An Exploration of the Chakras

In Norse mythology, there is a rainbow bridge called Bifrost that links the world of Men and the realms of the Gods, but there is another rainbow which bridges the physical and the Divine, and that is the system of the chakras.

Chakras are spinning vortexes of energy that sustain our spiritual bodies, as food and water sustain our physical ones. There are seven of them in number, though some traditions add to that number by also naming additional chakras at the feet and hands.

These vortexes are further connected to lines of energy called nadis, which create a network throughout the body. These vortexes and lines are vital to existence and good health, for “the freedom with which energy can flow back and forth between you and the universe is in direct correlation to the total health and well-being you experience,” and so any blocks in this energy flow in your chakra system will be “expressed as disease, discomfort, lack of energy, or an emotional imbalance.” 1

The first chakra is known as the root chakra and it is associated with survival needs, with the element of earth and the color red. Some people downplay this chakra, preferring to focus on the “higher” chakras, but it is from this chakra that the need to have the basic necessities of life comes, necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, protection and even the desire to procreate.

As any successful undertaking needs to stand on a strong foundation, so the root chakra must be in order and stay in order so that the rest may be built upon it. It is through the root chakra that you remain in touch with what is necessary and “real.” It is our connection to physical reality and mother earth and it is through the root chakra that excess energy can be grounded out.

This can be done through normal grounding exercises that most pagan traditions teach, or it can be done through physical activity such as walking, dancing, or even cleaning. This chakra is all about feeling alive and self-reliant. It is our anchor to the earth, without which we can feel lost or run the risk of living only in our heads.

When this chakra is unbalanced, a person is insecure about having their basic needs met. And, until your basic needs are met, it will be difficult to concentrate on other pursuits, including those of spiritual exploration and growth. You may also be uncomfortable with your own body and its needs or continually feel tired or clumsy.

It is the root chakra that is stimulated in some religious traditions in order to waken the kundalini, also known as the serpent power since it is depicted as a snake coiled at the base of the spine. When the kundalini is aroused, energy shoots up through the chakras and you feel an incredible rush of power and strength, strength enough to perform physical miracles and face incredible hardships. You feel intensely alive and aware and wildly creative for as long as this “rush” lasts.

But there is a danger to rousing this energy without proper preparation, because if any of your chakras are blocked or damaged in some manner beforehand, then this rush of energy—especially if you are not really ready for its effects, or if it is not grounded out properly afterwards—can further damage them or even leave them unnaturally wide-open. All of which can lead to mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion and other health problems, depending on which chakras are involved.

The second chakra is that of the sacral. Its color is orange and it is associated with sexual energy and the element of water. It is no coincidence that sex and desire have sparked so much creativity in the arts. This power is in constant ebb and flow and, like love and desire, it can strike incredible highs and lows just as emotions can inspire us to both the depths of despair and the heights of passion.

The sacral is where both your physical and spiritual bodies can be cleansed of impurities. It keeps things moving in our bodies, hence any problem that has at its core an imbalance of fluids means a corresponding problem with the second chakra. This also means needing to be fluid in how you handle stress in your life. The response of the root chakra to danger is the instinctual “fight or flight” reaction, but the sacral involves being able to handle change with more flexibility. People with a good functioning sacral can more easily “go with the flow,” and adapt to change.

After your basic needs are met at the root chakra, the sacral leads you to seek pleasure in life and connection to other people. This may be sensual or sexual in nature, an exploration of the senses. A well-operating second chakra means that you have a reasonable and balanced passion for life and what it offers to the five senses. An unbalanced sacral chakra may lead to addictive behavior, as you seek pleasures in such things as food, drugs, sex, alcohol and cigarettes, just to name a few. But as long as the sacral remains the central focus in your life, these pleasures can never truly fulfill, because they fade and you are left continually seeking more.

If you do not have a good grounding in your root chakra, then too much emphasis on the sacral can also create boundary issues between you and others, and a constant need to reach greater emotional and physical highs. But a functioning second chakra will lend itself to creativity and charm and exploration of the sensual that is sublime.

The third chakra is the solar plexus. Its color is yellow and it is associated with fire and will. It is here that we claim the power to say “no,” or “yes” to life and the world and what we want from it. It is here that we learn self-control and restraint and how to choose which battles we will fight with the world. To put our abilities and strengths behind getting what we want.

