Tulip Symbolism & Spiritual Meaning (By Color)

“According to ancient Persian legend,” says author Lucia Impelluso, “the tulip was born of the blood and tears of a girl who had ventured into the desert in search of her lover. It thereafter became a symbol of love.”

There’s a strong spiritual meaning of the tulip, but it’s not just in spirituality where this power flower has meaning. Tulip symbolism is also a thing in art and literature all over the world, as we can see from the countless tulip quotes we see in books, poetry and elsewhere.

The Tulip in Art, Literature and Spirituality


Tulips have a long and diverse history of meanings in art and literature, especially in Iran, Turkey and Holland.

Since the tulip originated in Central Asia there are more references to it around that region of the world. According to Islamic tradition, when the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Hussein, was slain in battle in the deserts of Karbala, tulips sprang up from his blood.

In Iran, tulips, called lale, have a special association with martyrdom. One adorns the national flag used since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. In addition to their connection with political and religious sacrifice, the flower is used to celebrate the new year in spring.

In Turkish art, tulips are associated with paradise, and were a common motif in decorative arts like tiles and textiles during the Ottoman Empire. They symbolize beauty, as well as perfection. They were also thought to have the power to ward off evil because of their connection to Allah.

In her book Nature and Its Symbols, Impelluso traces the history of tulips in Dutch art and imagery. She says that in Holland, the Dutch tulip mania of the 1630s gave the tulip a particular association with wealth and beauty. The tulip especially appears “in many vanitas paintings, still lifes on the theme of the transience of earthly possession in the face of death.”

One of the many reasons tulips have had such staying power in artistic imaginations is because of their many vibrant colors. From the regal purple tulip to the cheery yellow tulip there are number of different colored tulips to satisfy almost everyone’s favorite color.

If you want to know what each tulip color symbolizes, here’s a brief run-down.

Black Tulips Meaning and Symbolism


almost black tulip - meaning and symbolism of tulips

Black tulips are extremely rare. They can signify mystery, as well as strength and power. Alexandre Dumas’ historical novel The Black Tulip features the quest for a true black tulip, giving the flower connotations of perfect love and achievement, but also darker associations with obsession, envy and injustice.

Orange Tulips Meaning and Symbolism


Orange tulips, like their yellow cousins, mean cheerfulness, happiness and hope. They’re a warm color and are associated with warm feelings.

They’re said to represent connections between romantic partners, whether that’s a spiritual connection, a special understanding or just a sense of gratitude for that other person.

Symbolism and Meaning of Blue Tulips


One fun fact about tulips is that they don’t actually come in blue. A true blue tulip is the grail of some tulip breeders, although it’s so far eluded them.

When you come across a bluish tulip, you could give it the same meanings as other blue flowers carry: serenity, peace, calm and trust.

Queen of the Night Tulip Meaning and Symbolism


Queen of the Night tulips can appear to be a deep maroon, or even black, depending on the light. This gives them an association with mystery and intrigue, as well as rarity.

Their dramatic hues can give off an aura of prestige, of unique beauty and of being drawn to the darker sides of life.

Purple Tulips Meaning and Symbolism


Purple flowers in general are historically associated with royalty and the upper classes. Purple dyes were expensive and until the creation of cheaper synthetic dyes, only the wealthy wore that color.

Purple tulips have kept that association with class, symbolizing elegance as well as nobility, prosperity as well as luxury and extravagance.

Pink Tulips Meaning and Symbolism


The meaning of pink tulips is similar to the meaning of pink roses. They symbolize love, but not necessarily the passionate love that red tulips symbolize. Think more like the love you might have for friends and family.

They’re associated with care, affection, and wishing someone the best. Pink tulips can also symbolize a love that’s just beginning.

Symbolism and Meaning of Red Tulips


A red tulip was given as a declaration of love in the Victorian language of flowers. Nowadays, red tulips are still commonly used as a gesture of romantic love.

In Islamic tradition, red tulips signify passionate love, but also martyrdom and sacrifice. The name lale derives from the Persian word for red.

Lavender Tulips Meaning and Symbolism


Lavender flowers are often used in weddings and showers as a symbol of grace and beauty. Their pastel hue gives lavender tulips an association with delicacy and refinement, as well as charm.

Lavender is an important symbol of LGBTQIA2S+ communities, where it celebrates overcoming oppression.

White Tulips Meaning and Symbolism


Like many white flowers, white tulips have associations with purity, new phases in life and new beginnings.

The white tulip has also been connected to concepts of honor and respect and can also signify forgiveness. They’re also often used as funeral flowers to represent rebirth; a new spiritual journey for the deceased.

Spiritual Meaning of Tulips


The tulip flower has a strong spiritual message. Though there are different meanings based on different cultures and religions, they mostly surround love and impermanence.

Impelluso says that according “to some scholars, the tulip can be understood as a symbol of divine love, because it dies if kept away from the sun.”

The 11th century Persian poet Omar Khayyam may have been the first to make this association in literature. In The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam he writes:

As then the Tulip for her morning sup

Of Heav’nly Vintage from the soil looks up,

Do you devoutly do the like, till Heav’n

To Earth invert you—like an empty Cup.

Sam Segal and Klara Alen tell us that in Europe, the 16th-century German botanist Joachim Camerarius furthered this association by giving the tulip the motto “I wither when the sun is hidden” in his work on the symbolism of herbs and plants.

In European art, tulips came to symbolize a faithful heart open to God, but also the fleetingness of worldly luxuries, especially during tulip mania.

In Turkish Islamic culture, the word lale “possesses orthographic and onomatopoeic similarities to the word Allah,” says art historian Valerie Behiery. That, alongside a numerological connection, has made the tulip “an object of spiritual meditation.”

CONTINUE READING

Read more about tulips in our collection of 50 Inspirational Tulip Quotes»

Feature image: Alexandr Popadin; Image 1: Jean Jones; Image 2: Daniel Spase

Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson’s love affair with flowers started in her grandmother’s northern Ontario garden, where she learned to care for her grandmother’s collection of annuals. She now works as a writer and editor in a small Ontario town and practices her floral craft at every opportunity, recently by creating bouquets for her friends’ weddings. Her favourite flowers are peonies, and despite the hints of others, she refuses to believe that she has too many of them in her gardens.

2 thoughts on “Tulip Symbolism & Spiritual Meaning (By Color)”

  1. Just found this today. I am working on a women’s retreat and we are using tulips in our decorations, etc. Your information is wonderful. Thank you.

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