Tag: Anahata

To Soothe A Sad Heart

To Soothe A Sad Heart

Items You Will Need:

White, blue, or pink candle

Lavender essential oil

Flowers

Incense

Light the candle. If using oil, dab a bit over your heart chakra. If using incense, light it and waft some of the smoke toward your heart. Put both hands over your heart, then say the following:

“Sad am I and full of woe
My heart is sore and tattered
The world of late has not been kind
And it’s left me feeling battered.
I ask the Gods to soothe my heart
And help my spirit soar
Ease my pain and heal my wounds
So I might smile once more.
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WOTC Extra – Meditating on and balancing the chakras

WOTC Extra – Meditating on and balancing the chakras

Various techniques have been presented on working with the chakras, both optimising normal chakras to allow more ch’i energy through, and helping or balancing chakras that are not functioning properly (i.e. which may be unbalanced, blocked, or malfunctioning). I would like to state at the outset that I am no expert, so please do not email me for technical advice! But from what I have read and understood it seems there are several possible techniques.

Activating the chakra through breathing, visualisation, movement, and yoga postures. This is good for all chakras, and for balancing the organism as a whole. It particularily pertains to the Tantri, seven-chakra linear scheme, rather than the Taoist circular scheme of chakras. There are many specific exercises associated with each chakra, and usually different books give different exercises, so it would take too long to go through all the books, chakras, and exercises here. All I can do is recommend that you browse through the books on this subject in a well-stocked esoteric or theosophical bookshop, find one that you feel intuitively attracted to, and go with that.

Projecting love and light into the chakra. This is also good for malfunctioning and blocked chakras, but not overactive ones, which already have enough energy going through them as it is. Imagine the area of the affected chakra as pervaded by a brilliant white, golden, or other coloured light, which is of the complete essence of love. Imagine this light healing the chakra, opening it, and restoring it to its proper functioning. If for example you have difficulty with understanding abstract mental concepts, you would visualise light and love in brow and forehead chakras, allowing them to open harmoniously, and the energy to flow through.

Talking to or meditating on the particular chakra in question. This is the technique recommended by Genevieve Lewis Paulson. Focus on the chakra in question, massage the area of the body it pertains to, and breath into it. Let the energy flow through it, and ask yourself what needs to be done about the particular psychic state in question. If for example you have an overactive heart chakra, ask yourself in what situations are you being too giving and putting the needs of others before your own.

The microcosmic orbit. The microcosmic orbit is the most powerful technique of all, because it involves and includes all the chakras, the front and rear ones as well as the lower and higher ones. It is especially good for balancing the ch’i energy in all the chakras, and restoring and maintaining equilibrium in your entire being. There is no one technique here, but actually a number of different methods. One involves simply holding one’s attention on the particular chakra point, without any visualisation or breathing exercises. Alternatively (this is the main method taught by Mantak Chia), you can go through each chakra in turn, visualising the spiraling energy (24 clockwise and anticlockwise), and/or (where it is accesable to reach) moving the palm of the hand in a spiralling motion over the chakra in question. Various breathing techniques can also be used, such as breathing into each chakra in turn, and. Mantras can be employed, such as saying “chhhiii”, “aaauuummmm”, or any other mantra at that point. You could also or alternatively try feeling love or smiling energy in each chakra in turn, visualising white or golden or rainbow-coloured light, or doing whatever other techniques one feels comfortable with. The important thing is not to force things

Two points should be adhered to however. The first is to always begin and finish at either the Navel or the Sea of Ch’i 0centre. This is to be done even if you only meditate or focus on one or two other chakras. Due to the proximity of the Navel and Sea of Chi chakras with the Lower Tan Tien, the ch’i energy is balanced and grounded after each meditation

The second important point is to always progress down the front of the body, and up the back. This is the natural direction of flow of ch’i energy in the human body. I emphasise this point because it is so important yet so little known. I once attended a guided meditation where everyone was told to meditate on the chakras at the front of body from the lowest to the highest. This is the exact opposite of the true direction of flow, and it was obvious that the people running the show didn’t have the faintest idea what they were doing. Such ignorance is all too widespread in the New Age movement nowadays, for the simple reason that the New Age is a movement without a strict teachings or dogmas, so people are free both to arrive at the truth unhindered, and to make blunders without any safeguards. Thus, whilst one should follow one’s own truth, one should also be extremely careful to ensure that one’s psycho-spiritual practices are authentic ones

For those who are interested in exporing the practice of the microcosmic orbit beyond the basic introduction provided here, I would strongly recommend a perusal of the works of Mantak Chia especially

Awaken Healing Energy of the Tao.

For opening the specifically Tantric (“primary” or archetypal) chakras, Harish Johari some time back released a cassette tape giving the correct mantric sounds for each chakra and petal. This is still available and is very powerful.

In meditating on each chakra, you may want to use some of the correspondences listed in these web pages. Alternatively, you may want to choose your own correspondences, or not use any at all. The important thing is to let oneself be guided by what intuitively feels right, rather than slavishly follow what some book or guru or teaching says. This so in all aspects of life and with all psycho-spiritual practices, not just those techniques given here. The intention of this coverage is to encourage and stimulate your own exploration in these matters, not to add one more dogma to a world that is already too full of dogmas as it is.

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Let’s Talk Witch – Feeding Your Chakras with Color

Let’s Talk Witch – Feeding Your Chakras with Color

We have seven chakras–energy centers–in our bodies that help to give us radiant vitality and health when they are in balance. But if one gets low or out of whack, we can feel depressed, lethargic, or even become ill.

One nurturing and effective way to feed our chakras–to make sure they stay vibrant and energized–is with color. All you have to do to is look around at the natural world, or use your imagination. It’s easy to do color therapy for the health of our bodies, minds, and spirits. Here’s how:

To feed your chakras, start with the Higher Self, the 8th chakra located about 8 inches above your head. Then go one by one down the lower chakras as you are ready. Use words (unspoken or aloud) to open one chakra at a time, allowing it to drink in the color. (You may find that, if your eyes lock onto a particular color–like the bright yellow of a spring tulip, for example–that this is a sign that the chakra associated with that color really needs it. When you’ve had enough of the color, you may find that your concentration dims–an indication that you can move on to the next chakra.

