I’ve always had a small nagging feeling that I’m cursed. More specifically, that I’ve been cursed by an ex who didn’t take our breakup particularly well. When his predictions that some of my worst fears would manifest as a result of me leaving him did, in fact, come true in some sort of way, I couldn’t help but think that maybe I am carrying a dark aura around that is attracting things that I don’t want into my life.
Auras as concepts are prevalent in many religious and spiritual beliefs. Hinduism and Buddhism categorise our different energies into “chakras.” Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to auras as one’s “chi.” Even Christian iconography uses golden and white halos to portray its holiest people and signify their proximity to God. Now, auras can be seen and read to better understand what might be going on in our lives.
So could an aura reading help me dissect where I’m energetically misaligned? As I waited for my session with aura reader and stylist Susanna Merrick to begin, I prayed to the universe hoping that it could.
What is an aura reading?
Aura readings as we know them today are generally based on aura photography, which was developed in the 1930s by Russian electrician Semyon Kirlian. Also known as Kirlian Photography, it involves capturing a visual representation of a person or an object’s energy field and the colours associated with that. “The [electromagnetic] spectrum encompasses the visible light spectrum, but extends far beyond it as well,” says Dakota Boettcher, an aura reader at Sacred Light. “Each colour in our rainbow has a measurable frequency.”
From these photos, aura readers then interpret the meanings of the colours that pop up and what they could mean for you and your life. There are many types of aura readings, but the main goal is to help you understand the energy happening around you. “It’s a great tool to look at the context of your current state of affairs and to see what your path of least resistance may be through using the energy present in your field,” says Boettcher.
What goes on during an aura reading?
This is all dependent on what kind of reading you sign up for. At Sacred Light, for example, consumers can pay to have their photo taken with an AuraCam camera, which uses two hand sensors to measure physiological properties. Once the photo is done developing (which takes about three minutes), it will display colours projected onto your headshot. From there, an aura reader will use intuition, data sourcing and research on the colours that appear to interpret what they mean.
Merrick takes a slightly different approach. Instead of taking my picture, we had an hour-long consultation where she told me about the colours she picked up in my energy. We discussed in depth what they mean and what I can learn from them. A few days later, she sent me a 36-page zine, filled with detailed descriptions of my aura colours, year predictions and style mood boards to help me apply “colour magic” to better live out my ideal life.
Colour magic, she writes in my zine, is “the practice of using colours intentionally to influence your mood, energy and environment. Each colour carries a unique vibration and meaning, making it a powerful tool for manifesting your desires and aligning with your intentions.”
The cost of an aura reading varies and it can be quite the investment. Boettcher says that it can cost anywhere between $60 to $250, depending on location and what type of reading you’re looking to receive alongside your photo. One session with Merrick, which includes an aura interpretation, style interpretation, advice on how to work your colours into your wardrobe and a personalised digital look book, comes for a packaged deal of $222.
What do the different colours mean?
Your energy is most likely made of many different shades that are influenced by different factors in your life. “You wear every colour of the rainbow,” says Merrick. “In fact, your energy often changes.”
“There are certainly numerous types of patterns, and even prominent colour themes that come with seasonal shifts. For example, since the spring equinox, the combination of yellow, red, green and orange have been common,” adds Boettcher. “I also believe that astrological charts may have influence.”
The meanings of each colour may also slightly differ based on who or where you get your aura reading from. Sacred Light provides a general aura colour guide as follows:
Red: Connected to your root chakra, Boettcher says red generally represents strength and passion. It’s a grounding colour that can show your power. Pink means love and compassion while magenta is about fun, free-spirit energy that taps to your artistic side.
Orange: Orange is all about vitality. Connected with your sacral chakra, it can generally represent sexuality, independence, confidence and creativity.
Yellow: Stemming from your solar plexus, yellow is about your intelligence, joy and happiness. Boettcher says it shows your problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
Green: Boettcher says that the middle chakra, a.k.a the heart, is the meeting point of your lower and upper chakras. The colour green is about nurture and growth, channeling manifestation and self-care energy.
Blue: Associated with your throat chakra, Boettcher says that blue is tied to your communication. It represents calmness, inner peace, or faith. It can also represent focus and empathy. If it’s a deeper blue, like an indigo shade, he says that is tied to your third eye chakra. That represents your intuition and represents reflective energy, patience and trust. A mix of blue and green like a turquoise can mean influential and assertive energy.
Violet: This taps into your psychic energy and spiritual wisdom. It’s connected to your crown chakra and represents your identity, sense of self and moral compass. Boettcher says it can also represent your sense of adventure.
What does an aura reading tell you?
Boettcher says you can look at an aura reading like a weather report of what’s going on in your life at the specific moment. Over time, you should be able to see personal patterns and learn your dominant colours. “Lots of times you see confirmation in how you’ve been feeling or signs of what you’ve been experiencing in your daily life,” he says. “You can track life events and watch yourself evolve through long-term change.”
“Some people change extremely often, some rarely change at all. We are all unique beings, and how we utilise and interact with our auric energy is different from person to person,” says Boettcher.
“Colour is this opportunity for you to really just deepen your own relationship with yourself and your own knowing to take your power back,” adds Merrick. My aura colours, according to her, are prominently violet, red and blue. Violet, she says, means that I am creatively and spiritually aligned, but there’s been a disconnect in vision. There are remnants of blue energy, which means I am emphatic and a great listener, but it shows I’m currently healing from relationships where I gave too much of my energy to without reciprocation. Red, which is an instant confidence booster and a call to action, is the colour I will want to turn to bring more luck on my side. “Red is a colour that will support your energy in a really special way right now,” she says. “Red will come in and help you heal.”
How do you apply it to your life?
Because your aura colour can be considered a snapshot of specific moments of your life, Boettcher says capturing energetic shifts along your journey can give you a better sense. “I know what my colours are, and I generally know how I feel in each of them,” he says. “When I don't know what I’m feeling, I take a photo and study the results.”
Merrick takes it one step further, offering tangible ways to use your colours in your everyday life. “The idea is that wearing the colours and meditating around them can shift your aura and your energy into alignment with this desired state,” she says.
A shock to no one, my ex hasn’t cursed me. No man—or person—has that much power, especially when it comes to my aura. If I’m desperate for change, it starts and ends with me. “Right now, her energy is calling for something different. Something new. Something more deliberate,” reads my zine. “The power she holds naturally needs refinement and direction. Not control, not restriction, but clarity.”
Message received, universe. Now it’s my move (and time to incorporate more red into my wardrobe).
This article first appeared on Vogue.com
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