[Estelyn Telcontar]

In the meantime, I have read up on the meaning of colours in a book by a German professor of colour theory and colour psychology, Harald Braem. The following thoughts are based upon his book.

White is the sum of light, the colour of enlightenment. In German, ‘white’ and ‘wise’ are related words. Interestingly, there is a connection between the words for elves and the colour white in Germanic-Celtic mythology. White indicates innocence, purity, perfection and cleanness.

Grey is neutral and shadowy. It is bipolar, mediating between light and darkness. It is connected to age and the past. It is also a camouflage colour.

Brown is a colour that should not exist, since there is no brown light. It represents the earth, roots, stability and solidity. It is a warm colour, the colour of wood, leather and fur. It reminds of comfort and relaxation; appears dependable, but boring; and represents the bodily side of life. It is often the favourite colour of those who seek refuge from conflict.

Blue is, as we surmised, the colour of sky and sea; spirit, heaven and the gods. It is indeed strongly connected to religion, as HerenIstarion said (the colour that Mary wears in Catholic tradition). It represents the longing for rest, wholeness and inner peace. It is also associated with royalty (blue-blooded).

Now some of my own thoughts about the significance of the colours as far as the Istari are concerned:

Saruman started out wise and sought enlightenment. However, he was not able to keep his purity and lost the white colour.

I would associate grey with Gandalf in that he was hidden, clouded. The underlying white, the true wisdom and the purity that he kept because of his humility, shone through after his transformation.

Was Radagast trying to hide from the conflict, as his colour would possibly indicate? Perhaps his preoccupation with the animal side of life was an escape from the unpleasant reality of the more spiritual war between good and evil in ME.

And the blue wizards – the colour association would support the theory that they went off ‘into the blue’ and founded some religious cult(s)…

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Tolkien’s colour choices were a conscious decision because of their deeper meaning, but their archetypical significance would make an unconscious choice meaningful as well. Fascinating topic!