White to the Higher Self (8th chakra): Look at a white cloud or white stone (quartz is perfect). Imagine complete purity, while bringing your awareness to the place 8 inches above your head where the Higher Self resides.

Violet or purple to the crown (7th chakra): Look at a ripe plum, an amethyst, or a purple flower (irises are perfect). If there is no natural purple nearby, visualize light filtering down through purple stained glass into your crown chakra.

Indigo or cobalt to the brow (6th chakra): A night sky full of stars, or the sky just before dawn, are good for this chakra, as are stones such as lapis lazuli, sapphire, and azurite. If you hold a stone and gaze at it, you will also absorb the healing energies of the stone. Eating blueberries is a great way to absorb blue internally!

Sky blue to the throat (5th chakra): Imagine your throat filling up with the blue of the daylight sky. Helpful stones include aquamarine, turquoise, Larimar, and blue tourmaline.

Leaf green to the heart (4th chakra): The budding green leaves of early spring is perfect for this chakra. In winter, look at a vibrant potted plant or imagine the new green foliage. Or look at–and then eat!–a Granny Smith apple!

Yellow to the solar plexus (3rd chakra): Imagine the bright yellow sun in your solar plexus, energy radiating out from its yellow center, clearing and healing as it goes. Or look at yellow flowers–lilies or tulips, for instance–or a banana. Helpful stones include yellow tourmaline, celestite, kunzite, topaz, and rhodonite.

Orange to the navel (2nd chakra): Imagine dried tree sap or the honey-colored wood found on the inside of tree bark–or petrified wood with dark orange. Pumpkins, oranges, daylilies and poppies are good to gaze at, and the stones orange calcite and carnelian are helpful.

Red to the base of the spine (1st chakra): A good red found in nature is the dirt in the American Southwest, or the red breast of a robin, or a tomato, or red apple.

Source:

Inspired by Home Enlightenment,
by Annie B. Bond (Rodale Press, 2005).

 

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Monday Is Ruled By The Moon

Monday Is Ruled By The Moon

Archangel: Gabriel

Candle colour: Silver

Incenses: Jasmine or myrrh

Crystals: Moonstone or opal

Use Mondays for spells for fertility, protection especially while traveling, for home and family and to increase psychic and healing powers.

Where possible, work close to any water and, as a bonus, by moonlight

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The Witches Magick for Oct. 27th – Pouch To Heal The Heart Chakra

phantasmal_familiar_by_rebelkitty-d5iar4f

Pouch To Heal The Heart Chakra

Materials Needed: green candle, rose water essential oil, rose incense, green fabric, pink thread, needle, red paper heart, lavender, bay leaf, rosemary, and a rose quartz.

Spell: To be performed during the waxing moon with the moon in the sign of Taurus. Anoint candle with rose water while the purpose is stated, and light candle. Incense is now lit. Next anoint heart chakra with the rose water along with

the green cloth. The red heart is made and then anointed with rose water. Touch the heart to your heart then place it on

the cloth. Then add a bay leaf, lavender, rosemary, and the rose quartz. Anoint the thread with rose water. Sowed the pouch closed. Hold the pouch over the candle and incense. Touch it to your heart chakra and then hold it in your hands.

All the while thinking healing thoughts directed towards your heart. Sleep with it under your pillow and when needed carry it on your person. When your heart chakra feels stronger or the pouch has weakened bury it. Blessed Be!

Submitted By Vila

From GrannyMoon’s Morning Feast Archives

 

Snow Quartz ?

Quartz – Snow
This is a stone of luck and good fortune that carries the yin energy.  Snow Quartz can help one to learn not to be a victim and to break self destructive habits that lead to others taking advantage of one’s giving nature.  It can also be very helpful in meditation and in finding one’s inner knowing and wisdom

Element: Water
Chakra: (7th) Crown
Zodiac: Capricorn
Planet: Moon

Pyrite also known as Fool's Gold

Pyrite
Pyrite is an Earth element stone associated with the Solar Plexus chakra. Also known as Fool’s Gold, Pyrite is a stone of positive energy and manifestation. It is an excellent stone for those in need of a boost to their will power. It helps to promote confidence and creativity and can aid one in establishing healthy habits and behaviors.  Pyrite can also help one to tap into assertive and courageous energies.

Element: Earth
Chakra: (3rd) Solar Plexus
Zodiac: ?
Planet: ?

Bring The Love You Want To You Spell

Bring The Love You Want To You Spell

 

Find a photo or draw a picture that represents the person who you desire to be with (or reconnect).  You may or may not be in this photo as well.

Create a sacred space or altar that includes items that feel energetically positive to you (for love you may want to include rose quartz crystals and/or figurines that show loving couples).

Hold this picture in both hands and meditate with it, and see yourself and this other person as if you are already together.  If it is marriage you desire – feel into the feelings you would have if you were married already.

Feel the joy you would feel of being together.  Meditate on this for about 5-10 minutes.

Then place the photo in your sacred space.  And as you go about your life, when you think of this person and yourself, always think of being in the relationship you desire to have with them as if you had it now.

Clear out any doubts or fears that it is anything other than that. By having this constant positive focus, energetically and magickally you will draw that person to you.

Do not worry, wonder, or plot the ‘how’, simply keep your focus on you being with them together as a couple, happy and in love as if that was your reality right now in this moment.

Grounding and Centering

Grounding and Centering

Grounding and centering is the absolutely essential first step for any energy working. It’s the thing that makes sure you are pulling the energy from the Earth, instead of depleting your own resources.  Without it, you will find yourself exhausted (or highly exhilarated) immediately after doing work, and then sick, headachy, dizzy, or faint afterwards. Sometimes the headache can persist for days afterwards.

