Science, Colors & Emotions

A few years ago, I had written a post entitled, "The Color of Moods" in which I talked about a seminar I attended that was facilitated by a registered nurse on how colors affect our emotions. This post is intended to serve as a more scientific view on the subject. 

Have you ever noticed that certain colors tend to induce or bring about specific emotions when looking at them? For example, does the color light blue make you feel calm or peaceful? Does the color red make you feel passionate - or perhaps even a little more aggressive? Have you ever noticed that mental hospitals tend to use the color yellow on their walls?

While doing some further research on the subject, I learned a few very interesting things. For one, not only do certain colors evoke specific emotional responses regarding our brain patterns, but scientific studies have found that there are three ways in which colors effect us: 

1) Psychologically: This effect is based on our personal experiences.
2) Symbolically: Such colors can be associated with a specific object. For example, the color "sky-blue," "sea-green," "candy-apple red," and so on.
3) Culturally: The color white, for example, is usually associated with pureness and innocence in western society, but in eastern culture it is the color for death and sadness.

How exactly can colors manipulate our feelings and emotions? Well, according to a study by Wellesley College researchers Stoughton and Bevil Conway, it is possible that our brains are hard-wired to like or dislike certain colors and it all relates to emotional responses when we see color. Advertisers are well aware of this fact and use this information to their advantage when promoting and selling their products. As stated by Conway, the research study has significant implications for the creative community "to the extent that anyone would find it informative to know how the nervous system works, and through that would gain an appreciation for these phenomena, I would think artists and designers could benefit."

(For more information on colors, please click on the links at the bottom)

While the science behind our emotional connections to color is a complicated one, it is becoming more clear through anecdotal knowledge and scientific experimentation. 
Science Behind Color and Emotion

(References: "Science Behind Color and Emotion" and "How Colors Manipulate Your Emotions")

💙💚💛💜💙💚💚💛💜💙💚💛💜💙💚💛💜

Speaking of colors, I have always been fascinated by "eyes" ever since I was a child. I used to (and still do) love to draw, most especially, eyes. As an adult, I love to use color mascara when playing/experimenting with make-up. 

(M.C. Escher, study for Eye, pencil on paper, September 1946.)

I recently found this beautiful, vibrant "Teayason Mascara" set on line. Love the cat design, too! This set was only $22.23!

Blue ...

Purple ...

Pink ...

White ...

Brown ...

One of my fav's are the Colour Pop line of mascara's ...

"Blue Ya' Mind"

"Purple Prouse"

"Kiss n' Teal"

"Pink Inc.

"Plumb and Go"

"Right on Red"

And, a bit more expensive brands are also available such as Urban Decay's "Double Team" line of mascara ...

So much fun!!

Throwback Thursday: Are Orbs Real?

In photography, an orb is a typically circular artifact on an image, created as a result of flash photography illuminating a mote of dust or other particle. Orbs are especially common with modern compact and ultra-compact digital cameras.

Orbs are captured during low-light instances where the camera's flash is used. Cases include night or underwater photography, or where a bright light source is near the camera. Light appears much brighter very near the source due to the inverse-square law, which says light intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source. The orb artifact can result from retroreflection of light off solid particles, such as dust or pollen, or liquid particles, especially rain. They can also be caused by foreign material within the camera lens. The image artifacts usually appear as either white or semi-transparent circles, though may also occur with whole or partial color spectra, purple fringing or other chromatic aberration. With rain droplets, an image may capture light passing through the droplet creating a small rainbow effect.

Some paranormal investigators have referred to orbs appearing in photographs from allegedly haunted locations as 'ghost orbs', 'spirit orbs' or 'angel orbs', and claim them as evidence of spirit presences representing the essence or soul of a departed person, in some cases claiming that orbs have appeared on command and may have images and faces visible within them when zoomed in.

The following are merely two of my own personal true stories and experiences with orbs and the "unexplained" ...

The Bride's Best Friend

In October of 2012, I officiated a legal Wiccan handfasting for a couple who lived in Denver, PA. Toward the end of the ceremony, the bride turned to her family and friends (and unbeknownst to me) she "spoke" to her best friend who had passed away of cancer shortly before the wedding was to take place - the wedding which she was supposed to be such an important a part of. My husband had taken pics for me as, of course, I was not able to. A few days later after I had gotten my pics of the ceremony developed, I had immediately noticed an unusual orb-like image at the bottom of one of the bride's maids dresses. In fact, you can actually see her glancing down at her side at something that had so obviously caught her attention ...

