Plum colour is a deep, dark purple with a distinctly brownish or greyish undertone, evoking the skin of a ripe damson or the dusky hue of a bruise. The term itself derives from the fruit of the Prunus domestica, whose skin exhibits this exact shade when fully mature. In the lexicon of colour, it sits at the boundary between the visible spectrum's violet and the non-spectral purples, a hue of profound depth and subtle warmth.

Position on the Tree of Life

Plum colour is assigned to the 20th Path of the Tree of Life, which connects the sephiroth of Chesed (Mercy) and Netzach (Victory). This path is governed by the Hebrew letter Kaph, meaning 'palm of the hand,' and is associated with the planet Jupiter. The colour plum, therefore, acts as a chromatic bridge between the expansive, forgiving energy of Chesed and the passionate, enduring force of Netzach.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

As the colour of the Jupiterian Path, plum colour embodies the planet's qualities of growth, magnanimity, and philosophical depth. Jupiter's traditional colour is a rich blue or royal purple, but here it is darkened and muted. This shift reflects the path's position on the Tree: it is a channel that tempers Jupiter's boundless optimism with the earthy, sensual reality of Netzach. The plum shade thus represents wisdom that has been tested by experience, a beneficence that is not naive but deeply rooted.

Historical context

The use of plum colour in Western esoteric colour scales originates with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, whose system of correspondences was later codified by Aleister Crowley in Liber 777. The Golden Dawn's 'Empress Scale of Colour' (also called the 'Queen Scale') is the passive, feminine, and receptive colour scale, associated with the sephirah Binah (Understanding) and the suit of Cups in the Tarot. Each path on the Tree receives a specific hue from this scale, and for Path 20, the choice of plum is deliberate.

Earlier colour symbolism in alchemy and Renaissance magic often used purple for royalty and the philosopher's stone, but the specific shade 'plum' appears in the Golden Dawn's manuscript The Book of the Concourse of the Forces (also known as The Book of the Thirty-Two Paths). There, it is described as 'Plum Colour' without further elaboration, but its context within the Empress Scale links it to the feminine, nurturing aspect of Jupiter. The colour is also noted in the correspondences of the 20th Key of the Tarot (The Aeon, formerly Judgment), where it represents the synthesis of the four elements under a Jovian influence.

In Liber 777

In the table of Liber 777, plum colour appears as the entry for the 'Empress Scale of Colour' at the step corresponding to Path 20. It is the only colour listed for this cell, standing alone without flecks or rays, indicating a pure, unadulterated quality. This singularity underscores its role as a direct expression of the Jupiterian principle on the passive scale—a colour of ripe, contemplative power, not to be confused with the brighter, more active purples of other paths.