Symbols of Halloween - Use Them at Their Best

image credit: https://drawingblog.mycoloringland.com/halloween-colors/

Every choice in decoration starts with colors. Colors bring symbolism based on history, culture, and context. Halloween is no exception. A few basic colors are combined in different combinations and enriched with less obvious choices from the color palette to create virtually limitless possibilities. We'll go through Halloween choices in just three steps:

Orange color is our first association with Halloween. It's the color of autumn leaves, pumpkins, and Jack-o'-lanterns, after all. Orange is a lively and optimistic color, a representation of life and a reminder of the Sun, which is losing its power at the end of the year.

Alternatives: different shades of orange will give you many interesting options. Yellow, which was a dominant Halloween color just a century ago, is another possibility.

The color black is an obvious choice. It's the color of dark and death, both companions of the coming winter. Black also makes a great contrast to orange and yellow. Halloween simply can't do without black.

Alternatives: different shades of gray can be even more effective in specific cases. Gray is the color of dust and depression, but also the color of wisdom and elegance. Don't overlook it. Another interesting alternative is brown. When yellow dominated Halloween decor, brown (not black) was used as its contrast. Brown is the color of the earth and a typical color of Autumn.

Orange and black are by far the most popular combination at the moment. But let's face it - something fashionable today can be outdated tomorrow. Especially if we use the same combination again and again. New colors are coming into the Halloween palette, mostly used to enrich the basic orange and black, but in some cases becoming dominant colors in the decor.

There are whole articles about blue, the color of authority and calmness, red, the color of blood and life and her cousin pink, the color of feminity and gentleness, but we also need to mention white, as the color of emptiness, green as the color of fertility and growth (both in relations with expectations of new life in spring), and especially teal, the most recent addition among the Halloween colors. Teal is a color of communication and renovation.

Witch is the most popular Halloween symbol. Witches possess powers to influence nature. When winter comes, every little help counts, and witches with their knowledge, were for centuries considered helpers through harsh times. Only in recent history, have witches become associated with evil, and we can still find them portrayed with a positive attitude in vintage Halloween cards.

Alternatives: all objects, related to witches carry symbolic powers too. A cauldron represents the power of birth, a broom the power of flying, a wand the power of transformation, etc.

Ghosts are very likely the oldest symbols of Halloween. After all, the main point of the last day of October is their presence in the world of living. Ghosts can be helpful, neutral, or dangerous. If we suspect they might do something bad, it's best to mask ourselves. This is where the tradition of masks for Halloween comes from.

Modern additions to ghosts for Halloween are other creatures from the world of death with vampires and zombies leading the pack. With branding some characters from classic and pop culture became popular, too. Everybody knows the monster from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, or Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise. Each character brings their history and symbolism into our perception of Halloween.

Black cats are associated with witches, the devil, and all kinds of superstitions. With their mysterious behavior and shiny eyes, they perfectly represent the spirit of Halloween. Many people believed that witches were able to transform into black cats or they used them as a medium to keep in touch with evil forces.

It's interesting to note that black cats are in most of the world (like Asia and Africa) seen as a good omen. They are protectors of home and symbols of fortune and good luck.

Black cats are not the only animal symbols of Halloween. Other dark and night creatures also serve as recognizable Halloween symbols.

Bats are associated with vampires. They symbolize death and rebirth, just like the end of Summer, and hope for a new life in the new year, means exactly that.

Ravens are the messengers of death, very well-known from the battlefields. Raven represents prophecy and connects the worlds of living and dead.

Rats bring diseases and are among the most hated pests. Yet they also represent fertility and riches.

Spiders are in some cultures associated with the devil. Even more important is their ability to spin. They can make new worlds from virtually nothing.

Pumpkin is one of the new symbols of Halloween. It became involved in Halloween celebrations only after Irish settlers reached the coasts of America. Pumpkins grow in different colors, representing the abundance of the harvest and security against hunger. Their colors and shapes are associated with the ultimate symbol of all life on the planet - the Sun.

Pumpkins are not just decorative elements for Halloween, they can also serve as the raw material for Jack-o'-lanterns. The tradition of making lanterns from vegetables is older than Halloween in America, but pumpkins proved to be a better alternative to turnips and other root vegetables.

Acorns symbolize the potential for growth and power. They are small but durable and one can grow into a huge oak. Druids loved to use them in their rituals. Dried acorns are somewhere still worn as amulets for good luck, and if you have a few in your pockets, you'll be more resistant to sickness.

Apples are important symbols of Halloween, although a bit forgotten today, especially in the city areas. The symbolism of apples is rich and spans from love to death with almost everything in between. Bobbing for apples is an old tradition (from Roman times, and yes, it's connected with finding a potential spouse) of putting a few apples in a barrel of water. The main goal is to catch one with teeth only.

Cabbage has a long Halloween-related history. With its green color of leaves and white stems, it symbolized growth and new beginnings. Girls used to put cabbage leaves under their pillows in the hope of dreaming of their future husbands. Some studied cabbage stems to guess the look of their husbands. And there is a tradition of throwing rotten cabbage and other vegetables at the outside walls of the houses in the neighborhood or even at neighbors (unpopular ones, of course).

Image credits:

Halloween cards by Frances Brundage
Vintage Halloween cards