TikTok is home to a seemingly endless supply of newly coined phrases and trends, from so-called ‘girl dinner’ to the 2023 buzzword that was everyone’s ‘Roman Empire’.
More recently, your For You Page might be overrun by that hilarious Kamala Harris soundbite, Sabrina Carpenter’s new song “Espresso”, or the #BlockOut trend targeting celebrities. While our collective attention span means that these trends will likely fade into obsolescence (which is sometimes for the better), one trend seems to be picking up steam.
Depending on what side of TikTok you’re on, the algorithm might have fed you the term ‘aura’. It has a basis in spiritual circles, and has been picked up by TikTok users for videos that range from hilarious to educational. So what exactly is the aura trend on TikTok, and how might you discover your own aura?
The aura TikTok trend, explained
Much like astrology, the concept of a unique colored aura emanating from each individual has attracted more spiritually inclined people to ascribe certain meanings to them. In layman’s terms, someone’s aura refers to the general vibe they give off and has led to the creation of aura-reading TikTok videos.
This side of the aura trend sees users link certain personality traits to the color of someone’s aura. For instance, a red aura is considered to radiate off someone who is filled with passion, determination and groundedness, while a yellow aura might signal a person with optimism, a sense of freedom and creativity. Within this TikTok trend, spiritualists have been sharing aura reading videos, elaborating on which each color means and revealing how other users might discover the colors of their own aura.
Naturally, given the break-neck pace at which these trends transform, the aura phenomenon has taken on a life of its own on another side of TikTok. This trend sees users go about their days while ascribing ‘aura points’ to certain activities. Used as somewhat of a fill-in for ‘cool points’, a person’s aura might be diminished in points if they are unsuccessful at daily activities like zipping up their backpack or their sweater getting caught in a door frame.
Usually, the loss of aura points comes from menial, everyday annoyances, with one user saying they lost ‘600 aura points’ by tripping over a sidewalk, and another losing points when their headphones fell out. It’s worth noting that the points system is completely made up, and seems to just be reflecting a general irritation with the little things that go wrong on any given day.
In any case, you can bet that the trend is catchy enough for this writer to immediately begin deducting aura points for the toast he accidentally burned this morning.
