Dear Julia:

My wife was told by a healer that she has a black aura. She is very cold emotionally, and standing next to her feels like standing next to a "black hole" - it's very draining, especially to sensitive people like me. This seems to have gotten worse over the years. Is there some sort of cure for this, or does our attitude determine our aura? I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks!
- Andy

Dear Andy:

I actually receive a lot of questions on this subject, most of them from people who have been told they have a black aura and are totally freaked out. While I have a pretty clear sense of what is happening in your wife's case, because so many people ask about this, I want to explore several possible explanations for "black auras."

Before I begin, it will be helpful if we remember that our auras are not separate from us, nor are they problems that need fixing. They ARE us, so the way they look simply reflects who we are at any given time.

You are quite right that a person's attitude can be read in their aura. Generally, the brighter and clearer the colors in the aura, the more positive and healthy that person is on various levels. Murky, dull colors denote lower vibrations, blocks, issues, negativity, etc. This does not mean that black is "bad." In fact, a clear jet black is often seen in people who are masters at working with energy. A beautiful black aura can signify mystery, power, magic, mastery, transcendence of ordinary reality, dignity and new potential. Black can also be consciously employed to uncover whatever is hidden, which can make it very helpful in psychic work.

Instead of reflecting light, black absorbs it. If we want to be noticed, we might wear something very bright and colorful, but if we want to be "invisible," (like a cat burglar or a ninja) we're wise to wear black. Remember back when you were in school and the teacher was scanning the room for someone to call on, and you didn't want to be picked? What did you do? You avoided eye contact and made yourself as small as you could be. That's the feeling of sucking your aura in. Whenever we want to "be invisible," we suck in our energy and erect a black shield around ourselves. For most people, this happens on an unconscious, instinctive level. Since the whole idea is to go unnoticed, it generally takes heightened awareness to notice people with clear black auras.

By contrast, dull black may signify duplicity, ignorance, fear, malevolence, grief, illness, blockages, exhaustion and guardedness. While dull black can suggest a "dark" or unkind nature, we'd be foolish to jump to conclusions, for it can also indicate that someone is depressed, or that they are lying or hiding something and don't want you to be able to read their energy. I believe this is the most common reason psychics sometimes tell people their auras are black - those people are either consciously or unconsciously trying to block the psychic from reading their energy, perhaps because they are trying to test the psychic, or they are afraid the reader will see too much.

When someone's aura is black most of the time, it could mean that they are generally very guarded. I imagine undercover cops, spies and CIA agents would benefit from such an aura. People who grow up in abusive situations or live with raging alcoholics learn quickly how to shield their energy from being read, and if they make a habit of being guarded like this, their auras could appear black.

Folks tend to be really freaked out when they hear they have a black aura, which brings us to possibility number two: you're being scammed. The "black aura" diagnosis is usually an element of a scam in which a (fake and unscrupulous) "psychic" tells you that your aura is black, which supposedly means you have an evil curse on you that is going to leave you alone, miserable and penniless if it doesn't kill you - BUT for a (steep) price, the psychic can remove the curse and then all your dreams will come true.

If a psychic tells you that you have a black aura or anything else that is really scary and then offers to change it for you for a lot of cash, grab your wallet and get the heck out of there. (Then instead of emailing me in a panic, forget about what she said - your aura was probably never black to begin with!)

Finally, we come down to black as a "bad" sign in the aura. At the extreme end of the spectrum, people who are terminally ill and are about to die can indeed have black auras. Again, this does not necessarily mean that black in the aura signifies impending doom; it can also denote depression, insecurity, "burnout" or exhaustion and pessimism. In general, we might say that black represents some degree of disconnection from God/life force energy.

People who are disconnected like this ARE draining. Black is an absorbing color, so instead of radiating their inner light, these people feel like "black holes" that are constantly soaking up our energy. (It stands to reason that by wearing black or mentally surrounding ourselves with a black shield, we can also protect ourselves from being drained.) These "psychic vampires" tend to be very insecure, though on the surface, they may endlessly boast and brag or whine and complain in order to keep our attention/energy.

Since you said that being near your wife is very draining, and she is very cold and unemotional, it does sound like she is a psychic vampire. This does NOT make her a "bad person" - it just means she has trouble connecting directly with life force energy, so she is unconsciously trying to conserve and absorb all the psychic energy she can. Just as someone physically unfit will move as little as possible, someone "emotionally out of shape" will try to expend as little emotional energy as possible.

Don't let the term "psychic vampire" throw you; these folks are not evil, they're not monsters, and they usually have no idea how they're affecting other people. It is also foolish to judge someone's character based on the color of their aura. The appearance of the aura is just one sign of where someone is coming from. It's like body language: if someone is smiling, it probably means they are friendly or happy - but not always.

While it sure sounds like your wife has a dark aura that is reflective of a general lack of warmth and compassion, I'm betting that this all began with some deep trauma that led her to begin guarding and protecting herself. In erecting an auric moat around herself, she has constricted her connection to Divine life force energy, and now she has to (unconsciously) try to suck energy from others just to survive.

Often people who have negative black auras have been traumatized in the past (in this life or another). They may be truly beautiful souls who are just too scared to get vulnerable by letting their light shine. Our instincts may urge us to reject psychic vampires in order to protect our own energy, especially since talking to them about these issues rarely helps because they are never conscious of what they're doing or why. (If they were conscious, they'd already be actively healing instead of guarding themselves).

While it can be hard to get through to folks who aren't ready to "see the light," what they really need is to feel loved and safe enough to come out of their self-imposed psychic prisons. It's not your job to heal your wife, of course, but hopefully, this event will inspire her to look for the emotional wounds hiding under that dark auric cloak so she can heal them and open up to the colorful realm of rich emotional experiences.

- Julia