Colour Therapy 
      
     Unfortunately, colour is something that the majority of us take for granted, largely 
     because it is abundant in countries such as ours, where technology can provide us 
     with those colours that Mother Nature cannot. 
      
     As children, we are generally more receptive to colour, and enjoy it much more for its own 
     sake than when we are older. Later in life our choices in colour become more consciously 
     affected by fashion, tradition, and symbolism, and the ‘message’ that we feel each of these 
     convey. 
      
     Reading into colour 
     Indeed, colours often influence the way in which we perceive new places, objects, and 
     people. No matter how open-minded we may think we are, the majority of us still make 
     assumptions, particularly where other people are concerned, based on colour. For instance, 
     consider how one might initially judge a bride dressed in black, a widow dressed in red, a 
     body-builder with a pink car, or someone in their twenties with a mop of grey hair. 
      
     The majority of such judgements are based on associating different moods, emotions, and 
     personal traits with specific colours. Just as we ‘somehow’ learn to join words together in 
     order to form sentences, we too come to link colours with meaning. Many people do not 
     know how or why red is associated with passion, anger and love – it is merely accepted, just 
     as dark means night and light means day. This is because we are born into a culture where 
     systems of meaning are already in place, and the majority of us simply accept these 
     systems at an early age without really thinking about where they came from and why. 
      
     As it happens, our ancestors used colour to judge whether something was poisonous or
     ripe, dangerous or safe, whether a season was approaching or a day ending. Colour was a
     means of survival, so it is only natural that we still use a system that has helped preserve
     our livelihoods for centuries. 
      
      
  
        Colour and general well-being 
        In many respects, our survival still does depend on colour. Light consists of 
        colour, and humans – like other animals and plants – consist of life cells that 
        require light in order to survive.  
         
        Most of us are aware that dramatic changes in the quality or amount of light 
        we receive can have an effect on our general health; one only has to consider 
        how a dingy working environment can cause eye strain and headaches, or 
        how ‘depressing’ a cloudy winter’s day can be. In 1981, Dr N. E. Rosenthal 
        identified and named Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a condition caused 
        by a deprivation of sunlight that interferes with the body’s natural day / night 
        clock in the winter months. Symptoms include depression, weight gain (often 
        due to an increased appetite for carbohydrates), a perpetual longing for sleep, 
        and a lacking of sexual urge – rather like a state of human hibernation! 
         
        Yet although it is readily accepted that sunny weather and bright colours are 
        better at raising our spirits than their rainy and more morose counterparts, 
        much scepticism remains when conversation turns to the subject of “Colour 
        Therapy”. 
         
        Most therapists would be in agreement that the general public find it difficult to 
        understand the potential benefits of therapies that do not work on a 
        predominantly physical level, such as massage. That is to say, it is relatively 
        easy for a client to see how the effects of stress can be tackled by having 
        tense muscles in the neck and shoulders physically manipulated. There is a 
        scientific logic involved that has a known biological effect on the body. To 
        accept that exposure to purple or blue light could achieve the same ends 
        would take a much stronger belief system as the treatment is less tangible. 
         
        Yet despite the odds, Colour Therapy is growing in popularity, possibly 
        because it shares many of the philosophies that underpin other holistic 
        therapies that have also derived from the East. But as it is the same with many 
        of its ilk, how Colour Therapy is applied and how it is believed to work varies 
        according to different schools of thought. 
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
                   The properties of colour 
                   One thing that seems to remain universal in Colour Therapy are the properties 
                   pertained to each of the major colours. The most common of these include: 
                    
                   Dark Blue              Light Blue            Green        
                   Confidence  Affection  Balance 
                   Intuition   Communication Generosity 
                             Loyalty   Creativity  Loyalty  
                   Reliability  Devotion  Spirituality   
                   Tranquillity  Honesty  Stability 
                   Wisdom  Peace   Sympathy 
                    
                   Orange  Red   Yellow 
                   Creativity  Energy   Competitiveness 
                   Energy   Impulsiveness  Detachment 
                   Self-expression Intensity   Enthusiasm  
                                 Happiness  Passion  Intelligence 
                   Sexuality  Restlessness  Joy  
                   Warmth  Outgoing  Power 
                    
                   Purple   Brown   Black 
                   Creativity  Earthiness  Authority 
                                Intuitive              Loyalty                       Dignity 
                   Mystical  Passive  Mystical 
                   Unifying  Reliable  Serious 
                    
                   Obviously there are numerous other colours which also have universal 
                   characteristics attached to them, but Colour Therapists generally use only the 
                   ‘pure’ colours that make up the visible light spectrum: typical diagrams will 
                   show a circle divided evenly between red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, 
                   blue, violet and magenta. 
                    
