Getting to Know Your Chakras, Up Close and Personal ~ Plus, learning how to balance those suckers

 

The Chakras ~ the following list includes seven of the major energy centers found in the human body, running along the course of the spine, in constant circular movement, affecting our physical body and it's organs, as well as our spirituality, emotions, and soul-full well-being.

 

Root Chakra

• Location:  in the perineum at the base of the spine

• Color:  red

• Element:  Earth

• Essential Oils:  cinnamon, garlic, sandalwood

• Crystals:  ruby, bloodstone, hematite

• Planet:  Earth, Saturn

• Astrological Connection:  Capricorn

• Qualities:  patience, structure, stability, security, the ability to manifest your dreams

• Life Issues:  to value the material as sacred

• Spiritual Activities:  noticing the beauty and perfection of the natural world

• Positive Archetype:  the nurturer

• Negative Archetype:  the victim

 Candle Meditation

Root Chakra 

 Unleash your ability to meet your
needs with independence and joy.

Remove obstacles to success
and good fortune.

Embrace material gain with
enthusiasm and confidence.

Affirmations:
I honor the survivor in me.
I embrace my independence.
I honor my strength.
I honor the warrior within.

   

Sacral Chakra

• Location:  two inches below the naval and two inches into the pelvis

• Color:  orange

• Element:  Water

• Essential Oils:  jasmine, neroli, orange blossom

• Crystals:  carnelian, tiger's eye, onyx

• Planet:  Jupiter

• Astrological Connection:  Cancer, Scorpio

• Qualities:  well-being, sexuality, sensuality, pleasure, abundance

• Life Issues:  to know that who you are and appreciate what you have; to enjoy pleasure for the sake of pleasure with out guilt; to connect to the universal life force

• Spiritual Activities:  meditation, celibacy, fasting, tantric sex

• Positive Archetype:  king/queen

• Negative Archetype:  martyr

 Candle Meditation

Sacral Chakra 

 I will celebrate the fertility
within myself, both physical
and creative.

I will celebrate and
honor my sexuality.

I will explore and experience
the joy of my body with
unfettered celebration.

Affirmation:
I am beautiful and desirable.
I immerse myself boldly and
fearlessly in my human sexuality.

Solar Plexus

• Location:  directly below the sternum and over the stomach

• Color:  yellow

• Element:  Fire

• Essential Oils:  lemon, grapefruit, juniper

• Crystals:  topaz, citrine, amber

• Planet:  Mars, Sun

• Astrological Connection:  Aries, Leo

• Qualities:  self-worth, self-esteem, confidence, personal power, freedom of choice

• Life Issues: to develop a strong and healthy self-ego;  to know and honor your will

• Spiritual Activities:  self-discovery through self-exploration

• Positive Archetype:  warrior

• Negative Archetype:  servant

 Candle Meditation

Solar Plexus 

Discover the strength
of your will, and the
power inherent within
your being.

Enhance your ability
to handle whatever, and
whomever, life throws
your way.

Affirmation:
I find solace in my
own strength and fortitude.
I can. I will. I do.
I am strong.
I am able.

Heart Chakra

 

• Location:  middle of the chest

• Color:  green, pink

• Element:  Air

• Essential Oils:  rose, carnation, lily of the valley

• Crystals: rose quartz, diamond, peridot

• Planet:  Venus

• Astrological Connection:  Libra, Taurus

• Qualities:  love, peace, purity

• Life Issues: learning to give and receive love

• Spiritual Activities:  learning self-love, meditation to move positive energy

• Positive Archetype: lover

• Negative Archetype:  narcissist

  

 Candle Meditation

Heart 

Connect with your emotions
and your capacity for love
and self-love.

Open your heart to
life's infinite possibilities
and the healing power of
emotional well-being.

Affirmation:
I love myself and
give my love freely
to those who deserve it.

