Psychology: Find the Help You Need

Modern Psychology and Tarot – Strange Bedfellows

Reading through the meaning of each Tarot card, it is common to wonder where the Tarot interpretations originated from. While earlier Tarot decks may have been influenced by folklore or oral traditions of the time, newer Tarot decks, especially those created in the last century have meanings linked to psychology. Not too Freudian, thank goodness!

Popular psychology is present in many definitions but more specifically, Jungian psychology has highly influenced the Tarot meanings. Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), was originally a student of Freud, but moved away from Freud’s psycho-analytical approach to develop a rich system of symbols entirely his own.

History Of Psychology

Rudolph Goclenius, a German scholastic philosopher, is credited with conceiving the term “psychology” in the 1590s. The word psychology comes from the Greek word psyche, which means “soul” or “spirit.” Earlier, psychology was also considered a study of the soul. Until the end of the 19th century, psychology was considered to be a part of philosophy.

In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt established a laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany mainly to pay attention to the study of psychology. Later on, William James published his book in 1890 entitled Principles of Psychology, which established a number of practicalities for the sort of questions that psychologists would focus on for years to come. Other important early contributors to the field included Hermann Ebbinghaus, who led the way in studies on memory, and the Russian Ivan Pavlov, who revealed the learning process of classical conditioning. In the meantime, Sigmund Freud, who was qualified as a neurologist and had no recognized training in experimental psychology, established a functional method of psychotherapy known as psychoanalysis.

» Read more: History Of Psychology

The Psychology of Color

On studying the psychology of color as effects on human emotions and human cognition

The Psychology of Color is primarily still within the realms of folk or commonsense psychology and has been widely associated with culture. The significance of color could well be related with particular cultures, emotions and situations although there are very few scientific experiments on color or a scientifically valid ‘color psychology’. The psychology of color studies the effects of colors on human feelings and behavior. It is usually believed that red makes people happy or fervent and yellow raises alertness, white is about purity and cleanliness, black evokes a sense of mystery, loss or anonymity.

Some of the earlier theories of color and its association with psychology could be traced back to Goethe who suggested that colors may have moral associations and tend to produce extreme emotional states such as blue produces tranquility and red creates aroused emotional states. Luscher, a Swiss psychologist suggested that individual personality traits could be associated with preferences for certain colors. However such tests have long been considered as unscientific and inaccurate and no general scientific consensus has been reached on the effects of colors on human emotions. Yet color theory and the supposed impact of colors have been widely recognized and applied in all facets of life from advertisements to interior designs.

» Read more: The Psychology of Color

Psychology: Find the Help You Need

Modern Psychology and Tarot – Strange Bedfellows

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