A Beginner's Guide to Understanding The 7 Chakras and What They Are

You’ve heard about chakras.


Chakras are an integral part of our energy, our body, our spirit. If you’re going to be manifesting and performing rituals that use your energy, you absolutely need to understand chakras.


The energy centers of the body, chakras, are an essential part of our wellness, wholeness, and of our being. We have seven chakras that work together to create physical, mental, and spiritual harmony.





This is why we talk about unblocking chakras. When chakras are blocked, the cohesive flow of energy from one to another is prevented.


When they’re open, however, that energy flows freely between the chakras, bringing peace, beauty, and wholeness.


While we cannot see the chakras, which are located in the astral body, each one has a specific color, representing its purpose and gland location. There are also all types of theories about the shape of the chakras, ranging from flowers on the spine to whirling discs that change size, reaching up to one foot in diameter.


The thing is, because we cannot see the chakras, we aren’t really able to know their shape or size. Most people hold their view of the chakra shape and size based on whatever they were taught when they first learned.





If we want to be the most accurate, we can look back to the ancient writings and drawings on the chakras. These documents explain the chakras as a sort of very small ball or sphere that rotates to distribute energy.


There’s definitely a lot that we can’t know for sure about the chakras, but honestly, those are just the unnecessary details. When it comes to using the chakras in our spells and wellness rituals, we just need a basic understanding, starting with the types of chakras.


Chakra Types


If you ask most people, they’ll say there are seven types of chakras. Actually, there are infinite chakras in the human body, but these seven are the main ones, with every color, sound, and energy vibration being met in them.





We focus on and understand the seven chakras while maintaining an awareness that the body is led by the infinite. It’s a really amazing thing to think about.


The effects you feel on your body, mind, heart, and spirit, are dependent on whether your energy centers, or chakras, are blocked or healthy. For complete openness, health, and seamless energetic flow, it’s important to make sure your chakras are unblocked.


Here are the seven main chakras:


Root Chakra (Muladhara)


The root chakra is a representation of our roots, our foundation. It exists at the base of the spine and promotes the feeling of being grounded.





Having an open and healthy root chakra creates a feeling of confidence, of the ability to withstand challenges, and of self-sufficiency. With a healthy chakra, we feel ambitious, stable, and up to life’s challenges.


When the chakra is blocked, we feel unstable and threatened. An unbalanced, or blocked, chakra causes a sense of instability, a lack of ambition, and brings us fear and insecurity.


Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana)


The sacral chakra is the home of our sexuality and creativity. Located in the lower abdomen, the sacral chakra is a governing factor in relating to our emotions and the emotions of others.





A healthy, balanced sacral chakra brings the feelings of happiness, positivity, satisfaction, and vibrancy. It gives us a strong sense of well-being and opens us to pleasure and sexuality.


With a blocked sacral chakra, we often feel incomplete, irritable, and manipulative. An imbalanced chakra drains our energy and can cause us to become obsessed with sexual thoughts while preventing a healthy outlet.


Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)


The solar plexus chakra, located in the upper abdomen between the navel and rib cage, is the foundation of our confidence and ability to control our lives. It governs our self-worth, self-esteem, and overall confidence, putting us in the state of mind to take action or neglect ourselves.





When our solar plexus chakra is unblocked, we feel confident, focused, and productive. We feel love for ourselves and find value in taking care of ourselves.


On the flipside, with a blocked solar plexus chakra, we can become consumed with anger, depression, a lack of motivation, and aggression. An imbalanced solar plexus can manifest in physical ways such as diabetes and digestive issues.


Heart Chakra (Anahata)


Located in the center of the chest, just above the heart, the heart chakra controls our inner peace and our expressions/feelings of love.





With a balanced heart chakra, we walk in compassion, joy, and optimism. The energy from the heart chakra is the seat of our balance, showing up as positive emotions such as passion, attachment, and love.


When the heart chakra is blocked, it tends to manifest in emotional turmoil. Jealousy, anger, moodiness, fear, worry, and an overall unease are just some of the negative emotions we experience from an imbalance of the heart chakra.


Throat Chakra (Vishudda)


The throat chakra is located, along with the thyroid gland, at the base of the throat. It is the voice of the heart chakra, offering us a way to communicate.





Through a healthy throat chakra, we walk in clear self-expression and honest communication. We become constructive communicators who are inspiring and creative in our expression.


Shyness, quietness, and the inability to express ourselves are signs of a blocked throat chakra. A blockage tends to be the cause of not being able to find the right words to communicate or express our thoughts.


Third Eye Chakra (Ajna)


On the forehead, directly between the eyes, is what is known as the third eye. Our third eye is the center of our wisdom and imagination, giving us intuition and awareness.





When we have a balanced third eye chakra, we feel spiritually and emotionally alive and confident. The energy of the third eye gifts us with insight and intelligence, making us whole and balanced people.


If the third eye is not balanced, we can feel either egotistical or afraid of success. Physically, we may get headaches and have blurry vision, making it uncomfortable to see and to focus.


Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)


The highest chakra, the crown, is right at the top of our head. It is the center of our spiritual energy, representing our ability to be enlightened and fully connected.





With a healthy crown chakra, we are full of free-flowing dynamic energy, thought, and action. We are a vessel of inner and outer beauty, interconnected with light and cosmic consciousness.


If we experience a crown chakra imbalance, we may feel sorrowful, frustrated, and have destructive thoughts or tendencies. As the crown chakra connects us to the divine, the infinite, the universe’s energy, when it is blocked we become immensely frustrated at our inability to access what we need.


Balancing the Chakras


If you are experiencing one or more blocked chakras, do yourself a favor and take action. Your wholeness, wellness, magic, and spiritual self depends on a free flow of energy between the chakras.





There are many factors that affect the chakras, including habitual thoughts, lifestyle, and diet. Making changes in these areas helps unblock the chakras.


Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
Stimulate the chakras with yoga, specifically asanas.
Increase the flow of prana with steady, intentional breathing.
Use meditation to clear and focus the mind.