The week after the wedding, the bride came to my home to pick up her official Marriage Certificate. After I showed her this particular pic, her immediate reaction was,"I knew it! I knew she was there, I could 'feel' it! I am not at all surprised."

Eric & Kim's Halloween Handfasting ~ October 28, 2012

****************************************************

The Ghosts who (still) live in Gettysburg, PA

A few years ago, while attending a family reunion in York, PA, we had decided to take the Gettysburg ghost tour which included the historical battlefield. The tour guide took us all through the town and recanted personal stories of which the locals and other witnesses had shared of things they say they had seen and the ghosts and their images that roamed (and continue to roam) the streets to this day. Images and unexplained phenomena regarding the soldiers and their families who had died there. 

We were allowed to take photos and videos (back then, mostly via camcorders) of the entire tour. I remember there was one old abandoned home with a rather interesting history regarding it which the tour guide told us that due to previous paranormal activity as reported by the caretakers who upkeep the grounds, no one was allowed to enter this particular home. She also warned us that, even though we were welcome to take pictures and videos outside of this home, the energy in and around the house was so strong that many previous tourist have complained on numerous occasions that when they attempted to take pics or acquire any video footage, their batteries immediately died ... drained of all power! We all sort of shrugged our shoulders and pretty much did not think much more of it at that time.

Well, lo and behold while I was standing aside of my (then) brother-in-law who was using his camcorder up until that point during the tour, say, "I don't believe this!" (and began laughing) We both saw the red battery light go off and "POOF", no more video - completely shut off! Later that evening, my sister Robin told me that the battery came back and the camcorder was working fine.

In addition to the ghost tour, there was also a cool little museum which we visited before the tour began that was filled with dozens of orb and image photos captured by various folks who took pics during the walk through the battlefield and the town itself hanging on the walls - photos like the one Dark Elf had found above.

So, are orbs for real in most cases? Please feel free to share any experiences you may have had with them. 

The afterlife: Where spiituality meets medical science?

Last night while browsing through, oddly enough, some Led Zeppelin music in YouTube videos, I came across an interesting one of an interview with a Neuropsychiatrist and Neurophysiologist named Peter Fenwick who had written a book about his extensive research regarding end of life phenomena and near death experiences. The book is titled, "The Art of Dying" and he talks about the connection between spirituality and medical science. I plan on ordering this book on Amazon. It just sounds so very intriguing (and once I began watching this interview, I could not turn it off because I found it to be so informative)! ☺

Are orbs real?

In photography, an orb is a typically circular artifact on an image, created as a result of flash photography illuminating a mote of dust or other particle. Orbs are especially common with modern compact and ultra-compact digital cameras.

Orbs are captured during low-light instances where the camera's flash is used. Cases include night or underwater photography, or where a bright light source is near the camera. Light appears much brighter very near the source due to the inverse-square law, which says light intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source. The orb artifact can result from retroreflection of light off solid particles, such as dust or pollen, or liquid particles, especially rain. They can also be caused by foreign material within the camera lens. The image artifacts usually appear as either white or semi-transparent circles, though may also occur with whole or partial color spectra, purple fringing or other chromatic aberration. With rain droplets, an image may capture light passing through the droplet creating a small rainbow effect.

Some paranormal investigators have referred to orbs appearing in photographs from allegedly haunted locations as 'ghost orbs', 'spirit orbs' or 'angel orbs', and claim them as evidence of spirit presences representing the essence or soul of a departed person, in some cases claiming that orbs have appeared on command and may have images and faces visible within them when zoomed in.

So here follow some stories of Kim's:

The following are merely two of my own personal true stories and experiences with orbs and the "unexplained" ...

The Bride's Best Friend

In October of 2012, I officiated a legal Wiccan handfasting for a couple who lived in Denver, PA. Toward the end of the ceremony, the bride turned to her family and friends (and unbeknownst to me) she "spoke" to her best friend who had passed away of cancer shortly before the wedding was to take place - the wedding which she was supposed to be such an important a part of. My husband had taken pics for me as, of course, I was not able to. A few days later after I had gotten my pics of the ceremony developed, I had immediately noticed an unusual orb-like image at the bottom of one of the bride's maids dresses. In fact, you can actually see her glancing down at her side at something that had so obviously caught her attention ...

