Aura Reading at 50: What my aura colours revealed | The Saffron Experiment

I blame Uma Thurman. Not entirely, obviously, but she was involved.

I was watching Chambers, the psychological thriller starring Thurman, when something about its supernatural storyline made me wonder what my own aura might look like. I’ve always been curious about spirituality, although curiosity and belief are two different things. At 50, however, I decided to investigate. With the help of AI, I generated an aura photograph, but what appeared on my screen looked less like spiritual enlightenment and more like Mystic Meg having a particularly colourful afternoon.

Or is it just a colourful excuse for a little midlife self-examination?

Spirituality wasn’t unusual in my childhood. My auntie and uncle, Tom and Irene, described themselves as faith healers. I’m not entirely sure whether we were related, but they were auntie and uncle regardless. I remember Irene placing her hands on my grandma’s back during what otherwise seemed an ordinary family afternoon. We’d already demolished the quiche, cucumber sandwiches and Black Forest gâteau. My memory has always been reliable where cake is concerned.

Tom and Irene believed in spiritual healing and energies we couldn’t see. I didn’t understand much of it, but neither did I find it frightening. Later, through my Persian family, I became familiar with cheshm zakhm, the evil eye, and esphand, traditionally burned in some Iranian households for protection. Then there were crystals, tarot cards and Hafez, whose poetry has left me wondering whether someone has been reading my diary.

I still wear an evil eye bracelet given to me by H’s sister, but not because I expect jewellery to manage my destiny, but because it reminds me of her. I haven’t seen her since 2018 and sometimes the sentimental explanation is sufficient without involving supernatural intervention.

My AI-generated photograph contained gold, yellow, orange, red, blue, purple, green and white which is quite a collection for one woman. In traditional aura interpretations, each colour carries a different meaning, but none of this constitutes scientific evidence about personality or wellbeing. I was just interested in whether any of those interpretations reflected anything recognisable about me.

Gold and yellow supposedly represent confidence, optimism and personal power. Confidence is a complicated business when you’re 50. I can know I’m perfectly capable and still walk into the gym feeling like the oldest, biggest woman there. Some days I’m comfortable in my own skin, but there are still days when the changing-room mirror feels very unkind.

Orange represents creativity and enthusiasm, which sounded more promising. I love writing, music, conversation and just getting excited about ideas before considering whether they’re practical. I’ve also been good at second-guessing myself, so maybe the orange was right.

Red, associated with energy and movement, was easier to recognise. I’m regularly in the red zone during gym sessions when I’m attacking a punchbag in Blaze at David Lloyd gym. Recently, I returned to Zumba after a break and spent an class concentrating on my feet. My coordination was questionable, but I was happy. For once, I wasn’t examining my body and I was enjoying what it could do.

Blue supposedly represents communication and insight, and as someone who notices changes in tone, words and behaviour, I could relate to that. Unfortunately, noticing everything isn’t always a blessing and sometimes I’d quite like my brain to overlook something I see.

Purple is linked with intuition and spirituality, which brought me back to Tom and Irene, my grandma and those childhood afternoons. Years ago, someone from Iran described me as extremely spiritual without knowing much about me. I remember being surprised, but maybe they had recognised something genuine, or they were just making an educated guess.

Green represents compassion and emotional balance. This one made me uncomfortable because I’ve spent years noticing what everyone else needs while overlooking myself. Empathy is useful, but absorbing everyone else’s worries can be really exhausting.

Finally, white supposedly represents peace and clarity. Given my ability to worry about something, stop worrying and then worry about whether I’ve stopped worrying, a little peace wouldn’t go amiss. I’d settle for a quieter head now and then.

Did the photograph reveal anything scientifically meaningful? No. It was an AI-generated interpretation, not a measurement of invisible energy, but it did give me an entertaining excuse to examine parts of myself I’d been neglecting.

At 50, I don’t need a colourful photograph to explain my personality, I know I’m happiest writing, dancing badly at Zumba, listening to Persian music and spending time with people I love. I also know I’m often too critical of myself. That’s what I enjoyed about the experiment. For once, I looked at myself without compiling a list of improvements. Mystic Meg would have surely approved?

Only if I were having a midlife crisis. Free, entertaining and worth trying with a healthy dose of scepticism.

The Saffron Experiment is my excuse to be curious about things that make me stop, wonder, spend money and occasionally question my life choices. I try them, investigate them and tell you what I think.

Occasional stories, experiments, discoveries and questions from Saffron & Cyrus.