisces – Yellow, pure white

 

WHAT ARE THE VAASTU GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING COLOURS FOR A HOUSE BASED ON DIRECTION OF THE BUILDING?

In the second method, you can choose the colour scheme according to the direction the building/room faces. Each direction is associated with a particular colour, which is actually the colour of the planet governing that direction.

East (Sun) – Brown
West (Saturn) – Grey
North (Mercury) – All greens
South (Mars) – Pink, coral red
North-East (Jupiter) – Golden yellow
South-West (Rahu) – Blue
South-East (Venus) – Silver white
North-West (Moon) – White

WHAT ARE THE VAASTU GUIDELINES FOR COLOUR SHADES FOR ROOMS OF A HOUSE?

Since blue is a cool shade and red is a warm colour, people often feel cold in a blue room and warm in a red room, because it is the colour that makes them feel that way. So when painting rooms of a house, keep in mind these points and choose colours according to the amount of light and warmth that you require in the room. Accordingly;

Room with poor daylight: Paint with light colours.
Room with lot of natural light throughout the day: Paint in some deep color.
Room that gets direct sunlight: Do not paint the walls yellow or peach.
Room that has only a North window which admits cold light: Avoid the use of blue on the walls.
Ceilings: Preferably paint the ceilings white since the ceiling temperature should be less than the human body temperature.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF ‘COLOUR CONTRASTS’ IN A HOUSE?

Colour contrast is perhaps the most important factor in a composition or a design. Maximum contrast is obtained by the use of colours of extremely strong chromes. For example, a strong yellow on a black background is an excellent example of maximum visibility and is therefore used all over the world to highlight road signs, dividers and taxis. Explained here are the contrasts created by the use of different colours:

Black: Black makes colours both brighter and lighter in appearance. For example, in a painting, a face against jet black hair, appears more luminous for this reason.
Grey surrounding an intense colour: can increase the apparent colorfulness of the intense colour. It appears even brighter or brilliant.
Intense colour surrounding grey colour: can make the grey appear less grey and on the other hand, the greying of the bright colors. For example, grey surrounded with yellow will appear slightly blue. Grey surrounded by red, will appear slightly green etc.
Blending of colours: One must always bear in mind that no individual is completely white (good) or black (bad), but is an amalgam of the two- Grey. A sensible good blending can create a forceful creation.

Thus you can see that even in Vaastu, colours were used to improve the sense of well-being and happiness for the residents. They are  easy to use, easy to apply and the quickest and cheapest option to create change in a room. So go ahead and make that change in your life. Read also about:

• Ideal Vastu Colours For A Home
• Vastu and Colour
• Colour Therapy

Feng Shui And Vastu Shastra are both ancient Asian sciences that have similarities. You can read more here:

• Feng Shui Colours

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