I had an aura photograph done (and it is very blue).

So, my handsome assistant and I recently went to a small psychic fair. I’d never been to one before, so I figured a little, local one was the way to go. When I say “little,” I do mean little — there were only a few vendors and not many guests, so we had the opportunity to really browse and take in all of the artwork, mineral specimens, and assorted other good stuff without having to maneuver around crowds or budget our limited time between dozens of booths.

One booth offered aura photography. This isn’t something I’ve ever put stock in, but it was something I’ve nevertheless been curious about. Getting an aura photograph also feels almost like a rite of passage — if you’re inclined to go to psychic fairs and such in the first place, then you’re probably going to end up getting an aura photograph at some point.

The process was simple: Sit, breathe, relax, put your hand on a set of sensors, and get your photo taken. Quick, simple, and totally non-denominational and non-invasive. It’s like getting your birth chart done, but with more technology.

Auras are luminous fields of often-colorful energy around every living thing. According to some, the colors of these fields correspond to one’s personality, outlook, mood, and even physical health. The brightness, shape, and colors of auras are generally invisible to the majority of people, though some practitioners of various new age arts claim to be able to see them and there are several different techniques to train one’s eyes and mind to pick up on auras. Aura photography purports to capture this energy field and create a visual representation that anyone can see.

Once your aura photo’s done, you get a breakdown of the colors, their significance, and, depending on the photographer and their respective setup, a breakdown of your various other energetic characteristics. I got a very detailed report of my different energy centers, balance of yin/yang energy, and energy fluctuations.

In my case, my aura was primarily indigo, with some neat blue-greens at my head and feet, and pinks/purples at either side.

It would probably be a bit navel-gazey and not super helpful to do a deep dive into my own specific energy stuff, so I’ll refrain from doing so here. Suffice to say, it was intriguing enough for me to give it a deeper look. Not only did I read the full report (which was honestly eerily accurate), I also went looking for more answers.

Mainly answers to one question in particular:

So how does aura photography even work?

The “photography” bit is somewhat of a misnomer. The photograph of you isn’t where the information comes from — it’s mostly an aid for visualization. Instead, the actual info comes from the hand sensors.

This is in contrast to Kirlian photography, which is something completely else (and something I haven’t tried yet).

The hand sensors themselves pick up multiple different things. They’re essentially biofeedback electrodes, picking up on things like temperature, heart rate, and skin conductivity. The idea behind aura photography is that these factors are impacted by one’s energy meridians and flow, so the machine can extrapolate information about your aura from the data the sensors collect.

Once the hand sensors have picked up the information they need, the accompanying software renders it into a colorful image as seen above. These colors are superimposed on the photograph of you, and there you have it — your aura photograph.

(I did not include the actual photo of me and my aura, because it was humid and I was a sweaty mess. You get a rainbow egg and human silhouette instead.)

Is it real?

I mean, auras are very subjective. I’m not one to engage in solipsism, but you can never know if other people are seeing the same things you do. Even looking at something that should be objective, like a painted wall, can yield dramatically different interpretations. What you see as blue, someone else may see as aqua, cerulean, or cobalt. Someone else may only see a shade of gray or interpret it as a completely different color.

Skeptics say that auras are a fake idea. Believers say that’s wrong, and auras are absolutely real. There’s no way to completely, objectively prove either, so it’s kind of a choose-your-own-adventure thing.

Go to two aura readers, and you’re very, very likely to hear two different interpretations. People’s auras are also in flux. Even the most accurate reading or photo, therefore, will only be able to tell you how things look right now.

Would I plan my life around the results of an aura photograph? No. Did I nonetheless find the experience valuable? Yes.

How are aura photographs useful?

To me, aura photographs are useful just like many forms of divination are useful: They give you another angle from which to consider things. Since the information they present has a degree of randomness (or, at the very least, is based on input you can’t really control), they’re unlikely to present you with information that you’ve already thought of yourself.

It’s like when life coaches, counselors, and such started introducing tarot readings into their practices. This isn’t because tarot is necessarily a diagnostic or treatment tool. It’s because it’s a great way to get a new, unbiased angle from which to look at a situation. For example, if you’re having career problems and you keep pulling cards from the suit of Cups, you may start to recognize emotional or relationship aspects of your problems that you never considered before. It’s something that takes in a bit of chaos and spits out a new way to look at things.

This is what aura photography did for me. Seeing alleged weak spots led me to read about traditional methods for remedying these things. If nothing else, it has me adding more variety to my diet, trying new exercises, exploring different methods of meditation, and checking out different perfumes and colognes. Worst case scenario, I come out of this experience with some new recipes and activities that I enjoy.

That said, this shouldn’t be used to diagnose or monitor physical or mental illnesses. Some people claim that they can do so using various aura reading techniques, but these claims are dubious at best. By all means, combine energy healing with more conventional treatments, just don’t expect aura reading or photography to give you an accurate diagnosis. Get a second (and maybe a third or fourth) opinion from a doctor.

Would I do this again? Almost definitely! It was interesting and, like I said, surprisingly accurate at times. It’s something I could see doing every few years or so, as a way to mix things up and discover new angles to explore.