The seer is required to be as critical, impersonal, and objective as the scientist.… Metaphorically, science and seership are like two separate pillars, each of which can rise to a certain height, but they are completed only if they support the arch of total knowledge which rests equally on both.
—Phoebe Bendit
Finding meaning in what you see in a person’s aura takes time. This requires not only the development of intuition but a diligent and scientific approach to cataloguing the results of your practice exercises.
As intuitives, we’ll often perceive things in an aura reading that we don’t understand but that are perfectly clear to the person having their aura read. “Yes, I have a figurine of a blue poodle on my desk. It makes sense that you saw a blue dog in my aura.” Sometimes the person you are reading for won’t understand or resonate with what you’re saying right away, or ever. As long as you are being respectful and following the rules of your agreed-upon intention, that’s OK. Many people who receive aura readings say that a reading doesn’t make sense until later. Sometimes we need space to process a reading and let its meaning unfold.
Reading auras is highly subjective. The way you interpret an aura is a combined experience of inspired openness and connections that you make to your own past experiences. Some aura readers do not perceive colors or any visual information at all; they may be able to feel, hear, or get another physical sensation. This is a perfectly valid way to read energy. I am a trained painter and often see elaborate images and color patterns in the aura. My friend who is a trained medical doctor and incredible energy healer hears the aura as a piece of music and works with sonic vibrations to read and heal energy.
If you perceive images in an aura, there is no symbol dictionary that fits every person and every situation. The best symbol dictionary is one that you create yourself. Begin keeping a log of the different symbols, shapes, colors, and frequencies you perceive in auras. Over time you will build up an extensive vocabulary that will continue to expand and grow throughout your practice. When I’m puzzled by what I’m perceiving in an aura, I use these three techniques to go deeper and find a place of meaning. I call these techniques “Moving Through the Mystery.” They can really help deepen the accuracy of a reading and move you past feeling blocked.
REFLECTION Don’t try to decipher the meaning of what is happening in the aura right away. Feel free to lapse into silence during a reading and let your mind softly expand. Get present with your body and the room. If you still don’t quite understand something you’re perceiving, try waiting until the end of the session and return to it. You may be surprised at how quickly an “aha” moment arrives when you are not striving. Give yourself space to see the whole picture. I am a big fan of mystery novels, and they are all structured this way: Pieces of insight arrive as you plod through the mystery, and then at the end of the novel the entire complicated plot fits together like a puzzle to reveal the truth. An aura reading can function this way as well. It is often during the last few moments of the session that my client and I have our big “aha” moments!
COMMUNICATION If you perceive something in a person’s aura and you are unfamiliar with its meaning, ask it what it is. For instance, if you see a pink dragon in someone’s astral body, ask the dragon: “Who are you? Why did you reveal yourself today? Are there any messages you would like to convey?” If you see a place of density or fuzziness in the aura, ask it to explain itself. If the aura does not communicate directly with you, communicate with the person you are reading for. Describe what you are perceiving, and ask if your perceptions have any resonance for them.
REPETITION If I am noticing something in the energy body but I can’t quite tell what is happening, I try to arrive at a word for what it represents. For instance, if I notice a misshapen orb of light in the solar plexus, I might think of the word “power,” as this is typically the seat of personal power.
I then ask my client to say the word “power” three times, and I listen carefully to their voice. You’ll be amazed at what this can reveal! For example, I once asked a client to do this, and her voice kept trailing off at the second syllable. There was no energy in how she said this word. I then asked her, “How do you feel about power? Do you have any?” We were able to have an insightful conversation that shifted the energy in her Solar Plexus Chakra tremendously.
The most important thing to cultivate when reading auras is presence. When you arrive fully present with an attitude of open curiosity about a person’s energy, it will become clear to you. Allow yourself to become a sacred poet. Free-associate with color, shape, and texture to arrive at a dynamic energy portrait that is like a spoken work of art. Energy reading leads us to a symbolic doorway that reveals a realm of ever-increasing beauty, insight, consciousness, and mystical experience.
In addition to knowledge of auric anatomy, the interpretation of auras requires the power of creative thought and a developed imagination. My students often ask me: “How do I know if my perceptions are accurate? How can I tell the difference between my imagination and what is actually there?”
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you validate the intuitive information you receive.