Chakras and Their Gemstones

Interestingly, the number of chakras isn't a fixed, hard number. Different disciplines have different teachings--much like different schools of martial arts--and don't all agree on placement, either!

In some Western interpretations of chakra meditation, chakras can "sour" (like milk) or be "blocked" (like a dam). In these interpretations, specific gemstones conduct different types of energy. This energy can be used to unblock or cleanse these pools. For advocates of crystal healing, chakras can range from being spiritual metaphors all the way to tangible objects.

So, what's the most common system?

Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) - Purple

• Location: top of the head or above the head entirely
• Represents: state of pure consciousness
• Emotional issues: spirituality; psychic abilities; inner and outer beauty; bliss
• Spiritual issues: connection to the universe; spiritual rebirth
• Physical issues: overall well-being
• Gemstones: amethyst, crystal quartz, white topaz

Third Eye Chakra (Anja) - Blue or Indigo

• Location: pituitary gland
• Represents: awareness; self-awareness; inner guidance; intuition; focus
• Emotional issues: imagination; acceptance and guidance of the higher self; decision-making
• Spiritual issues: balancing base instincts with higher impulses
• Physical issues: damage to brain tissues; eyesight; endocrine system
• Gemstones: lapis lazuli, sodalite

Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) - Teal or Light Blue

• Location: throat (thyroid)
• Represents: communication; growth via expression; secrets
• Emotional issues: communication; independence; listening; creativity; fluent thought
• Spiritual issues: sense of self; freedom to speak truth
• Physical issues: thyroid; esophagus; speech and other communication problems
• Gemstones: aquamarine, blue lace agate, turquoise

Heart Chakra (Anahata) - Green

• Location: chest (breastbone)
• Represents: the union of male and female principles; ability to love
• Emotional issues: compassion; trust; forgiveness; compassion; complex emotions; tenderness; equilibrium; love
• Spiritual issues: devotion
• Physical issues: immune system; cardio-vascular system; lungs
• Gemstones: amazonite, aventurine, jade, malachite, peridot, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, rose quartz

Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) - Yellow

• Location: navel (belly button)
• Represents: personal power; anxiety; forming opinions; fear; introversion; personal control
• Emotional issues: self-image; self-confidence; self-worth; expansiveness; transitions from simple emotions to complex ones
• Spiritual issues: growth; spiritual progress
• Physical issues: metabolism; digestion; energy; pancreatic troubles
• Gemstones: amber, citrine, yellow calcite, tigereye

Sacral Chakra (Svadhishthana) - Orange

• Location: sacrum (location of the reproductive organs)
• Represents: emotions; openness; relationships; sexuality
• Emotional issues: intimacy; violence; basic emotional needs; pleasure; addiction
• Spiritual issues: enthusiasm; joy
• Physical issues: associated with reproductive system, especially the uterus; urinary tract health
• Gemstones: carnelian, sunstone

Root Chakra (Muladhara) - Red

• Location: base of spine in the coccyx or tailbone area
• Represents: foundation of self; grounding energy; survival instincts; physical needs (including financial stability); food
• Emotional issues: safety
• Spiritual issues: security
• Physical issues: associated with reproductive system; adrenal system; food or satiety
• Gemstones: bloodstone, garnet, obsidian, smoky quartz

These and other gemstones are frequently used as a focal point for the loosening or cleansing meditation that follows, or as a direct-contact physical tool. To dispel blockages or cleanse chakras using gemstones, a few techniques are popular. Some involve the person being healed or cleansed to sit, some to stand, some to lie down--depending on the chakra being affected. Or they can be worn as jewelry.

Some practitioners advocate loose stones, while others prefer strung or contained stones. To loosen a blockage, loose stones are often placed on the targeted chakra (although crown chakra stones can be placed above the body, when lying down), with any point of a stone or shape (such as teardrop's tip) pointed toward the top of the head so that energy flows upwards toward the crown chakra. The opposite can be used to cleanse a muddied or sour chakra, so that negative energy is dispelled into the earth via the root chakra or the feet.

Subcontinental jewelry styles (such as the tikka, which hangs over the third eye chakra) are a convenient and attractive way to wear chakra stones. Knotted nets holding heart chakra stones over the heart are popular healing techniques among crystal advocates. In addition, some recommend only using natural fibers, with no metals, for chakra jewelry. Different metals are often considered elements on their own, with their own healing and energy effects, so gemstone-only clasps are suggested. Some crystal healers go further, and urge chakra jewelry makers to use only plant-based stringing materials (cotton, linen, hemp) and avoid animal-based products such as silk, as the animal's energy can affect the results.

This is only an overview. A range of crystal healing and chakra healing techniques exist.