Chakras

Seven wheels of light strung along the spine, from root to crown.

The chakras are the seven principal energy centres of the subtle body in the yogic and tantric traditions — wheels (chakra means "wheel") strung along the central channel, the sushumna, that runs from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Each governs a dimension of experience, from raw survival at the root to pure consciousness at the crown, and each carries its own element, colour, sound, and presiding energy. The awakening of kundalini is described as the rising of that energy up through the centres, integrating body and spirit on the way. The scheme belongs to the same non-dual current as Vedanta.

The Seven Centres

The lower centres (Muladhara, Svadhisthana, Manipura) govern the physical and instinctual life; the heart is the bridge; the upper centres (Vishuddha, Ajna, Sahasrara) govern expression, insight, and transcendence. Their ascending elements — earth, water, fire, air, ether — climb the same ladder of subtlety that the classical elements do in the Tarot and in Alchemy.

The seven form a single ascending column, each governing its own element as the energy climbs from root to crown.

flowchart TD
    M1["1 Muladhara — Root — Earth"]
    M2["2 Svadhisthana — Sacral — Water"]
    M3["3 Manipura — Solar Plexus — Fire"]
    M4["4 Anahata — Heart — Air"]
    M5["5 Vishuddha — Throat — Ether"]
    M6["6 Ajna — Third Eye — Light"]
    M7["7 Sahasrara — Crown — Consciousness"]
    M1 -->|"kundalini rises"| M2
    M2 --> M3
    M3 --> M4
    M4 --> M5
    M5 --> M6
    M6 --> M7

Related

• Vedanta — the non-dual philosophy the subtle body belongs to
• Spirituality Hub
• Tree of Life — the Western esoteric counterpart, spheres strung on a central pillar
• Tarot — the elemental ladder in another key