Aura-Soma: Jewels of the Soul
by Kamala Thiagarajan

According to the principles of Aura-Soma, an esoteric, non-intrusive healing therapy that aims to integrate the mind, body and spirit, the colors you favor hold the key to uncovering the secrets of your soul. The word "aura" refers to the invisible but distinct electromagnetic field that envelops every living thing, and "soma" is the ancient Greek word for body.

The birth of the jewels
Vicky Wall, a British pharmacist, created the Aura-Soma technique in 1984. Although she was clinically blind at the time, Wall was able to see auras. She saw people as distinct "human rainbows," and whenever there were variations in the colors of a person's aura, Wall was able to perceive deeper disturbances in their physical and psychological planes.

To correct these imbalances, Wall created what she called "jewels," the brilliant and naturally colored Aura-Soma blends, made up of essential oils and pure water infused with flower essences. The blends also sometimes contain other natural ingredients, including plant and mineral extracts.

These blends are now the heart of the Aura-Soma philosophy of healing. In creating them, Wall said that other hands had guided her own and that she had received visions that urged her to go and "divide the waters."

Today there are 104 Aura-Soma blends. Seventy of these were created by Wall, and the rest were developed by another Aura-Soma practitioner, Mike Booth, who took over Wall's work at her request, after she died in 1991. New blends continue to be created to include different moods and hues.

Each bottle is dual-colored, with two distinct layers. The top layer is made up of organic and naturally colored essential oils and the bottom layer contains herb and/or mineral extracts in water sometimes drawn from the Chalice Well in Glastonbury, England. These blends are stored in crystal bottles, which add further energetic charge to the vibration properties of the oils. The healing energies of the blends, which are also referred to as Equilibrium Oils, are released when the bottles are gently shaken. This combines the ingredients to create a high-energy emulsion, which, when applied to the skin, is said to restore one's physical and emotional balance.

Aura-Soma blends come in combinations of seven colors, each of which is linked to a specific chakra, or energy center, of the body.

"The color that a person chooses indicates the ill-balance of that [associated] chakra," says Colette Garside, an Aura-Soma therapist and instructor based in the Netherlands. "It is this that gives the practitioner an insight into the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical well-being of the client."

Aura-Soma spa treatments
Today, spas around the world offer Aura-Soma sessions. A typical session lasts from 30-90 minutes, and includes a reading, consultation and treatment. The therapist will begin by asking you to choose four colors from a selection of Aura-Soma bottles. Your choice should be based on pure intuition, not logic, indicating the colors you are most naturally drawn to.

According to Aura-Soma philosophy, the first bottle you choose is your Soul bottle. It indicates your purpose in life, the reason you incarnated. The second, the Challenge bottle, helps you identify the gifts and talents you have been given and the difficulties that you face in realizing them. The third, the Here and Now bottle, reveals your present state of mind and shows you how you've dealt with the challenges you've encountered. The fourth, the Future bottle, allows you to achieve the materialization of long-standing dreams. Once the physical and spiritual significance of your choices are interpreted, one or all of the oil blends are massaged into your skin. The area of application depends on a number of factors, such as the sequence in which you choose the bottles and, of course, the colors themselves.

In the course of her life Wall was amazed to discover that people consistently selected bottles that matched the predominant colors of their auras. This led her to theorize, "You are the colors you choose." To Wall, it also seemed to prove that we instinctively know the energy requirements of our bodies.

"When a woman is pregnant she may crave a certain food because it contains a vitamin or mineral that her body requires. Aura-Soma works on the same principle," says Garside.

In Wall's book, The Miracle of Colour Healing (Aquarian Press, 1990), she describes Aura-Soma as a "non-intrusive, self selective soul therapy."

"This has become a mantra of the Aura-Soma philosophy, as it puts the client in control and [removes] the action from the therapist," says Garside. The therapist functions merely as an instrument to decode the clients' choice of colors, she adds, thereby helping them to better understand their own energetic needs.

Today, the use of Aura-Soma as a healing technique is widespread, with practitioners throughout Europe, Australia, the United States and Canada. More than 40,000 bottles are prepared each month and shipped worldwide from the United Kingdom.

"Aura-Soma is very well-known and is offered in many spas in Western Europe and Australia," says Bhakta Ruttiger, an Aura-Soma therapist at Mii Amo, a destination spa in Sedona, Arizona. "It is now quickly gaining popularity in the U.S. We have been offering it at Mii Amo for the past two years, and it has been very well-received by our guests."

