The Chakras in Magical and Neo-Pagan Practices

“Each of the seven chakras are governed by spiritual laws, principles of consciousness that we can use to cultivate greater harmony, happiness, and well being in our lives and in the world.”
– Deepak Chopra

Magic is energy in the form of focused will. Our minds carry energy as do our bodies and spirits. That means our entire system has vibrations running through it just like earth’s ley lines only much more personal. Different cultures had names for our energetic presence. Some speak of auras that are basically our body’s atmosphere, and some talk of specific energy centers call Chakras. So how do Chakras impact our magical processes? To answer that question let’s step back and get a better feel for the Chakra system.

What is a Chakra Exactly?

Chakra is a Sanskrit word that translates as little wheel or vortex. Think of these as doorways that carry vital life force (Chi or Prana) to every cell in your body. Chakras are in motion like a revolving door moving clockwise, and there are 7 major ones in our body. Well, more accurately they’re above the body as part of the meridian grid used in acupuncture.

If you ask various Light Workers and teachers about the function of Chakras, you’re going to get different answers. Buddhists believe that a person must work through each Chakra and perfect it before reaching enlightenment. A hands-on healer may explain Chakras as astral representations of what’s happening in our body and mind. In both cases, the Chakra is very complex. It holds information about your current condition, your soul’s contract in this incarnation, your life’s history, lessons from past lives – essentially all that makes you, YOU from a spiritual perspective.

With this in mind, the importance of Chakras in magic becomes clearer. The idea of “knowing self” means knowing the disposition of our Chakras. For example, if you are normally a pretty adept psychic and suddenly your vision goes “pop fizz”, it could well mean that your Third eye Chakra is blocked for some reason. Until you fix that issue, you’ll be benched for a while.

Chakra Colors

Witches and other metaphysical practitioners talk a lot about the symbolism and meaning of colors. Seers tell us that Chakras have colors too. How clear or muddied these colors appear in the mind’s eye indicates the health (or sickness) of that energy center. If you know a sensitive that sees auras, they can probably see your Chakras too. Ask them what’s going on there before embarking on a spell or ritual. Why? Because everything, and we do mean everything that’s part of your energy field influences the outcome of magical undertakings.

Chakra Color Correspondences

• Red: Is a power color that’s associated with our Base Chakra. This houses your primal instinct, intense feelings, zeal, and movement. When you find your passion about your spiritual path waning, this is a good place to start looking for problems.
• Orange: Orange is our Sacral Chakra. This houses your happiness and certain aspects of health. As a balance of red and yellow, it’s not quite so “in your face.” If you find your thoughts about a magical method blurred, it may be due to issues with this Chakra.
• Yellow: This corresponds to the Solar Plexus Chakra. It houses warmth and courage along with mental agility. If you’ve been feeling down in the dumps about getting to Circle or just having time with like-minded Witches, check this Chakra.
• Green: Green is your Heart Chakra. This is a luck center that helps us keep our feelings in check. When you have no love left to give in your tribe (or to a member therein), or you find yourself totally wiped out from all the conflict, your Heart Chakra probably needs a little boost.
• Blue: Blue shines out of your Throat Chakra as the center of personal authority. This is also the region where harmony and composure reside. If your studies seem intangible or there is all manner of chaos strangling your magic, the issues may have started here.
• Indigo: This corresponds to your Third Eye Chakra, the center of psychic awareness and our natural intuition. When your Third Eye Chakra is partially closed or blocked, you can’t see the forest for the trees. This is where Higher Senses come into play. Highly empathic people sometimes actually need to close this partially so they don’t become overwhelmed.
• Purple: Purple is the color of your Crown Chakra, right where that soft spot resided when you were born. This energy center resonates with magic and the ancient mysteries. It also manages your mindfulness and prayerful living. When you hesitate about applying personal power, look here.

Chakra Key Concepts in Magic

Just as each Chakra has a color, it also has metaphysical associations. By knowing these and working with your energy centers, you can improve magical outcomes.

• Root Chakra: Self knowledge – skills and limitations. This is your cornerstone. When you start a meditation feel it in this area. Likewise when you start an incantation. Give is somewhere from which to grow into fullness.
• Sacral Chakra: Feelings. This is where you connect with others. Focus on this region when working with a coven so you move into a harmonious zone.
• Solar Plexus Chakra: Action. This is the seat of self-awareness. In other words, think before you act especially when it comes to spiritual focus.
• Heart Chakra: Compassion. Focus on the Heart Chakra when working magic for love, kindness, overcoming self-doubts and faith.
• Throat Chakra: Communication. Are your words certain? All magic with verbal components begins in this power center. By extension, this applies to written material when you cannot speak out loud.
• Third Eye Chakra: Vision. Here is where you can see things as they are, not as you might wish. Perception is significant in spiritual pursuits. Pull back the curtains and see what’s behind them.
• Crown Chakra: Understanding. When you’re integrating magical lessons, this is the energy center on which to focus. This is also the region from which you can reach out to Animal Spirits, Master Teachers and Guides.

Fun Fact: When someone has an “AH HA” moment it begins in their toes up through the Chakra chain and ends with that proverbial light bulb over the Crown Chakra.

Rev it Up or Turn it Down?

Knowing about Chakras and their attributes are one thing. Figuring out whether you should open or expand that energy or reduce it is another. Returning to the example of an empath who simply cannot concentrate because of too much input, it makes sense to reduce the amount of spin in her Third Eye. A High Priestess struggles with her chant for a festival. Over and over it goes wrong. She needs to increase the spin in her throat Chakra.

Now some people will say you are making the chakra larger or smaller. Some suggest covering and uncovering them in different degrees depending on the circumstances. All of these concepts are really the same it’s just a matter of what makes sense to you when working with the Chakras.

The most prevalent form of personal chakra management is meditation combed with visualization. What you want to do is form a vivid picture of the Chakra in your mind’s eye. If that image seems spotty or murky, pour in sparkling white light until those spots clear up. That goes for an energy-centered that looks blocked (like an eye patch over it).

If you perceive your chakras as tiny, imagine them growing. As you do, you will feel changes in your senses. Pay attention! If you think of a pot of water, there is a huge difference between an even simmer and an uncontrolled boil. You want consistency in your energy field for the best spiritual and physical results.

Practice and Patience

You will not learn how to sense your auras over a few days. For some people, it takes months or even a year. That’s OK. This is a different view on magical energy than we have commonly in Western traditions so our mind takes longer for synthesizing it.

Also, remain aware that you may not have an internal sense of a Chakra’s color or size. Some people feel Chakras (smooth or itchy), smell them (sweet or sour) and hear them (musical or static). Usually, the input you get connects directly with the sense you to which you respond strongly (i.e., tactile people feeling the Chakra). This holds true for Auras as well.

Play around a little bit when you have spare time. Focus on one Chakra, open yourself to experiencing it and then channel the positive energy there into a little test charm or spell. The more you practice, the better the results become.