  

 Throat Chakra

• Location:  the internal and external throat

• Color:  light blue, turquoise

• Element:  all four elements

• Essential Oils:  blue chamomile, gardenia, ylang ylang

• Crystals:  sodalite, blue turquois, aquamarine

• Planet:  Mercury

• Astrological Connection:  Gemini, Virgo

• Qualities:  communication, truthfulness

• Life Issues:  to be able to express yourself eloquently and freely

• Spiritual Activities:  anything which rings of communication ~ writing, public speaking, participation in groups, etc.

• Positive Archetype:  communicator

• Negative Archetype:  silent child

  

 Candle Meditation

Throat 

Find your voice
and the power that
it wields.

Discover communication
through releasing
inner doubt and
self-consciousness.

Affirmation:
Strength lay in the
power of my words.
They flow freely from
my thoughts, through
my lips.

 Brow Chakra (Third Eye)



• Location:  between the eyebrows

• Color:  indigo

• Element:  all four

• Essential Oils:  camphor, sweet pea, heliotrope

• Crystals:  sapphire, tanzanite, lapis lazuli

• Planet:  Moon

• Astrological Connection:  Sagittarius, Pisces

• Qualities:  wisdom, intuition, sixth sense, discernment, clairaudience, clairsentience, clairvoyance

• Life Issues:  learning to recognize and listen to your inner voice

• Spiritual Activities:  practicing divination, meditation

• Positive Archetype:  wise woman

• Negative Archetype:  skeptic

 Candle Meditation

Brow

Discover your sixth sense.
Become acquainted with
your inner voice.

See what’s hidden.
Hear that which calls upon
the seer.  Know that which
is secret knowledge.

Find your gift,
and grow.

Affirmations:
I have learned to see
beyond the physical world.
I have learned the language
of my spirit guide.

Crown Chakra

 

• Location:  top of the skull

• Color:  violet

• Element:  all four

• Essential Oils:  violet, lavender, lilac

• Crystals:  amethyst, alexandrite

• Planet:  the universe

• Astrological Connection:  Aquarius

• Qualities:  spiritual enlightenment, expansion of the consciousness and the soul, divine connection

• Life Issues:  rich spiritual life, better understanding of The Big Picture, insight into your destiny

• Spiritual Activities:  meditation, spiritual exploration and practice

• Positive Archetype:  The High Priestess

• Negative Archetype:  The Hierophant

 Candle Meditation

Crown 

Connect with The Divine
on a higher spiritual plane. 

Open yourself to a heightened
spiritual awareness, a personal
relationship with divinity.

See beyond the mundane
world, work through emotional
issues, arrive at enlightenment.

Affirmation:
I connect with my
higher self.
I connect with the Divine.

 Balancing the Chakras

   

The stones I prefer to use for this process includes:

• Hematite—root chakra

• Carnelian—sacral chakra

• Citrine—solar plexus

• Rose quartz—heart chakra

• Blue lace agate—throat chakra

• Sodalite—third eye

• Amethyst—crown chakra

Make sure the recipient of this charka balancing session is reclining comfortably. Place a small pillow under their head and one beneath their knees if they wish, to relieve back strain.

Before I begin, I explain to the recipient what I’m going to do, and I use this opportunity to assure them they can place the stones for the root chakra and the breast chakra (if the client is female) themselves.

To lay the stones, begin at the feet with a smoky quartz, if you choose to use this stone in this position. This is a good practice to facilitate grounding. Otherwise begin at the root chakra, placing the hematite stone, or having the client place the stone, on the pubic bone.

Everyone’s body shape is different, and it may be awkward or impossible to get a stone to lie in this spot for some people. If that is the case—the body, in this position, forms a ‘Y’; place the stone at the base of the ‘v’ formed by the crease of the legs, at the top of the thighs, and at the base of the genital area.

Place the carnelian stone over the sacral chakra, the lower abdomen. In women, this would be where the womb and ovaries are located.

Next, is the solar plexus, located approximately three inches above the naval. Here, place the citrine crystal.

At the heart chakra, between the breasts, you’ll lay a stone of rose quartz. If your client is a female, she may be more comfortable placing this stone herself.

To lay a stone for the throat chakra, place the blue lace agate at the base of the throat, in the hollow that you will generally find here.

