What Does the AuraCamera 6000 See?

Today we live in the Great Vibes epoch. Inherent yet ephemeral, vibes are difficult to measure. They’re the perfect concept for a period when “if you know, you know” is answer enough. Uncertainty is the fraught space where pseudo-prophetic practices like aura photography thrive. Still, who doesn’t want promises of self-knowledge, healing, and growth when we know what the problems are but change seems futile?

Last summer I visited Magic Jewelry’s two locations in Manhattan’s Chinatown, which specialize in feng shui, healing crystals, and aura photography. Display cases at both shops were crammed with crystals, stones, and various talismans related to Buddhism and other Chinese religions. In the window of the Elizabeth Street store is a classic feng shui protective talisman, a Later Heaven bagua. This octagonal mirror is a feng shui energy map, and it sits on a fabric background embroidered with flowers and dragons. On top of the bagua sit eight dark, ferocious stone frogs (thought to attract wealth) surrounding a clear crystal that to me looks like a smiling lion or goofy-faced deity. The object is labeled in Chinese as 財源滾滾—cáiyuángǔngǔn, which means “profits pouring in from all sides,” or, as my dictionary puts it, “raking in money.”