Purple Personality: What Your Favorite Color Says About You

A striking image of a purple galaxy morphing into a human head

Is your favorite color purple? Then you might have a purple personality!

The renowned Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung once claimed that “colors are the mother tongue of the subconscious.” We’ve known for centuries that colors can influence our thoughts, feelings, and even physiological responses.

Jung has been credited as an early pioneer of color psychology, an ever-evolving field. Understanding the meanings of colors can help us understand ourselves, and the concept of “personality colors” makes that understanding easier.

But what exactly are color personalities? These are collections of traits tied to the meanings of different colors. For example, a person with a blue color personality is often level-headed, kind, and responsible. Someone with an orange color personality is usually energetic and maybe a little flamboyant.

In many cases, your favorite color is also your color personality, although that’s not always the case. Today, we’ll be looking at the purple color personality and what it means.

What’s a Purple Color Personality?

Modern art image of a woman with a patterned face on a purple background

Purple is vivid and often almost otherworldly — it’s quite rare in nature! In the world of color symbolism, purple has a range of associations. Here are a few:

  • Creativity
  • Indulgence
  • Spirituality
  • Mystery
  • Imagination
  • Ungroundedness
  • Arrogance

As you can see, these color meanings could very easily be personality traits. Bring them together, and you have a multifaceted individual — someone with a purple color personality!

However, it’s important to note that most people have elements of many different color personalities. More often than not, you’ll find that one color is the most prominent.

Take a look at the positive and negative traits outlined below. If you identify with a large portion of them, chances are good that you have a purple personality.

The Purple Personality: Positive Traits

A happy young woman dances under a purple neon light

If you have a purple color personality, you’re likely unapologetically yourself. That’s not the only good thing about this personality, though. Here are some of the many good traits of those with purple color personalities.

Uniqueness

The purple personality combines the assertive energy of the red personality with the quiet grace of the blue personality. As a result, purples have a quiet confidence that enables them to be themselves. Some purples come off as being a little eccentric, but that doesn’t bother them!

Spirituality

Purple is a color that is traditionally associated with the crown chakra, the energy center located at the top of the head. The crown chakra is linked to spiritual enlightenment, so naturally, many people view purple as a spiritual color.

Most purple personalities have a strong need for spiritual fulfillment. And often, that spirituality falls outside of the bounds of organized religion. However, some purple personalities are more drawn to the realm of the occult.

Intuition

If you’re a purple, you’re likely very naturally intuitive. Some people even claim that those with purple personalities have psychic abilities. In some cases, your intuition is tied to your need to be spiritually fulfilled — you strive to be in tune with other people and with the world around you.

Compassion

Purple personalities might be highly individualistic, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care deeply about others. Many purples see the big-picture need for change, and they often are passionate about one or more humanitarian interests. Many purple personalities choose to pursue large-scale projects that help humanity as a whole.

Imagination

A vibrant image of a purple electrical storm

Purple personalities are often aptly described as “dreamers.” If you’re a purple, you may often find yourself lost in your imagination. It’s easy to get carried away, so you might start to feel as though you’re living in a fantasy world. Imagination on its own is wonderful — just be sure to make an effort to stay grounded.

Artistic Ability

Most people with purple personalities are very creative and artistically inclined. If you’re a purple, you may find that your artistic abilities even extend beyond what we might consider “art.” For instance, you may carefully choose your clothing and your home decor to accurately express yourself.

Generosity

If you know someone who’s a purple personality, you already know that their generous spirit is hard to miss. Purples often want to make the world a better place, so they may offer their time, money, or possessions if they think it will make a difference. Many purples relish the opportunity to volunteer in their communities and beyond.

Adventurousness

Because purple personalities are spiritually minded, they often love to travel the world and experience different places, people, and cultures. As they do this, they feel even more spiritually interconnected with humanity and the world at large.

