The Aura and the 7 Energy Bodies: What They Are and How to Read Them

The aura is, according to numerous spiritual and esoteric traditions, a luminous energy envelope surrounding every living being. Invisible to the ordinary eye yet perceptible to those who develop certain capacities, the aura has been described in cultures as diverse as Hindu, medieval Christian, shamanic, and theosophical. Today, in the 21st century, both independent researchers and some currents of quantum physics are exploring whether this subtle field might have a measurable basis. In this article we explore what the aura is, what the seven energy bodies that compose it are, what its colors mean, how it relates to the chakras, and what we can do to see, feel, and keep it clean.

The Aura Through History

The idea that human beings radiate an invisible light is not new. In medieval Christian art, saints and divine figures appear surrounded by a golden halo, a pictorial expression of their holiness. Tibetan Buddhists represent Buddha and bodhisattvas wrapped in multicolored halos indicating their degree of spiritual realization. In the Hindu tradition, the Atharva Veda texts mention prana, the vital force that circulates through the body and transcends it, forming an energy field around the skin.

Indigenous peoples of North and South America also recognize this field: shamans and healers have described since time immemorial a "light" or "luminous shadow" surrounding them, allowing them to diagnose diseases or imbalances before they manifest in the physical body.

In the West, the most influential systematization came from Theosophy, the movement founded by Helena Blavatsky in the late 19th century. Thinkers such as Charles Webster Leadbeater and Annie Besant described the aura in great detail in works like Thought-Forms (1901) and The Chakras (1927). Leadbeater claimed to perceive the aura clairvoyantly and was the first to articulate the concept of the seven bodies or "vehicles" of the soul, hierarchized from the densest (the physical) to the most subtle (the atmic).

Classic theosophical diagram of the subtle bodies that make up the human aura.

The 7 Energy Bodies

The theosophical doctrine, adopted and expanded by currents such as Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy and later by the New Age, distinguishes seven bodies or planes of existence that interpenetrate and together form what we call the aura. Each body vibrates at a different frequency: the further from the physical body, the more subtle and higher its vibration.

1. Physical Body

The physical body is the only one we perceive directly with ordinary senses: bones, muscles, organs, skin. Although not considered part of the aura proper, it is the anchor point of all subtle bodies. Its state of health conditions and is conditioned by the energy bodies that surround it.

2. Etheric Body

The etheric body (or vital body) is the first subtle envelope, barely one to two centimeters from the skin. It is the energetic matrix of the physical body: a kind of invisible mold that maintains cellular organization and channels prana (in Sanskrit), chi (in Chinese), or life force. When illness is present, clairvoyants describe distortions in this body before the ailment appears in the physical. Its usual color is bluish-gray or silvery white.

3. Emotional (Astral) Body

The emotional or astral body extends about 15 to 30 cm around the body. It is the vehicle of emotions, feelings, and desires. Its colors are especially vivid and change rapidly according to the emotional state of the moment: love will radiate pinks and warm greens; fear, grays and browns; anger, intense reds. It is the body that "travels" during dreams and in astral projection experiences.

4. Mental Body

The mental body contains thoughts, beliefs, and cognitive patterns. It is located between 30 and 60 cm from the physical body and tends toward bright yellows when the mind is active and clear, and toward more opaque colors when there is confusion or compulsive negative thinking. Thought-forms — images and concepts charged with intention — are generated in this body and can be perceived as geometric shapes of various colors.

5. Causal Body (Soul Body)

The causal body is the vehicle of the individual soul and the record of experiences accumulated across multiple lives. From a reincarnational perspective, it inscribes the causes of karmic patterns the soul brings to each incarnation. It is more tenuous than the previous ones and glows with golden, orange, and soft pink tones. Spiritually, it represents genuine wisdom acquired — not intellectual knowledge but lived understanding.

6. Buddhic Body

The buddhic body corresponds to the plane of pure intuition and unity. It receives its name from Buddha, not as an exclusive reference to the historical figure but to the principle of enlightenment. At this level the individual begins to dissolve the illusion of separation and perceive their unity with all living beings. Its colors are described as luminous indigos and teals, translucent.

7. Atmic Body

The atmic body (from the Sanskrit Atman, the universal Self) is the highest of the seven and corresponds to the plane of pure, undifferentiated consciousness. It is the "divine spark" that connects the individual with the All. In Eastern traditions it equates to the state of samadhi or complete enlightenment. Very few clairvoyants claim to be able to perceive it; it is described as an extraordinarily intense white or violet light.

Aura Colors and Their Meaning

One of the most attractive aspects of studying the aura is the language of its colors. Sensitives and seers have elaborated over the centuries a fairly consistent interpretive system:

• Red: vitality, passion, willpower. In excess or muddy tone, may indicate anger, aggression, or physical inflammation.
• Orange: creativity, sociability, enthusiasm. Also related to sexuality and reproductive energy.
• Yellow: intellect, joy, mental clarity. Golden yellow indicates integrated spirituality; greenish yellow may signal jealousy or envy.
• Green: balance, healing, compassion. It is the color of the heart; healers often have it very developed.
• Blue: communication, calm, intuition. Deep dark blue is associated with mediumistic or clairvoyant gifts.
• Indigo / Violet: elevated spirituality, connection with higher planes, extrasensory perception.
• White: purity, integration of all bodies, states of ecstasy or deep meditation.
• Black or gray: blockages, unresolved traumas, stagnant energy. Not necessarily indicating "evil" but areas needing healing.
• Silver or gold: divine protection, high spiritual vibration, presence of guides or angels in the auric field.

