Understanding Auras: A Beginner’s Guide to What They Are, and Why They Matter
The Human Energy Field: Ancient, Subtle, Powerful.
Exploring the Aura: A Timeless Concept
A lot of people think it is a new age concept. However, auras have been represented from antiquity in many pictorial ways.
While the concept of the aura is often dismissed as “New Age,” it’s anything but new. Across centuries and continents, mystics, healers, and artists alike have tried to depict and understand the radiant field of energy that surrounds all living things. In this post, we’ll explore how ancient traditions, spiritual texts, and even modern photography point to the aura as a real and vital part of our energetic anatomy.
Auras in Art, Religion, and Ancient Cultures
Both Christ and Buddha are frequently shown with a single or triple halo surrounding the head. These halos are more than just artistic flourishes, they’re symbolic representations of spiritual radiance. In many traditions, the halo, radiating from the crown chakra, is seen as a symbol of divine light, spiritual purity, and enlightened presence.
The Church of the Resurrection in St. Petersburg, Russia depicts Christ and his disciples on lavish mosaics reflected this way. The painting of the Last Supper by Tintoretto (1592–94) clearly shows Christ’s aura surrounding his body as a glowing light.
The Virgin Mary is frequently shown this way, too, with a glowing light all around her body. And there are many other examples. To a clairvoyant, that glowing light is the aura.
Similarly, early depictions of Persian mystics in Zoroastrianism, and Taoist scrolls in China, portrayed enlightened beings with luminous energy or shen glowing from the crown. These depictions reflect the same idea found in Christian and Buddhist art-that spiritual presence radiates through light, and that this light can be felt or even seen as an aura.
This is interesting because…according to Harpers’ Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experiences, (HEMP) “The aura is not visible to normal vision, but may be seen by clairvoyance as a halo of light.”
And it suggests that clairvoyants, who see the aura, see the magnetic energy field which may register as light.
In Matthew (17.2) after seeing Christ’s transfiguration he says “his garments became white as light.”
Ancient writings and art of Egypt, India, Greece and Rome reflect beliefs of the emanation of vital energy from life forms.
In the sixteenth century Paracelsus expounded on the astral body describing it as a “fiery globe.” (HEMP)
Many cultures around the world recognize the spirit. The white buffalo in Native American culture is actually the spirit buffalo.
Science Meets Spirit: Kirlian Photography and Modern Aura Research
Kirlian Photograph was developed in the 1940’s. Kirlian photography is a technique for photographing electromagnetic energy or the aura.
The former Soviet Union used Kirlian photography as a way of assessing athletes’ metabolic processes and fitness. (HEMP)
While skeptics debate whether these images show a true aura or simply electrical discharge, many healers, energy workers, and spiritual practitioners view Kirlian photography as visible proof of an energy body long described by ancient wisdom. It bridges the gap between mysticism and measurement-suggesting that what seers and intuitives have perceived for centuries can now be captured through technology.
In recent years, the concept of the bio-field, a term used in integrative medicine, has further supported the idea that the human energy field plays a vital role in physical and emotional well-being.
These are clearly not new age concepts, but classical art, ancient wisdom and modern science.
The Aura as the Spiritual Body
The aura is the spiritual body. The aura itself relates to the electromagnetic field which emanates from all matter. This field of energy is outside of the range of normal vision.
Some people have a naturally heightened sensitivity to energy, empaths, intuitives, and healers often describe feeling someone’s mood or presence before a word is even spoken. The aura not only reflects your current state, it can communicate your emotional, mental, or spiritual energy to others. Like a vibrational signature, your aura can attract, repel, or shield.
Even if you can’t see an aura, you can still experience it in many ways.
For example, think of a time when you have been driving down the highway and you find yourself looking in your rearview mirror, seconds before the approaching highway patrolman appears. That’s your energetic sensitivity in action. We actually feel it.
Or when someone gets too close and you instinctively think, “They’re in my space.” You’re feeling the edge of your aura.
The aura isn’t just a boundary, it’s a communicator. It sends signals, picks up subtle cues, and reflects your inner state. Your aura can attract, repel, soothe, or shield, depending on how you’re feeling and what you’re broadcasting. It’s like a spiritual language your body speaks without words.
👉 Want to explore how other people’s energy affects your own? Read Living with Someone’s Negative Energy→ and Strengthen Your Energy Shield→
The Chakra System and Layers of the Aura
The aura surrounds the physical body and consists of seven layers of subtle energy. The seven layers are generated by the seven Chakras referenced in yoga traditions and Chinese medicine.
