Each of us has a biomagnetic energy field around us that contains our individual, energy blueprint. This field of energy is called an aura, and it can extend from a few inches to several feet around our body.

Just like your fingerprint, your aura is unique to you. But unlike your fingerprint, your aura is continually shifting according to your emotions, health, and state of mind.

Your aura has seven layers that correspond to your seven chakras, and because of this, it’s comprised of the same rainbow colors that make up your chakras. Some people who are sensitive or clairvoyant can actually see auras. In general, children are more able than adults to see auras, because they have not yet learned to restrict their vision to the “normal” range.

You may notice that babies often look above your head, or just beyond you when gazing at you. This is their way of taking all of you in – especially your auric field, because it is so stimulating and colorful.

Your aura is the most accurate representation of who you truly are. One’s image can be manipulated, but one’s aura cannot. A person can wear bold clothes to seem more confident, or put on a smile to seem happier but there’s no way to fake an aura. It’s what it is at any given moment. And it’s the most accurate measure of your total self – relaying information about your mind, emotions, physical health and even past traumas. 

Even though auras are colorful, seeing them isn’t the only way to experience them. Most people have an intuitive way of “feeling” another person’s aura. That is why first impressions can be so powerful, and why they often have nothing to do with appearances.

We’ve all experienced a time when we have immediately distrusted someone who appeared quite trustworthy, or conversely, trusted a stranger who looked like a common criminal.

Certainly appearances were not what we were registering. We were “reading” the other person’s auric field, feeling how theirs “fit” with ours, and checking in with our own intuition about their true nature.

There are people who sell aura “cameras” and aura photos, but you should be aware that, at present, there is no apparatus that can actually take a direct photo of an aura. The aura “photos” that you buy at a new age store or fair are actually reproductions of what a biofeedback system thinks your aura would look like. Usually, the image is constructed out of  temperature or acupressure measurements taken from one hand.

Can these measurements translate into a valid aura estimate? Perhaps. There are certainly yogic and ayurvedic traditions that connect particular fingers to each element (and therefore, to each chakra). Also heat and pressure can be decent indicators of human energy. So it’s possible that such “photos” could be recreating a good approximation of your aura. But the accuracy of such photos is not yet determined.

If you really want to see your own or another’s aura, your best bet is to retrain your eyes to see them. First, you need to sensitize your eye muscles to a wider, visual spectrum. Here’s a good exercise for doing that:

Get a few pieces of construction paper — red, green, blue, and yellow. Cut out some geometric shapes (a few inches wide), such as a triangle, square, circle and semi-circle.

Paste each shape onto a piece of white paper.

Stare at one of these geometric shapes for about 30 seconds, then remove the paper and look at a blank piece of paper. You will see a “shadow image” of the original shape. It will be the same shape and size, but the opposite, complementary color.

Keep looking at this shadow image until it disappears.  Notice how soft the image is as it fades away. This is what it is like to see an aura. You are focused, but remain soft in your perception. Doing this exercise will prepare your eyes for seeing actual auras, if your mind is open to seeing them.

When you have done this exercise for about a week, you can start trying to see actual auras. Have a friend stand before a white wall and softly focus on the outline of his or her body. Look a bit beyond your friend’s form and allow your eyes to get intent, but stay relaxed. Any perception of an outline around the body is an indicator that you are starting to see the aura. Light may come before colors. If you only see an outline of light, then continue to practice seeing this light every day until your sight opens up to seeing a wider color spectrum.

There are many different opinions about what the different aura colors mean. Here’s a list of some of the more commonly accepted meanings: