An aura is the soft field that many people describe around a body, and seeing one is a gentle visualisation practice rather than anything clinical. You do not need a gift, a dark room or special tools. You need a plain wall, soft light and a relaxed gaze. The five steps below are simple: set the scene, settle yourself, soften your eyes, find the faint outline, then read the colour. Give it five calm minutes tonight, and a pale haze or shimmer is usually the first thing you notice.
How to see your aura in 5 steps
Think of this as looking at a hidden-image poster. You are not staring harder; you are letting your eyes go soft so a faint layer can drift into view. In energy practice, people describe the aura as sitting closest to the head and shoulders, so that is where your attention rests. Work through the steps in order, and stop the moment it feels like effort.
Step 1: Set the scene ☀️
Stand or sit about an arm's length from a plain, pale wall. Choose soft, natural light, such as daytime shade or a lamp turned low. Skip harsh overhead glare and skip a fully dark room, because both hide the gentle outline you are after. A clear, uncluttered background gives your eyes nothing to snag on.
Step 2: Settle and breathe 🌙
Take a few slow breaths and let your shoulders drop. A calm, unhurried mind sees more here than a busy one. If your thoughts race, name three things you can hear, then return to your breath. You are simply setting a quiet mood, the way you might before a slow read in bed.
Step 3: Soften your gaze
Look toward the wall just past your own reflection, or past a friend's shoulder, and let your focus go loose. This soft, slightly unfocused gaze is the whole trick. A tight, fixed stare switches off exactly the relaxed vision you want, so keep your eyes easy and blink whenever you need to.
Step 4: Find the faint outline
Rest your attention around the head and shoulders and watch the space just beyond the skin. Many people first notice a thin, clear band, like heat shimmer above warm ground. It often shows best at the edge of your sight rather than dead centre, so let it appear sideways instead of hunting for it.
Step 5: Notice and read the colour 💫
Once the outline holds, a wash of colour may settle into it. Note where it sits and how bright it feels. The colour can shift as you watch, and that is normal. Keep the aura-colour guide below to hand, then read your glimpse as a mood for today rather than a fixed label. That is the whole method, start to finish.
✨ A quick reminder: short beats long. Five relaxed minutes, a few times a week, teaches your eyes far faster than one strained half-hour. If nothing appears, you have lost nothing but a calm pause.
What a first glimpse really looks like 🔮
Set your hopes gently. A first sighting is almost never a vivid rainbow. Far more often it is a pale, clear haze, a faint brightness or a soft shimmer that comes and goes. Some people sense warmth or a "felt" edge before they see any colour at all, and that counts too.
With a soft gaze on a plain background, ordinary vision naturally makes edges glow a little, and that gentle glow is part of the practice, not a failure of it. Trust what you actually notice. The detail fills in with easy, repeated practice, the same way faint stars appear once your eyes settle to the dark.
Aura colour meanings 🌿
Once you start catching colour, this is the reference to keep nearby. These meanings come from crystal and chakra tradition, so read them as a warm guide rather than a rulebook. For the deeper story behind each shade, our guide to colour meanings goes further, and the chakra quiz points to the energy centre most active in you right now.
| Colour | Traditionally reflects |
|---|---|
| Red | Vitality and drive |
| Orange | Creativity and warmth |
| Yellow | Optimism and bright thinking |
| Green | Balance and calm growth |
| Blue | Calm and clear speech |
| Indigo | Intuition |
| Violet | Spiritual connection |
| Pink | Gentle love and kindness |
| White / Gold | Clarity and higher purpose |
| Grey / Murky | Tiredness — time to rest and cleanse |
Colours move with mood, health and season, so treat them like a weather report, not a name tag. If a dull grey keeps turning up, a gentle reset helps, and our oils for aura cleansing are the easiest way in. If your aura looks thin or patchy, the seven ways to strengthen your aura give you the next steps.
Seeing other people's auras 🧿
The method for another person is the same as for yourself. Seat your friend against a plain, pale wall in soft light, soften your gaze, and let your attention rest around their head and shoulders. Watch the edge of your sight, not the centre.
Two kind habits make this better. Ask first, because reading someone without a word can feel intrusive. Keep whatever you notice light and generous, since a colour is a passing mood and never a verdict on the person. Practising in a relaxed pair often works faster than practising alone.
Choosing a stone for aura work 💎
You do not need a crystal to see an aura, but a stone in the hand gives your attention a home and marks the practice as "quiet time". Three easy pieces suit this work, and all three are in stock at Rivendell now.
Labradorite is the classic aura stone. It is a feldspar with a hardness of about 6 to 6.5, and it is loved for labradorescence, the blue-green flash that seems to hover inside it. That living shimmer is a lovely thing to hold while you practise a soft gaze. Wipe it clean with a soft cloth and keep it away from hard knocks. A labradorite bead bracelet sits at NZ$20 and keeps the flash on your wrist all day.
Amethyst is the calm, focused choice, traditionally kept close for quiet and clear-headedness. It is a quartz, so it rates 7 on the Mohs scale and wears well. One care note: its violet can fade with long, strong sunlight, so keep it off a hot windowsill and rinse it in warm soapy water. An amethyst point pendant is NZ$19.99 and rests neatly at the heart while you settle.
Clear quartz is the simple all-rounder, bright and easy for a first stone. It is also a 7 on the Mohs scale and hard-wearing, so a quick rinse will not harm it. A clear quartz point pendant is NZ$19.99, and you can see more of the range in the crystals collection or in person at Shop 62, Westfield Manukau. If you like the labradorite flash but want it in your cleansing routine too, our labradorite for aura cleansing guide shows how.
Pick one stone that suits the way you already sit and breathe.
Find your aura stoneHow to see your aura FAQs
Can everyone learn to see auras?
Most people can, with a little patience. Seeing an aura relies on a relaxed gaze and the edge of your sight, ordinary skills that simply need practice. Some people notice colour first, others a shimmer, warmth or "felt" edge. All of those count, so keep going and the detail grows.
Why can't I see my aura yet?
Usually one of three things: light that is too harsh or too dim, a background that is too busy, or trying too hard. A tight stare hides the soft glow you need. Shorten your sessions to five minutes, soften your eyes, and let the outline appear at the edges.
What colour is my aura?
The quickest way to find out is the method above: soft light, a plain background, and your attention resting around your head and shoulders. The first colour you catch, often a pale blue, yellow or green, is your reading for that day. The chakra quiz is a fun cross-check.
Do aura colours change?
Yes, often. In this tradition the aura reflects how you feel right now, so its colours move with mood, rest and season. A base shade may stay fairly steady over years, while the outer colours shift day to day. That is why regular practice tells you more than a single look.
How long until I see one?
Many people catch a faint haze in the first week of short, daily tries. A clear colour can take a few weeks more. Treat each session as a calm pause that is worth having on its own, and progress tends to arrive while you are not straining for it.
Sources
- International Gem Society: labradorite, feldspar hardness and labradorescence
- Gemological Institute of America: amethyst hardness, light fading and care
- International Gem Society: quartz hardness and durability
Last updated August 2026.