Focus on Orange

Orange is the colour of transformation and zest. Its transient energy offers balance, warmth and natural good cheer.
Orange is believed to offer the maximum contrast to other colours occurring in nature; it is also frequently used to attract attention or signal danger. As a secondary colour derived from yellow, its wavelength on the visible spectrum of colours sits between 585 and 620nm. Brown shares this part of the spectrum and indigo is orange's opposite colour.
Consider the many wonders of nature that come in this colour: the Grand Canyon, orange groves, pavements covered with fallen leaves, Ayers Rock (Uluru), the Harvest Moon and sunsets - this is not a colour to be taken for granted.

An Orange Phenomenon
The colour orange occurs in a myriad of shades in nature. In Thailand, along the Mekong River, there is a sight so fabulous that an official investigation has been launched. Every year, at the end of Buddhist Lent, on the first full Moon of October, hundreds of red, orange and pink fireballs soar into the sky. Scientists believe these are gas deposits in the riverbed, which are heated up by the Sun and drawn out by the Moon's gravitational pull; devotees believe they are flames from Naga in homage to Buddha.

Orange also features prominently in the Northern Lights and can appear to set in the sky on fire if they are dancing across the sky at the same time as the Sun sets on a hot summer's day.

Fruity History
Orange trees and their blossoms are symbols of purity and generosity. In some traditions, this tree even signifies the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil in Paradise. Oranges are not indigenous to Europe and the term was first introduced through poetry in 1044, becomming more well known as the fruit became more commonly available. This versatile and well known fruit is native to Asia - some historians believe India, China, Bhutan, Burma or Malaysia was its original birthplace 4000 - 5000 years ago.

Although oranges originated in the East, the world's largest producers of this common fruit are now in the West.

Health Associations
Orange is believed to stimulate the appetite and digestive system.
* This colour's vibratory rate associates it with the Sacral Chakra. Consequently, orange affects your respiratory. reproductive, lymphatic and muscle systems.
* The most important Sacral Chakra association is your sexuality. This is where orange brings balance and awareness: knowing what you want and when that is different from what you can have.

Orange Body Systems: Sexual, Reproductive, Ovaries, Gonads, Digestion, Muscles, Breath.

Animal Associations
Many well known orange-coloured animals are protected and endangered species.
* Tigers ae a symbol of strength and vitality and are easily recognised by their tawny orange and black stripes. It's believed only 5000 - 7000 remain in the wild worldwide.
* Monarch butterflies eat milkweed and a poisonous to predators!
* The Orangutans, or 'people of the forest', are losing 2000 of their population every year.
* Conversely, the memory-challenged goldfish is the world's most common pet.

Orange Animals: Tabby Cats, Irish Setters, Gerbils, Parrots, Caviar, Butterflies.

What's the alternative...
Orange is the colour of choice for sme of nature's and civilisation's greatest monuments.
* Uluru, the official and Aboriginal name for Ayer's Rock, is a top of a buried mountain range in the Australian desert. Its orange colour is due to iron minerals in the surface rocks oxidising with the air.
* Petra is the ancient city of the Nabateans - reference is made to it in the Bible. Found along what used to be a busy trade route in Jordan, buildings were carved out of the sandstone rock and many stand today.
* The Egyptian pyramids sit like giant orange triangles presiding over the Sahara.
* The Grand Canyon is best viewed at sunset whe the day's last rays of light enliven the coloured rocks. You can camp in the Grand Canyon if you get a permit

Tigers are my favourite animal