The week after the wedding, the bride came to my home to pick up her official Marriage Certificate. After I showed her this particular pic, her immediate reaction was,"I knew it! I knew she was there, I could 'feel' it! I am not at all surprised."

Eric & Kim's Halloween Handfasting ~ October 28, 2012

****************************************************

The Ghosts who (still) live in Gettysburg, PA

A few years ago, while attending a family reunion in York, PA, we had decided to take the Gettysburg ghost tour which included the historical battlefield. The tour guide took us all through the town and recanted personal stories of which the locals and other witnesses had shared of things they say they had seen and the ghosts and their images that roamed (and continue to roam) the streets to this day. Images and unexplained phenomena regarding the soldiers and their families who had died there. 

We were allowed to take photos and videos (back then, mostly via camcorders) of the entire tour. I remember there was one old abandoned home with a rather interesting history regarding it which the tour guide told us that due to previous paranormal activity as reported by the caretakers who upkeep the grounds, no one was allowed to enter this particular home. She also warned us that, even though we were welcome to take pictures and videos outside of this home, the energy in and around the house was so strong that many previous tourist have complained on numerous occasions that when they attempted to take pics or acquire any video footage, their batteries immediately died ... drained of all power! We all sort of shrugged our shoulders and pretty much did not think much more of it at that time.

Well, lo and behold while I was standing aside of my (then) brother-in-law who was using his camcorder up until that point during the tour, say, "I don't believe this!" (and began laughing) We both saw the red battery light go off and "POOF", no more video - completely shut off! Later that evening, my sister Robin told me that the battery came back and the camcorder was working fine.

In addition to the ghost tour, there was also a cool little museum which we visited before the tour began that was filled with dozens of orb and image photos captured by various folks who took pics during the walk through the battlefield and the town itself hanging on the walls - photos like the one Dark Elf had found above.

So, are orbs for real in most cases? Please feel free to share any experiences you may have had with them. 

Science, Colors & Emotions

A few years ago, I had written a post entitled, "The Color of Moods" in which I talked about a seminar I attended that was facilitated by a registered nurse on how colors affect our emotions. This post is intended to serve as a more scientific view on the subject. 

Have you ever noticed that certain colors tend to induce or bring about specific emotions when looking at them? For example, does the color light blue make you feel calm or peaceful? Does the color red make you feel passionate - or perhaps even a little more aggressive? Have you ever noticed that mental hospitals tend to use the color yellow on their walls?

While doing some further research on the subject, I learned a few very interesting things. For one, not only do certain colors evoke specific emotional responses regarding our brain patterns, but scientific studies have found that there are three ways in which colors effect us: 

1) Psychologically: This effect is based on our personal experiences.
2) Symbolically: Such colors can be associated with a specific object. For example, the color "sky-blue," "sea-green," "candy-apple red," and so on.
3) Culturally: The color white, for example, is usually associated with pureness and innocence in western society, but in eastern culture it is the color for death and sadness.

How exactly can colors manipulate our feelings and emotions? Well, according to a study by Wellesley College researchers Stoughton and Bevil Conway, it is possible that our brains are hard-wired to like or dislike certain colors and it all relates to emotional responses when we see color. Advertisers are well aware of this fact and use this information to their advantage when promoting and selling their products. As stated by Conway, the research study has significant implications for the creative community "to the extent that anyone would find it informative to know how the nervous system works, and through that would gain an appreciation for these phenomena, I would think artists and designers could benefit."

(For more information on colors, please click on the links at the bottom)

While the science behind our emotional connections to color is a complicated one, it is becoming more clear through anecdotal knowledge and scientific experimentation. 


(References: "Science Behind Color and Emotion" and "How Colors Manipulate Your Emotions")

The other half of a perfect balance

Six years ago when I first began writing this blog, my original train of thought was to create a free "mini website" of sorts with the intent of introducing wicca to those who wished to learn more about it - the general belief system, the sabbats, esbats and rites of passage, perhaps a bit of spell work and teachings of what I had learned from both experience and from my peers - some of whom had already had their own covens and organizations by that time.

It did not; however, take long for me to realize that an educational type blog was not enough. I soon realized that if you want people to be interested enough to follow your blog, you also need to share a lot more of yourself personally. That was something that did not come easy to me at first because I am a rather private person even though I am a people person at heart.

It was about that time when a pagan Greek fellow came into my life. He politely contacted me to ask me if he may share my post on The Wheel of the Year on his blog. Yup, you guessed it, it was none other than Dark Elf. We eventually became Facebook friends and began having conversations about wicca and paganism, history, etc.

