How to Pronounce Aura, Meaning Examples, and More

I’m very excited to give you a special English language lesson today: How to pronounce aura — plus two different definitions and aura meaning examples… illustrated by hand-drawn cartoons! Why is this particular lesson so special to me?

Well, teaching about aura pronunciation is the perfect confluence of two of my passions. First I’ve been an English teacher and artist for nearly two decades, hand-illustrating and explaining such ELA concepts as “Types of Irony.”

Second, I’ve been a Reiki energy work practitioner since 2018 — a field which is closely related to the concept of auras and vibrational fields. This means that in the section where we talk about the various meanings of the word aura, I’ll be pulling from first-hand experience on the topic. Ready for the lesson? Let’s go!

Aura Meaning #1

Before we teach about its pronunciation, what does aura mean? Well, the word has two main definitions. First, aura refers to the general atmosphere, “feel,” “vibe,” or energy around someone or something. (Note that the spelling is aura, not ora — a much less common word that has a totally different meaning.)

Definition #1 Aura Examples in Sentences

As an example of this aura definition, my illustration above says, “She has an aura of excitement around her.” This means that whenever a person is around this woman, they feel a thrill of excited energy coming off her. (I’ve illustrated this zest by drawing a sparkly yellow aura, meaning if you were around the woman’s excitement, you’d almost feel it! Often auras are “catching,” in the sense that the energy around that person transfers to others as well.)

Here’s an example, using “aura” to describe the energy or “feel” around a place: “The ocean has an aura of mystery to it; you never know what lurks beneath the waves!” (See my octopus drawing tutorial for instances of deep sea creatures…)

Aura Definition #2

Second, the word aura can have a more New Age and spiritual meaning, as with chakra balancing. In this definition, “aura” often refers to a mystical cloud of colored light around a person which reflects their characteristics and energetic vibration.

In my Reiki practice, I can often see a person’s unique aura colors behind my closed eyes the moment I do my first energy work hand placements on them. As an example of aura interpretations in this energy work context, I interpret an orange aura meaning as associated with the Second Chakra: the energy center of the body associated with creativity and the senses.

How to Pronounce Aura

Now we get to the original question, and can at last answer how to pronounce aura! Unlike our lesson on “how to pronounce chakra,” this one is actually quite straightforward.

The word aura is pronounced in English like: “AW-ruh.” The “aw” sounds a bit like the “ou” in “pour” or the “or” in “horse” — less like the drawn-out “aww” you say when you see something cute. Below, I’ve recorded a video with audio of me pronouncing the word correctly — while showing a time-lapse film of my drawing process for these illustrations.

VIDEO: Pronouncing the Word Aura

https://youtu.be/_VNoJmKa7fU

More Aura Examples

If you’re interested in learning more about the energy work associations of auras, check out my series on chakra colors, which dives deeply into everything from a purple aura meaning to the beautiful green aura meaning, and more.

What I’ve always found so fascinating about aura colors is that the meanings may not be what you first thing. For example, many people leap to conclusions that a black aura meaning is negative, but in fact its interpretation is likely that it’s associated with the rich and deep Earth Star Chakra, and indicates powers of growth and generation. Cool, right?

Aura Pronunciation, in Sum

I hope this article and video on the various aura meanings, along with how to pronounce aura correctly in English, have been useful and enjoyable. As you can tell, this realm is a great passion of mine (see my article on Reiki pronunciation for another example of the confluence of interests), and I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have about it! Do share…

Want more? Check out my article on the blue aura meaning, as well as the white-gold aura associated with the Eighth Chakra, the Soul Star Chakra.