The aura is an energy field that surrounds and penetrates the human body. Clairvoyants & healers describe it as an egg-shaped field of lights and colors. The aura extends beyond the body anywhere from a few inches to several feet. A special type of photography called Kirilian photography has even been able to capture the aura on film.

There are many different layers of energy in the aura, each existing at a different vibration. In order to easily remember the primary layers use the following example:

Suppose someone you know begins to exhibit angry behavior. At first, their angry energy hits the outer or spiritual layer of your aura. You shrug it off. You look at them with compassion and assume they must be having a bad day.

Now, the next time you see the same person, they are angry again. Their energy begins to filter into the mental layer of your aura. You will think about their behavior and wonder what's wrong, whether or not you did something to upset them, and how you can help them.

If the person continues to be angry around you, their energy will filter down even closer into the emotional layer of the aura. Now you may be upset when you see the person coming towards you. You may feel angry yourself, sad, or simply irritated.

Finally, if the bad behavior continues, even your physical energy--your body--will be affected. Your muscles may tense, you may stoop, or straighten up in a defensive posture. Chances are likely you won't even realize that you are actually tensing your body as they approach.

As this example illustrates, the aura can be divided into four very important layers: (1) the spiritual layer or outermost layer that records all of your souls experiences (2) the mental layer that contains your thought forms and deep-seated beliefs (3) the emotional energy body that contains your sadness, joys, angers, and all the rest of the human emotions you experience, and finally (4) the physical layer which is your body. Esoteric literature divides the physical layer into additional layers including one close to the physical body called the "etheric body."

Most people who see auras do not distinguish between these layers because in truth they all overlap. Instead the clairvoyants notice the clouds of light -- energy that is moving, stuck, or vibrating with different patterns and colors. The patterns and colors of these clouds of light contain a great deal of information as summarized below:

Sensing the Aura

Some people are lucky enough to be born with the ability to see and sense the aura, however everyone can learn. There are three primary ways of perceiving the aura:

1. Seeing the Aura with your eyes open

This method takes more practice than the others. The goal is to achieve a loose and relaxed focus with your physical eyes that allows the more subtle energies of the aura to come in view. There are many books available on the subject, but here is a simple trick given to me by Rev. Judith McClure who runs the Center for Expanding Consciousness

Do this exercise with a friend:

Have your friend sit in a chair with their back against a white wall.

Have them place a small sticky dot or piece of paper in the middle of their forehead.

Sit about four feet away.

Place your hands up in front of your face, and hold your fingers as if you were framing a picture with thumbs pointing inward and your index finger pointing up (Like two "L's" pointing inward).

Loosely focus on the dot on your friend's forehead. While you are doing this, move your hands apart slowly, further and further apart, keeping a loose focus on the dot, and allowing your peripheral vision to follow your hands. If you keep trying this exercise you will soon see a thin layer of light around your friend's head! If you try several times you may even see color. Keep at it! Sooner or later you will see auras.

2. Seeing the Aura with your eyes closed

Work with a friend. Tell him or her to remember a time when he/she felt a strong emotion, but do not allow them to tell you what they are feeling. Close your eyes. Breath deeply a few times and imagine that there is a line of light connecting the center of your forehead with the same spot on your friend. Just breath and be calm in this space. Ask yourself what colors and patterns are in your friend's aura. You may have an inner image appear or simply a sense or feeling of what the aura must look like. Report what you have seen to your friend and correlate the colors/patterns with the emotion they were feeling.

3. Sensing or Feeling the Aura

The aura patterns can be felt by those sensitive to energy. Try putting your hands about three inches above various areas in the body (heart,throat, third eye in the middle of the forehead, and solar plexus, just above the navel) each day and tune into the subtle sensations you feel. With time, you can learn to sense energy. See if you can correlate the subtle sensations with your moods at the time. Sensations might include warmth, coldness, a tingling sensation like the fizzies in a cola, or stronger buzzing, as in front of a television screen, spiky feelings, sluggishness, etc. On different days you may feel different things as your mood and energy level fluctuate.

Interpreting the Colors in the Aura

Colors in the aura are widely subject to different interpretation. However, there are some general guidelines. It is important to consider this information, but to train yourself to interpret the colors according to your own system of observation. Write down what you see, and as you learn more about the person, keep a log of how that might correlate with the colors you have observed. Experience is indeed the best teacher!

Color Meaning

Red

A bright candy-colored red can indicate a passionate and energetic nature often associated with people who are courageous, entrepreneurial, or achievers. A deep clear red is often associated with the root chakra and indicates a physical orientation in life, an adventurer, and often a well grounded individual.

A muddied or dark red can indicate anger. Orange/red can symbolize sexual interest or passion.

Orange

Orange typically symbolizes a passionate, creative, or adventurous personality. Orange may also indicate sexual passion or ambition.

Yellow

Yellow often indicates a person with intelligence who has a warm and playful, generally cheerful personality. Sometimes yellow also indicates intellectual energy.

Green

Bright green is the color of the heart and indicates healing, or new growth. People with a great deal of green in their auras are often healers and/or counselors. They are social, and love to share. A dark clear green indicates someone who is responsible and ambitious who is likely to work for material wealth and luxury in their life. A muddied green may indicate envy.

Blue

Blue is the color of expression so when it appears in the aura you may be dealing with a teacher, someone who does public speaking, or perhaps someone who is simply self-expressed. People with a great deal of blue are often very sensitive to and supportive of others.

Rose

Rose may indicate that the person is in love, or practices deep spiritual self-love.

Purple

Purple indicates a person who has a deep connection with spirit or is pursing a path of active spiritual growth.

Black

Black is not always bad, although if it is muddied, clouded, or stagnant this may indicate an area of weakness, illness, or depression. Black may also simply indicate an area of mystery in that person's life.

White

White in the aura may indicate a very evolved being or may be the presence of angels or guides in the aura.

Gold

A person with gold in their aura is an evolved being. Gold indicates a strong connection to the I AM presence of the Divine.

Silver

Those with silver in their aura are often good communicators or are dealing with issues of communication.

ANN ALBERS is a traditional Reiki master, writer, lecturer and spiritual counsellor. Her mystical training has led her to many teachers (shamans, channels and mediums). She has been published in the books CHOCOLATE FOR A WOMAN'S HEART and CHOCOLATE FOR A WOMAN'S SPIRIT.