Unusual Abilities (Wheel of Time) - Aura Viewing

Aura Viewing

Elmindreda Farshaw, better known as Min, has the unusual ability to see "auras" about a person that reflect future events. She has had this ability since birth and does not understand how it works, only that whatever she sees will come to pass one way or another. Hence, that the images she saw of Moiraine Damodred never came to pass before Moiraine's supposed death was a distinct sign that Moiraine was not, in fact, dead.

The images are not always around a person, and some people never have the images surrounding them. Min may very well be the only person who has ever been able to see them - there are no recorded examples of anyone else with her ability, though some Aes Sedai have the abilities of a Dreamer or the Foretelling, both of which are similar in that they take the form of prophecy. However, the few Aes Sedai who know of Min's ability assert that it is not related to the One Power, and Min has never been known to channel.

The images Min sees vary and are often open to interpretation; her visions of Siuan Sanche and Gareth Bryne are simple and warn that the two must always stay close together or else both will die (this eventually comes to pass during the Seanchan raid on the White Tower; Bryne kills an assassin hidden in the shadows before Siuan realises he has been poisoned without his knowledge). On the other hand, Min cryptically sees a falcon and a hawk around Perrin Aybara, which foreshadows the rivalry between Faile and Berelain for his affections, though Min cannot make sense of it. The cryptic nature of her viewings means Min has become unusually good at deciphering prophecies such as The Karaethon Cycle to the point where she can correctly interpret passages that have been ambiguous for centuries. However, she considers her ability to see auras to be more of a curse than a blessing.