Lined up: Drawing a connection between chakra points

March 2, 2018 3:13 PM PT

Images of chakra alignments are colorful and eye-catching. Yes, it’s pretty, but what does it mean? To answer that questions, PACIFIC called upon Libby Carstensen, owner of Liberated Coaching and a core educator at The Chopra Center to help explain the seven different chakras.

Crown

Color: Violet or white

Symbol: Lotus with 1,000 petals

Location: At the top of the head

Qualities: “This is the connection to everyone and everything, including the divine. There is a physical connection to the cerebral cortex, nervous system and pituitary glands. Remember, you have started at the bottom rung of the ladder and worked your way up. When you reach the crown, you feel loving kindness and a connection for something bigger than ourselves. It is beyond the little ‘I’ and connecting to the larger ‘we’.”

Third Eye (Brow Chakra)

Color: Indigo

Symbol: Two large petals, circle containing a down-facing triangle

Location: On forehead, between the eyebrows

Qualities: “This is the connection to your highest, all-knowing self. We all have that intuition inside guiding us, whether loud or quietly, and when you go in the opposite direction, you know. This chakra is about harnessing our unique gifts and talents, and expressing those out into the world.”

Throat

Color: Blue or turquoise

Symbol: 16 petals, circle containing a down-facing triangle containing a circle

Location: Throat

Qualities: “This chakra is about clear speech, understanding and using the power of words, with less talking and more listening. The shadow archetype is the silent child which we carry into our adulthood. This chakra is about giving that child a voice. It can be angry at first but liberating.”

Heart

Color: Green

Symbol: 12-petaled lotus, circle containing two intersecting triangles

Location: Heart

Qualities: “This chakra is about giving and receiving love, compassion and understanding, and a dynamic exchange of energy. When out of balance we are giving more than receiving. It is also associated with the lungs, immune system, heart, unconditional love and how connected you feel in your relationships.”

Solar

Color: Yellow

Symbol: Ten petals, circle containing down-facing triangle

Location: Solar plexus

Qualities: “This is our powerful energy center, the get-it-done chakra, and deals with our ability to take intentions and turn them into manifestations. If out of balance, anger, frustration, victimization can manifest. It is also associated with digestion, both of food and life experience.”

Sacral

Color: Orange

Symbol: Six petals, circle containing a crescent moon

Location: A few inches below the belly button

Qualities: “This involves the creative and sexual, and where we tap into the flow. It is our pleasure center, not only sexually, but our ability to be present, and be alive in the moment and feel joy. Imbalance can lead to addictive behaviors, compulsion, guilt, shame, paranoia, sexual dysfunction and blocked creativity.”

Root

Color: Red

Symbol: Four red petals, square with a down-facing triangle

Location: Base of the spine, tailbone

Qualities: “It is our connection to the physical plane and the earth. It is about grounding and meeting our base needs, like safety and security. It also refers to financial worries, and fear, like the fear to move forward and of the future.”