Introduction
“Aura” (also called human energy field; cf. Sanskrit terms below) usually denotes a luminous or light-like envelope said to surround living beings. The term is used in diverse esoteric literatures and modern spiritual healing. In neurology, by contrast, “aura” refers to a transient sensory phenomenon preceding some migraines or seizures; that medical usage is unrelated to claims of a luminous field and is not the focus here. In contemporary discourse, this externalized field is sometimes framed as a Biofield, a term used to describe a putative subtle milieu of influence and perception around the body.
Terminology and historical context
Cross-cultural sources describe subtle constituents of the person that can radiate or affect vitality: prāṇa (प्राण) in Sanskrit traditions, qì (氣) in Chinese sources, and rlung (རླུང་, “wind”) in Tibetan materials. Scholars group these within “subtle body” models: quasi-material structures, channels, and flows posited between mind and the gross body. Such ideas were adapted and reinterpreted in modern Western esotericism and New Age healing, where Aura became a key term for an externalized, perceivable emanation reflecting moral, emotional, or health states. [1]
Descriptive models
Theosophical authors systematized the Aura at the turn of the twentieth century. Charles W. Leadbeater (1854–1934) presented layered auras—etheric, astral, mental—each with characteristic colors and forms, claiming these were observed by trained clairvoyance. Plates in Man Visible and Invisible (London, 1902) portray an ovoid, multicolored field surrounding the human form and correlate hues with dispositions (e.g., devotion, intellect). This is a primary source reporting visionary observations rather than controlled measurements. [2]
Observation and representation
Visualizations of the Aura in esoteric circles have been supplemented in popular discourse by “aura photography.” However, the technique commonly invoked—Kirlian or corona discharge photography—produces images through high-voltage electrical ionization at the object–electrode interface. Classic work in the Journal of Applied Physics demonstrated that such images are fully explained by physical parameters (electrode spacing, moisture, conductivity), i.e., by the well-understood “streamer” mechanism of corona discharge, not by a biological field radiating from the body. [3] Consequently, changes in “aura photographs” can reflect sweat, pressure, or environmental humidity rather than a metaphysical emanation. [3]
Evidence and critical analysis
Claims that auras can be directly perceived or manipulated have been tested. A prominent blinded trial in JAMA asked practitioners of Therapeutic Touch—who posit a palpable “human energy field” (often framed as a Biofield)—to detect which of their hands was near the experimenter’s hand behind a screen. Practitioners performed no better than chance, undermining the assertion that such a field is reliably perceptible under controlled conditions. [4] More broadly, while esoteric and healing traditions offer rich phenomenologies and symbol systems for subtle embodiment [1], empirical support for a luminous, external Aura with diagnostic specificity remains limited. “Aura photography” is accounted for by electrical physics, not by an energy body; and laboratory detection of a putative Biofield contiguous with the Aura has not achieved robust, independent replication. [3], [4] No numerical prevalence claims—“97” or any other count—are asserted here; the discussion centers on sources and tests.
In sum
In sum, “Aura” names an influential conceptualization of human vitality and moral-psychological expression across esoteric milieus, with detailed historical taxonomies in Theosophy and related movements. Scholarly treatments situate it within global subtle-body models. Yet where claims intersect with measurable biophysics or clinical detection, current evidence does not substantiate a radiating, visible field as described in esoteric sources. [1]–[4]
Sources of citations
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[1] Geoffrey Samuel and Jay Johnston (eds.), Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West: Between Mind and Body, 2013. Academic essays mapping subtle-body concepts across cultures; contextualizes “aura” discourse. https://www.routledge.com/Religion-and-the-Subtle-Body-in-Asia-and-the-West-Between-Mind-and-Body/Samuel-Johnston/p/book/9781138119376
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[2] C. W. Leadbeater, Man Visible and Invisible: Examples of Different Types of Men as Seen by Means of Trained Clairvoyance, 1902. Primary source; classic Theosophical depictions and claims about layered auras. https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1233
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[3] David G. Boyers and William A. Tiller, “Corona Discharge Photography,” Journal of Applied Physics 44(7):3102–3112, 1973. Peer‑reviewed physical explanation of “Kirlian” images as corona discharge. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1662715
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[4] Linda Rosa, Emily Rosa, Larry Sarner, Stephen Barrett, “A Close Look at Therapeutic Touch,” JAMA 279(13):1005–1010, 1998. Blinded test found no reliable detection of a “human energy field.” https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/187390