Of chakras and colored masks

[JusticeForce]

I thought you guys might enjoy reading this. :) We were talking to a friend the other day who has read TMNT comics for years but was still having trouble telling the brothers apart; talking about how the mask colors relate to the personalities of the characters finally seemed to cement the characters in his mind - even though in the comics they all wear the same color masks.

Now, we don't think the people who made the first cartoon series thought AT ALL about Eastern philosophy when choosing the various colors for the turtles' masks, but a person's natural instinct to choose colors based on the emotions they feel are what makes the subject so interesting and seems to validate the theory behind it.

According to the chakras (or the body's nerve clusters) of Eastern philosophy:

Red (the root chakra, located in the base of the spine) governs the primal emotions of survival and rage, which Raphael seems to exude. An excess of energy in this chakra causes violence and should be treated with Blue to be harmoniously balanced. Coincidentally, Leo is the other end of that teeter-totter, and why these two are often paired up.

Orange (the naval or sexual chakra) governs pleasure, indulgence, games and sports. Michelangelo is the sensualist of the group who loves to ride skateboards, play video games and eat too much pizza (okay, they ALL do that ) And excess, leading to over-emotionality, is balanced by purple, which is Donny. That's why these two are often paired up.

Yellow (the solar plexus), just for the sake of completion, governs courage and confidence.

Green (the heart chakra), governs love, compassion and balance. Which applies to all of the turtles, who always pull together as a team and a family... and they are green!

Blue (the throat chakra), which governs communication and leadership. An excess of energy here causes a person to be too self-righteous and and to talk excessively, which Leonardo can do at times. Balanced by red/Raph.

Purple (or Indigo) (the brow chakra) governs intuition, imagination and intellect. The mental capacity to visualize and understand mental concepts. Donatello, "the brains of the bunch" fits this to a tee. Excessive energy can lead him to talk down to others and is treated with orange/Mikey.

Violet (the crown chakra) governs spiritual enlightenment. Master Splinter could wear this color I suppose as this suits his character best.

I admit that the whole color-coded masks was started for the kiddies with the old cartoon, but I love how they picked colors that suit their personalities (And it does make them easier to tell apart. ;) )

- J & T :) :)

[iris]

Cool post. Now... someone explain to me what a chakra is? :ohwell:


I love indigo... don't know why.

http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/Iris/Iris_reticulata_Lovely_Liza.jpg

[gobo]

:o I'm astounded that you don't know. A chakra is one of the seven centers of spiritual energy in the human body according to yoga philosophy. Supposedly, the 'sign of the cross' can be related to chakras.

[iris]

:o I'm astounded that you don't know. A chakra is one of the seven centers of spiritual energy in the human body according to yoga philosophy. Supposedly, the 'sign of the cross' can be related to chakras.
Well, OK, I have looked into pressure points andd energy points. I've heard of chakras... but I still don't really understand what they are or why they are important... or why they have colors! The sign of the cross? Really?

[jenna]

Wow that is really cool. I love it. I find stuff like this so fascinating. Got anything else? :)

[Scandia]

OMG that is so cool!

I do not know what my chakra is- probably one of the higher ones, since I am so iNtuitive.

Splinter, Leo, and Donnie are iNtuitives. Raph and Mikey are Sensors.

[Masked Ninja]

They covered the chakras briefly in Avatar (which I know people think is a ripoff but I still like it :trazz: ) so I've at least heard of these. Now the colors I hadn't seen paired with it before, and it's kinda creepy/awesome how well it matches up!

[Kunoichi_Haruko]

I never heard about the chakra colors, either, but that is so cool that they match up perfectly. :D

[Swany]

Thats pretty cool.

And one hell of a coincidence.

I love indigo... don't know why.

Purple is my fave colour too. Although this is the first I've heard of it being "intuition, imagination and intellect" I've always heard of it refered to as a spiritual colour.

Plus, its pretty.

[Ava Collier]

Green (the heart chakra), governs love, compassion and balance.


