Capturing Color: The Many Hues of Aura Photography

The world around us is a colorful place, but your own aura may be full of colors that you've never been able to see — until now. An aura is the invisible spiritual field of energy that surrounds every living thing, from plants to people. This energy field is made up of electromagnetic signals and radiation measured using tools that assign it quantitative measurements like size and density. The aura is also believed by many to be a protective energy field that follows us all through life. We are all born with a specific base aura color, and the aura can adjust and change with your emotions and body, appearing to emit different colors. Aura photography is the practice of capturing these emitted electromagnetic colors using specialized camera equipment that produces a reading to provide insight into your energy field in that moment of time. Jeni Archer is the owner of Hearth Magick in Peterborough and describes herself as a professional witch, as well as an aura photographer, certified hypnotherapist and past life regressionist, spiritual alchemist, tarot reader and energy worker. She opened Hearth Magick a little more than a year ago after previously owning Gaia's Blessing, a metaphysical supply shop in Peterborough. "I'm happy to have many different things in my toolbox to help people," Archer said of her array of services. "Spiritual alchemy is at the heart of what I do. ... People are looking for spiritual connection that doesn't have to fit in a box. My whole jam is education and empowerment. Take what resonates and leave the rest." After having her own aura photos taken for many years in Salem, Mass., she decided to start offering the service herself, fulfilling a longtime wish. "Most of what I do is not tangible, but this is," she said. Archer uses an AuraCamera 6000 for Hearth Magick's aura photography, which captures a reading of the subject's unique electromagnetic emittance through two connected hand plates and interprets that signature through color and positioning. These types of cameras, she said, are not easy to come by and are costly, requiring a lease agreement and legal paperwork with a California-based company that is very protective of its technology. It's a large piece of equipment that sits on a tripod with a setup that includes special backdrops for light. Due to its size and space requirements, she travels with the camera to area expos and fairs, where she can more easily photograph customers. She will be at "For the Health of It! The Monadnock Region Community Health Fair" on Thursday, April 10, from 2 to 7 p.m., at Best Western Plus in Keene. A schedule of other upcoming events can be found on the Hearth Magick website. Once the photo is taken, it is developed in three to five minutes and then Archer provides an interpretation of the photo based on color placements. While there is not a written interpretation provided, customers are welcome to record Archer's verbal interpretation to remember her words. "It's fascinating to me," she said of the process. "There can be a whole rainbow. It's a tangible example of how important our energy is." She also offers a special price for before and after photos, which can show the visible effects and shifting of energy from undergoing a treatment like a sound healing ritual. Before photos might be red in color, showing an energy that is overwhelmed or exhausted, and then colors are transformed to a blue or green, she explained of the color shifts. While there's no formal training or certification process for aura photography, Archer's longtime work with energy is applied to the interpretation. She enjoys when she has repeat customers and they are able to see their aura changes after they've made efforts to heal and the sense of pride that they feel at seeing the results in the photo. An additional option for customers is to have their auric signature from the photo transformed into a wearable talisman by local artist Jocelyn Brown. Details and a link are on the Hearth Magick website. "It's a cool way to wear your energetic signature," Archer said. "It's a nice reinforcing of the self." For many, she has observed that the photos represent a feeling of acknowledgement or recognition. "Everyone just wants to feel seen and heard," Archer said. "So, when someone can see what they're going through, it's a validation when we're done." She urges anyone who is interested but feeling hesitant to not fear the results. She knows that it can require vulnerability, and she encourages but doesn't push. "It won't be black, I promise," she reassured of a common fear that she hears from customers. "It's your own electromagnetic field. We all emit them. It's just you, and in every single one there is beauty. Let me show you how beautiful the energy around you is." For more information about aura photography and other Hearth Magick services, as well as upcoming classes and events, visit hearthmagickshop.com.