The aura is not static: it changes with mood, health, thoughts, and interactions with other people.

Kirlian Photography: The Visible Evidence

In 1939, Soviet electrician Semyon Kirlian accidentally discovered that placing an object on a photographic plate connected to a high-frequency electrical source produces a luminous image around the object. This phenomenon, known as Kirlian photography or electrophotography, was presented by its discoverers as possible evidence of the aura's existence.

Kirlian photograph of a lotus flower, showing the characteristic luminous corona of this technique.

Kirlian images show a corona or halo of light around fingers, leaves, and other biological objects. During the 1970s and 80s, researchers in the USSR and the West studied whether these coronas varied with the subject's emotional or health state. Some reported that the halo of a sick leaf differed from a healthy one.

One of the first documented Kirlian photographs, c. 1966, showing the characteristic electrical discharge around a fingertip.

However, conventional science has explained the Kirlian effect primarily as the result of gas ionization (usually air) between the object and the plate, combined with moisture present in biological tissues. The variability of images would be explained by changes in applied pressure, perspiration, and skin electrical conductivity — not by a "vital field" in the metaphysical sense.

Kirlian photograph of a Coleus leaf taken in 1980. The electric halo surrounds the entire leaf surface.

The Aura and Its Connection with the Chakras

The aura and the chakras are inseparable: chakras are the energy centers where the different subtle bodies interconnect and where vital energy is transformed and distributed. Each chakra is associated with one or more of the seven energy bodies and its state is directly reflected in the aura.

• Muladhara (root) → etheric body → lower aura zone, reds and browns
• Svadhisthana (sacral) → emotional body → orange tones
• Manipura (solar plexus) → mental body → yellows and golds
• Anahata (heart) → integration point between lower and upper bodies → greens and pinks
• Vishuddha (throat) → causal body → blues and teals
• Ajna (third eye) → buddhic body → indigos and violets
• Sahasrara (crown) → atmic body → white, gold, pure violet

When a chakra is blocked or overactive, the aura in that zone shows opaque colors, irregular shapes, or "holes" according to clairvoyants. Working with the chakras — through meditation, reiki, sound, or crystals — has a direct effect on cleansing and balancing the auric field.

How to See the Aura

Seeing the aura is a skill that, according to those who practice it, can be developed with training and patience.

Soft Peripheral Vision

Ask someone to stand against a white or light-colored uniform wall. Look toward the center of their forehead (between the eyes) with a soft, unfocused gaze. Gradually, using peripheral vision, you may begin to perceive a glow or slight luminous outline around the head and shoulders. At first, it usually appears white or grayish; with practice, colors may become more evident.

Practice with Your Own Hands

Extend your arms in front of you with hands open against a white wall. With the same soft peripheral gaze, observe the space between your fingers. Many people report seeing a slight halo or air distortion around the fingertips. This is a way to begin sensitizing perception.

Meditation and Third Eye Opening

Aura perception is intimately linked to the development of the third eye (Ajna chakra). Regular meditation practices, visualization, and working with indigo or amethyst as support can gradually open this extrasensory perception.

How to Cleanse and Protect the Aura

The auric field constantly absorbs energies from the environment. Periodic cleansing is essential.

Cleansing Techniques

• Salt baths: Sea salt (especially Himalayan salt) has energetically purifying properties recognized in many traditions. An immersion bath with sea salt cleanses and recharges the etheric field.
• Smudging: The smoke of palo santo, white sage, or copal incense has the capacity to "sweep away" dense energies from the aura. Pass the smudge around the body with circular movement from feet to head.
• Light visualization: In meditation, visualize a white or golden light descending from the crown, passing through all subtle bodies and exiting through the feet, carrying away everything that no longer serves.
• Nature contact: Walking barefoot on earth (earthing or grounding), bathing in sea or river water, or simply spending time among trees has a rebalancing and cleansing effect on the aura.
• Crystals: Amethyst and clear quartz are especially useful for cleansing and sealing the auric field. Black tourmaline acts as a protective shield against unwanted external energies.

Auric Protection

Protecting the aura means reinforcing its layers to prevent absorption of unwanted foreign energies. The most used techniques include visualizing a bubble or sphere of golden light surrounding the body, using protective amulets (evil eye, tiger's eye), and practicing conscious energy boundaries.

An Integrative View

Conventional science has not yet validated the aura as an objectively measurable phenomenon in the way esoteric tradition describes it. However, fields like bioelectromagnetism — the branch studying electrical and magnetic fields generated by living organisms — show that every living being does emit energy fields. The human heart, for example, generates an electromagnetic field detectable up to 1.5 meters away with modern magnetometers. That field interacts with those of other people and the environment.

Perhaps the aura is the ancestral version of something science is only beginning to measure. Working with the consciousness of one's own energy field — cleansing it, balancing it, perceiving it — has real and documented effects on the emotional, mental, and physical well-being of those who practice it.

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The aura is not a spiritual luxury for the enlightened few: it is your energetic living space, the intimate atmosphere you carry with you wherever you go. Caring for it is caring for yourself. Cleansing it is an act of self-love. And learning to perceive it — in yourself and in others — can transform the way you relate to the world.

— Lux Esoterica