It’s one of my favorite colors, and it reminds me of the night. It’s worn at funerals when someone has died, and it’s one of the colors I wear the most out of all of them. I have been drawn to the color since high school. It reminds me of the unseen consciousness, the night, and mystery. It’s a color that reminds me of death and despair. Several gemstones come in black such as obsidian, hematite, and even onyx. I’m into studying metaphysical subjects, and there is a lot of information on the color black for it. There are many different names for it and it can also mean mysterious, sexy and sophisticated. It can also be a serious colors and conventional as well. It’s a complex color that can have many different meanings. Black is also the absence of color. It can make colors appear brighter too. It’s the opposite of white, and the first color to be used when painting pictures of night scenes. It’s the color of birds, snakes, and mice can be that color too. It’s the color that real life vampires wear the most. Black is one of those colors that make me think about the occult and witchcraft. It makes me think about the night, and all the creatures that reside in it. It makes me think about all the nocturnal creatures who make the dark their home. It’s a color that can stand for mystery, and I chose it since I could associate a lot of different aspects with the color black. It is my color anyway besides red and blue. I love those too.

Black is the color of rebellion to many young people, like people who are gothic wear all black, and when it’s combined with orange it is the color of Halloween. There is just so much to talk about that it’s not even funny. It was the first color used in cave paintings by the Native Americans. It is the color associated with banishing spells and cleansing negative energy. It’s a color I love to wear because when I was in the 7th grade I used to dress like an edgy punk, and on the days like Halloween I get to dress the way I used to. Legend has it that bad luck comes to people when a black cat crosses their path. It usually happens on Friday the 13th too. There are a ton of other meanings behind the color black since you call a black tie an event that requires a formal dress code. The phrase pitch black means no light or visibility is present especially when it comes to driving on a dark and stormy night. There are a ton of synonyms for the word such as charcoal, coal, ebony, raven, shadowy, dusky, and even pitch-dark. People can even be so angry they blackout, or their vision goes black. To some people the color black is associated with evil, and the unknown. Black can even represent strength. In black and white television the good guys are white, and the bad guys are black. Black widow spiders are black as well as panthers and even there are black holes out there that can suck up everything in space. The color black is also used in magic rituals too and their properties are: “Black: Return energy to senders, divination, protection, dark goddesses, time, chaos, the first stage of a working, the beginning of creation, North, winter, rebirth, wisdom, the number 8, infinity, destroy bad habits, rest, investigation and combats hyperactivity” (from "Silver RavenWolf the Ultimate Book of Shadows"). It has many different uses for the color in spells and rituals.

One of the things that I associate with the color black is depression a mental state of mind, since depression is the one disorder I have the most experience in dealing with, since I used to have it. After doing research on it, I had no idea how many types of depression there are out there. There are a ton of symptoms with it too, and at least it can be cured. It’s not a permanent state of mind either, and I would not want it to be like that either. This is the definition of it: “Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living” (article from Mayo Clinic).

It can be treatable with the right psychological help, and a lot of artist have went through it. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world. I went through it after my engagement fell through, and it would have continued until I met someone who made me happy. That is how I got over that, and I’m happier now with someone worth being with.

There are even gothic subcultures that wear the color black, and to some that is considered strange and different. Black is the color of the night, and the gothic subculture chooses the dark over the light. The color black is also a favorite for the vampires to wear since it makes them appear different from the rest of society. Black is used by the goth subculture as a way of expressing themselves. It can be a religion to some, and even a way of life too. It’s a pretty interesting history since the color black can be linked to anything dark and supernatural. Vampires dress with the color since they have long black capes and black pants and shoes. They did when Bela Lugosi dressed as Dracula. It has a very rich history, and so much can be said about the color. Even bats are black just like the caves they reside in. I could go on and on about vampires since I do research on them. They remind me of the color black since that is what they wear most of the time. There are real vampires out there. Vampires have greatly evolved since the first Dracula film, and the vampires in modern fiction and film are actually attractive, and they are better looking than the first ones. They have evolved so much that main stream society are not fascinated with them versus scared of them. I loved doing research on how much they have evolved one awesome vampire related show is "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which is a show that stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers who did not want the responsibility at first in being a vampire slayer. In the show it introduces a vampire with a soul which is a concept people have never seen till now. It’s also the first show with a kick ass female heroine, and it lasted for 7 seasons too. I loved every minute of it, and all the various characters and legends it introduced to it. Vampires are interesting creatures, and they have evolved since the first vampires were hideous. “The vampires of modern fiction and film are far removed from their hideous cousins in folklore. Creatures of great power and beauty, the vampires of modern myth seem to represent our culture’s quest for eternal youth. Seductive and forbidding, these night-dwelling creatures of fantasy also embody many of our darkest desires: forbidden sexuality, the power over life and death, the ability to surpass human limitations---freedom on every level, even from natural laws” (from the book "Vampires in their Own Words" edited by Michelle Belanger).