                   Red, orange and yellow are at the ‘magnetic’ end of the spectrum and are 
                   believed to have a warming and stimulating effect on clients. Green is the 
                   middle and ‘neutral’ colour in the spectrum in terms of its effects, leaving blue, 
                   indigo and violet at the ‘electrical’ end, with their calming effects. 
                    
                   Each of the colours used for therapy are believed to have a complementary 
                   colour, and many therapists will incorporate both in order to achieve a state of 
                   overall balance. For instance, someone being treated with the colour orange 
                   will often receive a smaller dose of blue in order to cancel out any negative or 
                   short term effects of the main colour applied. 
                    
                   How the colours are used by therapists 
                   The way therapists use colour to treat their clients can vary quite considerably. 
                   Most common uses include: 
                    
                   • Coloured filters: the client is exposed to light (often in the form of daylight 
                   bulbs) being passed through coloured filters. Some therapists will literally 
                   bathe the client in the appropriate colour, while others will concentrate it upon 
                   those areas that need direct attention. In some instances, the exposure will be 
                   rhythmical as opposed to constant, as it is believed that the body will 
                   otherwise ‘switch itself off’ to the colour. Glass filters are believe to be more 
                   effective than plastic gels in both of these methods, as stained glass produces 
                   the complete vibrational spectrum of its given colour where light is passed 
                   through it. 
        • Solarised water: spring water is poured into a stained glass bottle and kept 
        in direct sunlight for several hours. It is believed that the water will gain the 
        vibrations of the bottle’s colour (which is then consumed by the client). 
        • Solarised cream: a container of non-perfumed and non-coloured cream is 
        placed under or in a glass filter and exposed to sunlight. As with the spring 
        water, the cream then adopts that colour’s vibrations. These creams are then 
        used externally for treating skin conditions.  
        • Colour channelling: the therapist scans the body’s aura and then acts as a 
        channel, transmitting colour onto the client. 
        • Ingesting colour: it is believed that the properties of colour can be obtained 
        to a certain degree through food stuff, particularly if the food’s colour is natural 
        and it is grown in sunlight. 
         
         
         
        Determining which colour to use 
        Before a client can be treated with colour, it firstly needs to be established 
        which colour they need to be treated with. There are several methods that 
        Colour Therapists use to make their diagnosis, including: 
         
        Kinesiology: the client holds a colour in front of themselves with their left 
        hand while the kinesiologist applies pressure to their right arm, which should 
        be horizontal to their body. If the client’s right arm does not resist the pressure, 
        then the colour being held at that point in time is the one with which s/he 
        needs to be treated. 
        Aura scanning: the therapist’s palms are used to scan the client’s aura in 
        order to establish whether there are any blockages impeding the seven major 
        chakras. The Colour Therapist then channels colour to the client via touch. 
        Dowsing: this traditional shamanistic method typically involves the therapist 
        holding a pendulum in front of the client which they then ask a series of 
        ‘yes/no’ questions. The pendulum will then respond by either turning clockwise 
        or anti-clockwise, or by swinging. The therapist has to first determine which 
        pendulum movements mean ‘yes’ and which mean ‘no’ before they can 
        effectively use this state of the higher self to help their client(s). 
         
        Colour Therapy: a wide range of disciplines  
        Colour Therapy is like most complementary therapies in that there is no single, 
        definitive school of thought on the subject. Many therapists will incorporate 
        colour into their mainstream practices, such as reflexology, Indian Head 
        massage, crystal therapy, or yoga, resulting in the frequent marriage of 
        different complementary disciplines. 
         
        Some Aromatherapists will also mentally ‘cloak’ themselves in gold or yellow 
        prior to treating clients, believing that this method of visualisation will protect 
        them from the possible transference of negative emotions.  
         
        But whether people choose to believe that the practice of Colour Therapy is 
        effective or not, the fact that many ‘acceptable’ professions have come to 
        acknowledge and use the properties of light and colour cannot be overlooked. 
        Certain types of light are already being used by the medical profession: the 
        anti-bacterial properties of ultra-violet (UV) light is frequently employed to treat 
        walls, tables and instruments to kill germs in operating theatres. Glasses with 
        coloured lenses are being used to ease reading and writing difficulties faced 
        by dyslexics. Blue, green and pink décor can be found in prisons and 
        psychiatric wards to pacify inmates and patients, while pale yellow is in 
        schools to promote learning. And whether you are a believer or a non-believer 
        in the power of colour, if clients are happy with their results, who are we to