A color that is both an attraction and a warning, red is supposedly the first color that babies perceive, and brain-injured patients suffering from temporary color-blindness will distinguish red before they can perceive any other color. The favorite color for charms that protect against the "evil eye," red has been the color of magic from Neolithic times: red covered warriors were immune from harm and red-tipped spears always met their mark.

Hottest of the warm colors, red conjures up a wide range of conflicting emotions: on the one hand, red represents bloodshed, aggression and war; on the other hand it can represent love, warmth and compassion. A color that stands for celebration, joy and passion, red can also signify power, danger and recklessness; too much red can even make one feel irritable, impatient, uncomfortable or angry.

And no wonder: red is the color of the first (root) chakra at the base of the spine. This elemental chakra has to do with survival and our connection with Mother Earth. Representing courage, security, physical vitality and the ability to be grounded -- to be present in the here and now -- red symbolizes our physical and emotional survival.

In the The Complete Book of Color, Suzy Chiazzari says of red:

"Red is a very powerful color, associated with a high level of energy and stimulation. It goes hand in hand with adjectives such as courageous, antidepressant, assertive, determined, friendly, warm, and sensual.... People who like to wear red tend to be ambitious, impulsive, excitable, and energetic. They end to be high achievers, courageous and extroverted, which can make them good leaders."

Wearing reds will help a person to appear dynamic and energized -- but there are degrees of difference. While orangey reds have a hard time being taken seriously, when you begin to veil red with black, like a bottle of deep red merlot or cabernet it loses all association with recklessness, flamboyance and danger and takes on an air of mystery and seriousness.