society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > [noun] > symbols of (2)
(From the employment of ashes among Eastern nations in token of mourning, used in many phrases symbolizing the expression of grief or repentance.)
As the material of mourning or penitential garb; also (in contrast with ‘purple’ or ‘gold’) as the coarsest possible clothing, indicative of extreme…