How to See and Interpret Someone Else’s Aura and Your Own

Everyone has the ability to see auras, however, it can take time and energy to see them clearly. Auras are energy vibrations that surround every living thing, and reading them can be a great way to understand the people around you. You can hone your auric sight by softening your vision and staring at other people or living beings until you see a shadow of color surrounding them. We interviewed Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Spiritual Life Coach Jennifer McVey to find out how you can reawaken your ability to see auras. Keep reading to learn more.

Things You Should Know

Look at a partner standing in front of a white wall. Focus on their nose until you see a shadowy outline around them, then look at their aura color.
To see your own aura, rub your index fingers together and then pull them 1⁄2 inch (1.3 cm) apart. Look for colors in the space between them.
Auras are oval-shaped fields of energy surrounding the body. The color(s) you see convey messages about a person’s thoughts and feelings.

Section 1 of 5:

Seeing Someone Else’s Aura

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1
Ask the person to stand 10 ft (3 m) away against a white wall. Have a person stand in front of a completely blank, white wall in a room that’s not too bright or dark—natural light works best. You can also turn on a couple of different lights around the person so you can see an evenly lit white wall behind them.
- Auras are believed to be made of energy in the form of electromagnetic fields (EMF). Auric energy surrounds the body in an oval-shaped field, called an “auric egg,” and emits out from the body about 2–3 feet (0.6–0.9 m) on all sides.
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Focus on the person’s nose until you see a shadow around them. With a relaxed gaze, keep your eyes on the other person’s nose until you begin to see a shadowy outline around them.^{[1]
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Research source} Using your peripheral vision, observe the outline while keeping your eyes glued to the person.
- Try not to blink while looking at the person—the aura might fade or disappear completely. If you have to, blink quickly, then refocus your gaze.
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Shift your gaze to the person’s forehead and note any color you see. Gently move your eyes from the person’s nose up to their forehead to get a better view of the aura. Take note of the color you see.^{[2]
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- Once you've identified the color, you can ask the person to sway from side to side. Their energy field should move with them.
- Practice for only a few minutes and avoid straining your eyes. Each individual develops this skill at a different pace.
- A person feels happy, their aura may be stronger, larger, and brighter. Try playing the person’s favorite music to help energize their aura and make it easier to see.

Section 2 of 5:

Seeing Your Own Aura

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Unfocus your eyes and look for color between your fingers. Spiritual Life Coach Jennifer McVey recommends standing in front of a white wall, “Put your hand up in front of your face, spread your fingers wide… look [between your fingers] and unfocus your eyes.” As you unfocus your eyes, look at the color of the shadow around your fingers.
- According to McVey, this shadow is the “first layer of your aura.”
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Rub your index fingers together and look for color between them. Press and rub your index fingers together. After about 10 seconds, move your fingers apart, leaving about a 1⁄2 inch (1.3 cm) of space between them—the energy will “hang” between your fingers and you may be able to make out a colored mist.^{[3]
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- If you’re having trouble concentrating, try sitting in a dimly lit room and meditating before you try this exercise.
- With continued training, you’ll be able to see your aura more clearly.

Section 3 of 5:

