Fourteen Lessons
in Yogi Philosophy and
Oriental Occultism
Lesson
4 The Human Aura
In our
previous three lessons we called your
attention briefly, in turn, to the Seven
Principles of Man. The subject of the
Constitution of Man, however, is incomplete
without a reference to what occultists know
as the Human Aura. This forms a most
interesting part of the occult teachings,
and reference to it is to be found in the
occult writings and traditions of all races.
Considerable misapprehension and confusion
regarding the Human Aura have arisen, and
the truth has been obscured by the various
speculations and theories of some of the
writers on the subject. This is not to be
wondered at when we remember that the Aura
is visible only to those of highly developed
psychic power. Some possessing inferior
sight, which has enabled them to see only
certain of the grosser manifestations of the
emanation constituting the Aura, have
thought and taught that what they saw was
all that could be seen; while the real truth
is, that such people have seen but a part of
the whole thing, the remainder being
reserved for those of higher development.
Some teachers of late years have taught that
the Aura was really the several principles
of man, projecting beyond the space occupied
by his physical body; but this is only true
in the same sense that the light of the sun
is a part of the sun-the rays of the
electric light a part of the light—the heat
radiating from a stove the heat contained
within the stove—the odor of a flower the
flower itself. The Aura is really an
emanation of one or more of the seven
principles of man— sent forth from the
principle itself—and not, strictly speaking,
a part of the principle, except in the sense
above referred to.
Each of the seven principles of which man is
composed radiates energy which is visible to
the developed psychic senses of certain of
our race. The radiated energy is akin to the
radiations known a s the "X-Ray," and like
them is invisible to the human eye unless
aided by something which the human eye does
not ordinarily possess. Some of the grosser
forms of the Aura are visible to those
possessing a comparatively undeveloped grade
of psychic power, while the higher forms
become visible only as the psychic faculties
develop in power. There are but
comparatively few in the flesh today who
have ever seen the Aura emanating from the
sixth principle, the Spiritual Mind. And the
Aura of the seventh principle, the Spirit,
is visible only to those beings far higher
in the scale than the human race as we know
it. The Aura emanating from the lower five
principles is seen by many of us who have
developed psychic power, our clearness of
vision and range of sight being determined
by the particular state of development we
have reached.
We will try to give our students a general
idea of the Human Aura and a hasty outline
of that which pertains to it in this lesson,
but it will readily be seen that the subject
is one that could not be exhausted in a
volume of considerable size. It is a
difficult matter to condense information of
this nature, but we trust to be able to
convey a fairly clear impression of the
subject to those of our students who will
follow us closely.
As we have already stated, each principle
radiates energy which, combining,
constitutes what is known if as the Human
Aura. The Aura of each principle, the other
principles be removed, would occupy the same
space as that filled by the Aura of all or
any of the other principles. In other words,
the several Auras of the different
principles interpenetrate each other, and,
being of different rates of vibration, do
not interfere one with the other. When we
speak of The Aura, we mean the entire Aura
of the man, visible to one of psychic sight.
When we speak of the Aura emanating from any
particular principle, we distinctly refer to
the principle.
The grossest form of the human Aura is, of
course, that emanating from the physical
body. This is sometimes spoken of as the
"health Aura," as it is a sure indication of
the state of the physical health of the
person from whose body it radiates. Like all
other forms of the Aura, it extends from the
body to a distance of two to three feet,
depending upon certain circumstances which
need not be mentioned at this place. Like
all other forms of the Aura, it is oval or
egg-shaped. (This shape common to the
several manifestations of the Aura has
caused some writers to refer to it as the
"Auric Egg.") The physical Aura is
practically colorless (or possibly almost a
bluish-white, resembling the color of clear
water), but possessing a peculiar feature
not possessed by the other manifestations of
Aura, inasmuch as to the psychic vision it
appears to be "streaked" by numerous fine
lines extending like stiff bristles from the
body outward. In normal health and vitality
these "bristles" stand out stiffly, while in
cases of impaired vitality or poor health
they droop like the soft hair on an animal,
and in some cases present the appearance of
a ruffled coat of hair, the several "hairs"
standing out in all directions, tangled,
twisted, and curled. This phenomenon is
occasioned by the current of prana
energizing the body to a greater or lesser
extent, the healthy body having the normal
supply of prana, while the diseased or weak
body suffers from an insufficient supply.
