Chakra 101

 A Tantric Map of Energy and Consciousness

The chakras are mysterious, iconic, and endlessly misunderstood. Most people think of rainbow wheels floating somewhere above the body. But in tantra, chakras are not abstract symbols associated with different colours. They are living realities; maps of how energy, consciousness, and sexuality move through you.

In tantric philosophy, the chakra system is a map of the inner universe. Different traditions work with different models; some lineages like Tibetan Buddhism describe five chakras. Yet despite these variations, the essence remains the same. Chakras describe how universal energy expresses itself through the human form.

At its core, a chakra is a psycho-energetic center; a meeting point between universal energy and your personal experience. You won’t find a chakra under a microscope, yet its influence can be felt everywhere: in your body, your emotions, your desires, your fears, and the way you relate to pleasure, intimacy, and love.

Each chakra is associated with an element, a colour associated with the element (not the chakra as chakras do not have a colour in tantra), a number of lotus petals, a symbolic animal, and a Bija mantra which is a single syllable sound that resonates with each specific chakra to balance the energy. Together, these form a multidimensional language that helps us understand different layers of ourselves.

Through these portals, these energy centers existing in the subtle body, one experiences life: survival and safety, pleasure and creativity, power and transformation, love and devotion, truth and transcendence.

Most people spend much of their lives in the lower three chakras; focused on survival, pleasure, achievement, and identity. But the higher chakras are not strictly reserved for monks or mystics… They are always available, waiting to be perceived, purified and inhabited.

Muladhara

Element: Earth
Colour (associated to the element): Clay Yellow
Petals: 4
Animal: Elephant
Bija Mantra: LAM

Muladhara is the foundation. Located at the base of the spine, specifically in the perineum area, it governs our most fundamental relationship with life itself. This chakra represents stability, safety, grounding, and vitality; the instinctual intelligence that keeps us alive and connected to the physical world.

The Earth element here provides solidity and structure. When muladhara is balanced, a person feels rooted, present, safe and secure, and supported by life. There is a sense of belonging in the body and in the world. When it is challenged, themes of fear, insecurity, or instability may arise.

The elephant symbolizes strength, vitality, patience, and endurance; qualities that develop when one feels deeply grounded. Muladhara is the energetic home of our nervous system’s sense of safety. It is the base from which all higher exploration becomes possible.

*Similar to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, Muladhara directly parallels the base of the hierarchy; both representing fundamental needs for survival, security, stability, and grounding, before higher needs can be addressed.

Svadhisthana

Element: Water
Colour (associated to the element): Silver/White
Petals: 6
Animal: Crocodile
Bija Mantra: VAM

Svadhisthana resides two fingers above the clitoris or two fingers above the base of the penis, and governs emotion, sensation, desire and creativity. Like water, its energy is fluid, adaptable, and powerful when allowed to move freely.

This chakra represents our capacity to feel, to experience pleasure, emotion, connection, and change without becoming overwhelmed or taken. It influences creativity, artistic expression, and how we relate to others on an emotional level.

The crocodile symbolizes the raw intensity and depth of feeling stored here. When svadhisthana is balanced, emotions move naturally and creatively. When imbalanced, with impurities, a person may feel emotionally disconnected, flooded, or stuck in patterns of attachment or avoidance. Many get stuck in this chakra and spend most of their physical lives here.

Svadhisthana teaches us how to flow with life rather than resist it or get lost in it.

Manipura

Element: Fire
Colour (associated to the element): Bright Red
Petals: 10
Animal: Ram
Bija Mantra: RAM

Manipura is located at the navel center, the belly button, and is the center of personal power, will, and transformation. This is the fire that fuels action, confidence, and the capacity to turn intention into reality.

The Fire element governs digestion on every level; physical, emotional, and psychological. Manipura allows us to metabolize experiences, learn from challenges, and develop a strong sense of self.

The ram represents courage, determination, and forward movement. When manipura is balanced, a person feels empowered, motivated, and capable of healthy leadership. When imbalanced, it may show up as control issues, lack of confidence, burnout, and ego.

This chakra is central in tantra because it refines and elevates energy, transforming instinct into conscious action. This is where the alchemical process of transmutation and sublimation will take place as fire is paramount for this process to occur.

Anahata

Element: Air
Colour (associated to the element): Sky Blue
Petals: 12
Animal: Deer
Bija Mantra: YAM

Anahata sits at the center of the chest and marks a profound transition; from self-centered awareness to relational and universal awareness. It governs love, compassion, empathy, and emotional integration.

The Air element brings lightness, movement, and openness. Here, we learn to give and receive without grasping, to connect without losing ourselves.

The deer symbolizes sensitivity and grace. A balanced anahata allows a person to feel deeply without being overwhelmed, to maintain boundaries while remaining open-hearted.

In tantric philosophy, anahata is both the beginning of true spiritual life and the place we return to after deep realization. It bridges the human and the sacred.

Vishuddha

Element: Ether
Colour (associated to the element): Black/Night Blue
Petals: 16
Animal: Small White Elephant
Bija Mantra: HAM

Vishuddha is the center of truth, resonance, and expression. Located at the throat, it governs communication—not just speech, but the ability to live and express one’s truth authentically.

Ether represents space, vibration, and subtlety. This chakra refines energy, allowing thoughts and emotions to be expressed clearly and purely.

The white elephant symbolizes wisdom and spiritual authority. When vishuddha is balanced, a person speaks with clarity and listens deeply. There is a natural alignment between inner truth and outer expression.

This chakra also opens the doorway from personal experience into transpersonal awareness.

Ajna

Element: The supreme, cosmic element; all encompassing
Colour (associated to the element): None
Petals: 2
Animal: None (symbolizes transcendence of form)
Bija Mantra: AUM

Ajna represents perception beyond intellect. Located between the eyebrows, the third eye, it governs intuition, insight, discernment, and clarity of awareness.

This is the seat of the cosmic mind; the capacity to see patterns, recognize truth, and perceive unity beneath apparent complexity. Ajna allows one to distinguish the real from the unreal.

With its two petals symbolizing duality, ajna ultimately transcends polarity. When this chakra is balanced, there is strong concentration, inner guidance, mental stillness, and profound awareness.

Sahasrara

Element: None, beyond the elements
Colour (associated to the element): None
Petals: 1000 (symbolic of infinity)
Animal: None

Sahasrara is not a chakra in the same sense as the others. It is a gateway to totality, located at the crown of the head. Here, individuality dissolves into unity, into oneness.

There are no qualities to refine, no traits to balance. Sahasrara represents pure awareness, it is when consciousness recognizes itself. In tantric language, it is the union of Shiva and Shakti, stillness and movement, form and formlessness.

This state cannot be understood intellectually. It can only be experienced.

…

The chakra system is not a ladder to climb or a hierarchy meant to escape the body. It is a map of wholeness, a reminder that every layer of our experience belongs.

Each chakra offers a doorway into deeper embodiment and awareness. Tantra invites us not to bypass these layers, but to inhabit them fully, consciously, and with reverence.

When approached with curiosity, presence, and practice, this map becomes a living path; one that gradually unfolds and guides you back home.

Definitions

Bija mantra: A sacred, single-syllable "seed sound” used in meditation and spiritual practices to directly align with the divine force

Transmutation: This is the practice to transmute, to change the quality of the matter through a chemical process, transforming matter into energy and vice versa

Sublimation: This is the practice of taking energy from the lower chakras, and bringing it up to the higher chakras, where the process of transmutation will occur, thus sublimating itself up to the higher chakras

Shiva: Consciousness

Shakti: Energy