The third eye chakra can be found between the eyebrows and just slightly above them. Gently lay the sodalite stone in this spot. Occasionally you will have a client who feels the weight of this stone, no matter how small, very acutely. Be careful in placing the stone in this very sensitive spot, and reassure the recipient that sensations she/he may feel are not unusual.

For the crown chakra, you will want to take your amethyst crystal and lay it gently on the pillow just above the client’s head. Tuck it up close so that it’s in contact with the body.

There, you have your crystals and stones in place. Allow the client to remain laying in this position for 15-20 minutes. It helps to set the tone if you have some soft ambient music in the background, perhaps a subtle incense, and low lighting or candlelight. It also helps the client to relax if they feel secure, that their privacy will not be violated, and that they will not be interrupted.

Make sure your client knows that if any of the stones happen to slip from their position during this process, they should leave them lay and not try to replace them. This often means that the stone’s work is done.

After 15 or 20 minutes, we’ll now check the chakras for inconsistencies in their energy. I personally prefer a pendulum for this process, and you may find that this works well too.

• Checking the Chakras:

Beginning at the root chakra and working your way up hold the pendulum a few inches above the body and give it a few moments to work. If it swings back & forth, side-to-side to the body, it means that this chakra is blocked. If the pendulum swings back and forth head-to-toe, in line with the body, it means that the chakra needs to be re-energized but is not blocking the passage of energies from the other chakras. A positive movement of the pendulum, which for me is a circle, means that this chakra is just fine. You can proceed two ways– either by automatically re-energizing all the chakras, regardless of your pendulum findings; or simply by re-energizing and unblocking the problem chakras. When you work on any of the problem chakras, remember to check them again with your pendulum once you’ve cleared and re-energized them. If you’re really thorough, and your client hasn’t been laying flat for an uncomfortable length of time, you can recheck all of the chakras at the end of this process.

To clear and re-energize the chakras, I use a three inch clear quartz crystal point.

First, remove the negative energy and etheric trash from the chakra: Lay the quartz crystal in your receiving hand with the point away from you; place your projective hand, facing downward, at your side, aimed towards the ground to harmlessly disperse this negative energy back to the earth. Hold your receiving hand just above the chakra you’re working on and slowly begin to move this hand with the crystal in it in small counter-clockwise rotations, lifting it higher and higher from the body as you do.

You may or may not notice strange physical sensations with the actual movement of energy. Some people do and some don’t. Just because you may not feel any physical sensation, it does not mean that what you’re doing isn’t working—it just may be very subtle, or you are not picking it up for some reason.

Once you’ve ‘pulled’ the negative energy out of the chakra, and you feel that it’s as cleared as you can get it, you are going to re-charge it with positive energy: Take the clear quartz crystal and place it in your projective hand with the point facing towards you. Hold your receiving hand out to your side, palm up to draw positive energy inward. Holding your projective hand containing the crystal a ways above the chakra that you’re working on, begin to move this hand in small ever-widening clockwise circles, moving closer and closer to your client’s body and the chakra. Stop just above it.

Circle the area as often as you feel you need to, and at slower or faster speeds, until you feel that enough positive energy has moved through your receiving hand, along your arms, and exited through your projective hand and the crystal into the client’s body.

Now you can use your pendulum to check the energy of this chakra. Hopefully all is well and you’ll be able to move on to the next chakra; if not, repeat the process until you get a positive reading from your pendulum letting you know that the chakra has been properly cleared and reenergized.

Make sure that throughout this process you remember to ask your client from time to time if they’re comfortable, and don’t make anyone lay on their back for too extended a period. Some people with blocked energy and unbalanced chakras may need more than one session to clear things up.

Once you are finished and have reached the end of this session with your client, remove the stones that have been placed upon the chakras at the beginning of the session, do so starting with the crown chakra and work your way down. Removing the stones in this progression, ending with the hematite stone at the root chakra, or the smoky quartz if you’ve placed one at their feet, facilitates grounding.


