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Ψ

The history of the symbol of psychiatry, psychology, and parapsychology* is full of myths. It includes the curious evolution of the term “psi,” the Greek letter Ψ.

 

The symbol Ψ meant butterfly in Greek.

 

This insect also symbolized the breath of the wind, the breath of life, a life-giving breeze.

 

​In its origins, this twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet was adopted by the Romans to create the word “psyche,” which also meant butterfly in Latin and later evolved to mean “breath,” “spirit,” and finally, “soul.”

 

The Greeks and Romans had a very specific view of the human soul.

 

When someone died, their breath, this “ka” that the Egyptians spoke of, came out as if it were a breath.

 

This breath took the form of a butterfly.

 

There was nothing terrible in this image, nothing to regret or fear, as the butterfly was a creature that represented light, change, and hope.

 

The symbol adopted the concept of the psyche, only to later combine it with “logia,” the science.

 

This is how the etymological “science of the soul” became the “science of the mind,” with the symbol Ψ being its maximum representation.

* Parapsychology is a scientific branch of research that investigates psychic abilities that lie beyond normal waking consciousness. The central research areas of parapsychology include: extrasensory perception; telepathy; clairvoyance; precognition and psychokinesis

The myth

In Greek mythology, the word “psyche” means more than just butterfly, soul, or spirit.

 Psyche is a goddess, a beautiful creature with the wings of a butterfly who experienced one of the most beautiful loves, immortalized by Apuleius in his metamorphoses.

 

The story is about the three daughters of the King of Anatolia, one of whom was very special. She was so delicate, attractive, and full of joy that the goddess Aphrodite herself was desperate as she saw a rival in this girl. Her jealousy was so strong that she did not hesitate to send her son Cupid to hit her with one of his arrows. All this was done so that young Psyche would be completely smitten with the ugliest, weakest, and most ruthless man in all of Anatolia.

 

However, Aphrodite did not foresee what would happen next:

 

It was actually her son Cupid who fell deeply in love with Psyche.

 

The young God, who could not resist her, decided to go to the Psyche’s room every night to win her over and make her his wife.

 

And so it happened. Psyche fell head over heels in love with a stranger who visited her every night in the dark, whose face she could not see.

 

For a god who wanted to preserve his identity so as not to put an end to this magical romance.

 

When Psyche discussed the relationship with her sisters one day, they advised her not to continue the relationship if she could not see the face of her mysterious lover.

 

So that is exactly what the young woman demanded.

 

She took the opportunity when Cupid was lying in her bed and brought a lamp to his face to illuminate it. When she did this, Aphrodite’s son became very angry at Psyche’s behavior and left her.

 

Heartbroken, despondent, and remorseful, the Anatolian king’s daughter went to Aphrodite for help.

 

Cupid’s mother saw this as her chance to get back at her, to make a woman who could rival the beauty of the goddess of love disappear.

 

She suggested four tests, four tasks that she had to complete to get Cupid’s forgiveness.

 

These tests included descending into the underworld, confronting Cerberus, traveling with Charon and Hades to Persephone to ask for a bit of the beauty that she kept in a chest.

 

Against all odds, Psyche turned out not only to be beautiful but also clever and resourceful, brave and determined.

 

But when she stood before Persephone’s chest, the girl sinned with curiosity and vanity.

 

She decided to open the chest to look at the contents and take a little of that beauty for herself.

 

In doing so, she fell into the trap of the Stygian dream.

 

Luckily, a familiar hand pulled her out of the clutches of the curse. A familiar touch comforted her, and a hopeful face brought her joy back in the same second:

 

It was Cupid who, having forgiven her, immediately rushed to her aid.

 

The end of this magical couple couldn’t be happier.

 

Aphrodite overcame her jealousy of her son’s lover and even danced at their wedding. Zeus chose to make Psyche immortal;

 

this beautiful and brave woman, whose butterfly wings also represent Ψ, the symbol of Psyche.

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