Colour as Incantation
When I work with Tarot colour, I never see it as passive decoration. Each shade feels like a spell, a quiet incantation shaping emotional atmosphere long before conscious interpretation begins. Colour becomes ritual language, guiding intuition through tone rather than explicit symbol. When a composition glows or darkens, the viewer responds instinctively, as if the pigment were whispering meaning beneath the surface. This is where modern aesthetics meet ancient magic: colour as energetic command.
Ritual Origins of Colour Magic
Colour has always held ritual significance. Slavic embroidery used specific threads to protect the body and soul, believing red borders blocked harmful forces. Byzantine icon painters treated cinnabar and ultramarine as consecrated pigments reserved for sacred presence. In Mediterranean folk traditions, blue amulets guarded emotional stability, while golden tones invited prosperity and illumination. When I choose a shade, I am not selecting at random. I am drawing from these lineages, allowing colour to carry ritual resonance into contemporary symbolic art.
Pink Glow as Invitation
Soft pink glow often acts as an emotional spell of openness. It feels like a calling, a gentle invitation toward connection. In my work, pink appears as tender illumination around glowing seeds or mirrored petals, suggesting vulnerability that is willingly shared. Rather than portraying sentimentality, pink becomes a spell of emergence, the moment when inner emotion rises toward the surface. It is a quiet charm that softens defenses and encourages relational warmth.
Green Shadows as Protection
Green shadows function differently. They create protective boundaries, holding emotional space without revealing too much. Baltic forests were once believed to conceal hidden knowledge, accessible only to those who entered with respect. When I add deep green haze around botanical guardians, I am invoking that atmosphere. The colour casts a spell of containment, allowing growth to remain safe within its roots. Green becomes a protective incantation, grounding emotional movement.
Ember Glow as Manifestation
Warm ember tones act as spells of manifestation. They pulse with subtle heat, echoing the moment when intention becomes visible. Slavic rituals involving glowing coals treated fire as both destructive and transformative, capable of blessing new beginnings. When I introduce crimson haze or burnt warmth into a composition, I feel that ignition internally. Ember glow becomes a colour spell that awakens agency and creative drive, sparking movement without overwhelming.
Lunar Blues as Intuitive Quiet
Misty blues carry the spell of intuitive stillness. They dissolve boundaries, creating a sense of emotional fluidity. Maritime traditions saw blue pigments as guardians against storms, both literal and symbolic, connecting the colour to resilience and emotional regulation. When blue haze softens edges in my work, it becomes a calming enchantment, encouraging reflection and dream-coded understanding. It is the colour of lunar quiet, a whisper guiding the viewer toward inner clarity.
Botanical Guardians as Spell Carriers
Botanical motifs amplify these colour spells. Night-flowers blooming from darkness evoke hidden beauty, while thorned curls protect delicate interior spaces. Fern imagery suggests secret knowledge revealed only under the right conditions, reflecting the way incantations require timing and intention. When colour and botany merge, the spell becomes embodied. The artwork feels like a living ritual object, infused with symbolic energy rooted in cultural heritage.
Modern Aesthetics and Ancient Magic
I am fascinated by the tension between contemporary visual language and ancestral symbolism. Clean gradients and soft glow might appear modern, yet they echo centuries-old practices where colour guided emotional states. My aesthetic approach allows these spells to feel accessible without losing their depth. The viewer experiences magic through atmosphere rather than overt ritual, making the incantation subtle but powerful.
Why Colour Spells Endure
Colour spells persist because they mirror emotional truth. We respond instinctively to warmth, darkness, softness, and light, even when we cannot explain why. In modern symbolic artwork, colour becomes a way to communicate internal landscapes without literal narrative. Each time I return to these shades, they reveal new emotional incantations, reminding me that colour is not only seen but felt. It is a form of magic woven into the visual world, shaping experience through atmosphere and resonance.