Mii Amo offers two Aura-Soma Color Balancing sessions: a 60-minute reading ($165); or a 90-minute reading and massage treatment ($220). In both, after the client has chosen four blends, the therapist will explain what the colors mean and what the choice reveals, which colors are most supportive of her potential, and how to use the oils at home to bring balance back into her daily life.

Spa Ojai, located at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa in Ojai, California, offers private Aura-Soma consultations, as well as Aura-Soma Discoveries, a free, one-hour class that consists of an introduction to Aura-Soma and a brief, personalized reading.

"The class at Spa Ojai is extremely popular, especially with our female clientele," says Amy Allen, the spa's public-relations specialist. "Attendees often comment that the Aura-Soma readings assist them greatly in making personal and career decisions, leading to greater self-awareness and discovery."

The signature treatment at Sedona's New Day Spa, in Sedona, Arizona, the Body and Soul Reviver ($165), also involves Aura-Soma. The 90-minute treatment begins with a salt-and-honey exfoliating scrub and a hydrating facial mask, followed by an oil massage for the scalp and a relaxing soak with bath salts. As you relax, the therapist intuitively chooses an Aura-Soma bottle for you. A massage with the oil blend follows.

"We find that many people are now interested in establishing a deeper understanding with themselves and in nourishing their bodies," says Maneesha McClure, managing partner at New Day Spa.

The spa also offers the Rainbow Light treatment ($145). In this 90-minute session, the client is asked to select four Aura-Soma bottles that appeal to them most. While the significance of their choice is explained to them, they are given a full-body massage using the Challenge bottle.

Aura-Soma is proving to be a valuable addition to the spa experience because it can complement any other spa treatment, therapists say.

"I have found over the years that Aura-Soma is very versatile. It corresponds to the tarot, numerology, the Tree of Life [from] the Kabbalah, Ayurvedic, yogic view, Buddhist view, astrology, the I Ching, reiki, Color Puncture - basically any system can use something from Aura-Soma," says Garside.

Healing qualities of color
Therapists say Aura-Soma can help people of any age. It is valued by naturopaths, massage professionals, energy healers and astrologers, among others, who see it as an additional tool for understanding the physical, mental and spiritual ailments and imbalances of their clients. Each consultation is a process of deeper revelation - both of the client's personality and of their situation.

Artists benefit from it too, for enhancement of their comprehension of color. Stephen Weiser is a lawyer who has experienced Aura-Soma at Mii Amo. He says he chose the therapy because he realized years ago, after experimenting with painting and photography, that color stimulates healing.

"Everything was special about the session," Weiser says. "We first viewed a multitude of bottles filled with liquid of different hues. Selecting the colors that resonated with me felt like a very natural process. When I was massaged with these colors, I felt in sync with the universe."

Heidi Van Ert, Ph.D., is an artist and assistant professor at Westminster College, in Salt Lake City, Utah. She describes her Aura-Soma experience at Mii Amo as "profoundly healing."

"Throughout the entire session I felt a wonderful combination of excitement and deep relaxation," she says. "I loved choosing my four bottles—in fact, it felt as though the bottles chose me.

"It was as though the colors spoke directly to my soul to effect healing on all levels," Van Ert continues. "As an artist, I am inherently drawn to color and light, but this seemed like the color and light harmonized with the highest parts of my being."

On the physiological plane
Kathleen Hendrickson, a color-therapy consultant and psychotherapist, has more than 20 years' experience in the areas of self-empowerment and healing. She is also the author of Positively You! Tools to End Self-Sabotage (Treehouse Books, 2001). She believes that Aura-Soma offers healing at a deep physiological level.

"Our body cells hold memories of both positive and negative experiences," she says. "All these experiences have an impact on our mental outlook and affect us at a basic, cellular level. Aura-Soma is a wonderful way to gently and subtly work with our bodies to affect changes at cellular levels.

 "As the cellular changes seem to occur, we can work with transforming our mental outlook to assist our healing process," Hendrickson continues. "As the massage therapist is working on the cellular/muscular/physical level, I, as a psychotherapist, help the client integrate the mental process by asking her to talk about what is happening emotionally."

Practitioners of Aura-Soma point out that the technique makes no medical claims, but it remains an ideal way to explore your psyche and to release pent-up negative energy that could be draining you of your creativity.

Kamala Thiagarajan is a free-lance journalist in Madurai, South India. She writes about health and fitness, alternative therapy and esoteric healing, and has been published in six countries.