The symbol of psychology is the letter "psi". The word "psyche" meant a butterfly in Latin, as well as such things as a light wind, breathing, energy and, finally, the soul. Anyone who has studied psychology remembers how, during his studies at the university, this strange symbol appeared almost everywhere. Books, professors' offices, information notes - everywhere this letter could be seen. Anyone who is interested in this branch of science also knows about the symbol of psychology, because it has become part of the culture of symbols, which is common in many other disciplines such as philosophy.
Devil's Trident
Nevertheless, there are times when we accept characters too straightforwardly and don’t think about their true meaning. Many of us believe in urban legends that distort some real myths and beliefs. For example, many, especially believers, are convinced that the symbol of psychology (Ψ) is the trident of the Devil.
This wrong theory dates back to the times when people perceived mental illness as obsessed with demons. It was believed that mental disorders had supernatural causes such as spells and witchcraft, things that were not dependent on the person. This meant that everything was in the hands of the church and, of course, fate was in the first place. But nothing could be further from the truth than such an opinion. So let's look at the true origin of the symbol of psychology.
True story
In ancient Greek, the word psyche (as we mentioned earlier) meant a butterfly. This insect was also a symbol of the breath of life and the life-giving wind. Gradually, thanks to the influence of the Roman Empire, the word turned out to be a symbol of the human soul. What the Greeks and Romans meant by the word “psyche” was our life force, also known as “ka” in Egyptian culture. All this, however, has a very indirect relation to the question, which means a symbol of psychology.
The Greeks and Romans had a special view of the soul when it came to people. One of their beliefs was that when someone dies, this “ka” about which the Egyptians spoke left their body, turning into an entity in the form of a bunch of air. This clot then takes the shape of a butterfly. For Greeks and Romans, butterflies symbolized light, change, and hope.
Connection with mythology
In Greek mythology, the word "psyche" means more than just a butterfly, soul and mind. Psyche was also a goddess, a beautiful creature with butterfly wings. Her love story is one of the most beautiful love stories of all time, and she was immortalized by Apuleius in Metamorphoses.
According to the story, among the three daughters of the king of Anatolia was a girl who was really special. She was so thin, attractive and full of joy that even Aphrodite herself began to envy her, seeing her rival in her. She was so desperately jealous that she immediately persuaded her son, Eros (Cupid), to hit her with her arrows. She wanted the young Psyche to marry the most terrible, ugly and heartless man in all of Anatolia.
Love story
But things didn’t go according to plan. Instead, it was her son, Eros, who fell in love with Psyche. Unable to stop, the young god decided to go to her room every night to subdue her and make her his. Psyche fell in love with a mysterious stranger who visited her every night. She did not even see his face. The stranger was a god who wanted to keep his identity a secret.
But something went wrong. When Psyche told the sisters about this, they told her that she should break off relations until she saw the face of her mysterious lover. So she did. While Eros was sleeping in her bed, she brought the lamp to his face. At that moment, the son of Aphrodite woke up and lost his temper, completely enraged by the insolence of Psyche.
Descent to Hades
Crazy, desperate and annoyed, the daughter of the king of Anatolia went to Aphrodite to ask for help. Eros's mother saw this as an opportunity to prevail over her. She regarded Psyche’s visit as a chance to rid the world of this girl who dared to compete with the goddess of beauty. She gave her four tests that Psyche had to pass in order to earn the love and forgiveness of Eros. But the trials included entering the underworld, getting to know Cerberus, traveling with Charon, and then talking with Hades to eventually get to Persephone and ask her about some special beautiful thing that she kept in a small box. Her story reminds us of the deep meaning of the graphic symbol of psychology.
Against all expectations, the quick-witted Psyche proved that she is not only beautiful. She was smart, brave and determined. But when she coped with every task and received a box of Persephone, she was possessed by vanity and curiosity. She decided to open the box to see what's inside, and take for herself this mysterious beautiful object that was stored there. And then she went blind. Fortunately, Eros, who forgave Psyche, came to her aid and cured her of blindness. This story is often referred to in the context of the symbols of subjects in psychology.
A happy ending
This beautiful story could not end in any other way than a happy end. Aphrodite ceased to be jealous of her son’s lover and danced with them at their wedding. Zeus decided to make Psyche immortal. Now this bold, beautiful girl with butterfly wings is also a symbol of the psychology “Ψ”.
The complexity of symbolism
Not all images are necessarily symbolic. We can evaluate them as beautiful pictures without any specific interpretation being offered or required. Nevertheless, symbolism certainly makes them interesting, especially for people who like to find meaning in various things and phenomena.
Just a certain symbol is something that represents, denotes or points to something else, hidden from the eyes, invisible at first glance. Most people are familiar with the idea of dreams containing symbols. Many are also familiar with the idea of "interpreting" dreams. In fact, dreams are images. Any image, even if it is just a picture in the head, can be symbolic and open to interpretation.
Symbols and images in psychology
Some characters are very versatile. Many people from different cultures across the planet endow the same symbols with the same meanings. Water symbolizes birth, purification and rejuvenation. The house is a self, self, personality, ego. The circle indicates unity and eternity. Carl Jung, a well-known psychological theorist, called these images "archetypes." They are universal examples of human thought that are in our collective unconscious. Instinctively, we react to these images, although we cannot always be aware of this reaction. Some of these symbols date back to pagan beliefs about nature. Others may have evolved from the most basic elements of human psychology, culture and spirituality. One way or another, deciphering symbols in psychology is a very interesting occupation.
Interpretations of characters can also be unique. People from different cultures and backgrounds can, among other things, give symbols different meanings. For example, colors, which can be very symbolic, vary in meaning from one culture to another. In one culture, black may be the color associated with death; in another, the color of death may be white. People can also have their own personalized characters based on their unique personality and history. If you saw a small bird dying next to a rose bush, you can associate roses with death.
Associations in Psychology
Symbols are responsible for the most ancient and basic type of thinking, known as “association”.
One way to discover the possible meanings of a symbol is through free communication. When you see a particular image element, what does it remind you of? It is the same with the symbol of psychology - it evokes a variety of associations, but it has a clear symbolic meaning, which we perceive on an unconscious level.
Everything becomes much more complicated and much more interesting when the image contains many possible characters. In this case, we have images that interact with symbols, values that interact with values. And not only the elements of images interact with each other, but also tones, colors and compositions, which give even more maneuver for interpretation.
Conclusion
How does it all fit together? Again, there can be a number of ways to answer this question, and they will vary from person to person. That is why we are fascinated by great works of art. They are replete with all sorts of meanings and symbols. Also, "psi", a symbol of psychology, is saturated with a special semantic load, closely related to the mission that this relatively young science took upon itself.