The Human Aura

by W. J. Colville


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Lecture II.

Specific Interpretations.

Having already outlined the principal features of the philosophy of color and its significance, which it is now our province to more definitely and precisely elucidate, we shall call attention specifically not only to the broad general principles of the subject, but seek also to enter into particular details.

First and last, it must be remembered that there can be no bad colors, though there can be discordant combinations. Black, which is the very negation of color, is only a background for all colors, and has exactly the use in Nature to which the blackboard is put in a classroom. With white chalk we make demonstrations on a black surface. The extreme of contrast is here displayed, but there is no evil suggested by black in this connection; on the contrary, it serves a useful purpose by bringing white lettering into high relief. Black and white sketches are another but entirely different phase of the same contrast when an artist makes black markings on a white surface, thereby [31] demonstrating that the purity of white, betokening the perfect spiritual state, may be used for a foil for all dark experiences. The light and darkness are alike good; even though primarily white which is the symbol of light, betokens illumination and revelation, while black denotes absence of enlightenment. "Black night" is a familiar expression, but night is only the negative period, when sleep is most in order and when vital forces intended for active exercise in daytime are being recuperated. Whenever black is associated with hopeless grief it is untempered and unrelieved by the presence of white or by any glint of color; it is then burdensome, unwholesome and oppressive, and should never thus be tolerated. When white and black are worn together pleasing and harmonious effects may be produced, but though it is quite safe from every sanitary and symbolic viewpoint to dress entirely in white, unrelieved black should be voted a non-permissible costume.

In Leadbeater's classification of colors, as applied to the human aura, black is said to denote malice, and it is certainly difficult to conceive of any good-will proceeding in the shape of sable-hued emanations. "Black magic" is a familiar expression, synonymous with [32] necromancy, which originally meant death-dealing. White magic is synonymous with leucomancy, which signifies light-dispensing.

We will now endeavor to explain the range of Red, the first and lowest of the primaries or prismatics, when viewed from the earthly side of evolution, but the highest alike of the three and of the seven, when viewed from the spiritual or esoteric plane of involution. Ascent must ever begin where descent ends. The spiritual entity prior to expression on earth must drape itself with a robe of aura or it could not enter into the external world. The violet ray is its first covering; then, in turn, it wraps itself around with purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red finally. Having taken the seven preliminary steps of descent it appears on earth as Adam, the man clothed in red garments. The Adamic or Red Race is the earliest of the seven races which find expression on this planet, and the universality of red is to be discovered in the fact that healthy human blood is red everywhere, and that a natural redness of skin betokens health, while pallor is indicative of weakness.

The darker shades of red denote affection of a primitive, self-regarding type, not properly designated selfishness in the distinctly [33] unpleasant usage of that term, but self-preservativeness, unillumined by thought or regard for others. This primitive estate is common to infancy, and when not outgrown as age advances, leads to unpleasant results in time of maturity.

An aura of murky red suggests uncleanliness, symbolizes vitiated passion, and accompanies all psychic and mental states which tend toward jealousy, hatred and all unrighteous animosities. Sensuality is pictured forth by a very sordid earthy red, in which a suggestion of black is always present, because sensual impulses are unenlightened, and gravitate toward shadow rather than toward sunlight.

Pure affection is typified by clear bright red, like to the ruddy blaze of a cheerful fire, which indicates loving welcome, the very embodiment of the spirit of hospitality. Black stoves can never bestow cheerfulness upon a home, however much heat they may radiate; thus it happens that open fireplaces in cold climates are always welcome and deservedly popular.

Bright red in the sky always augurs wind, intense heat, or some marked excitement in the atmosphere; lurid red is an invariable precursor of tempests.

Anger is an emotion whose corresponding color is red, but the shade or quality of red [34] which anger displays varies with the nature and source of the emotion. What is often called righteous indignation emits a brilliant scarlet flame, and while it literally causes the cheeks and often the entire countenance to blaze, as it is prompted by love of justice and detestation of unfair dealing and oppression, it is not sullied by any sinister shadows. Avarice is shown by a dull, heavy, perverted shade of red, not very easily distinguishable from the hue of sensuality, with which it is allied quite closely in origin and sentiment.

