It’s complex, if I have to actually spell it out.

Detection spells will show colors and motion - with red being ‘evil’, and vigorous or random motion being ‘chaotic’. But that’s not to say that a being whose aura shows as swirling red is anything like what you’d consider Chaotic Evil.

But that’s just for detection. For spells like ... Dictum, for instance ... that affects targets based on their alignment, I have to admit it simply works like I say it does. As in, case by case, as GM, I make a judgement call.

Also, generally speaking, stuff like Smite simply works. Unless your god disagrees with what you’re doing, then it might not.

It’s worth noting that all manner of things can make your aura red, from being a selfish bastard to being a murderous psycho. Similar for swirling color - it covers everything from being impulsive to actually being the Joker.

It’s definitely not a perfect system, and not one others can just copy/paste (since it’s mostly internal to me), but thus far, it works. Never heard any complaints.