All of these are signs that something is wrong.

Fortunately, it’s easy to fix! Grounding and centering is a simple thing that is a natural ability in all of us. For some reason (probably that it smacks of the occult) it’s rarely taught in the schools now, though. So this is your chance to learn it here.

Sit comfortably, without any part of your body resting on any other part (no crossed legs, etc.) and smile. (It relaxes you wonderfully to smile.) Begin by looking at the diagram to the left. These are your Chakras. We aren’t going to go into what they are, or how they work right now. For now, just look at them. Notice that they go up in spectral order, starting from red and going through orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (actually a lovely, bright blue-violet, but it’s called indigo anyway) and violet. The first one is red and is at the base of your torso, near your anus. The second, orange one is about the width of both hands (with fingers held together, and including your thumbs) above that. In fact, in my experience, they tend to be pretty evenly spaced, and all about two hand-spans apart. The third is at the Solar Plexus (yellow), the fourth at your heart (green), the fifth at your throat (blue), the sixth at your “third eye” (indigo) and the seventh at the crown of your head (violet.)

You probably already know this; but you have more than one body. The ones we are going to be concerned with here are your physical body, and your etheric body. Just assume for now that you have the body you are used to thinking of as “you,” and you also have another one, larger and subtler, that has all the same parts and is around your physical body like two layers of an onion. Think of it as the blue outline in the picture. The point of the first part of the exercise, centering, is to line the two bodies up so that the energy can flow freely. You do this sort of like zipping a zipper. Hold the picture firmly in your mind, and line up the two red dots, physical and etheric, front to back and side to side. As you visualize (imagine) them coming together, hear the note C in your head. The first note of the scale.  Then carefully visualize all the others coming together as well, one by one, front to back and side to side until there is only one colored light. As you do, go on up the scale; doe, ray, me, fa, so, la, tea, doe.  (Yes, I know I’m spelling them wrong; but many people are used to hearing them, not seeing them written out, and this way they will sound like they should.) When you get to the final doe, visualize your whole body wrapped in white light. If this is really hard for you, visualize it going the other way, starting with your crown chakra, the violet light on the top of your head, and going down your body and down the scale. But try to learn to do it the other way, because it makes grounding easier. For the second part of the exercise, Grounding, it is absolutely essential that you be centered. If you aren’t, please go back and read that part now.  Starting with your crown chakra, the purple spot at the top of your head, visualize (imagine) a cord of light going all through your body, connecting your chakras as it goes. See it coming down from the root chakra, and becoming a root itself. Feel it going through your chair, through the floor, through the foundation of the building, and into the ground. Feel the warm, fertile ground below you. And feel your root going deeper and deeper, down through the ground, down below the deepest well. There is a whole core of energy down there. The core of the planet is full of pure, clean, loving energy; and the Earth means her children to use it. So draw that energy up your root now, up through the ground, through the soil, through the foundation, and the floor, and the chair, and into your body. Feel that pure clean energy coming into your body.  And pull it on up through your body, up through all your chakras, up through your crown chakra, up through the top of your head. And as it comes, it washes away all the tired, old, nasty energy, and fills you with clean, pure, fresh energy, energy from the Earth.  And let it come out of the top of your head, and flow out like a fountain, like the branches of a tree, up and arching gracefully down, and flowing back into the Earth. You are sitting in the center of a circuit now; a circuit of energy flowing up from the center of the Earth, through your body, through the top of your head, and back down into the Earth again. See how that feels? If you are doing it right, you will be able to feel it. If not, try it again some other time. It’s really not hard.  Now, the important thing to remember at this point is not to get greedy and try to keep too much of the energy. When you are finished with the exercise, you should have exactly as much energy as is normal for you. No more, and no less. Just think of yourself as taking no more and no less, and your own body will even it out for you. It’s nice and clean and fresh, but it’s the same amount. If it isn’t, you will wind up with one of the headaches again. And you don’t want that!  Keep doing this for a few minutes every day, and soon it will be as easy as taking a deep breath. And it will make you feel so much better!  Not just when working with energy, but when facing any kind of stress, or tension, or fear, or exertion, or anything. Being grounded and centered just makes life a bit easier to take!

How to Tell if Your Base Chakra Is Out of Balance

How to Tell if Your Base Chakra Is Out of Balance

When the base chakra is out of balance, energy doesn’t flow or moves very slowly, leading to a stagnation of life’s movement. You can feel stuck in a rut and find it difficult to release emotions that become trapped. Sometimes a loss, such as a death or broken relationship has occurred, and a failure to release the associated emotions leads to dysfunction in the energy hot spot.

Common symptoms include:

  • Chronic lower-back pain
  • Sciatica
  • Varicose veins
  • Water retention
  • Constipation or diarrhea
  • Rectal and anal problems
  • Fertility issues such as impotence
  • Immune disorders
  • Feelings of insecurity
  • Phobias
  • Depression, anxiety or panic attacks.

Healing the Base Chakra: The Benefits

Healing Benefits

Balancing the base chakra stimulates the flow of energy through the body’s whole energy system, which can have a beneficial effect on many chronic conditions throughout the body. It also helps to build up energy that is stored in the sacral chakra for when it is needed. By removing anxiety and stress, this healthy flow of energy allows positive changes to occur in your life. It facilitates the release of unwanted and unneeded emotions and thoughts that can block your path and prevent you from following your destiny.

Healing The Base Chakra

Healing the Base Chakra

 

The base chakra, also known as the first chakra, is located at the base of the spine. It is the survival center, supporting strength, determination, and the things that nurture us such as our family and friends. In certain traditions, such as Ayurveda and hatha yoga, it is regarded as the place where the resting kundalini is stored. It is the center through which we experience our connection to the earth and earth plane, while we are living this life. A healthy base chakra will keep you grounded and help you move forward in life.