Whoahohoho! That just nailed Ava like it was Ra- *hit by a bus*

I really didn't know anything about chakras, but my ex-girlfriend was a psyhology major. (That was only fun sometimes >.>) And one of our most memorable conversations was about how people's favorite colors reflected their personalities in all aspects, and it was basically the same thing. I said "Oh...like the ninja turtles!"...and she just rolled her eyes at me ~_~;. It never could have worked out between us XD

EDIT: I didn't mean to make it seem like I was talking about Ra and Buslady...rereading my post it made me giggle. ^_^

[Warhorse]

So, does this color scheme thingamajig have something to do with what color you seem to prefer (Red is mine, with Purple being close behind)

So, does this mean I'm angry, emotional and smart at the same time?:D

[Janus Prospero]

Summarizes our boys perfectly. I especially love how Red and Blue are needed to balance each other. That's so awesome.

[Scandia]

My favorite colors are purple, magenta, and blue. Yeppers, the colors of a certain flag that I do fall underneath :)

I do identify more with the chakras of higher wavelengths, curiously. I do take care of my self-preservation needs well, but I always have had trouble in the sex and romance domain.

[Tinuvielsdreams]

wow that is cool and they really do makes sense

[Ra]

Wow, that is creepily awesome! (although at first I thought you were talking about Naruto for some reason). That definitely sums up our green guys very well. Ridiculously well. For me, I think I am a good mix of red, orange, and yellow chakra. I usually react in a violent manner, love games, and not only am I confident in myself, but people tend to tell me that when given the chance, I have the courage of a lion.

Strangely enough, those colors represent fire, which might suggest that my "element" is fire. Wow... O_o;;

EDIT: I didn't mean to make it seem like I was talking about Ra and Buslady...rereading my post it made me giggle. ^_^
Aw...but I thought you intended it to be like that. I feel sad now :(

...:P

[cowabunga14]

This is some neat info here. I never thought of the Turtles being connected to chakras.

[Ava Collier]

Aw...but I thought you intended it to be like that. I feel sad now :(

...:P

*waggles eyebrows* I'm on the red/black/green cusp. I enjoy art, music, roleplaying, and volunteering my middle finger to the general public.

[Scandia]

My element is Air. My favorite Planeteer was Linka with the power of Wind and all. But I see that Air is Leo's element- not Donnie who is the iNtuitive Thinker like myself. Oh well, Leo rocks.

[Fledermaus]

Justice Force -- I have looked into Chakras myself, and wondered how the turtles seemed to represent such strong parts of the psyche --

But I have never heard of the root chakra (survival) being "balanced" by the throat/mouth chakra (expression). Nor have I heard of pleasure (orange) being balanced by insight (purple)...

Where, out of curiosity, did you find such pairings? :-?

Oh and by the way -- since they're all green, I suppose that means that LOVE is the thing they all have in common -- it keeps em together. Now ain't that a sweet coincidence? :roll: ;)

[Rooish]

Zeh? The chakra colours are really cool, but as for each Turtle's element, I always imagined it was: Leo - Earth, Don - Air, Raph - Water, Mike - Fire.

Funny about your ex, Ava. Seriously, that is how I feel sometimes when people don't like the TMNT. :lol:

Edit: Scandia, I had to look up what flag you were referring to. And whaddaya know, me too! Although orange is my fav colour.

[Scandia]

To this day I am not sure which one is SP and which one is NF regarding Fire and Water. I know SJ is Earth and NT is Air.

I will do a Turtle Typing thread soon.

[Chase]

oh this so so cool. and so interesting that blue and red balance each other and orange and purple balance each other. and look what i found.
http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/chakratest.php

its a chakra test. so u can see which of your chakras are open and closed.

[Time Mistress]

Very interesting TMNT color obsevations. Fun test too.

As for elements I'd say Raph = fire, Don = earth , Mike = air, and Leo = water

[JusticeForce]

I have never heard of the root chakra (survival) being "balanced" by the throat/mouth chakra (expression). Nor have I heard of pleasure (orange) being balanced by insight (purple)...

