Purple Color Meaning for Personality, Symbolism & Psychology

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Exploring the history and meaning of purple

Co-authored by Aly Rusciano Reviewed by Stina Garbis

Last Updated: May 28, 2025 References

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Personality Interpretations

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Purple Meaning, Symbolism & Cultural Interpretations

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The History of Purple

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Fun Facts about Purple

Vibrant, rich, and oh-so-beautiful. What’s not to love about the color purple? This bold tone comes in a plethora of shades and is a joy for the eye to behold, but what does it mean exactly? In this article, we’ve laid out all the possible meanings of purple, from what it says about your personality to its spiritual symbolism. So, if purple is your favorite color, keep reading to find out what it says about you.

Things You Should Know

If purple is your favorite color, you’re likely creative, compassionate, and introverted.
The color purple signifies royalty and wealth, which is why many ancient rulers wore purple garments.
Spiritually, purple is associated with purification, enlightenment, and transformation.

Section 1 of 4:

What does it mean if purple is your favorite color?

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If purple is your favorite color, you likely feel things on a strong emotional level. You’re naturally empathetic and can easily walk in other people’s shoes. Because of this, you tend to have a kind and personable personality—you can connect with others just about anywhere!
You likely have a 2-sided personality if purple is one of your favorite colors. You’re always willing to lend a helping hand and give back, but you’re also a bit shier than people expect. Although you love helping people, you would probably rather spend a night in than a night out.

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At your core, you’re a creator.^{[1]
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Research source} We bet you’re full of ambition and love to dream big, but may feel trapped in reality. When it comes to problems, you can usually solve them quickly with a bit of imagination. You likely love finding the smallest details in the biggest pictures.
Over the years, purple has taken on many meanings, with argumentatively the most popular being wisdom. This rich and royal color is a sign of nobility, strength, and courage. If purple is your favorite color, you’re likely intelligent, knowledgeable, and clever.
Chances are, if your favorite color is purple, you crave emotional stability in life. Perhaps you’re going through a rough patch and are seeking some peace or are looking for the perfect partner to balance you. Either way, the key to your happiness is probably stability.

Section 2 of 4:

Purple Meaning, Symbolism & Cultural Interpretations

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Spiritually, purple represents intuition and purification. This bold hue is a sign of spiritual wealth and health. Many believe it brings good fortune and enhances psychic abilities while cleansing negative energy. For instance, people may wear purple gemstones to inspire their spirit and cleanse their souls of imperfections.
- Jade, jasper, and tanzanite are popular purple gemstones with healing, spiritually enhancing, and transformative properties.
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Psychologically, purple stimulates creativity. This rich color ignites creativity and is often associated with fantasies and dreams. For many, seeing or being around the color purple is inspiring, creating a sense of calm and imaginative energy.^{[2]
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- The lighter the shade of purple, the calmer you’ll feel. For instance, think of lavender. Not only is the scent of this plant naturally calming, but the soothing color can help ease your mind as well.
- On the other hand, the darker the shade of purple, the more agitated you may be. Think of it like this: the closer you get to black, the more aggressive the color becomes.
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Purple is often associated with royalty. Did you know that the color purple symbolizes wealth, power, and nobility? Because of this, the color has been used to represent kings, queens, and royal lines since 600 B.C. Purple dye was expensive, so only the richest and highest classes were able to use it.^{[3]
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- The Persian king Cyrus first used purple as a color of royalty by dressing exclusively in it.
- After this, many Roman emperors forbade citizens from wearing the color—penalizing them to death if they did.
The deep, rich tones of purple often show a magical or mysterious element in fantasy stories. For instance, think of the Evil Queen from Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This mysteriously evil and royal character dresses in a purple gown, and her magic manifests in purple smoke.
If someone is mourning the loss of a loved one in Brazil, friends and family will wear purple as a sign of grief and divinity. In Thailand, widows will wear purple, while the rest of the funeral service wear black. These traditions resemble the Western tradition of wearing black after someone passes.^{[4]
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According to Chinese traditions, purple brings spiritual enlightenment to those who wear it. It’s a sign of mental and physical health, abundance, and strength.^{[5]
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Section 3 of 4:

The History of the Color Purple

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Purple clothing indicated status with Romans. Back in the day (100 to 44 B.C., to be exact), purple was a sign of wealth and high class. Roman Julius Caesar, for instance, created a rule that the only people allowed to wear purple-striped togas were emperors.^{[6]
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- Purple clothing was very expensive to make, coming from the natural dye of a sea snail. It took 12,000 snails to make 1.4 g of dye, which was just enough to dye the trim of one garment.
One of the most recognizable awards in the U.S. Armed Forces is the Purple Heart—a purple medallion worn over the left breast.^{[7]
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Research source} Washington established the award to honor soldiers of high prestige. Today, the award is designated to those in service who are wounded or killed in action.^{[8]
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Purple clothing became more mainstream after synthetic purple dye was invented in 1856, meaning everyone wore it (not just the rich). In 1908, British suffragettes used purple, green, and white to campaign for their right to vote.^{[9]
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Research source} The color purple’s symbolism stretched beyond royalty to represent wisdom, intuition, and determination.

Section 4 of 4:

Fun Facts about Purple

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The color purple has impacted the world for years and years. Purple is easy to find nowadays. Chances are, if you look around your room, you’ll find at least one purple thing, whether on a book cover or T-shirt. But did you know that purple has impacted all types of media? Take a look at these interesting tidbits to learn more about the color purple:
- Purple (or violet) is the shortest wavelength of color you can see on the visible spectrum.
- The Dominica flag is the only national flag with purple in it.
- If someone says someone is “born to the purple,” they’re born into a family with political power or nobility.
- If something’s written with “purple prose,” it’s written in a complicated manner.
- A 1982 novel by Alice Walker titled The Color Purple won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
- The 1984 film Purple Rain was Prince’s acting debut.

Quiz

wikiHow Quiz: What Is My Color Aura?

Like the green of fresh grass and the red of summer strawberries, your soul has its own special shade. For most people, color auras aren’t visible to the eye—but, by investigating your desires and superpowers, you can discover your own personal hue. So, who are you? A courageous, inspiring superhero? A sweet, warm softie? One thing’s for sure: the people around you experience your essence, even if they can’t see it. So take our comprehensive quiz to learn your color aura today!

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