Location:  Base of the Spine

Crystal:  Red Jasper

Color:  Red

Fragrance Association:  Patchouli

Keywords:  Survival, health abundance, connection to the earth, change, strength, family, security, nurture, assertiveness, determination, passion, practical matters, tradition, endings and new beginnings.

Emotional/Mental Healing:  An unbalanced base chakra can prevent you from advancing in life. When it’s blocked, nothing seems to happen. The lack of balance prevents the release of grief and other restricting emotions that hold you back. Everyone needs time to grieve, but this should always be a process of release rather than something to hold on to. Death is about change–not just for the person who dies but also for the relatives and friends they leave behind. All change brings opportunity and a fresh start. Without releasing grief and holding onto feelings such as sorrow and guilt, any new projects you start may never quite work or come to fruition. This prevents abundance–not only material but abundance on a deep soul level, of sensitive feelings and happy emotions. You feel unfulfilled. Slowly this has an emotional effect. You start to feel as if nothing is working or worthwhile and no one is on your side. You become stressed, a myriad of apparently unrelated physical symptoms begin to appear, and low-level depression sets in. You can feel as if you have lost a connection but to what you often are not sure. The dysfunction of your base chakra prevents you from appreciating the nurturing things in life. You can feel distanced from family and friends and unsettled. As you start to feel alone, insecurity can set in, leading to anxiety and panic attacks. In extreme circumstance, addictions, phobias, and obsessions can develop.

Physical Healing:  When the base chakra is out of balance, common symptoms appear, such as chronic lower-back pain, varicose veins, sciatica, water retention, rectal and anal problems, constipation, diarrhea, some fertility issues such as impotence and immune disorder. The base chakra also affects the health of the groin, hips, pelvis, lower end of the digestive system, legs, knees, ankles and feet.

Spiritual Healing:  The base chakra connects you to the earth. In one sense this is rational, mental grounding, as in your link to the planet; keeping your feet on the ground than your head in the sky. In another way, it’s bringing all your spiritual knowledge and experience into your everyday life, living in the present moment and experiencing every second of your existence. Part of this process can involve development workshops and classes, but many people go to these have enlightening experience and then simply go back to their everyday lives, maybe tell their friends about the weekend and nothing. A healthy base chakra enables you to take the experiences and skills you have acquired and use them in your everyday life. This brings positive change in small manageable doses, leading to happiness.

Lifestyle:  A balanced base chakra can help you move forward in life, change career, accept opportunities and run with the ball when it falls in your hands. It promotes a healthy sense of security and confidence, allowing you to give and receive nurture, stand up for yourself when you need to, take advantage of all that life offers and succeed in whatever you do.

Alternative Crystals:  Hematite, black obsidian, smoky quart, snowflake obsidian, red calcite, falcon’s eye, zircon, mookaite, black banded agate, jet, black opal, petrified wood.

The Properties of Gold

Alchemy Comments
The Magickal Properties of Gold

 

Gold is said to purify and energize the physical body, improves circulation, and strengthens the nervous system. It can balance and develop the heart chakra, along with the hemispheres of brain. It can also act as an aid to tissue regeneration, attract positive energy into aura, amplify thought forms, and aids personal illumination.

~Magickal Graphics~

Crystal of the Day for November 7th – QUARTZ

Quartz is a common crystalline mineral made of...QUARTZ

Amplifies the healing energy of the one using it. Used to help draw out pain.  Able to tap into the energies of the universe. A good stone for
meditating on. Works primarily with the Third Eye center, also relates well with the heart center. To be able to  tune into the quartz  promotes clarity while concentrating on it. Also affects the crown chakra.  Very potent and often worn to protect from negative vibrations. Cleanse regularly.  Rutilated-rutile needles help focus attention. Smoky-good for calming the mind. Rose-vibrations
of universal love & inner serenity.

The Shakta Theory of Chakras

The Shakta Theory of Chakra

Developed Shakta doctrine postulates seven chakras. These are called the Muladhara or “Root Support” at the base of the spine with four “petals”, the Swadhishthana or “Own Abode” at the root of the genitals with six, the Manipura or “Fullness of Jewels” at the level of the navel with ten “petals”, the Anahata or “Unstruck Melody” at the heart-centre with twelve, the Vishuddha or “Complete Purity” at the throat with sixteen, and finally the Ajna or “Guru’s Command” at the brow with two “petals”. The Crown centre, the Sahasrara-Padma or “Thousand Petalled-Lotus”, located at the very top of the head, is technically speaking not a chakra at all, but the summation of all the chakras.

The chakras are strung along the central or Sushumna channel (usually located at the spine). In the lowest chakra, the Muladhara, at the base of the spine, there lies the kundalini-shakti, the latent consciousness-energy, the microcosm of the cosmic creative shakti. When this is aroused, it can be made to ascend the sushumna, either ac-tivating or dissolving (depending on the yogic tradition) each chakra in turn, until it reaches the highest or crown chakra, the Sahasrara, where dwells the Godhead or Supreme Shiva (Paramashiva). As the Kundalini-Shakti unites with Paramashiva, the original transcendent equilibrium is restored, and the yogi returns to the state of oneness with the Absolute.

The chakras are described as stations or centres of pure consciousness (chaitanya) and consciousness-power. They are focal points of meditation; iconographic structures within the occult or “subtle body”. Apart from the Sahasrara, each chakra is described by means of a whole lot of symbolic associations or correspondences. Building upon the initial later Upanishads speculation, each chakra, as well as having a specific position in the physical body, element, mantra, and deity, also has a particular number of “petals”, each associated with one of the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, a corresponding colour, shape, animal, plane of existence, sense-organ, mantric sound, and so on.

As is usually the case with intellectual esoteric systems, a lot of these correspondences are arbitrary, for example, smell and feet with Muladhara, taste and hand with Swadhishthana, sight and anus with Manipura, etc. These associations are all based on the Samkhyan sequence of tattwas and their attributes.

