Red is the first color that humans perceive, after black and white. It’s the color that babies see first before any other and the first that those suffering from temporary color blindness after a brain injury start to see again. Red’s dominance is even reflected in how colors are defined: although different societies developed their names for colors at different times and in different ways, almost all of them named them in the same order. With only a few exceptions, the order of labeling colors was generally black first, white second, red third, and then green, yellow and blue.

Scientists have posited that societies developed names for colors according to which ones they had the strongest reaction to. This means that humans, supposedly much like bulls, have had strong feelings about the color red for thousands of years. Over time, red has come to symbolize power, love, vigor, and beauty. Do you want to know why?

Take a journey with me through history to discover the surprising story of the world’s most powerful color…Originally red was a very expensive and difficult color to produce, therefore, it was worn only by the wealthy. 

When the Spaniards landed in Mexico in the 1500s they discovered textiles dyed vivid red. In Europe, the substances used for to make red dye (madder and kermes) produced a weaker, browner hue. The Aztec’s secret was cochineal, a small bug that was scraped off cactuses, dried, and then crushed. The Spaniards soon set up an extensive trading system to export cochineal to Europe, where it became a (red) hot commodity. 

In Medieval times, synthetic vermilion was as costly as gold leaf. Thus it was used only for the most important aspects of illuminated manuscripts, while less costly red lead was used for red letters within the text.

In the Bible, the Hebrew word for red is Oudem. Its actual meaning is “red clay”. Thus, it is the root word for mankind as stated in the Bible.

Red symbolizes the blood of Redemption and sacrifice. The Bible states that life is in the blood. So red is sometimes used as a symbol for life. Red is the color that represents fervent love as in the love of God for us or our love for Him. Fire is said to be red hot so red may represent the fire of God that purges and purifies. Additionally, red represents courage and war or warfare. Red is often referred to as a Power color.