Mapping the Soul: Aura Photography & My Journey
I had no plan. No destination. Nothing perfectly mapped out. I had simply heard the advice to “follow your joy” and decided to listen while wandering the UFO Festival in my new little town of McMinnville, Oregon.
The parade was incredible, and honestly, some of the spectators were dressed even better than the people in it. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a tiny yurt tucked between the vendors. I felt an immediate pull. That was it.
I met Sarah, and I instantly knew I was about to experience something meaningful. The yurt housed an aura camera, and stepping inside I felt seen, grounded, respected, and genuinely held.
Have you ever wondered what your energy might look like if it became visible?
While aura photography appears mystical, the process itself sits at an interesting intersection of human biofeedback, energy interpretation, and spiritual symbolism.
What I didn’t expect was how clearly these photos would track different phases of my life, from a profound plant medicine ceremony in 2021 to this strange and beautiful season of alignment, creativity, and transformation unfolding now.
Whether viewed as a tool for self-discovery or simply a fun and intriguing activity, aura photography invites participants to explore the fascinating interplay of their emotional energies and spiritual essence.
The Science (and Metaphysics) Behind the Lens
Aura cameras, like the widely used AuraCam 6000 created in the 1970s by Guy Coggins, utilize advanced biofeedback technology. The process uses science-based sensors to create a unique spiritual portrait:
The Sensors: You place your hands on two metal plates equipped with sensors that measure your skin's electrodermal activity, temperature, and electrical conductivity.
The Reading: The sensors pick up your vibrational frequencies at acupressure points that correspond to your Ayurvedic meridians.
The Photograph: During a long exposure, the camera first snaps a traditional Polaroid portrait. It then uses the data from the sensors to superimpose the color gradients representing your energy directly onto the instant film.
Decoding the Colors: A Guide
In aura readings, each color carries a specific emotional, energetic, and spiritual vibration. Because human energy is fluid and constantly shifting, aura colors can change from day to day depending on your emotional state, environment, physical well-being, and spiritual growth.
Whether viewed as a tool for self-discovery or simply an intriguing experience, aura photography offers a unique glimpse into the relationship between emotional energy, embodiment, and spiritual essence.
Red → passion, ambition, vitality, grounding, life-force energy
Orange → creativity, joy, emotional expression, sociability
Yellow → confidence, optimism, intellect, personal power
Green → healing, balance, compassion, connection to nature
Magenta → unconventionality, deep creativity, and spiritual transformation.
Blue → truth, intuition, sensitivity, communication, peace
Purple / Violet → spiritual awareness, imagination, psychic sensitivity, deep intuition
White → spiritual connection, divine protection, harmony, energetic clearing. Orbs are often interpreted as guides, angels, or unseen support
How to Prepare for Your First Aura Photography Session
If you want to get your own photo taken, keep these tips in mind for the most accurate “vibe check”:
Clear Your Energy: Take a few deep breaths and center yourself before stepping up to the camera. Aura readings can easily reflect the energy you’re carrying in the moment.
Dress Intentionally: Wear comfortable clothing that feels authentic to you. Avoid bulky accessories or heavy jewelry that may interfere with the biofeedback plates.
Stay Open-Minded: Aura photography is highly personal and subjective. Approach it as a reflective and creative tool for self-awareness rather than something rigid or diagnostic.
Stepping into that little yurt didn’t feel accidental. It felt like confirmation that I was exactly where I needed to be. Whether you’re seeking spiritual insight or simply a unique moment of self-discovery, aura photography can become a fascinating mirror for the soul.
The Evolution of Energy: Comparing My Photos Over Time
The most mind-blowing aspect of aura photography is watching your inner growth manifest visually. Tracking my photos over the last few years has provided an incredible timeline of my healing journey, moving from pressure to liberation, and finally to pure integration.
