Picking the Right Color

There is a common belief among many followers of Hua Yan Spiritism that the spirits pay close attention to a strict calendar that is very different from any calendar found on Earth, with an infinite amount of months and days that will last until the end of all things. There are colors associated with every month, and one would do well to dress in the colors of the month, lest you invoke the wrath of the spirits of old, who will haunt you with bad luck. But how could anyone know what month the spirits are in? How does one pick the right color? Well, you'll have to commune with the spirits of course!

Communicating with the spirits is an elaborate process done by the Hua Yan priests, who conducts such a ritual at least once per actual month. In larger temples found in bigger settlements, the priests may perform this ritual once per week on a rotating schedule. Incense with scents of the season is burnt to establish an understanding of time between the material plane and the plane of the spirits. The priest imitates sounds of the animals that can be heard every morning, also relating to time of year but also location. Then, in silence, the priest covers his arms with long strings in every color of the rainbow, also black and white, and starts the divination process.

The spirits never answer the priest in specifics. They share their current emotions with them, and it is up to the priest to interpret what colors corresponds to the spirit's emotions. Simple moods are easily decrypted, but sometimes the spirits' emotions are complex, and colors must then be mixed. The primary colors, blue, red, and yellow, along with gray are the most common. 

Dyers and clothiers usually donate handsomely to the temples in order to be the first to know what colors are "in fashion" with the spirits.

by midjourney