Of course you have, or at least a picture of one! Although aura reading has become stock in trade for some psychics, everyone has seen pictures of what aura readers visualize with their "third" eye. Consider the paintings of the birth of Christ that we are all so familiar with, done by the old masters. That golden or white emanating glow, which is usually depicted as a light coloured semi-circle around and above at least the head of the Christ child, if not Joseph and Mary as well - well that's an aura. Just about every major culture and religion has recorded stories about great teachers or holy men and women with visible halos.

Such purity to have a nice white glowing aura is not so common for the rest of us. We aren't all saints after all. Aura's come in the full colour spectrum, with each colour representing a different state of health or spirituality to the reader. Readers seem to develop their individual systems of understanding for the colours they see. What is commonly understood is that fading out or dark sections of auras mean diminished vitality or serious illness or some kind of deficit in the person's life

One commonly accepted set of colour interpretation rules are as follows:

Red - passion or anger
Blue - spirituality
Yellow - high intellect or degree of intellectual activity
Brown - greed
Green - jealousy

Dull colours, browns, grays, or other muddy hues often indicate fatigue or illness.

Some healers begin work with an auric diagnosis, studying the band of colours to determine the exact nature and location of ailments.

Auras are also rarely such regularly shaped glows as depicted by the painters. They can have long amoeba like fingers stretching out of them, they can extend several feet above the person or sometimes they can be less than an inch thick and tightly 'bound' near the person's head. Of course the shape of the aura tells the reader about how the person is coping with life as well.

Nowadays there is even equipment for photographing auras. This equipment was developed from Kirlian photography which became famous in the 1950's for catching on film the energy fields (bio plasmic energy) generated by leaves that remained intact in photos taken after sections of the leaves were amputated. Some aura readers and "healers" like to take before and after pictures which show the post "treatment" aura to be more in the shape depicted for the Christ child, in other words 'healthier'. It amazes me how readily we accept the "aura" standards set in the past by those ecclesiastical enthusiasts, or perhaps those painters should be recognized for their rather accurate intuitional depiction of auras?

One of the easiest methods by which to see an aura is to situate the person to be 'read' in a dimly lit room in front of a light or dull coloured wall or screen. Some readers begin by placing their hands palms down, an inch or two over the top of the subject's head and then concentrate their energies. They then move their hands, continuing to keep them an inch or two from the subject's person with their palms sweeping out and away from the person. I don't utilize any hand motions myself. I find it helpful to back away about six feet and focus my eyes an inch or two from the person's head, while blocking everything else out of my mind. Sometimes it helps to squint while concentrating.

Researchers believe that people who are satisfied with their own lives and their own current state of affairs make the best aura observers. They experience less distraction to interfere with their performance. Have patience and stare for a few moments, and the subject can help by concentrating on projecting his/her aura. After you have learned to see an aura deliberately like this, you will probably spontaneously begin to pick up the bands of colourful energy around the people you associate with on an everyday basis. Aura gazing is one area where "practice does make perfect".

Good luck and have fun!