In addition to the seven major chakras arranged along the spine there are also chakras in the hands, feet, genitals, and so on. Also in addition to the seven major chakras, there are also a number of other chakras along the spine which are sometimes referred to. In his exhaustively detailed and definitive work on the chakras according to the traditional Indian understanding, Layayoga – an Advanced Method of Concentration, Shyam Sundar Goswami, citing numerous references, describes thirteen chakras altogether; the seven standard chakras there are six minor ones. The following lists the chakras according to the 13-chakra model.

chakra  position  petals  tattwa  element 
Sahasrara  above head  1000  transcendent  transcendent spirit 
Guru  above head  12 
Nirvana  crown  100  origin of mind  mind 
Indu  forehead  16  buddhi 
Manas  forehead  6  chitta 
Ajna  brow  2  manas 
Talu/Lalana  roof of mouth  12 or 64  n/a  n/a 
Vishuddha  throat  16  space  elements 
Anahata  heart  12  air 
Hrit  heart  8  n/a 
Manipura  navel  10  fire 
Svadhisthana  genitals  6  water 
Muladhara  base of spine  4  earth 

Reference is also made in all Tantric texts to the nadis or channels of vital-force (prana). According to the traditional Tantric teachings, the seven chakras are strung like pearls or jewels along the brilliant thin thread of the sushumna nadi, which is the primary nadi in the body. On either side of the sushumna are the two main secondary nadis: the white moon-like ida on the left, containing descending vitality (apana), and the red sun-like pingala on the right, containing ascending vitality (prana in the narrow sense of the term). The tantric yogi aims to direct the subtle airs from these two primary side channels into the central sushumna nadi, and so activate the latent Kundalini energy. This then ascends through each of the chakras in turn, and when it reaches the top of the head, the yogi attains Liberation

The understanding of the chakras and kundalini in the West derives largely from Sir John Woodroffe’s The Serpent Power, a very technical work, first published in 1919 under the psuedonym Arthur Avalon. The first (and still one of of the only) serious books on the chakras and Kundalini yoga to be published in the West, it is actually a translation of two sixteenth century Bengali texts and their commentaries, together with Woodroffe’s own long and detailed introduction. Woodroffe’s book – his own chapters cover Shakta metaphysics and cosmology, Patanjali Yoga, and Tantric practice, as well as the chakras themselves – is unfortunately very difficult for the beginner, but it served as the inspiration and chief reference text (usually without acknowledgment) for many Western occult-esoteric writers

Daily Chakra Levels for August 23

The Chakras represent the seven primary energy hubs in the body. Life force energy is constantly flowing in and out of these centers. Just as the cosmos is constantly changing, so too are the levels of energy absorbed and radiated by our Chakra centers.  The graph below is a representation of the quantities of Chakra energies available today.

Sahasrara:
94%

Ajna
100%
Vishuddha:
11%
Anahata:
70%
Manipura:
84%
Svadhisthana:
32%
Muladhara:
98%

Legend:

Sahasrara – The Crown Chakra represents energies associated with cosmic consciousness, spirituality, knowledge, wisdom and inner peace.

Ajna – The Third Eye Chakra represents energies focused on both physical and spiritual vision. Psychic powers resonate from the Ajna Chakra, as well as your image of the Cosmos as a whole (the big picture) and the many nuances that make your journey unique.

Vishuddha – Throat Chakra is the energy center associated with communication and creativity. Your energy to express yourself verbally and creatively are derived from the Vishuddha Chakra.

Anahata – The Heart Chakra’s energy is concentrated on issues concerning your emotions. This energy fuels your power to love, feel compassion and maintain balance between disparate aspects of your being.

Manipura – The Power Chakra provides the energy that fuels our strength of will, individuality and sense of self-worth.

Svadhisthana – The Spleen or Sacral Chakra supplies the energy we use emotionally and sexually. This is the energy used to connect to others.

Muladhara – The Root or Base Chakra furnishes the energy used to create and maintain our foundation. This is the energy that keeps us on firm ground and provides us with the basic skills to uphold a place in the world.

Your Daily Chakra Levels for August 12

The Chakras represent the seven primary energy hubs in the body. Life force energy is constantly flowing in and out of these centers. Just as the cosmos is constantly changing, so too are the levels of energy absorbed and radiated by our Chakra centers.  The graph below is a representation of the quantities of Chakra energies available today.
Sahasrara:
92%
 Anja
10%
Vishuddha:
78%
Anahata:
68%
Manipura:
73%
Svadhisthana:
8%
Muladhara:
89%
 
Legend:
 
Sahasrara – The Crown Chakra represents energies associated with cosmic consciousness, spirituality, knowledge, wisdom and inner peace.
 
Ajna – The Third Eye Chakra represents energies focused on both physical and spiritual vision. Psychic powers resonate from the Ajna Chakra, as well as your image of the Cosmos as a whole (the big picture) and the many nuances that make your journey unique.
 
Vishuddha – Throat Chakra is the energy center associated with communication and creativity. Your energy to express yourself verbally and creatively are derived from the Vishuddha Chakra.
 
Anahata – The Heart Chakra’s energy is concentrated on issues concerning your emotions. This energy fuels your power to love, feel compassion and maintain balance between disparate aspects of your being.
 
Manipura – The Power Chakra provides the energy that fuels our strength of will, individuality and sense of self-worth.
 
Svadhisthana – The Spleen or Sacral Chakra supplies the energy we use emotionally and sexually. This is the energy used to connect to others.
 
Muladhara – The Root or Base Chakra furnishes the energy used to create and maintain our foundation. This is the energy that keeps us on firm ground and provides us with the basic skills to uphold a place in the world.

Your Chakra Colors and What They Do

Adapted from The Chakras in Shamanic Practice, by Susan J. Wright (Inner Traditions, 2007).