I think vampires are what I think about when I see the color black, and I love exploring the different subjects. It has fascinated me ever since I was a child. I love the supernatural, and studying myths and magic is what I link the color black to. Besides modern vampires there are also blood vampires and psychic energy vampires. They feed off psychic energy, and they are what we call the modern day vampires. It’s a really complex subject, and there are many books out there exploring different aspects of the vampire community. In the same book the definition of a psychic vampire is: “An individual who regularly and actively needs to take in human vital energy in order to maintain his or her physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual well-being” (from the book Vampires in their Own Words edited by Michelle Belanger).

It’s really important to note that there are vampires in modern day, but it’s hard to find them unless you know someone who does. There are people who write books about the modern day vampire community, and they sometimes spell it like vampyre. Some vampires practice using witchcraft too. They are also divided into two main categories. “Sanguine vampyres are individuals who meet their needs by drinking blood. Pranic vampyres take living energy instead” (from the book "Vampires in their Own Words edited by Michelle Belanger").

It’s interesting how different everything is, and I enjoyed learning a lot about the community.

Then we get to the history of the color, and it has a huge history. It also has a ton of phrases dealing with it like having a black eye which deals with discoloration and damage to one’s eye. There is the black market too which deals with selling illegal goods. It can even be used to describe a person since someone who is black hearted to describe an evil person. Men in black is used to describe government agents, and blacklist means people to avoid, boycott, or punish. Then the word can also be used to blackmail someone which means to used a threat to cover something up or prevent someone from doing something. It’s a very powerful color, and it’s the symbol of grief too and death. Death is a natural part of life, and it’s a normal process hence why I link it to vampires since they can deal with death as well as life. It’s an important part of life since everything dies eventually. It’s sad though, and that is why people wear the color black while they grieve.

The black widow spider also deals with death. Spiders are mainly black, and they spin webs in order to catch their prey. They are important animals when studying animal magick, and they are predators in the insect world. The black widow is the queen of all of them in the magick world. “Among spiders, the black widow spider is the High Priestess, the Dark Mother, weaving new fates for those who cross her path. Her magic and power is great, but she is also dangerous” (from the book "Animal Wise" by Ted Andrews). They are all important in the magical world.

“All spiders are rich in lore and myth around the planet. They are the master weavers, weaving illusion, the life span, alphabets, and languages even magic. They signal an awakening of our creative energies” (from the book "Animal Wise" by Ted Andrews).

They are important to magical working since they can help create and awaken creative energies when it comes to metaphysical studies. I love the thought of magic being a part of everyday life. They can also teach us about patience and waiting for things to come and we can learn something from all spiders out there since they can teach us how to integrate their qualities in our own lives.

“All spiders are great economists. They spin their web; they do their work. And then they sit back and let the food come to them. Most spiders show us how to weave our energies so that the rewards of our efforts will come to us. The black widow spider reminds us to be patient, to stop pushing for our rewards. By pushing we are wasting efforts. She reminds us to let the benefits come to us in the time that is best for us” (from the book "Animal Wise" by Ted Andrews). This is why spiders can teach us a lot of lessons, and it can be applied to our lives. It’s one of the reasons why the black widow is so important, and it definitely embodies the color black really well.