1 & 2. @igniteyouraura Denver, CO 3. @mystic_aura_photography McMinnville, OR
2021: Plant Medicine & Aura Photography
My relationship with aura photography began in 2021 when I had photos taken immediately before and after a sacred plant medicine ceremony.
The first image felt almost alive. Deep reds and intense warmth flooded the frame, reflecting tremendous life-force energy, creativity, transformation, and pressure building inside my system. Looking back, it felt as though my soul was expanding faster than my body and voice could keep up with. I felt exposed, overwhelmed at times, and it was difficult to be in community while so much change was moving through me.
Then came the ceremony.
During the journey, I experienced a powerful voice activation and found myself singing throughout much of the experience. When I later looked at the second image, the energetic shift felt undeniable.
The compression in the field had softened. Yellow and gold expanded throughout the upper half of the aura, reflecting greater openness, expression, confidence, and embodiment. The fire was still there, but it was moving differently.
What changed most wasn't the amount of energy I carried.
It was my relationship to it.
Less force. More flow.
Less pressure. More presence.
Looking back, the images captured a transition from activation into expression.
May 2026: Integration
Fast forward to May 2026 during the Taurus New Moon and the annual UFO Festival in my new hometown of McMinnville, Oregon.
Following my curiosity led me into a small aura photography yurt where I unexpectedly received another reading from Sarah, a Reiki practitioner filling in for Mystic Aura Photography. The entire experience felt strangely fated.
When I compare the 2021 and 2026 images, what stands out isn't the colors themselves.
It's the shift from intensity to coherence.
Speaking purely from an energetic and symbolic perspective, what stands out most in the 2026 image is integration rather than activation.
The first thing my eye goes to is the strong red at the base of the field. To me, it reflects someone who is not floating off into spiritual concepts but actively bringing energy into the physical world. There is life-force, vitality, embodiment, and a connection to creating something tangible.
The green through the heart area feels significant. It doesn't read as healing needed. It reads as a heart expanded through experience. There is a softness there that balances the intensity below. Compassion, connection, receiving, and a greater capacity to remain open while staying grounded.
The yellow and gold through the solar plexus feel more settled than they did in 2021. Less proving. More knowing. Confidence that comes from lived experience rather than effort.
What fascinates me most is the upper field. The indigo and violet tones above the head are pronounced and often associated with intuition, spiritual connection, and expanded perception. Rather than searching for answers, the field feels like someone learning to trust the answers already arriving.
The white orbs caught my attention as well. Practitioners interpret them in many different ways. Some see guides, some see supportive energy, and some see moments of heightened spiritual activity. What stood out to me was their placement between the grounded lower field and the intuitive upper field, almost like a bridge connecting the two.
The overall impression I get is not "more spiritual."
It's more integrated. The same life-force. The same creativity. The same fire.
But now there is more coherence between intuition and embodiment, spirit and matter, vision and action. Looking at the image, it feels less like a portrait and more like a reflection of the season I am living through now. Not expansion for the sake of expansion. Integration. Trust. And bringing what I've learned fully into life.
Work with Me
If you feel called to explore your own elemental blueprint, spiritual awakening journey, or ways to bring more presence, beauty, and intention into your life, you can book a reading or an immersion.
Soul Maps & Live Integration
I offer recorded readings alongside a comprehensive chart summary I call a Soul Map. To help integrate the experience more deeply, each reading is followed by a live session where we explore what surfaced, work with your charts, and begin grounding the information into everyday life before any in-person experiences.
In-Person Retreats & Costa Rica Immersion
If this kind of remembering speaks to something inside you, I also host private in-person immersions and retreats rooted in nature, beauty, presence, and authentic connection. These experiences are designed to help you slow down, reconnect with yourself, and hear your own inner voice more clearly again.
This November, I’ll also be hosting a group immersion in Costa Rica. Jungle, ocean, movement, beauty, deep conversations, nourishing food, nervous system exhale, and space to simply be human again.
You can choose one, both, or neither. Your body already knows what is calling you deeper.
I look forward to connecting.
XO Amy