This physical Aura is seen by many having a
very limited degree of psychic sight and to
whom the higher forms of Aura are invisible.
To the developed psychic it is sometimes
difficult to distinguish, owing to its being
obscured by the colors in the higher forms
of Aura, the psychic, in order to observe
it, being compelled to inhibit the
impressions of the higher forms of Aura and
to admit only the vibration of the
particular form of Aura which he wishes to
observe. Particles detached from the
physical Aura remain around the spot or
place where the person has been, and a
strongly developed sense found in dogs and
other animals enables them to follow up the
"scent" of the person or animal they are
tracking.
The Aura emanating from the second
principle, or Astral Body, is, like the
principle itself, of a vaporlike appearance
and color, having a resemblance to steam
just before it dissolves and disappears from
sight. It is difficult to distinguish when
it is intermingled with the other forms of
Aura, but when the astral body is seen apart
from the physical body its Aura may be
perceived, particularly if the observer is
not open to the vibrations from the
principles sending forth Auras of various
colors. Those of our readers who have ever
seen an astral form, or what is commonly
called a "ghost' of high or low degree, will
probably remember having seen a cloudy
eggshape vapor surrounding the more distinct
figure of the astral form. This faint,
vapor-like, oval cloud was the astral Aura.
It, of course, becomes visible to one to
whom an astral form "materializes."
The Aura of the third principle, or Prana,
is difficult to describe except to those who
have seen the "X-Ray." It looks something
like a vapory cloud of the color and
appearance of an electric spark. In fact,
all manifestations of Prana resemble
electric light or sparks. Prana has a faint
rosy tint when it is in or near the body,
but loses this hue as it gets a few inches
away. Persons of psychic sight see plainly
the spark-like particles of Prana being
shaken from the finger-tips of persons
giving so-called "magnetic treatments" or
making mesmeric passes. It may also be seen
by many persons who make no claims of
psychic sight, to whom it appears like
heated air arising from a stove or from the
heated ground, that is to say, as a
colorless something pulsating and vibrating.
This pranic Aura is sometimes drawn away
from a healthy strong person by a weak
person who is lacking in vitality and who
draws away from the strong one that which is
needed by the weak one. In cases of this
kind, the person drawn upon without his
consent will experience a feeling of languor
and lassitude after being in the company of
the person who has absorbed a share of his
vitality. In "Science of Breath," on page
61, under the head "(2) Forming an Aura," we
have given a method whereby one may render
himself immune to this form of vampirism,
conscious or unconscious. This method, while
given in the book for another purpose, is
equally efficacious in this instance. A
stronger effect may be produced by forming a
mental image of an Auric shell through which
no force can escape or no outside influence
enter without one's own consent. One may in
this way also guard himself against
Infection from sources which might seriously
affect him unless so protected. The pranic
Aura is also poured out in mesmeric passes
or psychic "treatments" of the sick, but in
such cases the trained operator regulates
the flow and takes the trouble to replenish
the supply of prana within his system, which
will generate and emanate a constant flow of
pranic Aura. We need not dwell upon these
points, as they are fully described in
"Science of Breath," which book will be read
with a new light by the student who reads
and thinks over what we have said about this
feature of the Human Aura. The little book
in question was written for the general
public, who, while they will receive much
benefit from it, cannot read from it the
meaning which becomes perfectly clear to the
student as he passes from stage to stage of
these lessons. The little book, simple and
unpretentious as it is, has many things
hidden away in it which may only be read by
the one who is able to understand. The
student is advised to re-read the little
book from time to time and notice how many
things he finds in it which he never before
discovered.
We now approach the most interesting
features concerning the Human Aura, and we
think that some of the facts to be stated in
this lesson will be a revelation even to
many who are perfectly familiar with the
three manifestations of the Aura which we
have just mentioned. Some may doubt many of
the statements which will be made, but we
beg to say to such people that they have the
means at their disposal to develop and
unfold psychic powers of a sufficient degree
to see these things for themselves as
thousands of others before them have done.