© Amythyst Raine 2010
(All Rights Reserved)

Tarot: A Chakra Reading

Note: This is a Chakra Reading done for a client and posted here anonymously, with the client's approval.

• Crown Chakra:

The Lovers, 9/wands, Queen/wands

Every relationship you’ve ever had, or attempted, has been negatively influenced by destructive patterns brought about by childhood experiences and possibly past life experiences. This has resulted in a disconnect with the spiritual side of yourself, and the spiritual side of relationships, and you cannot form successful love relationships that are grounded only in the physical realm. To remedy this and to insure success in future relationships, it’s imperative that you find the light and connect, whatever spiritual path you choose.

• Brow Chakra:

10/wands, King/Wands ®, The Magician ®

The burdens of life and the control of an individual or a group of individuals in your life has caused a short-circuit with the intuitive side of yourself, and thus, with the most powerful aspect of your being. The key to repairing this disconnect with your psychic center is to regain control of your life, to become better organized on a variety of levels. Learn to delegate responsibilities, to regain control of personal decisions, and to embrace this inner power with confidence.

• Throat Chakra:

8/cups ®, 9/swords ®, 2/cups ®

In your life you’ve suffered the end of a relationship with all the anxiety and emotions that come with it. The result is that your feelings of loss and anguish have overwhelmed your throat chakra, leaving you unable to voice your thoughts, to speak up in the face of confrontation or authority, in essence it has crippled you as far as communication is concerned. In order to recover your voice, figuratively if not literally, you are going to have to dissolve the lump in your throat and consciously clear the way for honest open communication.

• Heart Chakra:

9/pentacles, King/cups, Page/cups

Your heart is open and ready for love, the real and solid kind that has staying power and often involves serious commitment. And as well it should be, for the Page tells us that the opportunity for a relationship is very close, if not already underway and in its early stages. The openness of your heart chakra will allow for the growth of all that could be wished for in a love relationship. Though your voice may be muted, your emotions are most certainly not, although this predicament can make progress difficult.

• Solar Plexus:

Judgment, 3/wands, 6/swords ®

Your past, which stemmed around a very conventional somewhat strict upbringing, has negatively influenced your feelings of self-worth. You were judged harshly in the past by family or peers, and you tend to judge yourself too harshly today. It’s a vicious circle. I believe that you were also the victim of verbal abuse at some time in your past, abuse that was regular enough and harsh enough to damage this chakra. To remedy this, you have to reach deep and banish this negativity, learning to value and love yourself in the process.

• Sacral Chakra:

The Hierophant ®, Page/swords ®, 5/swords

Again, the past reaches forth to touch the present. The very strict moral compass that you were exposed to in your younger years still reigns supreme in your life today. This causes you to experience unnecessary guilt and confusion in the present, most of which stems around sexuality and other areas of physical enjoyment, such as food and drink, or anything which brings physical satisfaction. This chakra is most likely blocked and needs to be cleared and re-energized. It is your Achilles heel.

• Root Chakra:

Knight/cups ®, Temperance, The Moon ®

The strength of this chakra and it’s balance is what’s holding it all together for you. This is probably how you survived the verbal abuse, though scarred, survive you did. It has also led to two extremes in your personality, one is ineffectual and compliant; the other can actually be cutthroat and it’s operation is not surprising– abused individuals often wind up becoming abusive individuals. You tend to act as you were taught, by example. The difference is that the chakras which were affected by the early trauma have actually kept your level of abuse low and often ineffectual. The real damage was done to yourself.
 ____________________

This individual has several problem areas within the chakras, which results in both physical and emotional manifestations. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are physical issues with the throat area, including recurring bouts of laryngitis, stuttering, tonsillitis, sore throats, repeated bouts of strep throat, etc. The solar plexus, sacral, and root chakras are the next most keenly affected, which can manifest in this instance as issues with sexuality, perhaps resulting in frigidity, impotence, confused sexual identity, an inability to accept or embrace their sexuality– whether gay or straight, or even perversions of some sort, and this type of behavior would stem from extreme guilt and a confused effort to deal with it.