There are colors you paint with. And then there are colors that paint through you. - Ruby is the second kind.
This month I'm working with Ruby — July's birthstone — and I want to do what I've been doing all year: go deep. Not just into the color itself, but into what it means, where it comes from, what it's carried across thousands of years of human history, and how understanding all of that changes the way you use it on canvas.
Because color is a language. And ruby is one of the oldest, most powerful words in that language.
A Stone Unlike Any Other
Ruby is a form of corundum, the same mineral family as sapphire, made red by the presence of chromium.
But here's what makes ruby truly extraordinary:
That same chromium causes ruby to fluoresce under sunlight. It doesn't just reflect light. It generates it.
When you hold a fine ruby in natural light, it appears to glow from within, as though it carries its own source of fire, independent of what surrounds it.
This is not a metaphor. It is a measurable physical phenomenon. And I think it is the most honest description of what ruby energy actually feels like, both as a stone and as a color.
Ruby is rated 9 on the Mohs hardness scale — second only to diamond. At its finest quality, it commands a higher price per carat than any other gemstone on earth, diamond included.
The most prized color is called pigeon blood — a deep, rich red with the faintest blue undertone, like a living flame held just below its peak. Not the loudest red. The most alive one.
7,000 Years of History
Ancient India — The King of Gems
The earliest known reverence for ruby comes from ancient India, where Sanskrit texts called it ratnaraj — "king of precious stones." This was not casual admiration.
When a particularly fine ruby was found, the ruling king would send dignitaries to formally welcome it, as though the stone itself were royalty arriving at court.
Hindus divided rubies into castes, with the finest stones reserved for those of highest spiritual and social rank. Offering a ruby to the god Krishna was believed to guarantee rebirth as an emperor in the next life.
Ruby was associated with the sun... the source of all vitality and life... and believed to carry its warmth within the stone.
Ancient Burma — The Warrior's Stone
The Mogok Valley in Burma (long known as the "Valley of Rubies") has been producing the world's finest rubies for over 800 years.
Burmese warriors didn't just wear ruby into battle. They inserted stones beneath their skin — believing the ruby would become part of their body, protecting them from weapons, shielding them from harm, making them invincible.
This is the warrior energy of ruby. It gave the warriors the courage to enter difficult terrain and fight through challenges because they believed in the power of the stone.
(Today we call that the power of belief)
Ancient Greece and Rome — Power and Desire
The Greeks and Romans connected ruby to Mars... the god of war, conquest, and unyielding will. It was worn as protection against enemies and misfortune, and thought to enhance courage.
Wealthy Roman women wore rubies not as decoration, but as a declaration and display of power. For them it symbolized their social status and marital protection.
The Roman historian Pliny the Elder wrote extensively about rubies and spoke of their internal light, calling it a gentle fire.
Medieval Europe — Royalty, Blood, and the Divine
In medieval Christian Europe, ruby became one of the most sacred stones. It symbolized the blood of Christ, the passion of the saints, and the divine fire of the Holy Spirit.
Kings wore it as a declaration of divine right. Bishops wore it as a symbol of spiritual authority. Warriors carried it as protection in battle.
The Bible references ruby as the first stone in the breastplate of Aaron... the high priest of Israel... considered the most honored position in the twelve-stone arrangement.
And in Proverbs 31, the virtuous woman of extraordinary character is described simply: "Her price is far above rubies." Ruby was the measure of what could not be measured.
China — Fortune, Fire, and Longevity
Chinese emperors adorned their armor and imperial regalia with ruby... channeling its energy of power, protection, and good fortune.
In Chinese philosophy, ruby connects to the fire element... active, transforming, expansive. It was associated with long life and the kind of fortune that comes from living fully and courageously.
(Don't you just love that Chinese recognized the power of crystals!)
Islamic Mysticism — The Awakened Soul
In Persian mystical poetry, ruby appears as one of the most enduring metaphors for the awakened human soul. The Sufi poet Rumi referenced ruby repeatedly as a stone that carries its fire within itself, independent of external light or darkness.
It became a symbol of the soul that has been refined through experience... tested by heat and pressure, emerging not diminished but illuminated.
(I learned a lot here — I didn't know that Persians or Rumi were Islamic, and I love the parallel with the illuminated soul)
Dorothy's Ruby Slippers
Perhaps the most culturally embedded ruby image in modern Western consciousness:
The ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz.
Their message, delivered at the end of the story: The power was yours all along. You didn't need to go anywhere to find it. You only needed to believe it... and click your heels.
(Ruby as the personal power that we all own... was always already there. Dormant. Waiting to be tapped into! This was my mothers favorite movie.)
The Spiritual Language of Ruby
Ruby is the stone of the root chakra, the energy center at the base of the spine associated with survival, vitality, grounding, and the will to live fully. This is the foundation of all energy in the body.