At the solar plexus, you learn to create boundaries, because it is a chakra of protection, courage, and self-assertion. It is also closely tied into your immune system, also a protective function. It is here that we realize just who we are and what we are about, and the focus is on building individualism.

However, if unbalanced, this same power can lead to controlling, if not downright egotistical behavior as you may believe you are better or more deserving than anyone else. It can lend itself to promoting power struggles between people, as each strives to have their own way and force others to bend to their will or tries to push their own sense of right and wrong onto everyone.

It is from the third chakra that you develop and hold onto your sense of self and come to feel effective and secure about yourself and life in general. The solar plexus is about being able to defend yourself and your beliefs, but not being defensive about them. It is also where the urge to compete arises, to be successful.

The first three chakras—root, sacral, and solar plexus—are the “hot” colors of red and orange and yellow, and through them one relates to the physical body and the material world. They all need to be in working order for one to be truly grounded and reach for what lies beyond.

The next chakra, the fourth, is when the jump to the spiritual begins, starting with the heart and leading upwards to an ever-expanding awareness of the greater world around us, including that which is normally Unseen.

The heart chakra is associated with the color green—though, when open, it also contains the color pink, as well, pink the shade of rose petals—and also with the element of air. It is through the heart chakra that we come to know our own souls, all we are and all we are meant to be. For through our heart chakra, through knowledge of our souls, we connect back to the Source of All.

There are many books out there about the heart chakra; more has been written about the fourth chakra and how to court it than any of the other chakras combined. Possibly, this is because it is the link between the physical and the spiritual, or perhaps because it is so closely intertwined with our own souls. Of course, it could also be because this chakra is about something of vital importance to us all: love.

It is the heart chakra that is coming into play with the dawning of the Aquarian Age. As humankind as a whole gears up to make the leap of faith and joy to a more spiritual bent, rather than fixating on the physical needs and desires of the first three chakras. From focus on basic survival instincts, sexual pleasure, and struggling for power to trust and belief in abundance and that all will work out exactly as it is meant to.

When the heart chakra is open and healthy, then one is filled with love and peace and innate understanding of your own self. Not peace, love and joy as singular goals or ideals to be lived up to or strived for, but an actual state of being—perhaps even an altered state of being—where you feel completely and utterly in harmony with yourself and the universe, because you are perfectly centered within your self and are intimately aware of your connection to the Divine.

The heart chakra is about freedom, freedom to be who you are meant to be. It is also about being secure enough to allow others to be themselves, for “no matter how much you have shared with, taught, sacrificed for, and loved someone, letting them be themselves is the greatest gift…and enables both of you to grow.”2

As there are ley lines and nodes of energy upon the earth, feeding energy into a web work across the earth, so the energy of the Divine comes into our solar system through the connective link of the sun. The sun gives both light and this spiritual energy to us, as the earth gives us our physical forms and material sustenance. When you open your heart chakra, then that energy can be called upon fill and infuse you—giving power and grace and greater understanding. It is by allowing this power to flow through you that you may gain the ability to heal with touch, as the power comes through the channel of your heart chakra and goes into the secondary chakras in your hands.

But you must be careful, because there is often a tendency to use one’s own personal energies in this manner. Your own personal energy can, of course, be used in this way. But the danger is that you will use it too much, rely on it too much, and end up burning out because of it. To give all and leave nothing for one’s self. This can easily happen to both spiritual style healers and Priests and Priestesses who do not know how or do not understand when to back off and take the time and care they need to renew themselves and their energies.

An imbalance in the heart chakra can be seen in those who may be called “bleeding hearts.” People who make the mistake of over-associating with others and other people’s problems or are filled with constant grief for all the suffering in the world. Who either give and give and ignore their own needs, until they find they have nothing left for themselves, or only give in order to get something in return, whether that be acceptance or control over others. Which means that you are not truly operating out of the fourth chakra because it’s being overshadowed by the continuing needs of the lower chakras.

You may also go to extreme measures to avoid conflict or other painful situations, simply because your heart is so open to the energies flying around you. Or you may have a tendency to focus only the good in other people, to only see their potential, rather realizing who they actually are at this particular moment.

Once the heart chakra has opened—which requires a leap of faith—it can lead upwards to the other spiritual chakras. Which, when also activated, can create additional altered states of consciousness.

The fifth chakra’s color is blue and is located at the throat. It is associated with the element of spirit and involves being able to step back from the world in order to more clearly see the bigger picture, to see the truth of things. Since it is connected to the throat, it also involves being able to not only see the truth with clarity, but to speak the truth with equal conviction. This ability to temporarily withdraw yourself from a focus on the cares of the world and your own private problems and worries allows you to more clearly see the proper course of action.

