Aura colors are the colors many practitioners see or sense around a person, and each one is read as a mood, a temperament, or a stage someone is going through. Red is read as energy and passion, yellow as optimism, green as growth and care, blue as calm and honest speech, purple as intuition, and white as spiritual focus. Bright, clear shades are read as the healthy side of a color. Muddy or dark shades are read as that same quality under strain.
What Is an Aura?
An aura is the field of light or energy that many traditions describe around a living thing. The word comes from Latin and Greek, where aura meant a breeze or breath. The idea is much older than the word: the halo painted around saints and buddhas is an aura drawn in gold.
The aura colors most people know today come from the Theosophical Society. In 1903 Charles Webster Leadbeater published Man Visible and Invisible, with color plates of human auras. Two years later he and Annie Besant published Thought-Forms, whose frontispiece is a chart of 25 colors and the feelings they stand for. In 1911, the London hospital electrician Walter Kilner published The Human Atmosphere, describing an inner and outer aura he studied through tinted glass screens. In 1977, Christopher Hills matched each energy center to one color of the rainbow, which is why so many modern aura charts follow red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
In 1939, Semyon Kirlian found that a hand or a leaf pressed onto photographic film under high voltage leaves a glowing outline on the picture. These Kirlian photographs were once shared as pictures of auras, but researchers found the glow comes from moisture on the skin reacting to the electricity. Scientists who have tested aura reading in controlled experiments haven't been able to confirm it either. Many practitioners describe seeing or feeling auras all the same, and aura reading has stayed part of psychic and energy practice for more than a century. Read the colors below as a language practitioners share, and see what matches your own experience.
Aura Colors Meaning Chart
This aura color chart gives each color's common modern reading, what Besant and Leadbeater listed for it in Thought-Forms (1905), the energy center it's usually paired with, and a stone practitioners keep for that color's qualities.
| Aura color | Common modern reading | Thought-Forms (1905) | Energy center | A stone to pair |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Energy, passion, drive | Anger, from brick red to scarlet | Root | Garnet |
| Orange | Creativity, confidence, warmth | Pride or ambition | Sacral | Carnelian |
| Yellow | Optimism, curiosity, intellect | Intellect | Solar plexus | Tiger's eye |
| Green | Growth, care, healing work | Adaptability, then sympathy | Heart | Moss agate |
| Pink | Gentleness, affection | Affection; pale rose for unselfish love | Heart | Rose quartz |
| Blue | Calm, honesty, clear speech | Religious feeling and devotion | Throat | Sodalite |
| Indigo | Intuition, inner knowing | Not listed | Third eye | Lapis lazuli |
| Purple / violet | Spiritual insight, imagination | Affection mixed with devotion | Crown | Amethyst |
| White | Spiritual focus, a fresh start | Not listed | Crown | Selenite |
| Gold | Wisdom, generosity, a guiding presence | Golden stars in devotion | Crown and solar plexus | Pyrite |
| Silver | Intuition, dreams, receptiveness | Not listed | Crown and third eye | Hematite |
| Gray | Tiredness, a pause, uncertainty | Low spirits; pale gray for fear | None | Labradorite |
| Brown | Grounding, practical focus | Avarice; brown-gray for selfishness | Root | Tiger's eye |
| Black | Protection, a heavy stretch, withdrawal | Hatred and malice | Root | Black obsidian |
The 1905 readings are often sterner than modern ones. Theosophists were describing thoughts in the moment, and today's readers usually describe a person's lasting temperament. Both views show up below.
Aura Colors and Their Meanings
Each aura color has a bright side and a strained side, and practitioners read the shade as much as the color. Clear, luminous shades are read as the color's gifts. Murky, dark, or patchy shades are read as that same quality tired out or pushed too hard.
Red Aura Meaning
A red aura is read as energy, passion, and drive: the color of someone who acts first and thinks on the way. Bright red is read as courage, physical strength, and a big appetite for life. Deep, muddy red is read as anger, frustration, or burnout. Thought-Forms listed every shade of red as anger, from "lurid brick-red" to "brilliant scarlet," and called the scarlet of noble indignation "by no means unbeautiful." Red is paired with the root center at the base of the spine.
