Auras are generally thought of as an energy field that surrounds a person.  Your auric body is connected to your chakras and usually perceived as layers related to the health of each chakra.  It reflects the current state of your energy and emotions and in many cases, also carries echoes of previous emotional states that were not properly grounded.  Perceiving other people’s auras is useful because it allows you insight into their current emotional and physical state. This allows you to be more understanding about what they’re experiencing so that you can help them or just not take their mood personally and also gives you a great lie detector.  Perceiving your own aura can give you similar insight into yourself.  If you’re going to do spellwork, this is important because noticing the state of your own energy allows you to align it with what you would like to accomplish.

 

Some people who can perceive auras also notice auras around objects.  These auras show energy or emotions  involved in an object’s creation.  Objects sometimes pick up the energy or emotions of the room they’re in or the people who come in contact with them.  Those are reflected in the object’s aura as well.  This is important to notice because the energy an object holds might affect your personal energy when you are in contact with it or if you’re trying to do spellwork with it, could skew your spell. 

 

You probably already are sensing auras but you don’t pay attention to that information because of the other sensory input around you.  A common misconception is that auras are always something that is seen.  They are really sensed via an additional 6th sense.  If you’re not used to processing that information directly, your mind is likely to offer the data through one of your other 5 senses to give you a way to interpret it.  You might feel a vibration, see colors or motion, hear tones or even smell an aura. 

 

It is possible to focus this response and channel the information into the sense you prefer to use.  Most people DO prefer to use their sense of sight as sight is many people’s strongest sense.  To do this, settle in a quiet room with few distractions.  If you are working on perceiving your own aura or an object’s aura, being alone works best.  If you are working on seeing the aura of others, being in a place where you can observe people without interacting is the most effective.  Sitting in a library reading room or a college lecture hall or at the bus stop works well.  Often viewing auras works best when you practice looking for them in your peripheral vision or by unfocusing your eyes.  A common technique for unfocusing is to stare at two dots about an inch apart until a third dot appears between them.  Then, holding that, look towards the aura you’re trying to perceive.    It takes practice to pay attention to auras because you are used to dismissing that information as not important the same way you ignore other common things in your environment. 

 

Noticing auras is often the first step to energy-based healing techniques as you cannot alter what you don’t perceive.  When you change an aura, your own or someone else’s, you are making real changes to a person, which is why energy healing is so effective.  

 

Now we talked about why sensing auras is helpful and some beginner techniques for doing that with sight. 

 

Here are some aura attributes to consider no matter how you sense them:

• General shape

  • Fuzzy aura boundaries usually indicate poor personal boundaries for some reason.  These people may be uncomfortable saying ‘no’ or might be used to being very dependent on others.  These people often don’t know who they are without others and may be catching a lot of emotional spillover from other people in their vicinity. 

  • Walls are often seen with people who are defensive.  Defensiveness on an energy level happens when someone feels like they are under attack or they are very afraid.   Often sensitive empaths seem walled off because they are trying to block out all of the input from people around them.  They might not be having much success but they’re trying. 

  • Spiky or sharp seeming auras often belong to people with a history of abuse.  They’re ready to hurt others to keep themselves from being hurt.  Unlike people with walls, who are usually purely defensive, people with spiky auras have a high potential to lash out, often unintentionally.

  • A Healthy Aura is typically neutral.  It has clearly defined edges as boundaries but it is not attempting to hide behind a wall or projecting aggressively.  The person will typically be a balanced individual. 

• Aura Position

  • In Front - The aura is often temporarily ahead of someone who is rushing or in a hurry.  If it is ahead of them longer term, they may be so focused on the future that they can’t enjoy the present or even pay much attention to it. 

  • Behind - People with their aura lingering behind them may be dwelling on their past mistakes or triumphs.  They may not be letting themselves move on for a variety of reasons or could be holding themselves back out of fear.

  • Above - These people may be trying to escape their problems or avoid life.  This is often commonly seen in people who approach life in a purely intellectual way, dismissing their emotions.

  • Centered - These individuals are in the now and have a balanced view that includes some past and some future vision.  They can have plans without rushing towards them and consider the past without dwelling there.  They still honor the present moment.

• Aura Size

  • Large and spread way out - Could indicate a desire to assert control over others in the vicinity or have them feel the person’s emotions.  It could also be the sign of someone spread too thin in other areas, not keeping enough for themselves.  They may not have a strong ability to focus on their own life.

  • Thin and tight to the body - Most often caused by fear or something depleting their energy without replacing it.  This shuts down a person’s energy flow and can cause them to feel drained of energy. 