Interpreting Aura Colors

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The most common color you see represents a person’s qualities or emotions. Most auras are made up of a combination of colors. While your aura can constantly shift and change depending on your mood, the color you see most consistently is often associated with different personality qualities and emotions. Here are the most common colors you may see:^{[4]
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- Red. Red auras are connected to the root chakra, which represents strength and being grounded. If you have red in your aura, it might mean that you tend to be energetic, passionate, and fiery. A red aura can also be a sign of anger or anxiety.
- Orange. An orange aura relates to the sacral chakra, which is responsible for creativity and sexual energy. People who have orange auras tend to be energetic, courageous, and outgoing. An orange aura can also be a sign of stress.
- Yellow. Yellow is the color of the solar plexus chakra, which houses your confidence, self-esteem, and inner power. People who have a yellow aura tend to be bright, optimistic, and easy-going. A yellow aura can also be a sign of confidence.
- Green. Green auras stem from the heart chakra, which influences how you give and receive love. If you have a green aura, it may mean you’re compassionate, well-grounded, and confident. A murky dark green aura can be a sign you’re feeling off-balance, jealous, or insecure.
- Blue. Blue is the color of the throat chakra, which controls your ability to communicate and listen. People with blue auras tend to be compassionate, intuitive, and strong communicators. A murky blue aura might mean you struggle with expressing yourself.
- Purple. Purple auras are connected to the third-eye chakra, which is connected to wisdom, unity, and self-knowledge. If you have a purple aura, it might mean you’re empathetic, intuitive, spiritually enlightened, and deeply connected to others and the universe.
- Indigo. Indigo auras are also connected to the third-eye chakra. An indigo aura can indicate that a person is highly sensitive, empathetic, and intuitive.
- White. White auras are connected to the crown chakra. Those who have a white aura tend to be generous, friendly, and wise. A person with a murky white aura might be feeling confused or directionless.
- Black. A black aura can mean you’re experiencing negative emotions, like depression or grief, that you’re struggling to let go of. If part of someone’s aura is black, it can be a sign they’re suffering from an illness or injury related to the body part the aura covers.
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Each of the seven levels within an aura corresponds to the seven chakras. As you practice reading auras, you may be able to see seven other auric layers or bodies within a person’s aura. These layers correspond to the seven chakras—if a color in one level seems murky, it may indicate a chakra imbalance that affects the person’s physical or spiritual body.^{[5]
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- Lower Etheric Body. This level is the closest to the body and is connected to the root chakra. The color in this level is typically the first one you see when reading someone’s aura. If the color is murky, you require simple physical comfort, pleasure, and health.
- Emotional Body. This level is connected to the sacral chakra and is affected directly by your emotional state. The brighter the colors in this layer, the more emotionally balanced and healthy the person is. If the color is dark and murky, you need self-acceptance and self-love.
- Mental Body. This level is connected to the solar plexus chakra. This auric body is thought to be where your thoughts and ideas originate. If the color is foggy, you might struggle with clear, rational thinking.
- Astral Body. This level connects to the heart chakra, where you hold love for yourself and others. As you age, this layer may become more murky or closed off. If the color is murky, you seek a loving connection with friends and family.
- Higher Etheric Body. This level connects to your throat chakra, where your power of speech comes from. If the color is murky, you might struggle with speaking or following the truth.
- Celestial Body. This level connects to the third-eye chakra, where your intuition and psychic abilities come from. If the color is unclear, you desire divine love and spiritual guidance.
- Causal or Ketheric Body. This level connects to your crown chakra, which represents your connection to the universe around you. If the color is murky, you need a deeper connection to the divine mind and a greater understanding of the patterns of the universe.

Section 4 of 5:

Training to See Auras

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Practice softening your vision to strengthen your peripheral vision. Seeing auras often requires you to soften your gaze and rely on your peripheral vision. To see visual auras more clearly, try to soften your gaze, almost as if you’re squinting, as you concentrate on one spot for 30 to 60 seconds.^{[6]
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- For example, if you gaze at a candle or a lamp, you might begin to see its light smudging or spreading in a shadow around it.
- This training technique might be easier to do in brighter rooms or in natural light to start. As you practice, you may be able to see auras better in darker environments.
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Gaze at books covered in blue or red paper to practice seeing auric fields. Find a room with a white wall and soft, warm lighting. Cover a book in blue or red paper and stand it upright on a table several feet away from you. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, then try to look past the book. After a while, you'll see a green or yellow aura coming from the book.^{[7]
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- While gazing at the book, imagine that your vision is projecting to the wall behind it. You should start to see the color of the paper on the book spreading in a shadow around it.
- Try to blink normally while doing this exercise. The aura may disappear for a second when you do, but it will reappear quickly if you stay relaxed and hold your focus.^{[8]
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- The auras of blue and red are the brightest and easiest to see—blue is believed to have a yellow aura, and red has a green aura.^{[9]
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Think about how you’re physically affected when you’re near someone. Another way to sense someone’s aura color is to pay attention to how you feel in someone's presence. Ask yourself how being around the person makes you feel—Happy? Anxious? Agitated? Think about what color you would attach to this person.^{[10]
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- This can be a great way to sense someone’s aura without having to stare at the person.