Nothing of the occult teachings need remain
hidden to any one who doubts. Every one may
enter the occult world for himself—providing
he pays the price of attainment, which price
is not of gold or silver, but of the
renunciation of the lower self and the
devotion to that which is highest in man.
Some, it is true, break into the psychic
world without having fitted and purified
themselves by the proper methods, but to
such the acquired faculties are a curse
rather than a blessing, and such are
compelled to retrace their steps with much
suffering until they enter in by the right
door, the key of which is readily found by
all who seek for it in the proper spirit.
To return to the higher manifestations of
the Human Aura, we again call your attention
to the fact that the Aura is seen by the
psychic observer as a luminous cloud, nearly
oval in shape, extending from two feet to
three feet in all directions from the body.
It does not terminate abruptly, but
gradually fades into faintness until it
disappears entirely. It really extends quite
a distance beyond its visible point. It
presents the appearance of a luminous cloud
of constantly shifting colors, certain
colors, however, being predominant in each
person, from reasons which we will consider
in a few moments. These colors originate
from certain mental states of the person
whom the Aura surrounds. Each thought,
emotion, or feeling is manifested by a
certain shade or combination of colors
belonging to that particular thought,
emotion, or feeling, which color or colors
manifest themselves in the Aura of that
particular mental principle in which the
thought, emotion, or feeling naturally
originates, and are of course visible to the
observer studying the composite Aura of the
thinker. The developed psychic may read the
thoughts of a person as he can the pages of
an open book, providing he understands the
language of the Auric colors, which, of
course, all developed occultists do,
although the person who stumbles
accidentally into the psychic world on rare
occasions will see nothing but the
reflection of wonderful colors appearing in
a luminous cloud, the meaning of which is
not known to him.
We think it better, before proceeding
further, to give you a general idea of these
Auric colors, and the thought, feeling, or
emotion to which each belongs. These colors
shade and blend into thousands of
combinations, but the following table will
perhaps give you a fair idea of the subject,
and will enable you more readily to
understand what we will say a little later
on in this lesson.
Auric Colors and Their Meanings.
- Black represents hatred, malice,
revenge, and similar feelings.
- Gray, of a bright shade,
represents selfishness.
- Gray, of a peculiar shade (almost
that of a corpse) , represents fear and
terror.
- Gray, of a dark shade, represents
depression and melancholy.
- Green, of a dirty shade,
represents jealousy. If much anger is
mingled with the jealousy, it will appear
as red flashes on the green background.
- Green, of almost a slate-color
shade, represents low deceit.
- Green, of a peculiar bright shade,
represents tolerance to the opinions and
beliefs of others, easy adjustment to
changing conditions, adaptability, tact,
politeness, worldly wisdom, etc., and
qualities which some might possibly
consider "refined deceit."
- Red, of a shade resembling the
dull flame when it bursts out of a burning
building, mingled with the smoke,
represents sensuality and the animal
passions.
- Red, seen in the shape of
bright-red flashes resembling the
lightning flash in shape, indicates anger.
These are usually shown on a black
background in the case of anger arising
from hatred or malice, but in cases of
anger arising from jealousy they appear on
a greenish background. Anger arising from
indignation or defense of a supposed
"right," lacks these backgrounds, and
usually shows as red flashes independent
of a background.
- Crimson represents love, varying
in shade according to the character of the
passion. A gross sensual love will be a
dull and heavy crimson, while one mixed
with higher feelings will appear in
lighter and more pleasing shades. A very
high form of love shows a color almost
approaching a beautiful rose color.
- Brown, of a reddish tinge,
represents avarice and greed.
- Orange, of a bright shade,
represents pride and ambition.
- Yellow, in its various shades,
represents intellectual power. If the
intellect contents itself with things of a
low order, the shade is a dark, dull
yellow; and as the field of the intellect
rises to higher levels, the color grows
brighter and clearer, a beautiful golden
yellow betokening great intellectual
attainment, broad and brilliant reasoning,
etc.
- Blue, of a dark shade, represents
religious thought, emotion, and feeling.