  • Absent (maybe above, behind, in front or maybe appearing to be gone entirely) - People who are astral-traveling may look this way and it’s generally not a problem for short periods of time.  In the long term if the body is still obviously being used, it usually indicates someone who is very unhappy in the present or in so much pain that they want to escape.  They don’t want to be connected to their own body but eventually they have to face whatever the problem is.

  • Personal Bubble - A healthy aura is usually spread about an arm’s length around the body and evenly balanced.  Additional energy drawn in with purpose will be reflected in increased intensity, not size. 

  • Mid-Size auras that are only half an arm’s length are usually seen for short times on very focused people.  It reflects an inner drawing in of strength for a specific purpose. 

• Aura dynamics between people or within a group

  • Blurred Boundaries - It appears to be one large fuzzy aura shared by two or more people with no separation or distinct differences.  This may appear between two people when they have changed themselves to be more compatible with a person.  It may also be present in a large group when group-think or herd dynamics are happening.

  • Dominating or controlling - One aura might be trying to assert itself over another when one person is trying to control others either directly or indirectly.  This might look like one aura trying to swallow the other like an amoeba of light moving around a foreign body if you sense auras visually.  Or, conversely, like a parent with a child, one aura could be attempting to shelter/protect the other. 

  • Tangled together - Highly sensitive people especially seem to attract others’ emotions.  Their aura may appear to be tangled with others or even have stray bits from other’s auras sitting on it’s surface.  This is not a healthy situation and leaves the person who experiences it at the mercy of the emotions of others until they learn to firm up their boundaries and get rid of the unwanted pieces.

  • Healthy Boundaries - People with healthy balanced relationships who are both complete in themselves will have auras that press together but remain distinct from each other. 

 

 

These things are often noticed no matter how people sense auras and paying attention to them can give you a lot of valuable information to help yourself and others.  For instance, someone whose aura is lagging far behind isn’t very focused on the present or the future and may not plan well.  Knowing that lets you compensate in day to day life or gives you the potential to aid them in becoming more centered.

 

If you perceive auras visually, continue to the next article in this series (link to aura colors page/post) to learn more about commonly seen colors and potential meanings.

 

For people who perceive auras using sight, here is a list of commonly seen colors and potential meanings.  Keep in mind that the colors can show as bands or blotches or in many ways.  People’s auras primarily reflect their own emotions and energies but they can pick up junk from their surroundings, especially if they don’t know how to ground or are highly sensitive.  Highly sensitive people are like velcro for the emotions of others.

 

● is often associated with first chakra energies and emotional reactions.  It is commonly associated with base emotions - our senses of safety and survival as well as physical sexual responses. 

● is commonly associated with feminine energies such as tenderness, self-love.  It can also indicate a person who is very giving to the point of harming themselves. 

● tends to be about emotional self-expression, creativity, and vitality.  Muddied or darkened, it can indicate lack of these things. 

● to some people can indicate mental alertness and clarity of thought.  Others see it as a reflection of happiness and optimism.  Some who follow the chakra system see it as a reflection of social behaviors and reactions because third chakra is yellow. (note: link to chakra page might be useful here) 

●, like yellow, can have a lot of potential meanings.  If you’re using the chakra system of interpretation, it can be about love, nurturing, and healing.  If your experiences and associations with ‘green’ are different you may see it as new beginnings and growth or potentially as jealousy. 

● is most frequently associated with verbal expression, flexible thinking, and organization.  Some associate certain tones of blue with sadness while others see sadness in tones of yellow (emotional reactions being a second chakra phenomenon)

● is intuition and innate wisdom when it is associated with the third eye or can show blockages based on tone.  Some see purple as controlling or authoritative energies. 

●is commonly associated with male energies such as being practical, grounded in real-world work, and focused on solutions rather than the emotional aspects of processing.

● can indicate dark intentions.  It can shadow other colors in warning about unresolved issues.  Some people interpret it as feelings of grief, loss, or hatred.

● is typically seen as religious energies.  Clear and bright probably indicates balance and harmony with the universe and spiritual pursuits.  These individuals are whole within themselves.  Cloudy white can indicate people who are blocked or not being truthful with themselves about their real spiritual beliefs. 

 

Remember two things as you consider the information above.  First, you’re not really seeing auras.  You’re sensing them and your mind is using sight as a way for you to process the information.  In a way, the colors you see are just as much about you as it is about the person or object you’re looking at.  What does that color mean to you?  That specific shade?  Your past experiences and history matter to how you interpret data.  After reading the list here and discussing it and maybe looking in different places, make your own list about what they mean to you .  Your mind will try to show you what it senses in a way you’ll understand.  The second thing is don’t rely on just your eyes.  Listen to your intuition and your feelings to help you interpret what you see/sense.