User blog comment:Zathronas/Speculative author: My top 13 Questions for Volume 3/@comment-78.42.186.25-20141026203754/@comment-67.1.120.162-20141029204122

Since Jaune, and apparently most civilians in Remnant, start out with "locked" auras I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that most people can potentially have a semblance, but most never really discover it. Since I'm guessing the average person's aura is locked, that means the average person couldn't use dust to its full potential or take a beating like the heroes can, either.

Semblances can probably be thought of as an abstract take on a defining aspect of a character's nature, a part of who they are deep down that doesn't change so easily (or can be discovered over the course of their lives). Ruby's speed could reflect both her hyperactive, genki-girl nature and her desire to want to literally be everywhere at once to save people. Yang's ability to absorb kinetic energy shows that she's able to take anything the world throws at her, and come out stronger. Pyrrha's control of polarity reflects how she is simultaneously capable of attracting and pushing people away; though she is admired for her abilities and accomplishments, she has rarely gotten close to people for those very same reasons. Weiss is a bit more dificult to figure out, but I like to think her glyphs represent her desire to continually push herself to the top and become "perfect". Glynda seems like the kind of woman that wants to be "in control" of pretty much everything, hence her telekinetic abilities.

I imagine that Jaune's semblance is more than just a "super shield" (since aura works as a force field already) but rather is representative of his developing "don't give up" attitude; based on what little we've seen of it I'm guessing it's like a "second wind", restoring both his aura and his body so he can keep on fighting. We'll probably learn more about Jaune's semblance, and the nature of semblances in general, in vol 3/future WoR vids