was connected to the subjects of color, consciousness, and the body’s physiology, the readings stated that as energy rose through the endocrine centers of the body there were symbols and colors associated with each of these centers, which could come to consciousness. For example, in the Book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament, the prophet Ezekiel while in prayer has a vision in which he sees four beasts caught up in a whirlwind: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (Ezekiel 1:10). Similar imagery is witnessed five hundred years later by the Apostle John during his Revelation experience when he sees a lion, a man, a calf, and an eagle (Revelation 4:7). According to Cayce the images of these four beasts are actually associated with the four lower spiritual centers and can come to consciousness during meditation or prayer as the energy of the kundalini rises through the body. The symbolism association witnessed by both Ezekiel and John is as follows: the root chakra stands for a calf or an ox, the second chakra for a man or a human, the third chakra for a lion, and the fourth chakra for an eagle.
There are colors associated with each of the seven major chakras, which Cayce correlated to the body’s seven major glandular (endocrine) centers. Each of these colors has its own vibration and is also associated with the raising of personal consciousness. Cayce told the group: “. . . For as has been given, color is but vibration . . .” (281-29) The higher the center, the higher the level of vibration and consciousness, so that the first chakra and its corresponding color are lower than the seventh chakra and its corresponding color. The colors of these chakras or glands are easy to remember since they occur in the same order as the colors of the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet:
Although each of the colors corresponds to a level of consciousness and an understanding of what that color symbolized, Cayce also told the prayer group that personal associations and experiences with colors could supersede their generally accepted meaning. For example, while many individuals associate blue with spirituality and one’s spiritual path, to some that color might be associated with depression and the experience of “feeling blue.”
To be sure, an interest in color and an exploration of what colors may mean are not simply relegated to the Edgar Cayce information. Quite the contrary, for in the world of our perception color is all around us. Whether it is the vibrant greens of spring, the brilliant colors of summer, the orange and reds of autumn, or the intense white of our surroundings after a snowfall, color has always been a part of our environment. Throughout our lives, our relationship with color has an ongoing impact upon the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the furniture we choose, and even the food that we choose to eat. Color is everywhere. But in a very real sense color is a collectively perceived illusion. What we think we see is actually a by-product of the way in which the vibration of visible light is perceived by the eyes and the brain.
In terms of the science of color, it has been proven that the yellow banana we ate for lunch does not actually exude the color yellow. Instead the banana absorbs all frequencies of visible light that are shining on it with the exception of those frequencies that are reflected and perceived as yellow. We perceive things as being specific colors because all objects absorb certain wavelengths and reflect others. The reflected wavelengths are those that reach the eye. We perceive color because of our ability to distinguish among these different wavelengths. The shortest wavelength (and highest frequency) that is generally visible to humans is violet, and the longest wavelength (and shortest frequency) that is generally visible is red. A wavelength is measured in an infinitely small measurement equating to a thousand millionth of a meter called a nanometer (nm), and the visible range is approximately 380 nm to 740 nm.
Although some might believe that white is the absence of color whereas black contains all colors, the reverse is actually true. It was Isaac Newton who discovered that white light divides into its color components when passed through a prism. He labeled those colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Often the science of color does not distinguish a difference between indigo and violet, therefore “visible light” is often associated with just six bands of color. [It is important to note that “visible light” in the animal kingdom is much different than that perceived by human eyes. For example, many birds see a wider range of colors than humans, including colors in the ultraviolet spectrum (light with a shorter nm wavelength than violet); conversely, dogs and cats are generally labeled as “color blind” because they see very pale colors or various shades of gray.] However, since both Newton and Cayce discussed the importance of these seven colors, they will certainly be worth examining later.
Two of the tools dealing with personal symbolism and colors that are distinct to the Edgar Cayce readings are life seals and aura charts.3 Essentially, both of these tools are visual drawings and artistic depictions of symbols, images, and colors that Cayce suggested could assist each individual in better understanding him or herself. Life seals are drawings that individuals create, usually within a circle, that can help them better understand themselves. Similar to the use of mandalas by Carl Jung, these drawings contain colors, pictures, and images that have a symbolic importance to the individual. Ultimately, these seals serve as reminders of a person’s talents as well as those things that the individual may need to work on in the present. Cayce once told a twenty-year-old woman that she had the ability to create life seals for others, and he described the purpose of these drawings:
. . . that which will arouse in the inner self of individuals, individual minds, individual souls, that which will aid those individuals in knowing themselves, their weaknesses, their faults, their uprisings, their downsittings. That which enables the individual soul to see itself better. And that which aids each individual or hinders it, or is helpful to it in giving expression of itself in the present experience.
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Building upon this use of personal symbolism as a means of understanding the self while also incorporating the concepts of reincarnation and soul memory, Edgar Cayce recommended the creation of what he called an aura chart. The aura chart is essentially a visual illustration of the soul’s journey with pictures, images, colors, and symbols that portray what the soul has learned as well as where it has succeeded or failed in its passage through time and history. The aura chart depicts those lifetimes or incarnations that most influence the individual in the present—in other words those periods in history to which the individual feels most drawn and has the greatest emotional response (good or bad). Essentially, the aura chart is a visual representation of what Cayce referred to as the soul’s Akashic record—the universal record or database of each individual’s personal soul journey.
The first individual to request an aura chart reading was Cayce’s secretary, Gladys Davis, who was told that a reading requesting “. . . the symbols, colors, and the meaning of each . . .” could be made into a drawing that would be helpful to her. (288-50) Later, a thirty-one-year-old auto salesman requested an aura chart for himself and was told of its purpose:
In giving an aura chart—this we would indicate as to the high points in the experiences of the entity in the earth, having to do with the manner in which the entity has conducted or is conducting itself in the present for the greater unfoldment,—spiritually, mentally and materially . . .
The beauty of such a drawing depends much upon the concept of the artist. Yet these may visualize for the entity that as may bring helpful influences into the experience.
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The idea of using symbolism to facilitate personal growth and an expanding consciousness as well as a means of understanding one’s inner self is connected to what transpires during the Jungian concept of individuation. Essentially, the process of individuation is one in which the conscious mind comes to terms with its inner Self, integrates the substance of the unconscious, and gradually moves toward personal wholeness. The disconnected nature of the human creature on its journey toward wholeness is often depicted in archetypal imagery, symbolism, dreams, visions, fairy tales, and myths. For example, although children’s classics such as The Wizard of Oz and The Adventures of Pinocchio might be read as nothing more than entertaining stories, both are actually symbolic of the soul’s journey toward personal wholeness and