GUIDE TO ROCK SYMBOLISM--Meanings of Colors, Textures, Shapes, and Sizes of your Rock
One Color Symbolism Chart
RED: Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate.
PINK: Pink symbolizes love, romance, and excitement
BEIGE (Light Brown): Beige and ivory symbolize unification. Ivory symbolizes quiet and pleasantness. Beige symbolizes calm and simplicity.
YELLOW: Joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard.
BLUE: Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant.
TURQUOISE (Blue/Green): Turquoise symbolizes calm. Teal symbolizes sophistication. Aquamarine symbolizes water. Lighter turquoise has a feminine appeal.
PURPLE: Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning.
LAVENDER (Light Purple): Lavender symbolizes femininity, grace and elegance.
ORANGE: Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.
GREEN: Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigor.
BROWN (Darker than Beige): Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort.
GRAY: Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring. Silver symbolizes calm.
WHITE: Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical.
BLACK: Power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical color, mourning, death (Western cultures).
GOLD: Gold, kin, can evoke the sensation of looking upon waving fields of ripened rice stalks. Gold is also associated with royalty. It represents the color of the heavens, and is used to decorate statues of the Buddha and religious temples.
“COOL” COLORS (Blue, Green, Turquoise, Silver): Calming
“WARM” COLORS (Red, Pink, Yellow, Gold, Orange): Exciting
“MIXED COOL/WARM” COLORS (Purple, Lavender, Green, Turquoise): In between (not overly excited, not completely calm)
“NEUTRAL” COLORS (Brown, Beige, Ivory, Gray, Black, White): Unifying
PINK: Pink symbolizes love, romance, and excitement
BEIGE (Light Brown): Beige and ivory symbolize unification. Ivory symbolizes quiet and pleasantness. Beige symbolizes calm and simplicity.
YELLOW: Joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard.
BLUE: Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant.
TURQUOISE (Blue/Green): Turquoise symbolizes calm. Teal symbolizes sophistication. Aquamarine symbolizes water. Lighter turquoise has a feminine appeal.
PURPLE: Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning.
LAVENDER (Light Purple): Lavender symbolizes femininity, grace and elegance.
ORANGE: Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.
GREEN: Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigor.
BROWN (Darker than Beige): Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort.
GRAY: Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring. Silver symbolizes calm.
WHITE: Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical.
BLACK: Power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical color, mourning, death (Western cultures).
GOLD: Gold, kin, can evoke the sensation of looking upon waving fields of ripened rice stalks. Gold is also associated with royalty. It represents the color of the heavens, and is used to decorate statues of the Buddha and religious temples.
“COOL” COLORS (Blue, Green, Turquoise, Silver): Calming
“WARM” COLORS (Red, Pink, Yellow, Gold, Orange): Exciting
“MIXED COOL/WARM” COLORS (Purple, Lavender, Green, Turquoise): In between (not overly excited, not completely calm)
“NEUTRAL” COLORS (Brown, Beige, Ivory, Gray, Black, White): Unifying
Symbolism in Mixtures of Colors
BLACK/WHITE MIX: Black and white stands for mourning and cheerless occasions. For example, traditional garb for a funeral is black and white. Black for the loss, and white for their passing onto the heavens.
SILVER/GREY: Silver/Grey symbolizes security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, maturity, conservative, old age, sadness, and boring.
WHITE MARBLE: Purity, immortality.
SOAPSTONE MIXTURE (Usually mix of pinks, grays, browns, greens): Calming, open-minded/open to new ideas, positive.
BROWN/RED/GOLD MARBLE MIXTURE: Kind, compassionate, pure, stable. More red=stability. More brown=warm, dependable; but prone to laziness. More yellow=mental focus.
SILVER/GREY: Silver/Grey symbolizes security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, maturity, conservative, old age, sadness, and boring.
WHITE MARBLE: Purity, immortality.
SOAPSTONE MIXTURE (Usually mix of pinks, grays, browns, greens): Calming, open-minded/open to new ideas, positive.
BROWN/RED/GOLD MARBLE MIXTURE: Kind, compassionate, pure, stable. More red=stability. More brown=warm, dependable; but prone to laziness. More yellow=mental focus.
