Today I'd like to introduce you to a deity you probably haven't heard of before. Her name is Potnia Chromaton, and her name means Lady of the Colors.

We met her serendipitously when we followed the legendary red thread that winds through the Labyrinth in the infamous Greek legend. While that story mis-identifies several Minoan deities as humans, it gave us some tidbits to grab hold of and follow back in time to the Bronze Age via comparative mythology and shared gnosis.

Although the story says that Ariadne had possession of that thread, the thread itself belongs to Arachne, the Minoan fate goddess; she is, after all, the ultimate Weaver and Spinner.

But what about the red color of that thread?

That's where Potnia Chromaton comes in. We consider her to be a face of Arachne, but she can be approached separately as a stand-alone deity. And color is her thing: dyeing, painting, photography, filmmaking, any activity where color is the primary focus.

Think about it: Her mother is the Sun Goddess Therasia, whose light illuminates our world. And color is about reflections of specific wavelengths of light. Magic!

Color is such a big part of our world, but we don't often stop to think about it as a subject in its own right. Like light, color affects our moods. Patterns of color can induce altered states of consciousness. Color has its own power and mystery.

The ability to produce color is a skill. Expert Minoan artisans crafted natural dyes from plants and other substances and made paint pigments from the Earth herself to use in frescoes like the one at the top of this post.

So the next time you want to create something using color, or you simply want to express your appreciation for all the beautiful colors in this world, offer your gratitude to Potnia Chromaton.

The Lady of the Colors is with us!