For example, if a good friend comes to you and asks you to do magick for them to get a better-paying job and find an affordable home, you will more than likely be quite happy to do so. However, if after you do magick for them and they get both the better job and the home, and then proceed to lose both because of choices and situations that are well within their own control—say, blowing off work and spending their mortgage money on several gambling trips to Vegas—and then they return to you and ask for more magick to be done for them, it would be best for you to consider it carefully first. Which may mean stepping back in order to see the bigger picture, what would be best for both parties, especially if the other person attempts to play on any of your own insecurities by resorting to emotional blackmail, for instance, in order to get you to help them again.

The powers of the fifth chakra can help you to better judge what you should do in a situation like this. Perhaps, the better choice would be to let them solve their problems on their own, so that they can learn the lessons in life that they need to learn, that they are here to learn. Or, perhaps, if you still wish to do magick for them, it would aid them more for you to work to get them a lesser-paying job, but one that will involve something they love and would actually want to show up to work for. Or that will lead to them bettering themselves in the long run. What people want is not always what will make them grow as a person, let alone as a soul.

The fifth chakra also requires a leap of consciousness. The energy of the throat chakra is quick and ultimately beyond control; you must learn to simply go with this energy, rather than attempting to make it do what you want it to do. This is a chakra of truth that goes beyond mere information, beyond the constraints that have been set upon us by society or childhood upbringing.

This chakra is where language is born, the ability to communicate. It is here that the energy of the other chakras can be expressed best, through singing, chanting, writing, acting, or any of the arts that appeal to you. Here, also, you can learn to be a teacher—to have both the discrimination and the ability to disseminate information, while also being able to step back from your own fears and needs in order to keep from potentially distorting the message you are giving to those you have chosen to teach.

If this chakra is unbalanced, you may argue or disagree simply for the sake of disagreeing. You could become a rebel, fighting against the mores of society, simply to be anti-establishment. Your life might even mean constantly going to extreme measures in order to prove how “different” you are from the rest of humanity. And you may also experience a lot of anxiety, especially if you do expend time and energy trying to control these sorts of energies or if you fear them overwhelming you.

The sixth chakra is associated with the brow—or, as some might say, with the third eye—and its color is purple or indigo. It is this chakra that opens you up to dreams and visions, the world of the imagination and fantasy, and the powers that lie beyond physical reality.

This is the chakra of signs and omens, insight and revelations. It is through the sixth chakra that you need to work when you lay out a tarot spread or work other forms of divination. All of which requires a necessary detachment, in order to more clearly view what it is that you are seeing. Here is the flash of intuitive understanding, knowing something simply because you do. Here is understanding without words. As the fifth chakra was about language, the sixth is beyond language. It is living in the realm of dream imagery and symbolism.

Time is meaningless here, as are the constraints of space. Here, the impossible is normal and the fantastical, mundane. But you must learn to focus your ability to dream when in contact with the sixth chakra, so that you are not using this power to wander in past memories or fantasies that do not further your spiritual development. This is where the idea of “creative visualization” truly comes into play, in a world beyond words or thoughts, a world where you are directly plugged into the realm of images and symbols and where change can occur simply from imagining it.

Problems at the sixth chakra can mean seeing yourself as more special than anyone else. Or you may run the risk of disengaging yourself from reality in a dangerous fashion. For this is the place from which mysticism is born, the gift of prophecy, but it can also lead to delusion and schizophrenia.

Unbalanced, the powers of the brow chakra can mean fantasizing about—and so bringing to life—your own worst fears. For example, if a devout Christian is very fixated on the idea of Satan and sin, they can end up using their own energy and power of imagination to inadvertently bring into being the very thing they fear the most. So their lives may end up being filled with temptation and sin and evidence of an Evil influence, since they have created it themselves. They will have made their own reality.

But the sixth chakra is beyond polarity, beyond concepts of good and evil. It is a holistic viewpoint where you can find yourself in what some traditions call the “astral” or “astral plane.” A world where belief is everything, for through belief you will create the very world that lies around you, making it either a place of joy and abundance and love or one of fear and doubt and betrayal. Which makes it all the more imperative that you have fostered the ability in yourself to be able to step back and become an observer of your own life. For then you can take a good, objective look at the life and world you are creating and choose to make changes, if needed.

