I’m not really one into “personality” tests. You know, there are compatibility tests, sex tests and other magazine tests and quizzes. And there are more serious “psychological” tests. They all tend to tell you what you already know about yourself.

But a fellow blogger, Lily Mugford [http://lilymugford.com/] recently posted about her experience with color [or as she said, colour] psychology. She chose her hue as orange and explained why, linking to http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/.

Color psychology is the explanation of how colors affect our emotions, our moods, our health, our well-being, our energy, our mind and our spiritual awareness at both a conscious and subconscious level.

So I decided for shits and giggles to check the site out myself.

It started with just one question … and an admonition:

What is my favorite color?

Answer this question now before reading any further. Don’t think about it, be spontaneous with your answer; accept the first color that comes into your mind and don’t analyze your choice.

Well, the first thing that snapped in my mind was “green.” I don’t know why, but it has been my favorite color over the years although I am not passionately locked into that particular hue. And in that vein, I would say I am partial to bright, vivid colors … emerald green … royal blue … cherry red … sun yellow … pure white [as opposed to off white or eggshell] … pitch black [as opposed to shades of gray] … That has to be a psychological study by itself.

Well, anyway, after I mentally blurted out my answer, I scrolled down and low and behold, this followed.

If green is your favorite, you have a deep need to belong, to love and be loved and to feel safe and secure. You need acceptance and acknowledgment for the everyday things you do for others — just a “thank you” is sufficient.

While we all probably want those things, I can see why I chose green.

To expand further, green is the color of balance and harmony. From a color psychology perspective, it is the great balancer of the heart and the emotions, creating equilibrium between the head and the heart.

From a meaning of colors perspective, green is also the color of growth, the color of spring, of renewal and rebirth. It renews and restores depleted energy. It is the sanctuary away from the stresses of modern living, restoring us back to a sense of well being. This is why there is so much of this relaxing color on the earth, and why we need to keep it that way.

Green is an emotionally positive color, giving us the ability to love and nurture ourselves and others unconditionally. A natural peacemaker, it must avoid the tendency to become a martyr.

It loves to observe, and therefore relates to the counselor, the good listener, the social worker. It loves to contribute to society. It is the charity worker, the good parent and the helpful neighbor.

Being a combination of yellow and blue, green encompasses the mental clarity and optimism of yellow with the emotional calm and insight of blue, inspiring hope and a generosity of spirit not available from other colors.

This is a color that has a strong sense of right or wrong, inviting good judgment. It sees both sides of the equation, weighs them up and then usually takes the moral stand in making appropriate decisions. On the negative side, it can be judgmental and over-cautious.

Green promotes a love of nature and a love of family, friends, pets and the home. It is the color of the garden lover, the home lover and the good host. [Actually, the only thing I like about the garden is its fruits.]

It is generous and loves to share, but it also looks for recognition. It is friendly and can keep confidences.

This color relates to stability and endurance, giving us persistence and the strength to cope with adversity.

Green is the color of prosperity and abundance, of finance and material wealth. [????] It relates to the business world, to real estate and property. Prosperity gives a feeling of safety to green.

On the negative, the color green can be possessive and materialistic, with a need to own people and things.

So, there you have it. It reminded me of the time in Washington, DC, when I took advantage of an offer for a “face reading” as fodder for one of my columns. I don’t remember the details, but I sent her a photo of my face and she read the lines and wrinkles and curves and rolls and ticked off a litany of psychological traits. Some of my more conservative readers thought I was being narcissistic. My wife thought her analysis was right on. I just did it for fun. Hmmm. Wonder if I still have that column floating around?

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: The noble secret of laughing at oneself is the greatest humor of all.