Orange Aura Meaning
An orange aura is read as creativity, confidence, and warmth toward other people. Bright orange is read as someone who starts projects, throws the party, and talks to strangers. Dull or brownish orange is read as scattered energy or a need for approval. The 1905 chart was harder on it: "Deep orange imports pride or ambition." Orange is paired with the sacral center below the navel.
Yellow Aura Meaning
A yellow aura is read as optimism, curiosity, and a quick mind. Pale, luminous yellow is read as a playful thinker who loves to learn, and Thought-Forms called "pale luminous primrose yellow" the highest use of the intellect. Dull mustard or ochre yellow is read as overthinking or using cleverness for selfish ends. Yellow is paired with the solar plexus.
Green Aura Meaning
A green aura is read as growth, care, and a love of nature. Bright emerald green is read as a natural caretaker, the friend people call when something goes wrong. Light green is read as a fresh start or new growth. Dark or murky green is read as jealousy or insecurity, and the 1905 chart read "grey-green" as deceit and brownish green flecked with red as jealousy. In its clearest shade, Besant and Leadbeater wrote, green shows "the divine power of sympathy." Green is paired with the heart center.
Blue Aura Meaning
A blue aura is read as calm, honesty, and clear communication. Light blue is read as peace and gentle truthfulness, and the 1905 chart placed "pale azure" at the very top as the highest spiritual feeling. Royal or dark blue is read as a deep, loyal nature and strong intuition. Muddy blue is read as fear of speaking up. Blue is paired with the throat center.
Teal and Turquoise Aura Meaning
A teal or turquoise aura blends blue and green, and it's read as a calm person who also cares for others: the counselor, the teacher, the nurse. Bright turquoise is read as someone who speaks from the heart. Cloudy teal is read as giving more care than they take in.
Indigo Aura Meaning
An indigo aura is read as intuition and inner knowing. Deep indigo is read as someone who dreams vividly, notices what isn't said, and trusts their gut. Murky indigo is read as being lost in their own head. Indigo is paired with the third eye.
Purple Aura Meaning
A purple or violet aura is read as spiritual insight, imagination, and a pull toward the mystical. Lavender is read as a gentle dreamer, and deep violet as a strong visionary. Thought-Forms described violet as affection mixed with devotion and said its delicate shades show "the capacity of absorbing and responding to a high and beautiful ideal." Purple is paired with the crown.
Pink Aura Meaning
A pink aura is read as gentleness, affection, and an open heart. Soft pink is read as kindness and new love, and the 1905 chart gave "pure pale rose" to the most unselfish love. Deep crimson was read as strong, ordinary affection, and crimson stained with gray-brown as possessive love. Pink is paired with the heart center.
White Aura Meaning
A white aura is read as spiritual focus, purity of intention, or a fresh start. Brilliant white is read as someone deep in spiritual practice, or someone who has just come through a big change. Many practitioners say white often appears around people with a steady meditation or spiritual practice. White is paired with the crown, and it's one of the colors most often called rare.
Gold Aura Meaning
A gold or golden aura is read as wisdom, generosity, and a protected, guided presence. It's the color painters gave the halo. Thought-Forms described golden stars shining out through clouds of devotion "like a shower of sparks." Gold is usually paired with the crown or the solar plexus.
Silver Aura Meaning
A silver aura is read as intuition, vivid dreams, and openness to new ideas. Bright silver is read as abundance of spirit and receptiveness. Dull, gray-silver is read as someone a little spaced out or unsure where they stand.
Gray Aura Meaning
A gray or grey aura is read as tiredness, uncertainty, or a pause between chapters. Many practitioners see gray as a temporary shade, like a cloud over another color. The 1905 chart read deep heavy gray as low spirits and pale gray as fear.
Brown Aura Meaning
A brown aura is read as grounding and practical focus, the color of someone busy with work, home, or the garden. Muddy brown is read as feeling stuck or holding on too tightly. Thought-Forms read clear brown as avarice and hard brown-gray as selfishness, which it called "painfully common."
Black Aura Meaning
A black aura is read as protection, withdrawal, or a heavy stretch someone is carrying. Many modern practitioners read black as a shield someone has pulled around themselves, or as the color of grief and exhaustion. The 1905 chart was blunt: "black means hatred and malice." Most readers today don't read black as a judgment of character. They read it as a sign that someone needs rest and cleansing.