Without a strong root, nothing above it can sustain itself... not creativity, not love, not expression, not purpose. Ruby activates and strengthens this foundation.
Where Pearl connected to the moon, the intuitive, the receptive... Ruby connects to the sun, the active, the generative.
What ruby carries spiritually:
- Life force energy (prana, chi) — the animating power within all living things
- Kundalini awakening — the rise of dormant energy seeking expression
- Courage — not the absence of fear, but the decision to act anyway
- Passion — not just romantic, but the passion for existence itself
- Solar energy — warmth, radiance, the power to illuminate
- Protection — the energetic armor of the warrior who knows their worth
Mystics across traditions have worked with ruby to:
- Awaken stagnant energy
- Strengthen resolve during major life transitions
- Reconnect with purpose after loss or disconnection
- Reclaim scattered life force and redirect it with intention
This painting captures what ruby does that bright red cannot — it glows rather than shouts. Notice how the red flower pulls you toward it rather than pushing you back.
The Emotional Vocabulary of Ruby
As artists, this is where our work begins.
Before a viewer can find the words, the work has already spoken.
Ruby feels like:
- A deep breath before a decisive moment
- Confidence that doesn't need permission
- The moment you stop waiting and start moving
- Urgency without anxiety
- Desire with direction
Ruby doesn't calm. It activates. It reminds the body and spirit that they are alive... and that being alive comes with both fire and responsibility.
For your collectors, the people who will live with this work... ruby placed in their space does something different than pearl, or blue, or green.
It doesn't let the room go quiet. It keeps a pulse in it.
Ruby vs. Red — An Important Distinction
Not all reds are ruby. This matters more than most artists realize.
- Bright red is urgent, alarming, immediate. It's a stop sign. A warning. An announcement.
- Ruby is earned red. It's deeper and more complex. It has shadow in it. The finest rubies carry that faint blue undertone — creating what has been called pigeon blood — that complexity is what gives the color its depth and its authority.
- Ruby is not aggressive. It is sovereign. It doesn't demand the room. It simply owns it.
Notice the red-orange shapes here — vivid, immediate, declarative. This is bright red: it announces. Ruby does something different. It doesn't shout across the room. It pulls you in.
Painting with Ruby — What Artists Need to Know
This is where understanding the history becomes practical.
- Mixing Ruby Tones: To capture true ruby on canvas, you're working with transparency and depth — not opacity and brightness.
- The cardinal rule of red: Black + red = dead. Blue/violet + red = depth.
- Behavior on Canvas: Transparent reds glow when layered over a light ground. The light bounces back through the paint and creates that internal fire effect. Placing ruby against warm neutrals (cream, ivory, warm grey) allows it to command without overwhelming.
- Temperature Play: Ruby runs warm, but the finest versions carry that cool blue whisper in the shadows.
The Strategic Use of Ruby in Your Work
Here's where color history becomes business strategy.
When you understand what ruby means — energetically, historically, emotionally — you stop applying color by instinct alone and start using it with intention.
Know what you're offering: A ruby-toned painting is not for every space or every buyer.
It is for the person who wants:
- Energy and vitality in their environment
- A visual reminder to stay present and alive
- Art that activates rather than quiets
- Something that says this room has a pulse
That is a specific person. Speak to them directly.
The Artist Mindset Connection
I want to tie this back to something I teach inside my Patreon — specifically Key #1 of my 10 Keys to Living as an Artist:
Decide to be an artist. For real: Ruby is the energetic color of that decision. Not the tentative beginning. Not the "I'll try this and see." Ruby is the moment you stop dabbling and start declaring.
It's the warrior who puts the stone beneath their skin and walks into battle without flinching. It's the Indian king who sent dignitaries to welcome a fine ruby — recognizing its value before it had done anything except exist.
That same recognition is available to you — about your work, your voice, and your place in this field. Your art doesn't have to earn the right to be seen. You only have to be brave enough to show it.
That's ruby energy.
And it's available to you every time you pick up the brush.
What's Inside Patreon This Month
This month I'm going deeper into ruby — the technique, the symbolism, and the strategic application — inside my Patreon community.
If you're an artist ready to move beyond painting as a hobby and start building something with real intention and sustainability, the 10 Keys to Living as an Artist collection is there waiting for you.
Join at the free level to explore — or go deeper with a paid subscription that includes the full Keys collection and quarterly live sessions.
→ Join the community here: Patreon.com/CreativeSpiritStudios
Ruby doesn't ask for your attention — it demands it, and it reminds you that you're alive.
— Tonya
P.S. This month's videos explore ruby from multiple angles — the mindset, the meaning, the painting process, techniques, and the collector experience. → Watch the Ruby series on YouTube: YouTube.com/@creativespiritstudios1111