Chakras

This page used to feature the same "Intro to Chakras" article that's been copied and pasted throughout the internet for at least two decades. Just googling that very phrase will likely take you straight to it on several websites.

To make matters worse, it had nothing to do with the relevance of Chakras in Wicca and Witchcraft, which put it quite a bit out of place here.

As with auras, Chakras are a borrowed concept within Wicca and Witchcraft. They didn't originate in these faiths and these faiths didn't have the Chakra system incorporated in their beginnings (perhaps some influence, but not the system itself).

But unlike auras (most of which that was pulled in is mere pseudoscience), Chakras demand a larger purpose within magickal practice and so have an important place within Wicca and Witchcraft.

A major reason the teachings of the Chakra system are so easily assimilated in these paths is because of its impact on learning to balance, send, and receive energy for magickal purposes. Understanding the flow of energy in our bodies and learning how to control it is vital for effective magick.

You can't go wrong with adding the study of Chakras into your study and practice of Wicca and Witchcraft.

What are Chakras?

A chakra ("wheel" in Sanskrit) is, in a nut-shell, an energy center. Much like the heart is a muscle which pumps blood throughout your body--an action which keeps all other functions going--the chakras are like pumps that push energy through your body.

When functioning properly, energy flows efficiently. When something is haywire in one or more Chakras, so too is energy disrupted which can have a domino effect on your energetic health.

With the physical body, the heart is impacted by physical things. Environmental hazards, food, genes, hormones, other organs, etc. So if the heart is the pump for all things physical with your body, then the Chakras are the pumps for all things energetic with your body.

They're impacted by energetic influences to include environmental as well as even thoughts and emotions.

While this comparison between heart and Chakras is helpful, it's also limited. The heart is a muscle with a single function.

I could take this and make it super complicated discussing the relationship between the heart and other organs including the brain. But for simplicity's sake, Chakras differ greatly in this regard.

Rather than one, there are multiple chakras. Different schools of thought attribute various numbers of chakras. In total, the numbers range anywhere between the main seven and several hundred.

However, the "main" seven Chakras, are located along your spine with each one having a different "area of expertise," if you will. Personally, I believe other Chakras to not be Chakras at all (consider heart vs. the rest of the vascular system like veins and arteries).

A study into them is worthwhile, but this page only focuses on the seven main Chakras.

Why are Chakras Important in Magick?

A big part of Wiccan and Witchcraft practices is the concept of balance and keeping ourselves (thoughts, feelings, actions, and energy) balanced. Focusing on Chakras goes a long way in helping us to do this. If we learn to keep our Chakras balanced then we are subsequently keeping our energy balanced.

Likewise, the teaching "as above, so below" so prominent in Wicca and Witchcraft equally means "as within, so without." When we're able to control the energy within ourselves, we can likewise control the energy outside of ourselves.

Learning how to control and manipulate energy for magickal practices often starts with learning how to control and manipulate our individual energy first. It's like "Energy Manipulation 101" for magickal practice.

The practice of balancing and strengthening Chakras also has the added benefit--like with meditation--of keeping our thoughts and feelings in check; something important when it comes to our intent in magick.

Wiccan and Witchcraft ethics generally value harming none, justice (as opposed to vengeance), healing, and protection in addition to balance. Some of the specifics in these areas differ between individual and group teachings, but it's through these values and ethics that balance is so important.

For example, if our thoughts and feelings are out of balance, we may, in the moment, cast a spell with the intention of protection, but in reality be striking back in fear and subsequently hex the person we intended to protect ourselves from. (While personal ethics may not oppose hexes and curses in some situations, no Witch takes pride in their magick having an effect other than what they intended.)

Regular practice and focus on Chakras, then, is incredibly pertinent--if not required--for effective magickal practice.

The Chakras

The main Chakras, located along your spine, begin from the bottom up with the Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third-Eye, and Crown. Each Chakra is associated with specific areas of thought and energy.

Here is some general information about these Chakras.

The Root Chakra

Color: Red

Location: base of spine

Related Issues: physical security, safety, and support

Associated with: finances, career, home, basic needs (food, shelter, clothes, etc.), possessions, boundaries, family identity or roots (bonding, honor, loyalty, connections, traditions, early conditioning)

The Sacral Chakra

Color: Orange

Location: midway between base of spine and naval

Related Issues: physical desires, creativity, sexuality, one-on-one interrelationships

Associated with: cravings (physical pleasure), desires, addictions (substances), attachments, creative & sexual energy, intimacy, warmth, procreation, relationships & partnerships

The Solar Plexus Chakra

Color: Yellow

Location: approximately two finger-widths below sternum

Related Issues: confidence, esteem, power, fears, the self

Associated With: beliefs about ourselves, discipline, personal power, physical appearances, intelligence, physical abilities and skills, fears of rejection, meeting expectations, responsibility, power, obsessions, ambition, handling crises, courage, strength, control (self vs others), personal power, self image and identity

The Heart Chakra

Color: Green

Location: Center of the chest

Related Issues: love, forgiveness, emotions, fears, trust

Associated With: all forms of love (divine, romantic, platonic, familial), harmony, lvoingness, compassion, unconditional love, dedication, inspiration, hope, trust, healing powers, give & receive, flexibility, change, coping, balance, forgiveness, all emotions, emotional fears, commitments

The Throat Chakra

Color: Blue

Location: center of the throat

Related Issues: Faith, authority, expression, truth, communication, the breath

Associated With: self-knowledge, personal authority, decisions, integrity (keeping our word), expressive energy, choice & discernment, symbols into ideas, expressing yourself, speaking up, biting your tongue, needs (asking for help, expressing your needs), singing, writing, speaking, artistic works, teaching others, releasing

The Third-Eye Chakra

Color: Violet

Location: between & just above eyes

Related Issues: true self, higher self, interaction between mind & soul, intuition, avoidance

Associated With: mental & reasoning abilities, intellectual abilities & skills, conscious vs unconscious, inspiration, great acts of creativity, intuitive reasoning, clairvoyance, wisdom & intuition, awareness of self & others, the bigger picture, trust vs not trusting intuition & guidance, the future, the past, images & symbols, service, avoidance to face fears, fear of truth (when reason clouded)

The Crown Chakra

Color: White

Location: top of the head

Related Issues: claircognizance, receiving thoughts & information, Divine Mind, spiritual plane

Associated With: God/Goddess, relationship with the Divine, faith, inner guidance, trust & devotion, religion/spirituality, Divine guidance, Universal Source, trust (receiving information from Divine Mind), allowing or peaceful non-attachment, channeling


© 2018 by Evylyn Rose