Reply #9: As I added above [View All]

[kenny blankenship]

The use of poisons predates modern chemistry, and the traditional source of most poisons would be from plants, making the archetypal poison in the history of artistic representation tend to be green for the same reason that absinthe is green: chlorophyll.

Ironically, the greenness of absinthe is due to herbal additives historically included to make absinthe look more natural or healthful. The chlorophyll that colors absinthe doesn't come from wormwood extract. The basic absinthe recipe is clear but it was almost always given a green color by herbs just as it was always heavily flavored by herbs and roots that had nothing to do with its "magical" properties. The poisonous nature of absinthe could not be disguised and absinthe's reputation as producer of addiction, madness, and murder helped refasten green to its old valency as the color of poison.



As the natural world recedes from our cultural awareness, as we reduce its extent and viability (and our own viability with it), replacing its sensory existence with artificial environments, the power of associations between a color and a word category like poison will surely diminish.