For millennia, eight colors have been thought to correspond to energy centers in the body. Wearing or surrounding yourself with these colors leads to balance and inner healing. For example, if you want to open your heart, there is a color that corresponds to the heart that will help. If you need to speak your truth to someone, you can wear a throat-chakra-colored scarf for encouragement. Find out about the chakra colors and what they do.

Red – First chakra, base of the spine. Groundedness, trust, belonging, lessens feelings of mistrust.

Orange – Second chakra, belly just below the navel. Sensuality, emotion, creativity, lessens feelings of inferiority.

Yellow – Third chakra, solar plexus. Will, identity, commitment, lessens feelings of confusion.

Green – Fourth chakra, heart. Compassion, forgiveness, intimacy, lessens feelings of isolation.

Blue – Fifth chakra, throat. Expression, communication, power to manifest, generativity, lessens feelings of stagnation.

Indigo – Sixth chakra, third eye, between the eyes. Clear sight, intuition, integrity, lessens feelings of despair.

Violet – Seventh chakra, crown, top of the head. Spiritual connection, mastery, lessens feelings of distraction.

White – Eighth chakra, just above the head. Radiance, expansion, lessens feelings of limiting attachment.

A Romp Through the Palette of Life

A Romp Through the Palette of Life

by Freya Ray

Personally, I love color. I’m not an especially visual person, and yet I am vibrantly aware of the magical properties of color every day. Since theory fails to fascinate me, and inspiration to play around with the possibilities of this luscious world always fascinates me, let’s have a romp through the rainbow, shall we? Here are some bright ideas for expanding the palette of your life, for fun and profit, color by color. And it’s my romp, so we’re not doing equal time — some colors are more fun than others.

Luscious, Bloody, Sexy Red

Red. The root chakra. The primal invitation to life. The blood of birth and death, the red clay of the mother between our toes, that haze that comes over your vision before you do something really really stupid, fire, rage, passion, life. Red is a color that knows it’s alive, that feels the heartbeat of its own jugular, that wants and demands more. More what? More of everything, most especially more life. Red does not ask why it’s here or if these pants make its butt look big. Red is too busy sinking its teeth deep, growling and getting lost in the sensations of the juice running down its throat. By all means, if your life has gotten a bit academic or routine lately, invoke red.

Wear lipstick of that shade fondly called “Fuck-Me Red.” Paint your nails to match, especially your toenails. Dye your hair.

Char a big slab of steak, leaving the center bloody. Cut it into strips, pile them in a bowl with the blood released by your knife, and eat it with your fingers. Drain the bowl, knowing in your mind you’re drinking the blood of the beast as you do it. No, tempeh cannot be substituted. Have dark chocolate for dessert.

Paint your body with tribal designs of your own delirious inspiration. Use red finger paint, or lipstick, or menstrual blood, or catsup. Dance naked, covered in slashes and spirals, to the beat of a drum.

In feng shui, red is the color of the “fame” corner. Red always screams “pay attention to me!” Wear the color and act as though you deserve to be noticed. Call attention to yourself in outrageous ways. Laugh loudly and refuse to be cowed.

Feel your heartbeat. Feel the blood pulsing just below the surface of your flesh, and know you are beast. Know you are life. Know you are passion, awaiting expression. Know your blood, your heartbeat, is the blood and heartbeat of all your ancestors, all the ancestors, all the peoples and creatures of this planet. Know that the pulsation of all life is one, in you.

Juicy, Tasty Orange

The belly chakra. Relationships, sexuality. It’s a great color, I’m sure, but it makes me look like I have hepatitis, so I have a slightly estranged relationship with orange. Nevertheless, I can make a couple recommendations.

Bake cookies with cinnamon in them. Add saffron to your rice. Make juice from fresh oranges — it takes what, five minutes, and what a difference! Better yet, let someone you love wake up to fresh-squeezed juice and your silent smile.

Meditate on a candle flame, letting the shifting play of tones awaken your memories of warmth, family or sexuality. Let the connection of the belly and the flame lead you back through the past, before this life, to the beds of all your wonderful lovers. Let the memories of loving bliss wash over you in waves of time and space. Light all those candles scattered about and make love to someone in a glow of shifting orange reflections.

Want what you can’t have, and then answer the question, “If I could have it, or the feelings that I believe it would evoke, how would I get it?”

Let lust — primal, unreasoning attraction — lead you to a new friend. Let yourself acknowledge the little belly flutters of lust you feel sometimes, in unguarded moments, for a dear friend. Know that all of life is about connection, and that lust and love are allies.

Yellow, the Sun of Shining Self

The light of all life. The shining disk of the solar plexus, the home of the will, of personal power. The gold glitter of success. Yellow evokes happiness, confidence and power.

Get some sun. I know it’s early spring in Seattle, but on those days when Father Sun emerges, go worship him properly. Get out your shades and tip your face up to the sky. Paint your entire body with gold glitter and go dancing. Have a power dinner: warm melty brie and crusty bread, crab legs and dripping yellow butter, champagne…

Meditate on your solar plexus chakra, seeing a shining sun at home there, and feeling the strength of your will, your ability to create the world of your choosing.

Abundant, Grass-Stained Green

The color of money. The wonderful power of our nation’s choice of paper currency. This color is also associated with healing and the heart chakra, but, truth be told, I think first of big wads of cash and second of doing summersaults down an immense hill.

Play with money. Do some fun work with your abundance issues: take $200 out of the bank in one-dollar bills. Scatter them all over your bedroom. Clear wads of them out of your bed so you can sleep at night. Find them everywhere. When they gather in the corners, pick them up in handfuls and toss them into the air. Money is energy crystallized. A truly magical photosynthesis, as the energy of work is stored in flat paper. Nothing more than love in material form.

Engage with life in a basic form — the creatures that photosynthesize so that the rest of us can live. Buy some houseplants, or more of them, and make a luscious jungle inside your home. Plant a garden in a couple of months. Grow wheatgrass and feed it to your cat. Notice the moss in the sidewalk. Find trees and hug them already!