The bridge from Red to Yellow is Orange, and on this bridge we find pride displayed, giving forth an auric radiation of red-orange tint. Pride is, at its best, not an unworthy emotion, as it is usually the harbinger of some higher state of intellectual advancement. Proper pride, and reasonable ambition are the usual accompaniments of a strong though unchastened intellect, but a higher condition than pride of intellect is expressed by the absence of much of the red which pride carries with it and the presence of brilliant amber. Amber has for ages been associated with strength, and many have been the chains of amber beads which people have worn about their necks to antidote pulmonary weaknesses and to stimulate more [35] than simply the vocal system. This practice has been founded upon very ancient knowledge regarding the formation of amber and the therapeutic potency of the orange ray in the spectrum, which affords nervous stimulation and often proves of decided help to students, whether administered chromopathically in accordance with Dr. Babbitt's system of Light and Color, or by means of any other method accessible or convenient of application. Orange as an ingredient in the human aura always denotes mental vigor, and is found most frequently among people who are leaving primitive animality and searching for intellectual illumination.

Yellow, the second primary, denotes the mental realm extricated entirely from the embraces of the material; therefore, the brightest, clearest yellow betokens the highest and purest type of intellect. A pale primrose-colored light evinces a soft, gentle, intellectual disposition, very pure, but not very vigorous. The lighter shades of yellow are quieting in the extreme to an overwrought nervous condition, and people who generate aura of that hue accomplish often a great deal in the direction of healing by their quiet, regulating presence.

Green, which stands in the middle of everything [36] and is the color which is between the outer and the inner, or the higher and the lower, worlds or planes of consciousness, is significant of universal adaptability. Clear, bright emerald green is always attractive, and gives a sense of home wherever one may be travelling. This purely natural color is beheld clairvoyantly in connection with people who are ardent lovers of nature, and who, though their love of native country may be great, can find and enjoy a home among green hills, fields and valleys everywhere. Homesickness is banished by green, and tired eyes are rested by green spectacles. Green lamp shades are particularly restful, and this color will be found a valuable soporific, an antidote to all that induces insomnia.

The lighter shades of green are indicative of sympathy — not the maudlin or misdirected sympathy which increases trouble by dwelling upon it, but that gracious, helpful sympathy which environs a sufferer with fresh and pleasant conditions suggesting release from bondage to a painful environment. Green of the paler type is very encouraging to sensitive persons who are apt to be easily dispirited, and it will be found that people usually are helped most not by the color which already predominates in their aura but by a hue which is lacking, which [37] will makes its appearance when a higher development of symmetry has been attained.

Though green is often figuratively associated with deceit and jealousy, and we have all heard of a "green-eyed monster' whose acquaintance we desire to be rid of, as many sensitives have explained, it is only a sullied and debased condition of green which denotes treachery. Nothing could be more ridiculous than to believe that the beautiful color of grass and foliage, which we all instinctively admire, indicates anything unrighteous. It is only a perverted or vitiated state of aura or condition of color which can ever show forth anything abnormal.

BLUE, the third and highest of the primaries, is always complimented, "true blue" being one of our most familiar expressions intended to denote sincere friendship and general sincerity in all relations of life. Among blue stones the sapphire is typical of wisdom and the turquoise of fidelity. When a pale blue aura is seen surrounding any person, it proves that the nature which generates such an aura is aspirational and gentle. Blue is always the color of the sky in clear weather, but what we generally term "sky blue" in our color scheme is an intense and rather brilliant hue. This signifies fixity of moral purpose, high ethical [38] attainment unusually large conscientiousness, and an appreciation of high ideals quite beyond all ordinary levels of ideality.

In the employment of blue therapeutically, whether through chromopathic treatment or by means of an altogether subjective or psychical method of visualizing, the paler blue tints are extremely restful, while intense degrees of blue denote and induce a reposeful condition of activity, which is readily understood by all who have learned something of the blessed art of working continuously and effectively, and, at the same time, easily. Hard work has no place in the blue region, though nowhere can more work be done, and the work done by those who have reached the state denoted by clear bright blue aura is of an abiding as well as of an excellent quality.

The bluish grey, which indicates fear, and often accompanies ill-regulated conscientiousness, is the aura of timid natures, whose religious impulses may be strong, but whose religious beliefs are largely shadowed by fear and tinctured with misgiving. To have an "attack of the blues" is to be depressed in spirit, and whenever we catch a glimpse of the aura of a person thus afflicted we find it bluish grey, never intense blue, and its condition is always tremendous.

