Purple (or violet) may be the final color on the rainbow, but look around, and you’ll see it in abundance out in nature. Lilacs, violets, lavender and amethyst are among the many blooms in a purple hue. Look up at sunrise or sunset, and you may see streaks of purple in the sky. Produce like the skin of red onions, eggplants and some asparagus stalks also comes in a shade of purple.
The hue is also often linked to regal types and royalty. One color psychologist notes that if your favorite color is purple, you’re more likely to have certain characteristics.
“Purple lovers are the most open people in the room: open to ideas, open to experience, open to things that can’t be easily explained or quantified,” explains Michelle Lewis, a color psychology expert, certified color analyst, author and the founder of ColorAnalysis.com and The Color Institute. “They’re drawn to mystery, exploration and the kind of conversations that go somewhere unexpected.”
She knows some might consider purple-preference people a tad “woo” or fancy. And you know what?
“They genuinely couldn’t care less,” points out Lewis, who is also the author of Color Secrets: Learning The One Universal Language We Were Never Taught. “They know what they know, and they trust what they feel. There’s a quiet confidence in the purple lover that doesn’t need external validation because their sense of self is rooted in something much deeper than other people’s opinions.”
As a result, purple lovers often share some common characteristics. If your favorite color is purple, you’re more likely to have these seven traits.
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What Is the Psychology of Loving Purple?
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Lewis describes purple as a “connective” color. “It bridges the seen and the unseen, the logical and the intuitive, the personal and the universal,” she tells Parade. “Historically associated with royalty and spiritual authority, it carries a sense of elevated awareness that draws a very specific kind of person.”
She notes that people who love purple aren’t only interested in surface-level knowledge.
“They want to understand what’s underneath, what connects everything and what can’t be easily explained,” she adds. “Purple sits at the edge of the visible spectrum, and the people drawn to it tend to live at that edge too—always reaching beyond the obvious toward something more expansive.”
If you’re new to color psychology, that may sound like a lot to say about someone based on color preference. But Lewis, who delves into color psychology for a living, says that favorite colors aren’t random.
“Color preference is one of the most honest things about a person because it’s chosen by something very deep inside of us that’s borderline instinctual,” she states.
You don’t reason your way into choosing colors. You feel it. And that feeling is connected to something very real about who you are, what you value and how you move through the world.
Related: These 3 Favorite Colors Are Often Linked to Emotional Intelligence, According to a Color Analyst
7 Traits of People Whose Favorite Color Is Purple, According to a Color Psychologist
1. Deeply spiritual
Lewis says that purple lovers are usually the most spiritually-connected person in their orbits, though they’re not necessarily religious. Instead, Lewis says that people whose favorite color is purple seek “meaning, connection and something larger than themselves.”
“Spirituality isn’t a practice for them; it’s a way of being,” Lewis notes.
2. Highly intuitive
Gut feelings feel right to purple enthusiasts.
“Purple personalities trust their gut in a way that can seem almost uncanny to the people around them,” Lewis explains. “They pick up on energy, undercurrents and unspoken dynamics that others miss entirely, and they’ve learned to take that seriously.”
3. Genuinely open-minded
People with a purple preference are essentially unicorns in modern society.
“Purple lovers don’t just tolerate different perspectives—they’re actively curious about them,” Lewis says. “They want to see, experience and understand as much of the human experience as possible, which makes them some of the most non-judgmental people you’ll ever meet.”
4. Naturally connective
Since purple is a bridge color, people who love the color are like the glue and dot-connectors of their circles.
“They have a rare ability to connect people, ideas and experiences that seem unrelated on the surface, drawing threads together in ways that create something new and meaningful,” Lewis explains.
5. Drawn to mystery
Lewis notes that “purple people” consider the mysterious as an invitation, rather than something unsettling.
“Whether it’s through stones, energy healing, meditation, astrology or simply a love of the unexplained, purple lovers are magnetized by anything that exists beyond the purely rational,” she says.
6. Creatively expansive
Purple lovers may connect the dots, but Lewis says it’s rare to see them do so with straight lines. This trait carries over to how they approach life more generally—anything can be a creative pursuit.
“Their imagination produces ideas and art that feel like they came from somewhere beyond the ordinary,” Lewis shares. “Creativity for them isn’t a hobby or a skill. It’s how they process and express their experience of the world.”
7. Visionary
“Purple lovers tend to see things before others do—possibilities, connections, futures,” Lewis reveals.
These individuals think expansively and rarely settle for the obvious or conventional.
“Their vision is one of their greatest gifts, even when the people around them aren’t ready for it yet,” she points out.
Related: 45 Brilliant Color Names for Boys and Girls
3 Potential Challenges Faced by People Who Love Purple
1. Being misunderstood
Lewis reports that purple lovers operate on a frequency that not everyone can tune into.
“Their spiritual orientation, their intuitive leaps and their comfort with the unexplained can make them seem eccentric or out of touch to more grounded, literal-minded people, even when they’re seeing something completely real,” she explains.
2. Difficulty communicating their insights practically
Lewis says that purple personalities can find it deeply frustrating when they want to share a discovery or lead others to a new place.
“Purple personalities often perceive things that are genuinely difficult to put into words,” Lewis adds. “Learning to translate their intuitive knowledge into concepts others can receive is one of their most important lifelong challenges.”
3. Isolation
“The same openness and depth that make purple lovers so extraordinary can also make them feel profoundly alone,” Lewis warns.
Indeed, she shares that not everyone wants to go where a purple personality wants to go.
“Finding people who match their level of curiosity, spirituality and expansiveness can be genuinely hard,” she notes. “The world needs more purple lovers. They just don’t always know where to find each other.”
Related: Here’s What Every Mood Ring Color Actually Means, According to a Color Psychology Expert
Final Takeaways
Color preference isn’t random and can reveal traits. What does that mean for people who like purple?
- Purple is a “bridge color” often associated with royalty, spirituality and connectivity. Lewis says purple lovers prefer to dig deeper than surface-level insights.
- People who love purple often share certain traits. Purple lovers are often intuitive, visionary and genuinely open-minded.
- Purple preference has its pitfalls. People whose favorite color is purple may have a hard time explaining new concepts or feel isolated. It’s hard to match a purple lover’s deep spirituality and curiosity level. But Lewis says the world is better off with purple-loving people (and their common traits) in it.
Up Next:
Related: Color Psychologist Says if Your Favorite Color Is Pink, You Likely Have These 7 Traits
Source:
- Michelle Lewis is a color psychology expert, certified color analyst, author and the founder of ColorAnalysis.com and The Color Institute. She’s also the author of Color Secrets: Learning The One Universal Language We Were Never Taught.