Have a healing circle with some like-minded friends. Allow the healing color of green to travel where it is needed. Meditate on ideas of love and connection, your relationship with all life. Be in love, without concern for a suitable object. “I’m in love” is a sentence without referent, and a beautiful place to be.

I Ain’t Got No Chakra But Boy Do I Rock Pink!

Blushes. Where would we be without pink for blushes? Challenge yourself: find the compliment outrageously true enough to get every one of your associates to blush.

In feng shui as in Valentine’s Day, red, pink and white are the colors of love. Live it up! Decorate the back right corner of your home as a love altar with candles, ribbons, pictures of Hindu goddesses, massage oils, photos of your true love — whatever evokes the concept of loving connection for you.

Pink is your friend. Pink has never had a self-important moment in its entire career as a color on this planet. It is impossible to stand on your dignity or take yourself too seriously when wearing pink. This is good!

Calm, Cool Blue

Blue is a money color in feng shui. Adding an aquarium to your home or business is said to bring prosperity. Create an abundance altar in the back left corner of your home, including the colors of red, blue, and purple, along with candles, plants, lights, stones and pictures that evoke abundance for you.

Meditating on the color will put one in touch with calming influences and the state of mind where creativity can be expressed.

Water — deep, flowing blue water — is one of the most profound healers on the planet. Soak in it, bubble in it, stand under a moving stream of it and ask water to take away that which no longer serves you. Offer yourself naked to the ocean. I guarantee a rebirth as you emerge.

There are some very groovy blue stones, including sodalite and lapis lazuli.

Royalty Loves Purple

If red says, “Notice me,” purple says, “Respect me.” Perhaps even, “Obey me.” Purple is a power color, and wearing it is guaranteed to help you feel on top of your game.

Violet light is a strong tool for cleansing in visualization. Amethyst is known as the “sobriety stone” and has a remarkable ability to puncture denial.

Violet is the color of the third eye, of psychic awareness. Put some lavender oil in the bath, light a bunch of purple candles and see where your insight takes you. See that violet flame between your eyes, and let the images of your deeper mind flow into your awareness.

Basic Black

Black has been the color of choice for clergy in many traditions. It gives the sense that the person wearing it has access to mystical information, mysterious secrets. I could tell you more, but as my own wardrobe is mostly composed of black clothing, I’m going to leave this color as an exercise for the reader.

Champagne

I’m mentioning this vital color for two reasons. One: I look like crap in white and so ivory, champagne, whatever, is my best option for trying to look innocent. Not like anyone buys it anyway. Two: it’s the color of vanilla-scented candles, which are on the short list of reasons why this is a cool planet to live on. Put a vanilla bean in your sugar bowl.

Oh, and girls! Buy some pearls. Your grandmother knew about pearls, even if many of us have forgotten, and have caught the delusion that somehow diamonds are more important. It’s crap. Diamonds are the junkyard of stones, collecting every stray bit of energy that comes through their life and they can’t be cleared. But pearls, well, get enough strands of them so that you can feel their weight (cheapest method: gem show, buy a hank, string them yourself). Drape them on yourself, and you will know you are woman. Guys, by all means do this when you’re wanting to access your feminine side. But beware, they will bring up fonts of estrogen you didn’t know you had!

White

They say white contains all the colors together. Visualizing white light is a tree-hugging crystal freak cliché, but you know, it works. For healing, protection, and clarity, see that clear, bright, almost bluish light of a halogen bulb or clear sunlight on a brilliant day.

It’s also a reflection of the truth that all of life is a hologram, every part contains the whole, every individual is connected to all of the cosmos. The Akashic records are always available, and in every moment it is possible for you to know everything you need to. Practice believing that there is no separation. Even if you only pull it off for a moment. We are all one, the light of each soul shines brightly if we only choose to see.

Bathe yourself in moonlight. Put a jug of water outside at the full moon, and drink the essence of lunar wisdom. Know that everything happens in its own rhythm and in its own time. Know that the only guarantee is that all life is learning love, and that we will all find that loving union in time.

White is your canvas. Draw on it what you will, and harm none.

Auras, Chakras, Light and Sleep Cycles

Auras, Chakras, Light and Sleep Cycles

  • Celeste Yarnall, Ph.D

What is an aura?

An aura is an electromagnetic energy field that surrounds, encompasses, and permeates all living things; it includes the being’s physical structure as well as its energetic outer layers. It is made up of four bodies outside the physical body: the etheric body (where some suggest our past life experiences may be stored), the emotional body, the mental body (two layers: higher and lower), and the spiritual body (three layers: higher, middle, and lower). The colors of an aura vary depending upon the condition of the being. Anyone can learn to see auras; there are also professional readers and even cameras that can photograph them.

Where are our chakras located?

First chakra (root/base of spine)
Second chakra (chi/below navel)
Third chakra (solar plexus)
Fourth chakra (heart)
Fifth chakra (throat)
Sixth chakra (third eye/brow)
Seventh chakra (crown/above head)

What are the Chakras?

The chakras are energy centers aligned along a spiral column in the etheric double; energy is absorbed from the surrounding air and brought through the chakras into the physical body. The Vedas, ancient texts of India, contain the first known reference to chakras. The chakras are considered to be spinning wheels of light energy. (Chakra means “wheel” in Sanskrit.)

Various spiritual schools have different systems of identification for the chakras, but a widely accepted version identifies seven major chakras, beginning with the first, or root, chakra, located at the base of the spine and moving up the body to the seventh, or crown chakra, located a few inches above the top of the head. (There are also five minor chakras, at the hands and feet or in the case of our dogs and cats, their paws, {which I cover for our feline companions in my book The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care}, co authored with Jean Hofve, DVM) and then the hollow at the base of the skull, where the brain meets the spine. It is said that as we spiritually evolve, new chakras will emerge.)

Why are the various Chakras assigned colors?

