Tactile telepathy

"When he touches someone, he can read every thought the person has ever had."

- Entry on Aro's gift

Tactile telepathy is a special ability that Aro possesses; it makes him capable of reading people's thoughts by touching them.

Description
Aro can see all the thoughts, feelings and memories someone has ever had upon physical contact with them. The longer the contact, the more thoughts Aro is able to obtain. This gift makes him much more powerful than Edward Cullen's telepathy, as his gift can only let him hear the passing thoughts while Aro can look deeper into the memories.

This power is dangerous in a way that Aro can learn everything about his target by memorizing everything that he sees in their mind and use it against them.

Limitations
Unlike Edward, he can only read a person's mind once being in physical contact with them. Meaning he can easily become a target of danger if he is exposed to a threat. This explains why he needs bodyguards to protect him when he is facing a certain target.

Another limitation is that he has no penetrating capability with this gift, meaning he can be blocked by a mental shield such as Bella's.

History
In the past, Aro had used this power on whoever is thought to be a law-breaker and then determine if the proof they presented was enough to prove their innocence. On one occasion, for instance, Aro read the mind of a German vampire named Hilda after the Volturi accused her coven for drawing too much attention by creating several newborns. Aro saw the proof in her mind, but still accused her of being a villain and had most of her coven slaughtered, taking only Heidi into his coven.

New Moon
In New Moon, Edward visits the Volturi to ask them to kill him due to him being led to believe that Bella had killed herself. Aro reads his mind and realizes he has the same power as his, but less powerful and yet more effective than his own. When Bella and Alice arrived in Volterra: the Volturi's city, Aro notices that Edward cannot seem to read Bella's thoughts. He then attempts to test his power on her but fails as well. This realization leads Aro to theorize that Bella has some quite interesting gifts, but because Edward refuses to let her join their kind, she becomes a liability to the secret of vampires.

To be allowed to leave Volterra in one piece, Alice "shows" Aro a vision of Bella's future, where she will surely become one of them... soon.

Breaking Dawn
In Breaking Dawn, Aro reads Edward's mind and so grants access into every vampire's mind at the current moment, allowing him to learn of Renesmee's biological relation to Edward and Bella, as well as the presence of several gifted vampires he had not heard of. He also learns about the relationship Renesmee shares with Jacob Black, and the rest of the shape-shifters.

In the movie, Alice shows him a vision of his own demise and the end of his coven all brought forth by him because he did not retreat. The vision of his condemned future prompts him to leave the Cullens in peace.

Similar abilities

 * The_fight_wolfs_vs_newborns.jpg [[Black pack|Black]] and Uley wolf packs can hear each other's thoughts from a distance. This connection allows the packs to communicate and work effectively as teams.


 * Edward-306801_429619783747920_1537716435_n.jpg[[Edward Cullen]] can read the thoughts of others from a distance, which allows him to hear everyone's thoughts at the same time, but he can only hear the thoughts that pass at the moment.


 * Kate-311674_429620897081142_1923271342_n.jpg[[Kate]] can send an illusory electric jolt into others' minds by touching them.


 * Maggie-418234_429621080414457_931217352_n.jpg[[Maggie]] and Charles can sense if someone is lying.


 * Renesmeeuntaggedpic.jpg[[Renesmee Cullen]] can project her thoughts into others to communicate with them through physical touches.