As time when by, I began having less time to blog and I was also getting a bit bored with it all. It is difficult to come up with fresh and new ideas all of the time and then it hit me  - why not ask Dark Elf to join me? We understand where one another is coming from, and, I have learned much from him. I knew that he was a pagan and a scientist and that he was well educated. I, on the other hand, have only gotten as far as a high school diploma and I was pretty much self-taught as a solitary wiccan. 

I personally feel that he is very much an asset to this blog and that his contributions are extremely relevant and important to its' purpose. I have heard many other wiccans state that "we all learn from one another" and I, too, believe this to be so. And so, I have asked Dark Elf to share in his own words a little more about his history and how he came to find his way to wicca and this blog ...  

*******************************************************************

(Dark Elf):  When I was a little kid I had an obsession with science. Especially physics, astronomy, and space. I couldn't of course set up a nuclear reactor, or launch a rocket so I got involved in something I could: electricity. I had a lab in the house. People considered me strange and even crazy. Some supposed that maybe I was an alien. Truth is that besides this inclination I had no illusions. I was only a disabled kid. So I tried really hard to get a good cumulative score and the results were average. I entered the Science Faculty, Department of Mathematics and there was a real fight against the corrupt system. Though I tried to remain out of sight and not to start any revolution - I was very different back then - there had been problems with injustices and the like.

I met a professor of Applied Mathematics that helped me a lot and so I decided to enter the Sector of Applied Mathematics for a specialization study. I liked it very much and my scientific take-off started at that time. After a brief work in superconductor solitary waves, I entered the Lab of Chaos and Dynamics. I took my BSC with an equivalent grade of your B+ and then entered the Polytechnic Faculty, Department of Chemical Engineering, Applied Mathematics Sector for a PhD. I studied wave theory and finally got my PhD. I was teaching Computer Science and Numerical Analysis while I was there.

However, after a take-off there is always a landing... So after I got my PhD, I had trouble finding a position in the University. I worked in research but things weren't any good there but I did publish my works under my name and then left. I was listed in many biographical publications including:

“Who’s Who in Science and Engineering”, Marquis Who’s Who, New Providence, New Jersey, USA;
“2000 Outstanding Scientists of the 21st Century”, “2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century”, “Living Legends”, “A Lifetime of Achievement One Hundred” (100 names), “Great Lives”, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England;
“Great Minds of 21st Century” (1,000 names), “World Book of Knowledge” (500 names), “21st Century Genius” (500 names), American Biographical Institute, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

And, my 9 most important published works are:

1.   A. Charalambopoulos, G. Dassios and P. Ergatis, A small axisymmetric obstacle in the presence of an underwater point source field, J. Comp. Acoust. 5 (No 3) pp. 243–263 (1997).
2.  P. Ergatis, A small resistive axisymmetric obstacle in the presence of an underwater point source field, Applied Acoustics, 62 (7) pp. 779–791 (2001).
3.  P. E. Ergatis, Sound scattering by a hard axisymmetric object in a double layered ocean, Applied Acoustics, 62 (12) pp. 1329–1346 (2001).
4.  P. E. Ergatis, P. G. Massouros, G. C. Athanasouli and G. P. Massouros, Time–Dependent Heat Transfer Coefficient of a Wall, Int. J. Energy Res. 27 (9) pp. 795–811 (2003).
5.  P. E. Ergatis, Sound scattering by a resistive and axially symmetric object in a two–layer ocean, Applied Acoustics, 66 (1), pp. 1–14, (2005).
6.  P. Massouros, P. Ergatis and G. Massouros, Εlastic creep of a wheel., 1st National Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering. ASME International – Greek Section, Sept. 2001.
7.  P. Ergatis, P. Massouros, G. Athanasouli and G. Massouros, Influence of Solar Radiation on the Thermal Dynamic Behaviour of Buildings (in Greek), 7th National Conference on alternate energy sources. Solar Technology Institute, November 2002.
8.  P. Massouros, G. Athanasouli, P. Ergatis and G. Massouros, Time–Dependent Building Thermal Resistance to Solar Energy (in Greek), 7th National Conference on alternate energy sources. Solar Technology Institute, November 2002.
9.  P. Ergatis, General form of propagating and scattered acoustic waves from point sources in deep underwater environments, Acoustics 2002, Hellenic Institute of Acoustics, September 2002.