This color, however, varies in clearness
according to the degree of unselfishness
manifest in the religious conception. The
shades and degrees of clearness vary from
a dull indigo to a beautiful rich violet,
the latter representing the highest
religious feeling.
- Light Blue, of a peculiarly clear
and luminous shade, represents
spirituality. Some of the higher degrees
of spirituality observed in ordinary
mankind show themselves in this shade of
blue filled with luminous bright points,
sparkling and twinkling like stars on a
clear winter night.
The student
will remember that these colors form endless
combinations and blendings, and show
themselves in greatly varying degrees of
brightness and size, all of which have
meanings to the developed occultist.
In addition to the colors mentioned above,
there are several others for which we have no
names, as they are outside of the colors
visible in the spectrum, and consequently
science, not being able to perceive them, has
not thought it necessary to bestow definite
names upon them, although theoretically they
are known to exist. Science tells us that
there exist what are known as "ultra-violet"
rays and "ultra-red" rays, neither of which
can be followed by the human eyes, even with
the aid of mechanical appliances, the
vibrations being beyond our senses. These two
"ultra" colors (and several others unknown to
science) are known to occultists and may be
seen by the person of a certain degree of
psychic power. The significance of this
statement may be more fully grasped when we
state that when seen in the Human Aura either
of these "ultra" colors indicates psychic
development, the degree of intensity depending
upon the degree of development. Another
remarkable fact, to those who have not thought
of the matter, is that the "ultra-violet"
color in the Aura indicates psychic
development when used on a high and unselfish
plane, while "the ultra-red" color, when seen
in the Human Aura, indicates that the person
has psychic development, but is using the same
for selfish and unworthy purposes—"black
magic," in fact. The "ultra-violet" rays lie
just. outside of an extreme of the visible
spectrum known to science, while the
"ultra-red" rays lie just beyond the other
extreme. The vibrations of the first are too
high for the ordinary human eye to sense,
while the second consists of vibrations as
much too low as the first is too high. And the
real difference between the two forms of
psychic power is as great as is indicated by
the respective positions of these two "ultra"
colors. In addition to the two "ultra" colors
just alluded to, there is another which is
invisible to the ordinary sight—the true
primary yellow, which is indicative of the
Spiritual Illumination and which is faintly
seen around the heads of the spiritually
great. The color which we are taught is
characteristic of the seventh principle,
Spirit, is said to be of pure white light, of
a peculiar brilliancy, the like of which has
never been seen by human eyes—in fact, the
very existence of absolute "white light is
denied by Western science.
The Aura emanating from the Instinctive Mind
consists principally of the heavier and duller
shades. In sleep, when the mind is quiet,
there appears chiefly a certain dull red,
which indicates that the Instinctive Mind is
merely performing the animal functions of the
body. This shade, of course, is always
apparent, but during the waking hours is often
obscured by the brighter shades of the passing
thoughts, emotions, or feelings.
Right here it would be well to state that even
when the mind is calm 'there hover in the Aura
the shades indicative of the predominant
tendencies of the man, so that his stage of
advancement and development as well as his
"tastes" and other features of his personality
may be easily distinguished. When the mind is
swept by a strong passion, feeling, or
emotion, the entire Aura seems to be colored
by the particular shade or shades representing
it. For instance, a violent fit of anger
causes the whole Aura to show bright red
flashes upon a black background, almost
eclipsing the other colors. This state lasts
for a longer or shorter time, according to the
strength of the passion. If people could but
have a glimpse of the Human Aura when so
colored, they would become so horrified at the
dreadful sight that they would never again
permit themselves to fly into a rage—it
resembles the flames and smoke of the "pit”
which is referred to in certain orthodox
churches, and, in fact, the human mind in such
a condition becomes a veritable hell
temporarily. A strong wave of love sweeping
over the mind will cause the entire Aura to
show crimson, the shade depending upon the
character of the passion. Likewise, a burst of
religious feeling will bestow upon the entire
Aura a blue tinge, as explained in the table
of colors. In short, a strong emotion,
feeling, or passion causes the entire Aura to
take on its color while the feeling lasts. You
will see from what we have said that there are
two aspects to the color feature of the Aura;
the first depending upon the predominant
thoughts habitually manifesting in the mind of
the person; the second depending upon time
particular feeling, emotion, or passion (if
any) being manifested at the particular time.
