Kirlian Photography for Diagnosis
(Energy Emission Analysis)

Many people may have heard of Kirlian photography as a way of photographing auras - aura photographs are often a colourful souvenir from Mind Body Spirit festivals. The same technology of Kirlian photography is used quite differently in Colour Light Therapy as a highly accurate diagnostic technique.

Developed towards the end of the 19th century, Kirlian photography is a technique of capturing on film the otherwise invisible energy emissions radiated by all living things. The resulting photograph is a unique 'snapshot' of the energetic state of that person, animal, plant etc. in that moment and can provide a key to understanding providing you have the right map.

In Colour Light Therapy a black and white photograph is taken of the energy emission coming from a patient's fingertips and toes (see example photograph). The resulting pattern of black circles and marks contains a wealth of information about the person's physical (and sometimes psychological) health - both current and potential. The Kirlian picture can act as an early warning for problems that may not be physically present in the body but are showing as an energetic possibility in the pattern of a person's energy emissions - thus giving a guide for preventative treatment avenues.

So all this information is hidden within this mysterious picture - but how to decipher it? In the same way as an Ordnance Survey map has symbols, lines and shading to guide you through unknown territory, there is a complete map or topography of the physical body represented in the Kirlian picture. In Chinese medicine, the energy meridians running through the body were documented centuries ago. These energy meridians terminate in the fingers and toes and in 1973 German Naturopath Peter Mandel found the link between these energy pathways and the Kirlian pictures taken of hands and feet. Through the development of his diagnostic technique of Energy Emission Analysis, he was able to classify which finger or toe related to particular organs or areas of the body. For example, the condition of the heart and small intestine is shown by the Kirlian pattern made by the little finger, and the big toe relates to the condition of the liver, spleen and pancreas.

Looking at this map, various 'Kirlian phenomena' - blobs, gaps, flyaway points, an absence of marks - can be observed in different parts of the photograph and will give an indication to the therapist where the source of a problem may be located in the physical body. For example, someone having a migraine might be showing an absence of emissions around the big toe. This, coupled with lots of 'blobs' showing around the circles in the rest of the picture would guide the therapist towards a detoxifying treatment to help the liver to cleanse and relieve the root cause of the migraine (blobs indicate toxins being released).

As well as specific areas of diagnosis, the pictures also give a general overview of the energy flow in the body. Differences in the quality of the picture between top and bottom i.e. feet and hands (polarity) and left and right sides (laterality) show there is an imbalance in the energy flow. Energy flow equals health, energy imbalances lead ultimately to dis-ease of some kind. Treatments can be given to balance these differences and open up the energy flow in the body. There are also three general groupings of energetic types seen in Kirlian photographs and these pictures have very distinct overall styles. For example, a picture with very feathery circles, with lots of gaps, is said to be an endocrine type and that person would benefit greatly from hormonal balancing treatments.

After a treatment with Colour Light Therapy, another Kirlian photograph can be taken and, amazingly, the picture will have changed. It is possible to see immediately the effect of the treatment on a person's energetic state and then to see the potential for healing that this opening of the energy flow brings. For example, Kirlian phenomena showing the possibility of a tumour might be seen in the area of the picture related to the breasts even though it is not physically there in the body yet. Following a treatment, or course of treatments, these Kirlian phenomena have disappeared from the picture - the root cause of the possible tumour has been dissolved and it never actually appears in the body.

The changes seen in a person's picture after a treatment indicates how they have responded to the treatment, sometimes revealing a deeper layer of meaning in their energy pattern, thus guiding the therapist as to where to go next with the treatments at the next session. The clients can see for themselves that the treatment has worked, their energy has changed - it's there in black and white in their picture!

(Source: Colour Me Healing by Jack Allanach)