I didn't want to use my disability but I had no other choice.  It's my belief that I was targeted and had no chance anyway. I don't wish to say more about that now but I promise you that you shall see a complete and sincere account of what happened at that time on MY blog so that I won't get my co-author into trouble.

At about the age of 27, I abandoned Christianity since the Bible was so unrealistic.  I happened at that time to see a movie, "The Mists of Avalon," and from there I learned of the Old Religion. I had studied it as much as I have studied Christianity. After some thought, I decided to follow Her (the Goddess).

I lost about 10 years of my life doing nothing. In an already very bad psychological condition, I experienced my father's death and a messed up family that he left behind. My life was destroyed and in complete darkness. Two more years passed and at that time I met Lady Morganna while searching for a Wheel of the Year for my blog, and the rest of the story is left to her. She and some other very few friends are slowly bringing back the light in my life. Now things seem better.

Sex, Lilith and Witchcraft - Part Two

( ... Continued from http://thewiccalife.blogspot.gr/2017/02/sex-lilith-and-witchcraft-part-one_13.html )

Imagine a highly educated, disobedient and sexual woman at high level of conciousness that is completely out of their control, she would be their worst nightmare! These women had been persecuted as witches in the middle ages. It's not just a mere bad fairy tale. It's theory, archetype embedding in the subconscious and of course practice.

The knowledgeable and independent women that refused to either get married and serve a man or serve the church as monks, were being targeted as witches. Actually the image of a witch flying on a broomstick is a mythological encoding of women using that broomstick as a sexual accessory. And the "flying" means the ascendance of the level of consciousness that was real and confirmed.

"The explicit implications of staff riding, and the sexual nature of witches in images throughout the Renaissance, are difficult to ignore. Artists like Albrecht Dürer and Hans Baldung depicted them naked. The witch in one engraving by the Italian artist Parmigianino is not riding a broom, but rather a gigantic, anatomically graphic phallus."
(Source: http://www.livescience.com/40828-why-witches-ride-broomsticks.html)

In previous posts elsewhere, I have shown how and why the Christian religion has been invented and designed by the Jew rabbis during the 1st and 2nd centuries. And I have shown how the Christians managed to dominate all the Roman Empire during 3rd and 4th centuries with bloody violence. Their church is LYING about "persecutions of Christians." During the 5th - 8th centuries there was the first "Witch Hunt." It began in 391 and it ended in 794.

Between 389-391 they emanated the infamous "Theodosian decrees," which established a practical ban on paganism; visits to the temples were forbidden, remaining Pagan holidays abolished, the eternal fire in the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum extinguished, the Vestal Virgins disbanded, auspices and witchcrafting punished.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_I#Proscription_of_Paganism)

"The Council of Paderborn in 785 explicitly outlawed the very belief in witches, and Charlemagne later confirmed the law. The Council of Frankfurt in 794, called by Charlemagne, was also very explicit in condemning "the persecution of alleged witches and wizards", calling the belief in witchcraft "superstitious," and ordering the death penalty for those who presume to burn witches."
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_hunt#Middle_Ages)


But when the "good" Christians realized that they hadn't exterminated all their "enemies" and that some of them were hidden and escaped them, a second witch hunt begun, mainly from 1480 to 1750 and the last "witches" execution happened in 1793 in Poland.

"A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials. The classical period of witch hunts in Europe and North America falls into the Early Modern period or about 1480 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 40,000 to 100,000 executions. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In the Kingdom of Great Britain, witchcraft ceased to be an act punishable by law with the Witchcraft Act of 1735. In Germany, sorcery remained punishable by law into the late 18th century. Contemporary witch-hunts are reported from Sub-Saharan Africa, India and Papua New Guinea. Official legislation against witchcraft is still found in Saudi Arabia and Cameroon."
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_hunt#Middle_Ages)

But it didn't entirely stop because the charges were just changed from "witchcraft" to "fraud." I have some doubts if charges for fraud are unjust in some cases because promises or threats of "witchcraft" can easily be used to seduce or scare naive people in order to get a lot of money from them. The easiest way is to claim that you will cast a "good luck" spell on them. Good or bad luck can't be accurately defined or measured. "Blessings" or "blessed charms" and "blessed" water or oil falls in this category of fraud, you can't objectively prove if they really worked or didn't work. That's why Gerald Gardner, the founder of Wicca prohibited ANY kind of reward for ALL kinds of magic work. In the 20th century the witch hunt was completely ended even in the form of anti-"fraud" laws.