Aura
The aura is, in esoteric traditions, a subtle energy field said to envelop the human body or any living being. It is described as composed of successive layers corresponding to the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions.
Origin and etymology
The word comes from the Latin aura, meaning breath or breeze, itself borrowed from the Greek aura. In its modern esoteric sense, the term was codified at the end of the 19th century by the Theosophical Society, notably in Thought-Forms (1901) by Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater. These authors describe the aura as visible to clairvoyants and as carrying information about inner states. The notion draws on the halos and aureoles of medieval Christian iconography, as well as on the energetic descriptions of Hindu prana and Chinese qi. Kirlian photography, developed by Semyon and Valentina Kirlian in the 1930s, popularized the idea of an experimental visualization of the aura.
Evolution and tradition
The modern theory of the aura generally distinguishes seven superimposed layers corresponding to the seven main chakras. The etheric layer is said to hug the physical body, followed by the emotional, mental, astral, causal bodies, and so on. This stratification was codified by Barbara Brennan in Hands of Light (1987), an energy healing practitioner. The colors perceived in the aura are interpreted: red for vitality, yellow for intellect, green for healing, blue for communication. Aura photography, marketed since the 1980s (Guy Coggins's Polaroid), produces colored images whose diagnostic value remains scientifically contested.
Practical use
The perception of the aura is claimed by healing practitioners, magnetizers, and mediums. The exercises offered to see the aura generally consist of gazing at a person placed against a neutral background, while relaxing visual focus. What is perceived is partly explained by known optical phenomena (afterimage, complementary post-image). On Tarotoui, the aura is documented among the traditional spiritual concepts. The practice of aura cleansing or auric protection by visualization belongs to contemporary energy techniques, often associated with reiki and meditation.
Going further
The physical existence of the aura is not scientifically supported: controlled tests on supposed aura readers (notably in the 2000s) have not confirmed any perceptual ability beyond chance. Kirlian photography captures a corona electrical discharge, not a subtle field. This does not invalidate the aura as an intuitive metaphor for a person's presence, but it qualifies claims of objective measurement.