Where, out of curiosity, did you find such pairings? :-? There are a number of sites but here's one we found doing a quick search:

http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/vanthal/21/chakra-gateways.html

The chakra colours are really cool, but as for each Turtle's element, I always imagined it was: Leo - Earth, Don - Air, Raph - Water, Mike - Fire. The four elements of Earth, Air, Water and Fire are predominantly Western (although in Japan they do use them, with Spirit being the fifth element). However, the Five Eastern Elements of Chinese astrology may be more appropriate in mapping the Turtles' personalities on, especially since they are referred to in the 2K3 show in the form of the Foot Mystics.

The Five Eastern Elements are: Earth, Fire, Water, Metal and Wood (comparable to Air). We know what you're saying, though... Five? But there are only four Turtles. We would include Master Splinter as one of the five, as he is the core of the group that binds them together.

Here is a run down of the Five Chinese Elements and their character aspects:

EARTH (T'u), the Diplomat. Moderate, harmonious and with a sense of loyalty. It is located at the center, as Master Splinter is.

FIRE (Huo), the Magician. Intuitive, passionate and seeks excitement. Hates to be bored -- like a certain Turtle we know whose name doesn't end in "O". ;)

WATER (Shui), the Philosopher. Imaginative, clever and seeks knowledge. Donatello seems to fit this element very well. Opposite to Fire.

METAL (Chin), the Catalyst. Organized, likes order and control. Metals are precise, discriminating and needs to be right. This rings true for Leonardo.

WOOD (Mu), the Pioneer. Expansive, active and needs to win. Like Mikey in the Battle Nexus brawl. Opposite to Metal.

Even more fitting is the Help/Hinder cycle of the elements in Feng Shui. In the Help Cycle:

Earth/Splinter helps Metal/Leo, because he is his favored student.

Metal/Leo helps Water/Don, by recognizing his genius by utilizing his technological talents.

Water/Don helps Wood/Mikey, as seen by how well they work together and how (in the TMNT novelization) he helped him with his Cowabunga Carl business, and how in the TMNT movie he acts as a mentor of a sorts ("Mikey... Remember our talk?")

Wood/Mikey helps Fire/Raph. Yes, Mikey can rile Raph but at the same time, he probably does the best job of keeping his brother sane and from being too consumed by his passions. (Raph: "It's been fun." Mikey: "Even me?" Raph: "Especially you.")

Fire/Raph helps Earth/Splinter, by reminding him that although he is flawed as a student, as a son he is as much loved as all the others.
And, according to the Hinder Cycle:

Earth/Splinter hinders Water/Don by taking him away from his gadgets to practice his ninjitsu.

Water/Don hinders Fire/Raph because they are so different. In the TMNT movie, when a frustrated Raph couldn't argue intellectually, on Don's level, he was about to resort to brute force.

Fire/Raph hinders Metal/Leo because he cannot be contained as Leo would like him to be.

Metal/Leo hinders Wood/Mikey by being the kind teacher who pulls comic books from out behind a student's text books.

Wood/Mikey hinders Earth/Splinter by, well, annoying him, usually by ignoring him, as when he would go order a pizza during a lecture.

It's been a while since we've seen the "Return to New York" episodes, but don't the Turtles actually combat their elemental equivalents? If they did, and the writers didn't take into account Eastern Elements/Personalities, that really WOULD be a heck of a coincidence! (Or it would indicate that there really IS something to all this besides just being fun to analyze! ;))

[Scandia]

JusticeForce- wow, that is an awesome post. I was familiar with the Eastern elements, but did not know anything about the helping and hindering cycles.
Who knows how much Eastman and Laird knew about them. I do not think this is all a coincidence. Maybe they did not know about them when coming up with the parody- but they did more research about them as they began developing the characters.

Funniest interactions are the Mikey ones.

[Ava Collier]

*points up at Justice Force's great big powerful post* That's almost what I was thinking for the elements...although I did throw air in there as well, as this was one of the ideas for the chapters I'm working on, and I was trying to fit Ava and Master Splinter into what my opinion on the matter was. Strangely enough, The Craft inspired this >.<; Something reminded me of an old friend, and it brought back memories of going to the theater with him to see it...I could remember them invoking the spirit. I'm proud. I remembered something.

My first go with four elements, and four turtles...
East-air and invention- Donatello
South-fire and feeling- Raphael
West- water and intuition- Leonardo
North- earth and mother- Michelangelo (I know y'all are gonna have some questions about this one.)

