Aura

Most aura frameworks describe the field as a layered envelope of coloured light surrounding the body — typically seven layers in Theosophy-derived schemes, each corresponding to a chakra and an aspect of being (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual). Particular colours are read as indicators: red for vitality and grounding, yellow for intellectual activity, green for healing or balance, blue for communication and calm, violet for spiritual focus, with darker or muddy tones treated as imbalance. Reports that some people see auras directly recur across cultures. Controlled tests of aura-readers — including the 1990s Maurice Berger and Edzard Ernst protocols — have not produced reliable above-chance performance. Kirlian photography records corona discharge around objects under high-voltage AC, which varies with moisture, pressure, and skin conductance; while photogenic, it is not a measurement of any aura. Many practitioners hold a working position that something is being perceived even if its objective status is unsettled.

The word aura comes from Greek, where it meant breeze or breath of air — a fitting root for something so closely tied to the idea of life force radiating outward from the body. The concept shows up in Hindu texts well before the Common Era, where the subtle body and its luminous field are described in the Vedas and later in Tantric literature. In Western occultism, the aura got serious attention in the 19th century through Theosophy — Helena Blavatsky wrote about it in detail in her 1888 work The Secret Doctrine, framing it as a multi-layered energetic field surrounding every living being. That framing stuck and shaped how most modern energy-healing traditions, including Reiki and pranic healing, talk about the aura today.

If you want to actually see auras rather than just read about them, start with the white wall exercise: have someone stand against a plain white or light gray wall, soften your gaze so you're not focusing directly on them, and look just past their shoulder. Most people catch a faint glow within a few sessions of practice. Robert Bruce's *New Energy Ways* is a solid starting point if you want structured technique over guesswork. You can also photograph your own hand against a dark background and look for color fringing — not scientific proof, but a useful attention-training exercise.