Rainbow Aura Meaning
A rainbow aura, with bands or flashes of many colors, is read as a person with many gifts, often a healer or an artist who moves between moods easily. Many practitioners count it among the rarest aura readings.
What Color Is My Aura?
The simplest way to find your aura color is to look for it yourself, in a mirror against a plain background. Many readers also notice which color they're drawn to when they're feeling most like themselves, and start there.
To try it:
- Stand about 18 inches from a mirror with a plain white or pale wall behind you, in soft, even light.
- Relax your eyes and look at a point just past your shoulder, not at your face.
- Let your gaze go soft for 30 seconds to a minute. Many people first notice a thin, pale band hugging the outline of the body.
- Keep breathing slowly and watch whether a color rises in that band. Note the first color you see, even if it's faint.
It can take a few tries. If you'd like to go further, Aura Reading for Beginners by Richard Webster walks through exercises for seeing and feeling auras, and our guide on how to develop your psychic abilities covers the wider practice.
Can Your Aura Color Change?
Yes. Most practitioners describe a main aura color that stays fairly steady through life, with layers and patches that shift with your mood, your health, and what you're working on. A bad day can cloud a bright color, and a good week of rest or meditation can clear it again.
Aura Colors and the Chakras
Modern aura charts usually pair each color with one of the seven chakras, from red at the root to violet or white at the crown. That pairing is the 1977 Christopher Hills rainbow, built on Leadbeater's earlier work and on the older Hindu teaching of the chakras. If one color seems faint in your aura, many practitioners work with that center's stones. Our complete list of chakra crystals and the shop's chakra stones are good places to start.
How to Brighten Your Aura
Many practitioners brighten a dull or muddy aura with cleansing, rest, and time outdoors. The full methods are in our guide on how to cleanse your aura. The short version:
- A spiritual bath with salt and herbs washes away a heavy day.
- Smoke from a smudge stick or palo santo, passed around the outline of your body, is a traditional cleanse.
- A cord cutting meditation releases ties that drain you.
- A candle in the color you want more of puts that quality on your altar. Our candle color meanings match the aura colors closely.
Seeing Flashing Lights? That's a Different Aura
The word "aura" also has a medical meaning: a migraine or seizure aura, which can show up as flashing lights, zigzag lines, shimmering patches, or blind spots. These are a different thing from the aura colors on this page. If you see sudden flashes, zigzags, or blind spots, especially new ones or ones that come with a headache, please talk to a doctor.
Aura Colors FAQ
What do aura colors mean?
Aura colors are read as a person's mood or temperament. Red is read as energy, orange as creativity, yellow as optimism, green as care, blue as calm and honesty, indigo as intuition, purple as spiritual insight, and white as spiritual focus. Bright shades show the color's gifts, and muddy shades show that quality under strain.
What is the rarest aura color?
White, gold, silver, and rainbow auras are the ones most often called rare. Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue are seen most often.
What are the positive and negative meanings of aura colors?
Each aura color has a bright, positive side and a dull, negative side. For example, bright red is read as courage while muddy red is read as anger, and clear green is read as care while murky green is read as jealousy.
What does a black aura mean?
A black aura is read today as protection, withdrawal, or a heavy stretch someone is carrying, and it's usually taken as a sign to rest and cleanse. In Thought-Forms (1905), Besant and Leadbeater read black as hatred and malice.
Can you have more than one aura color?
Yes. Most practitioners describe a main color close to the body, with other colors in layers or patches that change with your mood and what you're going through.
Is one aura color better than another?
No. Every aura color has its own gifts, and the brightness of the shade matters more to most readers than which color it is.
What does aura mean in slang?
In slang, "aura" means someone's charisma or cool factor, and "aura farming" means acting in a way meant to look effortlessly cool. It grew out of the spiritual meaning of a presence people can feel.
What is angel aura quartz?
Angel aura quartz is clear quartz that has a very thin film of metal bonded to its surface in a lab, which gives it a pearly rainbow shimmer. The "aura" in the name describes that colored coating, not the human aura, so it isn't connected to aura colors.
Can animals have auras?
Many practitioners say yes, and pet owners often describe sensing a calm or restless energy around an animal. Many traditions describe auras around animals, plants, and even objects, as well as people.