In the ancient language of Sanskrit, chakra means “wheels of light”. These spinning vortexes of energy generate the aura itself.
Each Chakra has its own characteristic and relationship to one of the various glands of the endocrine system. The Chakras are the channels through which this energy flows into our bodies.
The first three Chakras, and their corresponding aura layers-relate to the physical body. The fourth Chakra, the Heart Chakra, serves as a bridge between the physical and spiritual. The fifth, sixth, and seventh Chakras connect to the spiritual body and higher consciousness.
These are the seven major Chakras and their general associations:
Root (1st) – Grounding, physical survival
Sacral (2nd) – Emotions, creativity, sensuality
Solar Plexus (3rd) – Willpower, identity, confidence
Heart (4th) – Love, compassion, bridge between realms
Throat (5th) – Communication, truth
Third Eye (6th) – Intuition, vision
Crown (7th) – Spiritual connection, divine consciousness
Need help clearing or realigning your Chakras?
Explore practical tools, rituals, and guidance in Letting Go & Chakra Clearing→ a powerful resource to support your energy, release blocks, and reconnect with your center.
Want to tune into your own energy field for deeper inner awareness? Download my free Aura Reflection Journal Prompts→ to explore what your energy is holding, how it's feeling, and what it may be asking for.
What Happens When Your Aura Is Blocked
When energy patterns become stuck or unmoving in the aura, it disturbs both the physical and emotional bodies. (Even the former Soviet Union knew this).
We are dependent on the active and harmonious flow of energy to maintain our good health. Because our minds as well as our bodies are composed of energy and create dis-ease.
You might also connect this to moments in life where you feel foggy, unmotivated, or energetically "off." A blocked aura can feel like heaviness, mental fatigue, or a constant sense of being drained, even if everything in your life looks fine on the surface.
These blockages can be released when we make changes in our thinking about ourselves and our lives.
Once we become aware of negative patterns we can remake them into positive and validating attitudes that allow energy to flow clearly.
Blockages also occur when we outgrow old beliefs or identities, and the aura becomes stagnant while waiting for the inner self to catch up. In these moments, we’re not broken, we’re evolving. The energy field simply needs realignment with the truth of who we’re becoming.
Ready to release what’s no longer serving you?
Letting go isn’t just emotional, it’s energetic. Clearing limiting beliefs and outdated patterns from your aura creates space for new possibilities, aligned action, and soul-led transformation.
🕊️ Explore the emotional and energetic side:
Read The Power of Letting Go: Release Limiting Beliefs→ to uncover the patterns keeping you stuck, and how to shift them.
✨ Want to go even deeper?
Join me December 4–7, 2025, for the Manifesting Immersion Retreat→ where we’ll release energetic blocks, activate your soul clarity, and call in your next aligned chapter.
Client Testimonial: A Life-Changing Experience
“I approached the session with skepticism. I was trying something new. Well, my life has changed after meeting Janet. She has an uncanny way of stating what I was thinking (and hoping) but was afraid to admit to myself. I felt a new calmness and strength I forgot I had. Not only did Janet impact my emotional health, she also had a HUGE impact on my physical health. She did healing energy work on my energy fields (aura) and assisted me with a visual problem I’d learned to live with. I left and was able to see better than I had in years! Janet has truly opened my eyes! I cannot wait to talk with her again.” – R.C. Tampa, FL
What she experienced is a powerful reminder: when we shift energy, the body often responds—sometimes immediately.
✨ Curious what this kind of shift might feel like for you?
You can schedule an energy healing session like this for yourself, designed to support your unique energetic needs, restore balance, and reconnect you with your own vitality.
👉 [Book a 1:1 Energy Healing Session →]
Ways to Reconnect and Heal Your Aura
Feeling stuck, energetically drained, or just curious about your own energy field? Here are a few soulful ways to reset and realign:
🌿 Book a 1:1 Session
Receive intuitive insight and long-distance energetic healing. These sessions help identify where your aura is blocked, and gently restore your natural vitality.
👉 [Book a Session with Janet →]
🌺 Attend a Retreat or Workshop
Join me in-person for immersive energy healing, spiritual tools, and powerful soul clarity.
👉 [Explore Upcoming Events →]
🌹 Practice at Home
Use the Rose Meditation to clear your field and return to center, especially after draining interactions.
👉 [Download the Rose Meditation →]