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Beyond blue comes royal purple, or regal indigo, which all artists know is composed of blue and red, which, symbolically speaking, is a combination of aspiration and fortitude. Intense anger or indignation of any sort is not felt by those whose emblem is a robe of purple light, for those whose aura is thus far advanced have outgrown all tendency to be easily disturbed or vexed by poor externals. In ancient days the kings and queens who ruled by divine right were not hereditary rulers simply; they were men and women who exhibited attainments in self-conquest, and in dominion over the elements in general, so great as to appear truly marvellous in the eyes of all save those who had achieved such conquest. From this fact grew naturally the widespread belief in the efficacy of the "king's touch" as an antidote to diseases commonly called incurable, because not amenable to ordinary medical or other remedial ministries. All vestments worn of old to denote rank had a deep mystical significance, and all mystic systems originated with some genuine clairvoyance at their base. Purple light is particularly well adapted to induce a feeling of solemnity in the best and highest use of that often mistranslated word, which should not be associated with [40] gloom at any time, but always with majesty inspiring reverence, and that noble kind of awe which instinctively comes over us when we find ourselves in the presence of something greater and sublimer than we are usually accustomed to encounter.

The sixth note in the scale is, however, imperfect; therefore only earthly or temporal dominion is indicated by purple or indigo. The mysterious Apocalypse or Book of Revelation significantly declares that 666 is the number of that entire system of external authority which is in its essential nature corruptible, though not necessarily corrupt, and which will eventually disappear, after having achieved magnificent external triumphs, to make way for a still higher order expressible only by the employment of the number 7.

VIOLET, the seventh color in the rainbow spectrum, denotes the highest of all earthly attainments.

Joseph's coat of many colors, mentioned in Genesis, is a very ancient allusion to the aura of a seer or prophet, though the circumstances of his receiving this garment as a gift from his father, Jacob (whose name is changed to Israel) is slightly obscure, except in the comparatively unimportant letter of the narrative. [41] In the order of spiritual development no one can truly give anything to another, because each individual must earn his raiment for himself; but it is quite reasonable to admit that a father may perceive the state of his son's development, and make acknowledgment of this in a manner not to the liking of less developed brothers of the prophet, who are foolish enough to feel envy or jealousy when superior ability is displayed by another and that superiority meets with rightful recognition. Very much valuable information concerning aura is to be met with in Spiritualistic literature, which abounds with statements to the effect that we build our own psychic bodies and weave our psychic raiment. "Radiation" and "radiant" are words from which "raiment" originally sprang, but the latter word has been greatly deteriorated in meaning, so that it is now applied to wearing apparel which can be purchased and donned from the outside.

Violet light is too intense, the vibrations of ether which produce it are too rapid to agree with average temperaments or usual conditions, but it is found to be extremely well suited to psychic stimulation of a rare order, and favors the production of psychic phenomena of a high order. Telepathy and all kindred evidences of [42] spiritual intercommunion between affinitizing minds can be assisted by the violet ray, and it is easy to demonstrate the potency of this color by introducing it on occasions of bereavement and mourning, where it rightfully belongs, and where black is an odious impertinence. In the ritual of the Christian Church from very early times violet has been introduced on penitential days, as it is intended and calculated to lift the thoughts of worshippers from earth to heaven. At memorial services violet is always in place, and those who approve the practice of wearing a special dress at funerals and for some period after the transition of a friend or relative will do well to substitute violet for black on all occasions.

A violet aura is indicative of what is commonly termed a dreamy, visionary character, but we must not forget that seers and dreamers can be thoroughly robust, and though usually somewhat more finely and delicately organized than the bulk of their contemporaries, they can enjoy perfect health and exhibit any amount of physical as well as mental endurance which the majority of their more grossly constituted neighbors cannot possibly endure without a speedy breakdown. The more widely different one's aura is from that of one's neighbor, the [43] more one is able to move about among the sick and distressed, radiating health, giving out virtue, but free from liability to unpleasant infection or contagion. Violet light destroys many varieties of destructive parasites, and those remarkable "healers" whose very presence confers blessing upon the afflicted are usually possessed of an aura in which violet is a largely predominating color.

Connecting the seven prismatic hues with the seven vowels, we associate red with A, orange with E, yellow with I, green with O, blue with U, indigo with W, and violet with Y. Though five vowels are all that are commonly acknowledged by grammarians, the two supplementary vowels, W and Y, find their place in language, just as indigo and violet have their position in the spectrum. A, the red note, is the beginning of everything; it is always introductory, and it can also prove a good terminal, because it denotes the commencement of a scale, and immediately a scale is completed an octave note is struck. The significance of names, which were originally constructed and applied by reason of their occult significance, has recently been much discussed, and it is a fascinating topic, because to the thoughtful mind it cannot be a matter of indifference whether, by the [44] frequent pronunciation of a name, we are suggesting what is elevating or the reverse in its etymology. Names which begin and end with A are names of dignity and deep significance. As names were originally titles, and all meant something definite, the old Latin phrase, Nomen est omen (A name is an omen), can readily be understood. As the musical scale begins with A, so the indefinite article or universal prefix is the note of universal ejaculation, when sounded broadly, as in correct singing and in the common speech of all Latin races. Broad A (pronounced like an English Ah) is the first aspirate, and is a full red tone, which deepens in color commensurately with depth and fulness of intonation.