The passing color disappears when the feeling
dies away, although a feeling, passion, or
emotion repeatedly manifested shows itself in
time upon the habitual Auric colors. The
habitual color shown in the Aura, of course,
changes gradually from time to time as the
character of the person improves or changes.
The habitual colors shown indicate the
"general character" of the person; the passing
colors show what feeling, emotion, or passion
(if any) is dominating him at that particular
time.
The student who has read the preceding lessons
will realize readily that as the man develops
and unfolds he becomes less and less the prey
of passing passions- emotions, or feelings
emanating from the Instinctive Mind, and that
Intellect, and then Spiritual Mind, manifest
themselves instead of lying dormant in a
latent condition. Remembering this, he will
readily see how great a difference there must
be between the Aura of an undeveloped man and
that of the developed man. The one is a mass
of dull, heavy, gross colors, the entire mass
being frequently flooded by the color of some
passing emotion, feeling, or passion. The
other shows the higher colors and is very much
clearer, being but little disturbed by
feelings, emotion, and passions, all of which
have been brought largely under the control of
the will.
The man who has Intellect well developed shows
an Aura flooded with the beautiful golden
yellow betokening intellectuality. This color
in such cases is particularly apparent in the
upper part of the Aura, surrounding the head
and shoulders of the man, the more animal
colors sinking to the lower part of the Aura.
Read the remarks under the head of "Yellow" in
the color table in this lesson. When the man's
Intellect has absorbed the idea of
spirituality and devotes itself to the
acquirement of spiritual power, development,
and unfoldment, this yellow will show around
its edges a light blue of a peculiarly clear
and luminous shade. This peculiar light blue
is indicative of what is generally called
"spirituality," but which is simply
"intellectual spirituality," if you will
pardon the use of the somewhat paradoxical
term-it is not the same thing as Spiritual
Mind, but is merely Intellect impregnated by
Spiritual Mind, to use another poor term. In
some cases of a high development of this
intellectual state, the luminous light blue
shows as a broad fringe or border often being
larger than the center itself, and in
addition, in special cases, the light blue is
filled with brilliant luminous points,
sparkling and twinkling like stars on a clear
winter night. These bright points indicate
that the color of the Aura of the Spiritual
Mind is asserting itself, and shows that
Spiritual Consciousness has either been made
momentarily evident to the man or is about to
be made so in the near future. This is a point
upon which much confusion has arisen in the
minds of students and even teachers of
occultism. The next paragraph will also have
some bearing upon the matter.
The Aura emanating from the Spiritual Mind, or
sixth principle, bears the color of the true
primary yellow, which is invisible to ordinary
sight and which cannot be reproduced
artificially by man. It centers around the
head of the spiritually illumined, and at
times produces a peculiar glow which can even
be seen by undeveloped people. This is
particularly true when the spiritually
developed person is engaged in earnest
discourse or teaching, at which times his
countenance seems fairly to glow and to
possess a luminosity of a peculiar kind. The
nimbus shown in pictures of the great
spiritual leaders of the race is the result of
a tradition arising from a fact actually
experienced by the early followers of such
leaders. The "halo" or "glory" shown on
pictures arises from the same fact.. When we
again look upon Hoffman's wonderful picture,
"Gethsemane," we will experience a new
understanding of the mystic glow around the
head of the great spiritual Teacher whose deep
and true teachings have been obscured from the
minds of many of those who claim His name, by
reason of the ignorance of the generations of
teachers who have lived since His death, but
whose teachings are a living truth to
occultist's of all races.
Of the Aura of the seventh principle, Spirit,
we can say but little, and that little has
been handed down to us by tradition. We are
told that it consists of a "pure white" light,
something unknown to science. No man among us
has ever seen this light and none of us ever
will (in this stage of development). The sight
of this wonderful effulgence is reserved for
beings far higher in the scale than are we,
but who were once mortals like unto us, and
like whom we shall in due time be. "We are
Sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what
we shall be"; but we are on The Path, and
Those who have gone before send back cheering
messages to us. After long ages we are going
home.
Page authored by David West.
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