I began to wonder if I should just double up on elements here...but each of their turtles already has an outside friend that reflects back at them, and I still couldn't figure Master Splinter into the plan. My brain went off on it's on, and just went "Leo. Metal. Swords...HA!" I love it when my brain talks to me. Things go much more smoothly...anyway! This made me go "Oh yeah...there are eastern elements. Now WTF do they mean?"

I don't REALLY know anything about Wu Xing >.<; My Sailor Moon rpg book (yes...yes I really am that bad) has Venus listed with metal as her element. It doesn't go much deeper than that, but excluding the princess, I had 4 senshi to compare 4 turtles to...which makes you go stupid. Besides, the senshi have REALLY obvious elements (most of the time). Venus is however the leader of the senshi. This was the only loose connection I was able to make. I knew wood stood for sincerity. I did a tiny bit of resarch into that because my book says Jupiter's element is wood. *blink blink* That explains why she shoots freakin' lightning...gotcha!

So now because of this, I've been reminded again of all the things I remembered, and forgot, and remembered to forget. I did a little more digging.

Earth- the nurturer, peacemaker
Metal- the analyst, perfectionist
Water- the visionary, idea person (Idea person is a direct quote from my source XD It's got comparisons to famous people fictional or factual as well.) http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/vgn/images/portal/cit_56417/7/32/262021Wu_Xing.pdf
Wood- The planner, doer
Fire- the socialite, emotional spark

Okay...so removing air...everyone suffocates. No wait...
Ahem. Removing air, adding Master Splinter, and going by this theory makes Master Splinter earth, Donny water, Leo metal, Raph fire, and Mikey...fire. They BURNED THE WOOD OKAY! There. Now...*facepalm* Oh dear god, I can see how Ava would be wood...be would be...well she sure as shell isn't air. I give up. I thought I had a point. :ohwell:

EDIT: WAS wood...that won't work anymore. Ladies, and gentlemen, welcome to morning brain activity. My processors are not functioning properly.

Edit again: These are the aspects my ex and I were discussing. It's kinda scary how green suits Ava >.> I didn't even think about it. Heh. http://www.bharatmatrimony.com/astrology/color.shtml

[mk.2]

This chakras/masks colour matching makes a perfect sense. Those producers in 80s might into eastern philosophy which, IIRC, is quite popular at the time.

Orange (the naval or sexual chakra) governs pleasure, indulgence, games and sports. Michelangelo is the sensualist of the group who loves to ride skateboards, play video games and eat too much pizza (okay, they ALL do that ) And excess, leading to over-emotionality, is balanced by purple, which is Donny. That's why these two are often paired up.

Haa! The colour and meaning suits him well. Mike is the sexiest turtle evaa! In 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness', Mike also has the highest Physical Beauty stat.

[Scandia]

Not to mention that Mikey has had the most romance in his life. I do not consider Kala to be his girlfriend, although they had a flirtation going on. In which comic is it shown that Seri the Regenta laid the eggs containing Mikey's children?

[Time Mistress]

Wow! Great post JusticeForce! You too Ava!

It makes me rethink some of my stuff and I love adding Splinter in there.

But to explain my original thinking:

Raph = fire

Do I really need to explain this one? It's the only one I'm certain of. He pretty much embodies this element - heat, passion, red, the risk of burning out of control.

Don = earth

Going with just the four I was original thinking Leo for earth, but the more I thought, Don seemed to fit better. Earth is the purple mountain. It is calm and unyielding and cannot be moved. It is firm and grounded which is where Don fits in the team - he is the voice of reason, the almost silent but majestic presance of calm and peacemaker within the team. Fire/Raph and Water/Leo war, but the sand of Earth/Don can also snuff out the fire of Raph's anger or act as a sandbreak for Leo's flood of emotion. Earth forges from it's bowels the introments of technology such as metal and wood.

