Within the spirituality world nowadays, it’s pretty difficult to not have at least heard the term ‘Chakras’ before. Whether you are a master of all things spiritual or a complete beginner, I would say that having a basic understanding of Chakras and how they impact our lives and practices is essential.
There are Seven ‘main’ chakras within the human body, however there are approximately 114 chakras overall. This can very easily overwhelm anyone trying to learn, so we are just going to cover the main seven in this ‘introduction’ to chakra basics, along with what a chakra actually is and why it’s important to understand these.
About Chakras
Firstly, it’s important to establish what exactly a “Chakra” is. In simple terms, chakras are energy points in the body that are connected to the area they are found within. The word translates from the Sanskrit word for ‘wheel’ or ‘disk’ and have been used for centuries in Eastern Medicine and Healing practices. This is how some like to imagine their chakras and using this imagery can help in visualisation.
Every Chakra has a corresponding area of the body, colour, symbol, crystal, frequency and angel. These are what make them such useful tools in areas such as healing.
From a Tarot Readers perspective, I open my seven main chakras before every reading in order to feel both grounded to the physical and connected to source. This is just a personal practice that I have learnt over the years, and I find at this point opening my chakras has become a meditative experience to balance me before starting my work.
Seven Main Chakras
Root Chakra
Muladhara | Red | Physical Chakra
The Root Chakra, or Muladhara as it is also known, is tied to our physical selves, specifically our sense of stability and safety. When this chakra is aligned and balanced, we begin to feel truly grounded and secure both physically and mentally.
Sacral Chakra
Svadhisthana | Orange | Physical Chakra
The Sacral Chakra, or Svadhisthana, is again linked to the physical self. This Chakra represents our pleasure, sexuality, and creative expression. When this is in alignment, we can benefit from having elevated feelings of self-worth along with sensuality and creativity.
Solar Plexus Chakra
Manipura | Yellow | Physical Chakra
The Solar Plexus or Manipura Chakra is responsible for our personal power. Self-esteem and confidence go hand in hand with an aligned and open solar plexus chakra. It’s easy to visualise this chakra as a bright sun that clears away any negativity or low self-esteem.
Heart Chakra
Anahata | Green | Bridge Chakra
The Heart Chakra is often seen as the ‘bridge’ chakra between those that are linked to the physical self and those linked to the spiritual self. As the name would suggest, the Heart Chakra, or Anahata, involves love and emotional connections. If this chakra is out of alignment, it can be seen through many actions, such as putting others before yourself to your own detriment, or through feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Throat Chakra
Vishuddha | Blue | Spirit Chakra
The Throat Chakra or Vishuddha, is responsible for communication, and is the first of the Chakras that are connected more to the Spiritual realm. When in alignment it becomes easier to speak with, listen to and understand others. This will be done with a high level of compassion, and you can feel confident in what you are saying when the Throat Chakra is open.
Third Eye Chakra
Ajna | Indigo | Spirit Chakra
The Third Eye, or Ajna Chakra is often considered to be very important in the spiritual realm, especially for those working in areas such as psychics or healers that use intuition. That is not to say that only those who wish to ‘see’ situations or spirits can open and use this Chakra. This is an important chakra for elevated imagination, intuition and being able to ‘see the bigger picture’.
Crown Chakra
Sahasrara | Violet | Spirit Chakra
The Final of the Seven Main Chakras is the Crown Chakra, also known as Sahasrara. As the name would suggest, this Chakra sits on the top of the head, and is seen as the ultimate connection point between a person and the universe. It is considered the chakra of enlightenment and is responsible for a level of spiritual awareness and wisdom for a higher purpose.
Opening Your Chakras
There are many ways to open, cleanse and clear these Chakras, and with valuable tools such as Google or Youtube there is a lot of methods that can be found.
One of the quickest and best ways to Open or Align your Chakras is through meditation and visualisation. Simply imagine the Chakra (Either a singular Chakra you wish to work on, or going one by one from either the Root or Crown) and visualise it’s associated colour around the area of the body it corresponds to. I personally find this the easiest and quickest way to open my Chakras and with practice you can do this in only a few minutes.