by Bruce Johnson
The Chaldeans were the learned seers, astrologers and magicians of ancient Babylonia. Like esotericists today, they taught that all things in the four kingdoms of nature have their origin or basis in one or another of the seven primary color rays. The seven basic color rays are each sub-divided into seven sub-color rays. For example, the red ray would contain red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet sub-rays. The red sub-ray of the red ray would be the purest expression of the color red. The color spectrum is depicted in the subdivision of each of the seven basic colors. This seven-fold division can be seen in the mineral, plant, animal and human kingdoms.
Chaldean astrologers associated each of the seven primary color rays with one of the heavenly bodies. Here is a list of planets and associated color rays in the Chaldean order. Moon = violet, Mercury = yellow, Venus = indigo, Sun = orange, Mars = red, Jupiter = blue and Saturn = green. Astrology teaches that every mineral, plant, animal and human is born under the rays of one of the seven planets, and therefore, one of the seven color rays. The planet that has the strongest influence in a person’s horoscope is called the ruling planet of the chart.
The seven rays express themselves in a similar manner in the plant kingdom, with each plant having its ruling planet and primary color. Let’s look at some examples of planets and related plants.
Moon – violet colors, cabbage, cauliflower, chickweed, cucumber, gourd, iris, lettuce, melon, mushrooms, pumpkin, purslain, seaweed, turnips, water arrowhead, water lily, water violet, night- blooming plants and plants full of sap. Lunar trees include the palm and maple.
Mercury – yellow colors, azaleas, caraway seeds, calamint, carrots, dill, endive, fennel, horehound, lavender, licorice, lilac, lily of the valley, marjoram, myrtle, parsley and valerian. Filbert and hazel trees relate to Mercury.
Venus – indigo colors, fragrant plants, artichoke, beans, daffodils, ferns, foxglove, goldenrod, gooseberry, grapes, lily, peppermint, rose, vervain, vines, violet and wheat. Some Venus-attuned trees are the almond, apple, cherry, pear, pecan, and pomegranate trees.
Sun – orange colors, aromatic herbs, chamomile, cinnamon, corn, frankincense, juniper, marigold, mistletoe, musk, peony, poppy, rice, rosemary, saffron, St. John’s wort, and sunflowers. The bay, citrus and walnut are among the solar trees.
Mars – red colors, hot and spicy plants, aloes, briars, cactus, garlic, ginger, hawthorn, honeysuckle, hops, horseradish, leek, mustard, nettles, onion, peppers, plantain, radish, thistles, and tobacco. Martian trees include those with thorns.
Jupiter – blue colors, apricots, asparagus, balsam, cloves, currants, daisy, dandelion, liver-wort, mint, myrrh, nutmeg, rhubarb, sage, strawberry, and sugar cane. Trees linked to Jupiter are the ash, birch, chestnut, fig, mulberry, and oak.
Saturn – green colors, barley, hemlock, hemp, holly, horsetail, ivy, mandrake, moss, nightshade, pansies, parsnip, rushes, Shepard’s purse, rye and spinach. Trees with an affinity to Saturn are the cypress, elm, pine, willow and yew.
Keep in mind that due to color sub-rays, a plant or vegetable can be a different color than the primary color ray its part of. An excellent spiritual gift to develop would be the ability to discern the color ray of any mineral, plant, animal, or human through ray psychometry, or the ability to detect the presence of a particular color ray by touch.
Bruce Johnson has over 30 years of study in the fields of Ancient Wisdom and occultism. He has taught classes on a wide range of topics, from Atlantis to mediums to Zoroaster. He is also a spiritualist minister, with a background in spiritual astrology. He lives in Colorado with his wife and their cat.