The Purple Personality: Negative Traits

A purple mist floats across a man's eyes on a black background

Purple personalities have plenty of positive traits that make a difference in the world around them. That said, every color personality has its downsides. Here are some of the less desirable traits you may see in purples.

Impracticality

You saw above that purples are often dreamers. Having dreams and aspirations is a good thing, but many purple color personalities escape into their dreams instead of working to make them a reality. As a result, they are often viewed as being impractical.

Moodiness

Purples feel emotions deeply and are very intuitive. These are good traits, but they’re traits that are often draining. If someone with a purple personality becomes overwhelmed or emotionally overextended, they may start to seem irritable or moody.

Self-Indulgence

Purple is sometimes associated with royalty and decadence. So it makes sense that those with purple personalities may sometimes become overly self-indulgent. That might mean overeating, compulsively purchasing expensive items, etc.

Conceitedness

The quiet confidence of purple personalities makes them great leaders. However, some purples take the idea of leadership too far and become arrogant or conceited.

What Types of Careers Are Good for Purple Personalities?

A 3D lavender staircase extends into the clouds

Many purple personalities are happiest in jobs where they can use their boundless imaginations to make a difference. Here are some careers you may find fulfilling if you have a purple personality:

Therapist or Counselor

Purples are compassionate and intuitive — two great traits for any therapist to have! If you’re a purple personality who wants to help people on an individual basis, you’ll find that there are many different careers under the counselor/therapist umbrella.

You might choose to become a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), licensed professional counselor (LPC), or a counselor at a rehabilitation facility.

Musician, Actor, or Other Performing Artist

For some highly creative purples, every day is a kind of performance. If you want a chance to use your creativity and express yourself on a daily basis, you might love a career in the performing arts. It can be difficult to make a living in some performing arts fields, so many people also like to perform as either a hobby or a side job.

Writer

Writing for a living is another way to use your creativity to make money. There are lots of different ways to make a living writing — you might pursue technical writing, blogging, copywriting, scriptwriting, or content writing.

Healthcare Worker

Many people with purple personalities have visions of a better world. And what better way to bring those visions to life (or start to) than working in healthcare? This vast field has a position for every interest. Whether you’re a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, physical therapist, or technician, you have the power to make a positive difference in the lives of other people.

Of course, you shouldn’t use your color personality alone to determine your career path! The whole point of color personalities is to help you gain a clearer understanding of yourself. And when you understand yourself, you’ll be better equipped to choose a career where you will be happy and fulfilled.

What If You Don’t Like Purple?

A glowing purple neon frowning face sits on a black surface against a black background

Sometimes, taking a look at the colors you dislike can offer some insight into your personality. If you don’t like the color purple, you may find that some of the following apply to you.

You Might Be a Very Practical Person

Impracticality is a weak point for many purples. If you’re a highly practical person who thrives on structure, you might find that you gravitate away from colors like purple and more toward gray or blue.

You Might Be Happy to Conform to the Rules of Society

Purple personalities are nonconformists who aren’t afraid to go against societal standards. But not everybody is a nonconformist. If you welcome the rules and traditions of society, you may find purple to be a little too much.

You Have Rigid or Inflexible Beliefs or Ideas

Purples are dreamy, free-thinking individuals — the exact opposite of rigid. If you have strong, inflexible beliefs, purple probably isn’t one of your favorite colors.

Learn About Yourself Through Personality Colors

A conceptual photo of puzzle pieces making up a young woman's face on purple background

Personality colors are a fascinating psychological phenomenon that may help you learn more about yourself and the ones you love. However, it’s important to remember that because colors mean different things to different people, this isn’t an exact science. For example, you may find that you have a purple personality even though your favorite color is green.

Still, the concept of color personalities gives us a valuable framework to name and understand different personality archetypes. And when you start to get a feel for the various personality types, you’ll gain a better understanding of our world.

Learn more about other personality colors and find out what they say about people.

Purple color personality illustration