Texture Symbolization
SMOOTH: Peaceful mind, calmness, quietness
ROUGH: Gruffness, callousness, perhaps concern for others
SHARP POINTS: Pain, agony
Shape Symbolism ROUND: Harmony, infinity, softness, security, completeness, perfection, acceptance; the Moon, goddess, traditional, conservative
OVAL: Mothering/caring qualities (Represents the womb and egg), softness, security; the Moon, goddess, creativity, individuality, faithful.
SQUARE/RECTANGULAR: Stability, equality, honesty, justice, shelter and safety, limitation, security, endurance, strength, and permanence. Also suggest familiarity, comfort, safety.
TRIANGULAR: Strength, warning, masculine; Growth, reaching the “top,” success • Pyramid shape: Inspiration and passion
MARQUISE (Or Diamond Shaped): Flashy, desire for opulence, superficial
PEAR: Full; also symbolizes sadness (tear-shaped), romantic
HEART: Love, fantasy
CRESCENT: Reflective, receptive (powers of the moon)
ASYMMETRICAL: Natural, dynamic, spontaneous; perhaps unbalanced; creative
SMALLER: Frugal, modest, mobile, simple
MEDIUM: Content, fair, indecisive
LARGER: Abundance, need for attention, desires power or more of something
Symbolism of Other Distinctions
VERTICAL LINES: Man, the body, the spine, self, the tree of life, and the path from earth to heaven...the realm of the spirit.
HORIZONTAL LINES: The path of birth to death, beginning to end, and the dual nature of man...left and right, good and evil, and male and female. The feminine principle.
SPIRALS: Birth, death, transformation, growth, the soul, and expansion. Spiritual journey...inner journey to the center of one's soul or being. • A spiral moving in a clockwise direction represents the focusing and projection of an intention. • The counter-clockwise moving spiral represents fulfillment of an intention.
MEANDERING LINES (Lines in a repetitive pattern): Renewal, cycles, and life.
DOME: God (or gods), protection, the sky, home, shelter, the womb, and a tomb.
BROKEN STONES: Represent death or the end of a cycle.
POCKS: Represents wounds or something missing; may also represent openness
CONTAINING FOSSILS: Connection with the earth, love of nature
ROUGH: Gruffness, callousness, perhaps concern for others
SHARP POINTS: Pain, agony
Shape Symbolism ROUND: Harmony, infinity, softness, security, completeness, perfection, acceptance; the Moon, goddess, traditional, conservative
OVAL: Mothering/caring qualities (Represents the womb and egg), softness, security; the Moon, goddess, creativity, individuality, faithful.
SQUARE/RECTANGULAR: Stability, equality, honesty, justice, shelter and safety, limitation, security, endurance, strength, and permanence. Also suggest familiarity, comfort, safety.
TRIANGULAR: Strength, warning, masculine; Growth, reaching the “top,” success • Pyramid shape: Inspiration and passion
MARQUISE (Or Diamond Shaped): Flashy, desire for opulence, superficial
PEAR: Full; also symbolizes sadness (tear-shaped), romantic
HEART: Love, fantasy
CRESCENT: Reflective, receptive (powers of the moon)
ASYMMETRICAL: Natural, dynamic, spontaneous; perhaps unbalanced; creative
SMALLER: Frugal, modest, mobile, simple
MEDIUM: Content, fair, indecisive
LARGER: Abundance, need for attention, desires power or more of something
Symbolism of Other Distinctions
VERTICAL LINES: Man, the body, the spine, self, the tree of life, and the path from earth to heaven...the realm of the spirit.
HORIZONTAL LINES: The path of birth to death, beginning to end, and the dual nature of man...left and right, good and evil, and male and female. The feminine principle.
SPIRALS: Birth, death, transformation, growth, the soul, and expansion. Spiritual journey...inner journey to the center of one's soul or being. • A spiral moving in a clockwise direction represents the focusing and projection of an intention. • The counter-clockwise moving spiral represents fulfillment of an intention.
MEANDERING LINES (Lines in a repetitive pattern): Renewal, cycles, and life.
DOME: God (or gods), protection, the sky, home, shelter, the womb, and a tomb.
BROKEN STONES: Represent death or the end of a cycle.
POCKS: Represents wounds or something missing; may also represent openness
CONTAINING FOSSILS: Connection with the earth, love of nature