A specific color is associated with each chakra because color can be used to stimulate, sedate, or balance the chakras and their associated organs.

The use of light and color in healing dates from ancient times. In Ayurvedic medicine, it is believed that there are cycles that are the most conducive for certain activities. In Chinese medicine, yang and yin symbolize light and dark. It is of utmost importance to honor our daily cycles of light turning into darkness, as our moon travels around our planet and our planet travels around our sun.

FIRST CHAKRA (root/base of spine)
Red stimulates the immune system by building up the blood and helps with detoxification. It is said that this color fights tumors, has an antiviral effect, and relates to the reproductive system and the procreative imperative to survive. Those with compromised immune systems may benefit by be ing surrounded by the color red as much as possible.

SECOND CHAKRA (chi/below navel)
Orange is said to be an appetite stimulant and a lung builder. It may depresse the parathyroid glands, and may stimulate the thyroid as well as the mammary glands in the production of milk for all types of mammals. Qi (chi) emanates from this chakra.

THIRD CHAKRA (solar plexus)
Yellow is thought to stimulate the gastrointestinal system and helps keep hormones in balance. It’s also said to be beneficial for the liver, gallbladder, kidneys, and for diabetes and hard chronic tumors. The fear/fight/flight mechanism originates here.

FOURTH CHAKRA (heart)
Green is said to stabilize energy and is a bronchodilator. It may be beneficial in the treatment of infections. Many believe that love emanates from the heart chakra. Pink is the secondary color of the heart chakra.

FIFTH CHAKRA (throat)
Blue is said to aid in the healing of third-degree burns, scratches, sores, and infections. It may be beneficial for all fevers that respond quickly when used in conjunction with holistic remedies. Blue is a very cooling and sedating color. The related color turquoise can be soothing for irritations, inflammation, and itching. It may help induce sleep, and it should follow green in treating all infections. It is known as the chakra of self-expression.
See my note below regarding the importance of sleep.

SIXTH CHAKRA (third eye/brow)
Indigo worn around the neck is said to help stabilize the thyroid if a person or pet has a hyperthyroid condition. The third eye chakra is best known for providing living things with intuition and instinct.

SEVENTH CHAKRA (crown/above head)
Violet is said to increase the white blood cell count, stimulates the spleen, and is a color for high spiritual attainment in humans.

 

NOTE: When we don’t sleep in sync with seasonal light exposure, we not only alter our etheric double, our own aura and our own chakra’s but also alter our biological rhythms that control hormones and neurotransmitters determining appetite, fertility, and mental and physical health as well as those who share our living space with us, such as our children and companion animals.

By relying on artificial light to extend our days, we fool our bodies into living in a perpetual state of summer which is when our ancient ancestors were always anticipating the scarce food supply and forced inactivity of the coming winter, when we do this our body begins storing fat and slowing the metabolism to sustain us through months of hibernation and hunger that never arrive.

We, along with everyone who lives us with us in our homes, including our animals, are all extremely sensitive to natural light and dark rhythms. There is a strong case for all of us to sleep in the summer months between 10:00 p.m. (2200 hours) and 7:00 a.m. (0700), and starting at the Autumn Equinox between 9:00 p.m. (2100) and 6:00 a.m. (0600).

Our early ancestors obeyed these seasonal rules by honoring the seasons and their natural rhythm of light and dark. Our bodies generate a cascade of protective chemicals, including those that help prevent cancer, obesity, diabetes, and depression, to name but a few, only when we sleep deeply with no interference from any light leaks whatsoever, including the LEDs on electronic equipment, digital clocks, night lights, and the light leaks that seep in from outside. We all desperately need a true black night sleeping experience, that tracks with what we did before civilization turned the lights on everywhere. Think about creating a cool dark cave concept which truly produces a wonderful nights sleep. It’s also best to not have caffein after 3pm if you want to sleep well that evening.

The ramifications of not honoring this light and dark concept are enormous for our own health as well as that of all the living things in our household. If just one person leaves a light on in a sleep cycle and any part of our body can sense or feel it we all will suffer the consequences from this chronic addiction and abuse of light. This of course includes our computer screens and TV at night. There is a little trick which helps somewhat if you must work on your computer in the dark cycle and that is to have rose tinted lens made with your prescription in them. This is what I do: I remove my contacts where my glasses which have a rose tint to the lens’s which the eye optometrist called a plus 3 rose tint. You can also use them for driving at night and with or without a prescription they are said to help preserve some of the chemical cascade that we need to have take place in these precious evening hours of darkness when we must remain in artificial light.

I was astounded to learn that studies suggest that even tiny light leaks (0.2 lux), as little as a single candle flame, adversely affect our own health, our childrens health and that of our companion dogs and cats. If light leakage and subsequent lack of melatonin has been found to promote tumor growth. Could the use of light after dark actually be one of the causes of not only having an impact on tumor growth but cancer in people, in children and our pets, as well? So turn out those night lights everywhere in the house. And for a closer look at the importance of honoring light and dark cycles, see “Lights Out” by author, T. S. Wiley.

This simple adjustment in our sleep routine may actually have profound consequences in our own ability to heal ourselves on every level possible, including our chakra’s and etheric double.

I personally include the use of 2.5 mg.’s of sublingual (which you dissolve under your tongue) Melotonin, 30 minutes before bedtime.

Nothing said herein is meant to be construed as medical advice. Please be prudent and consult with your healthcare providers for any serious disorders. These idea’s are presented for informational purposes only and should be treated as such.

We can very easily begin to explore what role our aura and chakra’s play in our modern lives if the idea resonates with you. We can perhaps benefit in many ways when we are open to the ancient idea’s presented by many other cultures around the world. These cultures have all honored nature and the natural order of life from the dawn of our first foot prints on this planet. Perhaps we too can benefit by looking more closely at what we do in our own day to day lives in this modern hi-tech, brightly lit, big blue spinning ball, we live upon.