Zodiacrune

Ochre

ColorsElement: Earth 土

Overview

A pigment before it is a colour: ochre is earth that has been ground, and its traditional use is as the cheapest and most available colouring material.

Meaning

Ochre is the earth pigment — the colour of ground used as paint, and of walls and of the plain.

Traditional Interpretation

Sources treat ochre practically — it appears in discussions of materials rather than of symbolism.

Related Concepts

Brown
Brown is the colour of the ordinary and the aged — of undyed cloth, worked wood and tilled ground.
Yellow
Yellow is the colour of Earth and of the centre — and historically the colour reserved for the imperial house.
Soil
Soil is read as ground that will take what is put into it — Earth in its productive rather than its fixed sense.
Earth
The middle, and what holds everything else up.

FAQ

What does ochre symbolize in Chinese tradition?

Ochre is the earth pigment — the colour of ground used as paint, and of walls and of the plain. A pigment before it is a colour: ochre is earth that has been ground, and its traditional use is as the cheapest and most available colouring material.

Is ochre an auspicious color?

It depends on the setting rather than on the color alone. Ochre is the earth pigment — the colour of ground used as paint, and of walls and of the plain. The material origin is the whole reading: ochre is the one principal colour made directly out of the element it belongs to.

How is ochre read in Chinese tradition?

Sources treat ochre practically — it appears in discussions of materials rather than of symbolism. It is grouped under Earth (土) in the five-element system.

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