E, the second vowel, suggests at once the quality of orange, desire for fuller expression, reaching out and up, seeking for combination or co-operation with another element.

I, the third vowel, is the great dominant individual affirmation of conscious entity, and may be compared to a backbone in language. The color yellow, denoting fulness of intellectual development, possesses precisely this character.

The fourth vowel O, like the note D and the accompanying color green, indicates research, [45] inquiry, surprise at finding oneself introduced to unaccustomed surroundings. We instinctively exclaim "Oh!" when we encounter something unfamiliar, and though sometimes this is an exclamation of pain, it is oftener merely a cry of wonder.

U, the fifth vowel, like blue in the color scale, is the outreaching note, which seeks to give rather than to receive, to distribute rather than to hoard; its place in language, as in the English you (the neighbor) and the French out (yes) is highly significant of its moral value.

W and Y represent higher stages of attainment than come within the customary range of average experience. The omission of W from the French language and the place of Y in algebra suggest something of the primal value of these additional vowels.

Descending now into the lower octaves of color, we are confronted by grays, browns and other sombre and neutral tints which are below our common color register. Though the spectrum and the rainbow can reveal them, they are sub-tints and belong to those regions in Nature which Occultists call elemental. The hues of roots, barks and soil, when detected in a human aura, reveal to the discriminating clairvoyant observer the presence of more subjective than objective or superjective development.

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Brown in the aura, especially if it be a bright golden brown, indicates great business ability, penetration into mundane affairs, and indeed most, if not all, of the qualifications necessary for a purely commercial or any definitely secular career.

Light gray is a very innocent indication and goes well with the occupations of those who are classified as hewers of wood and drawers of water, or the mass of unskilled workers in any department of activity. Only murky, ugly or vitiated shades and tints are indicative of discordant, deceitful or other abnormal tendencies.

At the close of Leadbeater's "Man Visible and Invisible" there is a very beautiful picture of the nearest representation of the aura of an Arhat which can be reproduced in such a manner. We are not surprised to find that varying shades of brown and other inferior hues are represented there, all in their rightfully subordinated relative positions. Throughout that intensely interesting volume, which well repays continuous perusal, no color is spoken against, but several pictures are exhibited of envy, miserliness, and other abnormal states, which are shown forth by dark bars and black streaks across the aura.

Though we have undertaken to mention [47] much in these lectures which seems incapable of verification, unless one is endowed with some measure of clairvoyance, two things are clear to all students, viz., the value of the practice of out-picturing color, which can always be proved by experiment, and the feeling we all experience when brought in contact with auric radiations, which nearly everybody feels, even though but few comparatively may be conscious of seeing auras. As Art in all its phases appeals to the multitude, and dress and furnishing of rooms are matters which demand attention more or less from all of us, it is surely well to learn all we can concerning the suggestions we are constantly making to ourselves and others by the colors which we adopt into our surroundings. Color is a far more important question than most people have imagined, and we have rejoiced to witness the manifold benefits which have resulted from some practical applications of the teaching outlined in these lectures when carried out both objectively and subjectively.

Though, as we have stated, we can all learn to map out silently and privately such surroundings as we find most beneficial and congenial, the vast multitude of suffering people to whom physicians and mental scientists are called to minister have not yet grown superior [48] to the obnoxious effect of exterior environments. We must not relax our efforts on behalf of rational dress and furniture, though we do persistently teach that psychic states are vastly more important than simply physical conditions.

The wearing of gems is a beautiful and reasonable practice, and in fine stones we obtain the highest expressions of imprisoned sunlight. Though jewels are not necessities, we have a perfect right to honestly avail ourselves of what Nature has secreted, when we are industrious enough to probe the planet on whose surface we are existing to find and appropriate the treasures which are ours just so soon as we have diligently worked to obtain them. In all venerated Scriptures jewels are mentioned frequently according to their correspondences, and in ancient religious and therapeutic rites gems occupied a place of distinguished prominence. Aaron's breastplate was intended for divination, and every student knows that to peer into the heart of natural mysteries requires a healthy mind, well balanced body, and, above all, the purest of intentions, united with the practice of systematic concentration and meditation. A well-developed aura is the sine qua non of health and prosperity.



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