Red
Physical energy, drive and appetite.
Shadow side. Anger held close to the surface.
Aura colours
What each colour is traditionally read as — and what an aura camera is really measuring.
Orange
Creativity, sociability and appetite for experience.
Shadow side. Restlessness and difficulty finishing.
Yellow
Optimism, intellect and playfulness.
Shadow side. Avoidance dressed up as lightness.
Green
Healing, growth and care for others.
Shadow side. Over-giving and quiet resentment.
Blue
Calm, honesty and clear communication.
Shadow side. Emotional distance.
Indigo
Intuition, depth and sensitivity.
Shadow side. Withdrawal and overwhelm.
Violet
Vision, idealism and unusual perception.
Shadow side. Impracticality.
White
Clarity and a sense of purpose.
Shadow side. Detachment from ordinary life.
Black
Protection, or something being held tightly shut.
Shadow side. Exhaustion and grief unprocessed.
What aura photography captures
Kirlian photography, invented in 1939, records corona discharge — an electrical effect around an object in a high-voltage field. It varies with moisture, pressure and voltage, which is why a freshly washed hand photographs differently from a dry one.
Modern aura cameras do something else entirely: hand sensors measure skin conductance and temperature, and software assigns colours according to a lookup table someone chose. The colours are generated, not photographed.
No study under controlled conditions has found anyone able to see or detect an aura. That does not make the colour vocabulary worthless as a way of describing mood — it just means it is describing, not measuring.