Vermillion flecked crimson & emerald is a colour scale designation for the 31st Path on the Tree of Life, which is attributed to the Hebrew letter Shin (ש) and the element of Fire. The name describes a vivid, fiery red (vermillion) that is shot through with flecks of deeper crimson and bright emerald green. This combination of red and green—complementary colours on the colour wheel—creates a visual tension that symbolises the dynamic, transformative nature of the element Fire, which both consumes and purifies.

Position on the Tree of Life

This colour belongs to the 31st Path, which connects the sephiroth Hod (Splendour) and Netzach (Victory) on the Tree of Life. This path is associated with the element of Fire and the Hebrew letter Shin. In the Hermetic Qabalah, the 31st Path is called the Perpetual Intelligence, and it governs the fiery, active energy that drives spiritual transformation and the alchemical process of purification.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

The 31st Path is not directly ruled by a planet but by the element of Fire itself. In astrological terms, this corresponds to the three fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) and the Sun, which is the source of all fire. The colour vermillion flecked crimson & emerald thus embodies the solar, creative, and destructive aspects of fire—its ability to give life and to burn away impurities.

Historical context

The colour scale for the 31st Path appears in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's system of correspondences, which was later codified by Aleister Crowley in his book Liber 777 (1909). The Golden Dawn's colour scales were derived from the Sepher Yetzirah and the works of earlier Qabalists, but the specific assignment of vermillion flecked crimson & emerald to the 31st Path is a Golden Dawn innovation. The choice of red and green is significant: red is the colour of Mars and fire, while green is the colour of Venus and nature. Together, they represent the union of opposing forces—the alchemical marriage of fire and water, or the dynamic balance of creation and destruction.

In the Golden Dawn's Book of Correspondences, the 31st Path is also associated with the Tarot card The Last Judgment (or The Aeon in Crowley's Thoth deck), which depicts a fiery resurrection. The flecks of emerald in the vermillion suggest the new life that emerges from the ashes of the old, a theme central to the path's symbolism.

In the Table of 777

In Liber 777, the colour vermillion flecked crimson & emerald appears in the column "The Empress Scale of Colour (#)" at row 31, which corresponds to the 31st Path. This colour is the specific hue assigned to this path in the Queen Scale (the scale of colours used for the material world). It is a precise, evocative description meant to be visualised by the practitioner during meditative or ritual work, serving as a key to unlocking the path's spiritual energies.