Colour's Role in Your Wellness—What Colour is Your Aura?

We talk about being in a black mood, seeing red, and feeling blue, but is there anything to these colourful phrases?

Some folk believe that colour has a profound effect on our wellbeing, whether through activating chakra colours, identifying the swirl of aura fields, or using the hue of coloured crystals to energize your body and mind. Is there something to this?

The Rainbow Chakra

The Sanskrit word chakra (meaning ‘wheel’) refers to the body's energy centres. In Indian mysticism, there are seven main chakra points, each in a different location, and each with a different colour. 

Working up from the base of your spine to your head, the key chakras and their colours are:

• Root – red
• Sacral – orange
• Solar Plexus – yellow
• Heart – green
• Throat – blue
• Third Eye – dark blue/purple
• Crown – violet/white

The chakra colours aren't chosen at random. They reflect the vibrational energy of each point, and flow into each other like a rainbow. They're also extremely symbolic. Our root chakra, the foundation of our being, is a deep red. It's a strong, solid colour that gestures to passion and vitality. The colour of blood, this is our grounding life force.

The sacral orange hue is for playfulness, and related to our sexuality and creativity. Located just above our gut, it's also considered our emotional centre. Moving further up, our solar plexus is right at our centre. It's where we find our confidence and glows a bright, energetic yellow—just like the sun sitting at the centre of the universe.

The green of the earth is also the green of the heart chakra. It is, of course, connected to love but it's also strongly related to healing and wholeness. 

Both the throat and the third eye chakras have a blue colour. The throat is a light blue, signifying truth, communication, calm, and purity. The third eye is a darker blue, similar to purple. Just as the colour is deeper than ordinary blue, this chakra point is about a deeper connection to our spiritual selves. This is where our insight and intuition stem from.

The final chakra point, the crown at the top of the head, is referred to as both white and violet. It's also sometimes referred to as a gold colour. This is the chakra of higher consciousness, it encompasses mystery, mysticism, and cosmic awareness.

Chakra Cleansing with Crystal Colours

If you're drawn to a particular colour, or sensitive to another, it might be a sign that your chakras are out of alignment. This kind of imbalance blocks the body's energy flow, according to Holistic wellness therapist Lilla Martorana, who explains—

“I like to think of each chakra as a mini-computer, programmed to do certain tasks that help our emotions, thoughts, and personal growth. Sometimes those programs need to be pointed in a new direction to get us where we want to go and that’s where chakra balancing comes in.”

Martorana says crystal colours can be used to help restore the chakras and adds—“Crystals can be very powerful and are very sensitive. Crystals, like all things, have an energy field and their different energies can be used to balance/enhance our body's energies. Crystal energy, as colour energy, can help to awaken our awareness, not just of the physical imbalance, but awareness of the psychological, spiritual and emotional aspects of ourselves.”

Aura Imagery

When healers refer to a person's 'aura', they're talking about a visual energy field surrounding that person. The colour, or colours, of this spiritual swirl are thought to indicate a person's emotional and physical state.

Auric and chakra intuitive Donna Fairhurst explains— “Your aura projects beyond your body, and is consistent with the energy in your body. If your body is diseased, it will show up in the auric field.”

Aura healers 'read' a person's aura to unlock where they might be having difficulty and bring balance back to their mind and body. 

“I’ve always been able to see auras,” says Fairhurst. “I can see where there are weak areas or deficiencies in the auric field. The colours are the same as the chakra colours, but the depth and the strength of them can change, depending on your emotions or your health.”

If Fairhurst sees weak shades, black colours, or dark spots, it’s a clear sign that something’s wrong. She explains— 

“For a person in perfect health, the auric field is a beautiful, balanced rainbow from top to bottom.”

Using Colour for Self-Care

The visual world matters. Try wearing a bright yellow sweater next time you're in a bad mood and see if it helps. Carry a crystal that speaks to you. Wear your birthstone around your neck.

“Colours and emotions are closely linked,” says Martorana. “Warm colours can evoke different emotions than cool colours; and bright colours can create different feelings than muted colours. By understanding the effect colours have, you can influence and control your surroundings.”

She suggests warm tones like red, orange, or yellow when you need an energizing boost, blues and greens if you're feeling anxious and need a soothing influence, and purple to spark creativity. Martorana says the colours we choose every day—for our homes, our accessories, our clothing—tell the story of who we are, and what we want—

“I strongly believe that colours are a reflection of, and reaction to our needs. By using colours that we are drawn to, they help us to achieve the positive experiences and outcomes that we seek. Many of us take colour for granted, yet every colour we choose is revealing—from the clothes we wear to the colour of our front door. Colour isn't just something we see, but something we feel, experience, and respond to every waking moment of our lives.”

Fairhurst has some tips for promoting wellbeing through colour. She says pink, lavender and purple are joyful colours that signal you’re in spiritual alignment. Need to communicate better? Choose blue hues. Redecorating your office? Pick a combination of yellow, blue and orange with elements of green to spark creativity and increase productivity. 

She says it’s important to cultivate a space that resonates with you, and provides a colourful pick-me-up—

“I surround myself with colours. Anywhere I turn in my office there is something beautiful, colourful and inspiring. Follow your intuition, follow the colours and follow the energy.”

Which Doctor has many practitioners who work with auras, colour, and chakras, connect with one of them to see where you’re stuck, and where you can add a splash of colour to your life.

Catherine Morris

Writer

Catherine Morris is an award-winning journalist with a bad case of wanderlust and a passion for all things health and wellness. Originally from Northern Ireland, she worked as a news and feature writer for media outlets in the UK, South Africa, France and the Caribbean before settling in Canada. Catherine now lives in Alberta with her husband and rescue mutt and spends her time happily exploring the great outdoors with both.