Section 5 of 5:

Cleansing Your Aura

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Cleanse your aura through chakra-based visualization meditation. Begin by focusing on the root chakra at the base of your spine—envision a red light anchoring you to the earth. Breathe deep, and imagine your body engulfed by a shower of gold light from the sun. Feel the warm gold light move through your aura.^{[11]
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- Envision a violet light extending from the soles of your feet to the top of your head, like a warm, protective blanket. This violet light has the ability to heal any gaps in your aura, protecting you from negative energy. Feel these gaps close as the light heals your mind, body, and soul.
- At this point, the cleansing and healing process is underway, and you should feel yourself becoming stronger, releasing negative energy, and feeling more at peace.
- You can also imagine a soft, warm light around you to protect you from negative energy before you leave the house.
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Meditate and visualize cutting your cords attached to negative people or ideas. Cord-cutting meditation identifies invisible energy cords attached to other people, places, objects, or situations that can cloud your energy field.^{[12]
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Research source} To cut these cords and cleanse your aura:
- Meditate, scanning your body and aura to find any toxic cords of attachment that may be present. Follow where each cord leads—it might be linked to a person, location, object, or belief.
- With your eyes open or closed, feel the life-force energy flowing through you. Spread your fingers in your dominant hand and quickly run your hand through each cord to cut them.
- While cutting, say silently or out loud, “I release you from my life.” Send love to those people, objects, or beliefs—they no longer serve you, and neither do anger or resentfulness.
- After severing the cords, sit quietly for at least 5 minutes to allow your body to acclimate. Optionally, take a shower to clear and ground your energy.
Ask Archangel Michael to cut negative energy cords, Archangel Raphael to fill energy voids with green, healing light, and Archangel Metatron to clear chakras.
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Use positive affirmations to clear negative aural energy. Negative thoughts can hinder your aura and cause it to become dark, murky, or even black. To let go of negative beliefs about your life and yourself, try repeating a few of these positive affirmations each morning:^{[13]
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- “I abandon old habits and choose new, positive ones.”
- “Other people don’t control my emotions—I do.”
- “I’m filled with positive energy.”
- “I release things that no longer serve me.”
- “Today, I welcome good health and happiness.”
- “I welcome positivity into my life.”
- “I transform my negative energy into love and light.”
- “I forgive myself and release my worries.”
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Try a Reiki energy healing therapy. Reiki is an energy healing technique that helps promote relaxation, reduce stress, and improve the flow and balance of energy to support healing.^{[14]
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Go to source} Reiki practitioners act as a medium to receive universal life force energy and channel it into your energy field, preventing mental, emotional, physical or spiritual dysfunction.
- Reiki treatments typically last about 50 minutes. During a session, you lie on a massage table as your practitioner gently places their hands on or above your body in specific energy locations.^{[15]
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- Even if your aura doesn't seem out of balance, try to cleanse it periodically to release any negative energies.

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Can I see an aura in a photograph?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Some spiritualists believe that you can see auras in photographs. There is also a photographic technique called Kirlian photography that can capture electrical discharges from objects in contact with a photographic plate. Some people believe that the resulting images depict auras.

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What does it mean if you can see auras?

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Some people believe that there is a spiritual explanation—that if you see auras, this means you are attuned to the spiritual energies of other beings. It’s also possible that there’s a neurological reason for seeing auras in some cases. For example, some people may see auras due to a cross-wiring of their senses known as synesthesia, which causes people to “see” sounds or “taste” colors, for instance. Certain medical conditions, like migraines, can also cause visual auras.

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How can I tell if I see an aura?

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When you see a matching outline surrounding a person or an object. It usually looks clear at first, but you may see color.

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Tips

Try not to strain your eyes. Relax, breathe deeply, and concentrate.

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Be careful not to look obvious when looking at other people's auras—they might think that you're staring at them.

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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Start a dream journal recording night visions, including any aura details. Dreams reveal intuitive insights from the subconscious mind. Record immediately upon waking.
If struggling to see auras, cultivate daily meditation practice first. Meditation awakens intuition and third eye abilities like auric sight. Patience pays off.
Spend time studying chakra charts to understand connections between aura colors, chakras and emotions. This provides context when reading unfamiliar auras.
Interpret auras holistically by considering the person’s body language, mood and personality too. Energy reading complements human interactions.
Carry a small quartz crystal when outside to help strengthen your third eye chakra, enhancing aura perception. Clear quartz amplifies energies.
To see your own aura, cup your hands together with fingertips touching, palms facing out. Slowly draw hands apart, gaze at the energy between.

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