Mike = air

Air is playful, dreaming, never staying in one place at once, contantly moving. It caresses earth, water, and fire. Air climbs and touches what is beyond in the creative imagination, dancing among the orange rays of the cheerful sun. Air can be a gentle as a breeze but also hides the hidden power of the tornado, full of destrutive potential. Air/Mike can snuff Fire/Raph but too much can fuel it. Air/Mike can erode the willpower Earth/Don in helpful ways when earth builds up it's own ego too grandly but too much eroding can toss up even the anger of Earth. Air/Mike is esential for any that would travel on/with the Water/Leo, with it's constant, gentle urging and encouragement flowing in the right direction, but again if the air stirs up a tempest, even the water will turn violent and snap back. Air can blow itself and others off course with too much distraction. But air also invites the (rain)water/Leo that nourishes the confidence of Earth/Don to grow and quells Fire/Raph.

Leo = water

On the surface, water is blue, pristine, and perfect, but underneath there is the constant struggle to stay afloat and in control. And others can get dragged down in it's violent current. Water, like a good leader must be flexible, able to shape itself and adapt to ever situaltion. If water becomes too rigid and set in it's ways it becomes cold and ice, and is of little use. Fire/Raph creates steam when it confronts Water/Leo, but fire also melts ice to return it to it's orginal flexible watery state.

A sword of family is grouded in earth, tempered by water and fire, and spirited by the breath by air, forged by the trials of life.

Woah, didn't think I'd get so deep, but it's fun.

[Ava Collier]

Wow! Great post JusticeForce! You too Ava!

Air/Mike can erode the willpower

Woah, didn't think I'd get so deep, but it's fun.

A: Thank you ^_^;
B: Those are some powerful sneakers. AirMike...erode the willpower. Could you just see him doing this ad? XD
C: It's more fun the deeper you go >.>
D: I'm really diggin' your comparisons. ^_~

[Chase]

[QUOTE=Time Mistress;515722]
A sword of family is grouded in earth, tempered by water and fire, and spirited by the breath by air, forged by the trials of life.
QUOTE]


Wow thats a really beautiful. cool. great job.

[Andrew NDB]

I've never had a problem with the TMNT in all red bandannas in the comics, or telling them apart except for a handful of specific panels I could probably add up on my fingers. Makes sense, as far as battle. Presents a unified front, confusing their enemies. You won't find many ninja clans in history that add a bunch of different and bright colors to their outfits. Still, I can respect the different colored bandannas in the different universes just fine.

Letters on their belts = nipples on Batsuit, in my book, and pretty much a punch to the face of the audience's intelligence.

[Scandia]

I still like seeing the individuality. How each turtle has a different personality and role. And how the colors are not just random, but actually represent them quite well. That they are not all clones- nor Splinter's puppets.

[odupianist]

Letters on their belts

I agree, but I figured that was done more for the younger audience. Even though, the younger audience could have figured it out eventually by colors, one would think.

[jenna]

The thing about letters on belts is that it is an easy get-out of giving the durtles any defining features otherwise. As a kid it never occured to me to mind the letters on the belts, but now I think it's a real shame.

[Ava Collier]

Letters on their belts = nipples on Batsuit, in my book, and pretty much a punch to the face of the audience's intelligence.

Or the animators' :lol:
P986Gysiihw

[Andrew NDB]

Might as well put big stickers on all of their shells, "Hello! My name is ______", that's sure to help the younger audience.

[Sage Ninja]

I've always felt that in the western take of the elements it went:

Leonardo: Earth (because he is grounded and lends his support and protection to his brothers)

Dontello: Water (because it is flexiable and cool)

Raphael: Fire (because he is burns with intensity and passion and has a strong destruction streak, but like fire has the power to melt steal and meld it to make it stronger, like he does for his brothers)

Michaelangelo: air (because he his both gentle and powerful at the same time, in times of peace he is a gentle breeze refreshing every one with his presence, but in times of duration he is powerful wind that can up root enemies. Also like air he is very deceptive because no one knows how powerful can be or how gentle he could)

eh heh :oops: I know I got a bit dramatic there with the description. But I also under stand the Leonardo and Dontello's signs can be reveresed since I think they both have personality qualites that are common for those signs.

Also even though fire is seen as a powerful war like element, I think it could also be spiritual as well. Sailor Mars from the Sailor Moon series was a under the fire sign yet she was a very spiritual and calm and wise person (at leeast in the manga) So I don't think each element really has to fit its stero-types.