Glorious Gold
Gold is defined as a precious metal with the symbol value Au and is yellow in colour. The oxford dictionary defines it as, ‘Something considered to be precious, beautiful, or of the most superior quality’.
Gold is not an actual primary colour that our eyes see, as we have only cones of red, blue and green in our eyes and therefore we actually mix colours to get the variants in the spectrum. Gold is associated with a glittery, luxurious colour and although looks great on paper is very hard to mix for printing and not great on the computer screen.
Gold existed as part of the ‘big bang’ and was here on our planet as one of the first substances every created. Gold changes shape dependent upon heat. It liquifies making it transitional until it cools and becomes solid. Gold is measured in carats and at its highest it is 24 carat gold – too soft for jewellery making, but is 99.9% pure gold.
Gold – the Ancient Colour
Our first understanding of how gold was used can be seen from the Ancient Egyptians who used Gold extensively throughout their time on earth. The Death mask of Tutenkahmune is 11 kilos of solid gold – the Egyptians used over 110 kilos of gold during their time in Egypt and they were very lucky as there was much gold available around the North African region.
The gold naturally connected them to the yellowness associated with the Sun and as they believed that gold had magical mystic powers it was used to create amazing objects. Dwarfs, whom were also seen as magical creatures, were the Goldsmiths and created wonderful items that would be given to the gods in worship.
In Christianity, Gold represented human’s appreciation of the brilliance and splendour of God. Gold also symbolised the divinity of the Lord. Up until the 12th Century, the Pope had allowed only five colours, namely Violet, Red, Black, White and Green in religious symbolism. The colours Gold and Blue were added after the ecumenical Liturgical Movement. There were then seven colours all depicting different meanings. Very close to the meanings of the chakras in energy therapy.
In Hinduism, Gold is symbolic of knowledge, learning, meditation and mental development. The Hindu idols are shown to have radiant golden haloes around their heads. Often these deities are represented in golden apparel to show their brilliance and make devotees be in awe of their power and knowledge.
In Islam, Green and Gold are the colours of Paradise. Green also represents the desert and the green land whereas gold represents Allah and the glory of god.