Colour Therapy
The History of Colour Therapy
Colour therapy also known as Chromotherapy is a therapeutic practice that has been used for thousand of years by ancient civilizations in places like Egypt, Tibet and China. Little is really known about the methods used as most of the information was not recorded and has been lost over the generations. During the Middle Ages colour was associated with mystical types of energies and used by healers and magicians alike. In 1666 Sir Isaac Newton discovered that all colours could be separated from one another by refraction, and he began prism experiments to show how light is a combination of colours from the visible spectrum.
By the 19th Century scientific studies began to substantiate the healing potential of colour. J. W. Goethe (1749-1832) a German philosopher, artist and scientist was an important influence in colour therapy. His book ‘The Theory of Colour’ published in 1810 discussed the relationship between scientific observations and metaphysical concepts, he could see that colour was an expression of spirituality and a way of expressing the inner nature of humanity, he described colour as interaction of the polarities of light and dark. Goethe influenced artists like Turner and teachers like Rudolph Steiner, who later became influential in forming the colour theories of the 20th Century.
1851 Jacob Lorber wrote a book entitled ‘The Healing Power of Sunlight’ detailing the healing power of the sun. By exposing diseased parts of the body to the sun’s rays, along with sun-charged mineral water and sun-energised salt to increase the rate of healing to the body.
Dr Seth Pancoast an American physician in 1877 published a book called ‘Blue and Red Lights’ in which he describes using coloured filters to alter the body’s functions. He found that red filtered light would energise the nervous system whilst blue filtered light would sedate it. Shortly after this another American physician, Dr Edwin Babitt, published a book entitled ‘The Principles of Light and Colour’. Babitt focused on the healing properties of three primary colours, red, green and blue. He began to build cabinets through which he shone filtered sunlight on to his patients using the three colours. Later he developed ways of projecting electric light through filters instead of sunlight. Babitt also suggested that patients should drink solarised water charged with coloured and filtered light.
Dinshah Ghadiali born in India in 1873 later became a scientist and devised a complete system of healing involving colour. He reported that coloured light, sound, magnetism and heat were all different frequencies of the same energy. He linked colour and the other vibrations directly to specific areas of the body and its functions. In 1939 he published his theories in ‘The Spectro Chrometry Encyclopedia’ and invented two machines called the ‘graduate spectro-chrome’ and the ‘aluminum spectro-chrome’ which transmitted colour through slides. He reported that just as a chemical substance showed a unique spectral analysis, meaning that each substance absorbs and reflects different frequencies of light energy, so the body would absorb and reflect colour depending on its state of health. Ghadiali when on to devise a machine that projected colour.
In the early 20th Century Dr Harry R. Spitter an American optometrist developed a colour healing system he called syntonics. He founded the College of Syntonic Optomery in 1933, where he taught that light shone through a precise combination of 31 colour filters directly into the eyes could have a profound healing effect on many aspects of the glandular and nervous system, as well as significantly improving vision. In the same period Rudolph Steiner, philosopher, teacher, and religious leader, founded the Anthroposophical Society as well as the Waldoff Schools latterly known as the Rudolph Steiner Schools. He compared colour to form, shape, and sound and hypothesized that some forms magnify the vibrational components of certain colours and that certain mixtures of colour and shape can have both destructive and restorative effects on living organisms. Steiner incorporated his theories into the classrooms to have an effect on the students.
Theo Gimbel founded the College of Colour Therapy in Britain and continued Steiner’s research. Gimbel looked into the theories of Swiss psychologist Max Luscher who found that colour choices reflect a person’s state of mind and ‘glandular imbalances’. The Luscher Colour Test, developed by Luscher in 1947 has stood the test of time and is still used today by many psychologists. The test consists of the patient choosing 43 colours out of a total of 73; by looking at the colours chosen and rejected the psychologist can determine certain characteristics of the patient.
In 1958, E. Brooke Simpkins book ‘New Light on the Eyes’ was published which highlighted the importance of the light energy on our eyes, suggesting that our eyes need light energy as much as our bodies need food. Jacob Liberman modern-day book ‘Light, Medicine and the Future’ discusses the importance of light and the use of colour in the treatment of cancer, depression, visual problems, and stress, to name but a few.
During the 20th Century the use of light and colour as a healing therapy declined in popularity in favour of new pharmaceutical drugs. Nowadays, interest in colour as a complementary therapy is on the increase due to the limitation of drugs and the increase of more complex physical and psychological ‘dis-eases’ being brought about by the stress of modern-day living.
Current technological developments in colour therapy cover a very wide range of treatments and techniques. For example, studies have shown the positive effects that full-spectrum light can have on some types of depression. Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD was discovered by Dr Norman E Rosenthal in 1981, SAD is usually brought on by the onset of winter and the depravation of light, this triggers a chemical imbalance in the body resulting in sadness. Following this discover, patients with SAD were treated by using a bright full-spectrum light box and natural sunlight and the result were overwhelmingly positive. Subsequently other symptoms such as stress and sleep disorders have been treated with light boxes as well. Monochromatic red light therapy involves red light to stimulate acupressure points to treat various illnesses.
Developed in 1984 by Vicky Wall, a British chiropodist before going blind, Aura-Soma remedies are a collection of small 'balance' bottles, each containing a layer of coloured essential oil on top of a layer of colored spring water containing herbal extracts. Most contain two colours, and there are about 90 combinations in all.
Colour breathing is a form of meditation or visualization, in which you imagine yourself inhaling and exhaling colours. It can be practiced in bed before going to sleep, or when waking in the morning.
The afore mentioned examples are just a small selection of the many different and diverse colour therapy techniques available to us today. This shows that the healing qualities of colour should not be underestimated and can be a wonderfully natural way to balancing mind, body and spirit.