These three chakras—heart, throat, and brow—are considered the spiritual chakras. Their colors are “cool” colors of green, blue, and purple, which emphasize the fact that they involve being able to step back from the cares and concerns of the material world. It is these chakras that allow you to see further and to pursue a greater understanding of the metaphysical realms, for the “sixth and seventh chakras enable consciousness to move beyond the physical universe.”3

The seventh chakra is not associated with a part of the body, but is considered to be just above your head. It is called the crown chakra and is usually displayed as being clear crystal in color, for it is a direct link to the Source of All and so contains all the colors of the spectrum. Perhaps, it was a vision of this chakra which inspired the idea of halos, a brilliant glowing light just above or surrounding the head of a holy man or woman.

The crown chakra is about becoming one with the Divine. Which, for most people, only happens when one is on the verge of death, because it grants complete and total understanding of the All. A perspective that is normally rather hard to keep, let alone maintain, while still in physical form. Very few people can reach or learn to sustain this level of awareness, because it requires a complete surrender of the ego and an utter lack of personal fear.

However, it does occasionally happen that people do have this chakra open for a brief moment or two and this may have a long reaching effect on their lives. For, though the memory may fade, part of you will always remember what it was like to be absolutely in touch with the Source of all things, understanding all things, if only for an instant or two.

When in touch with the seventh chakra, you will know with absolute certainty your purpose in life, your path, the meaning behind it all. In Lakota belief, attempting to follow this path is called “living in a sacred way,” which means living the life you were meant to live, in accord with Divine Providence. If you can live both in the world and yet removed from it at the same time, be in accord and full understanding of the Source, then you are one with the Ultimate Divine no matter how you call it.

Imbalances here usually occur because you either have lost touch with the lower chakras—and so end up risking disconnection from reality—or by following inappropriate teachers or teachings. Teachers who may claim that they can put you in touch with the Divine, only to end up leading you astray instead.

In general, this is because they may have made the mistake of adhering to and teaching a particular “mask” of the Divine, rather than looking to provide a way to have a direct experience of the Divine itself. Which is something that no one else can truly give you, though a good teacher can sometimes point you in the right direction and realize when to step back and get out of the way of your progress. No single way is going to be right for everyone.

All the chakras need to be crystal clear and in balance for you to keep your own balance. You need to be able to live both in the now, in the moment, fully aware of the senses, while, at the same time, finding yourself able to step back and remain detached from it. It is then that you will be able to be an observer, not only of others, but of your own life and your proper and natural place in the universe. It is this detachment that allows you to see disharmony, to divine the cause, and know how to best remedy it.

This is not a disconnection from the physical, as is stressed in some Christian faiths that believe that only the higher pursuits are those that are worthwhile, and that the needs of the body and of this world should simply be ignored or dismissed. In order to fully achieve a flowering of the heart chakra—the connection force between not only the soul and body, but the “higher” and “lower” chakras—you must keep the chakras concerned with physicality in tune and working well. Denying the physical does not lend itself to spiritual pursuits through the chakras, living in harmony with them does.

For example, disharmony can occur if you end up living primarily out of the lower chakras, but disharmony can also happen if you primarily live out of the higher chakras. When you may end up living only in your “head,” and so be unable to honestly find much enjoyment in physical existence. Whereas, if you exist mainly in the lower chakras, you might end up bouncing from pursuit of one pleasure or need to another and yet never feel really satisfied with anything.

Balance is the key, not stressing either this world or the next. Both worlds need each other, as the higher chakras need the lower ones and vice versa. As we need both the earth and the sun and the God and Goddess in order to survive and flourish. Working with the chakras, either in a Craft context or otherwise, is one way to bring yourself into accord with the physical and the spiritual aspects of your life, and open doors to the Divine.

There are many books that can teach you about the chakras, and how to work with them, but they are also only signposts in the end, the same as with most of the books currently available about the Craft. Experience is what matters at the last, not simple words on a page, for only experience can show you the way to becoming your Higher Self. Only experience can let you ride the rainbow to the Beyond, where all things may be known and all things are one.

1. David Pond, Chakras for Beginners, Llewellyn Publications, St Paul, MN, pgs 5-6. 2. Sue and Simon Lily, Healing with Crystals and Chakra Energies, Hermes House, Anness Publishing Ltd, London, 2003-2004, pg. 216. 3.  ibid, pg 232.

(c) Veronica Cummer