Chakras: The Wheels Within
A woman outdoors, with chakras illustrated as colored lights.
Like many of my peers, I learned about chakras during the New Age movement of the 1980s.
The word ‘chakra’ is Sanskrit for ‘wheel.’ Chakras are energetic openings in the human body. We have chakras in the palms of our hands and the souls of our feet, which is why both hands and feet are upturned when meditating in lotus position.
The study of chakras began in India between 1500 and 500 BC. Information about chakras is included in the Vedas, the oldest sacred text in Hinduism.
The modern Western chakra system started in the 1880s with the Theosophists. The publication of two books solidified it, Sir John Woodroffe's 1919 book The Serpent Power and Charles W. Leadbeater's 1927 book The Chakras. Both of these books are still available today.
When I learned about chakras in the 1980s, my favorite book was Wheels of Life by Anodea Judith. I still have that book, and I still treasure it. I understand more of it now than I did then.
When we think of chakras, we often think of the seven primary chakras, which are arranged along the spine, from bottom to top, or root to crown.
While, in the West, we associate chakras with yoga culture, chakras have also made their way into Western magical and energy healing practices. I have often wondered about this cross-cultural connection. A friend who grew up with a hereditary family magical practice from the British Isles told me that part of their generational tradition included ‘energy centers’ that she later discovered correlate with the seven chakras.
Did the musings of Madam Blavatsky and the Theosophists make their way into my friend’s family practice early in the last century, or did this knowledge spring up independently in multiple places?
We may never know how the concept of chakras came to us. Yet, knowledge of chakras can help us heal body, mind, and spirit.
Meditation, visualization, crystals, and colors can support our chakras (and allow our chakras to support us). For example, I believe that something as simple as wearing red underwear can support the root chakra, which can help us feel grounded and safe.
When I was a child with a sore throat, my grandmother, who studied yoga in the 1960s, told me to go outside, open my mouth wide, stick out my tongue, and show my throat to the blue sky. Of course, at the time, I thought she was silly. Now, I wish I could ask her for more chakra healing techniques.
The study of chakras can be complex and intense. Many scam psychics and healers charge way too much money for fake ‘chakra cleansing,’ and should be avoided. Yet, it only takes a small amount of knowledge to incorporate chakras into our healing and magical practices. When we do, the benefits can be significant.
The StaarCon 5 Imagining of Pixie Arcana. Art and composition by Stacey Williams-Ng, backgrounds by Animix.
The StaarCorner
This Saturday, March 29, at 1:00 p.m. ET, join Kate Mura in the Meeting Hall lounge for a deep dive begun by her StaarCon 5 presentation, The Cards Question. Bring your tarot deck and get ready to discuss the full moon and solar eclipse along with the cards.
Please try to watch Kate's StaarCon 5 presentation first if you have not already seen it.
Marion Kirk and Maria Alviz Hernando at StaarCon 2023.
A woman prepares to do a tarot reading.
Read Your Chakras with Tarot
There are ways to read and heal chakras using tools like a pendulum or tarot cards. To read your chakras with tarot cards, simply focus on your chakras, and pull one card for each, beginning with the root and ending with the crown.
Interpret the card in the context of the chakra. Use your own ideas or use the questions below. Pay attention to elements. Does the element of the card match the element of the chakra?
After you do the reading, you can use the cards to bring healing by cognitively choosing cards that feel healing for each chakra and placing them in the spread.
Chakra Seven, Crown: How am I connecting with spirit? How am I hearing the guidance of my ancestors and angels?
Chakra Six, Brow: How open is my Third Eye? Am I using my intuition, and am I paying attention?
Chakra Five, Throat: How am I communicating? How am I using my voice? How is my voice being heard?
Chakra Four, Heart: How am I experiencing love and emotion? How am I feeling?
Chakra Three, Solar Plexus: What do I want? What can I do to get it?
Chakra Two, Sacral: What is my relationship to family?
Chakra One, Root: What is my ability to feel supported and well, and create the resources I need?
Deep Dive Readings Members-only Livestream on YouTube - March 27th @ 7 pm.
The Week in Review
I have been experimenting with live stream tarot readings on TikTok and simulcasting my YouTube live streams on Facebook. Look for me on your favorite social media platform. If you see me live, please say hi and ask for a reading!
If you are a member of my YouTube channel, please join us for a members-only live stream where we will do deep-dive readings. This is an opportunity to get a reading and learn more about how the cards speak. The member’s only live stream is tomorrow, Thursday, at 7 pm ET.
From Around the Web
The Soul Connection has done a deep dive into tarot and chakras. While I do not necessarily agree with everything they have decided, it is worth reading to see how you feel about it and what you can learn.
From the International Center for Reiki Training, here is some information on reiki and chakras.
Where did the term ‘energy medicine’ come from, and what is it? I was not surprised to learn that it was coined by people meeting in Boulder, Colorado, in the late 1980s. Perhaps they met during the Harmonic Convergence?
I learned this fun bit of history from an NIH National Library of Medicine website entry.
A circle of people on cushions learn from an instructor.
Community
There are so many people peddling snake oil and quackery that the word ‘wellness’ feels like a red flag for fraud these days. Yet, some communities of wellness practitioners are legitimate, smart, and well-intentioned.
Thinking of energy medicine specifically, there are some shamans and energy healers with fabulous reputations and communities.
How can we tell the difference between the real deal and the scammers?
I think very often, one thing to look at is the community that develops around a healer. Is that community welcoming? Are there opportunities to learn and experience that are affordable? Are community members encouraged to participate and build their own skills?
Or does the community center on a charismatic leader who is the only one allowed to offer healing or share wisdom?
Communities turn into cult-like organizations when narcissistic leaders dominate.
There are Reiki shares and circles everywhere. Find them in hospitals and church basements. Find them on Meetup.com and Eventbrite.com.
Energy medicine can be real and helpful, but it also attracts the misguided, the egotists, and the scammers. Don’t be afraid to leave a community to find a better one. Likewise, do not be afraid to leave an energy healer in search of a new connection.
Unseen hands leafing through a calendar.
Upcoming Events
Weekly YouTube Events
Monday 9:30 am: Your 3-Card Weekly Reading
Thursday Noon: Tarot Topics Newsletter Recap
Friday Noon: Your Friday Weekly Wrap-up
Saturday 12:30 pm: Saturday Psychic Sampler
Christiana Gaudet offered readings at an outdoor South Florida event, circa 2009.
About Christiana Gaudet
Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.
Christiana Gaudet
770 SE Indian Street
Stuart, Florida 34997-5604
Locations in Port Saint Lucie, West Palm Beach, and Stuart, Florida!
Email cgaudet@cardandcraft.com
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Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 8 Issue 13
March 26, 2025
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