Chakras have been at the heart of energy and wellness traditions for thousands of years — and curiosity about them has never been greater. Whether you've encountered the term through yoga, colour therapy, crystal work or a friend who swears by them, the same questions tend to come up: what exactly are the 7 chakras, where are they, and what do their colours mean? This guide covers all of it. From the grounding red of the Root Chakra to the expansive violet of the Crown, each energy centre has its own character, its own colour and its own tradition of meaning — and understanding the whole system is a genuinely useful starting point for anyone exploring colour energy, aromatherapy or intentional wellness practice.
What Does "Chakra" Actually Mean?
The word chakra comes from Sanskrit and translates literally as "wheel" or "disc." Within the tradition of yoga and Ayurveda, the chakras are understood as rotating centres of energy distributed along the central channel of the body — each one associated with specific qualities, colours, elements and aspects of human experience. The tradition maps seven primary chakras, running from the base of the spine to the top of the head.
Within colour therapy traditions, each chakra corresponds to a distinct colour of the visible light spectrum — an idea that gives colour itself an energetic dimension. At Colour Energy, this correspondence is central to everything: the colours we work with, the products we create and the way we think about sensory wellness all connect back to this seven-colour framework. Understanding the chakras is, in many ways, a gateway to understanding what colour energy means in practice.
MEDITATION AND AWARENESS
Where Are the 7 Chakras Located?
The seven primary chakras are traditionally placed along the spine, from the tailbone to the crown of the head. While they're not physical anatomy in the conventional sense, the tradition locates each one at a point where significant nerve clusters and glands converge — and many people find that thinking about these points helps them bring focused awareness to different areas of the body during meditation, breathwork or colour therapy practice.
In order, from base to crown: the Root Chakra sits at the base of the spine; the Sacral just below the navel; the Solar Plexus at the upper abdomen; the Heart at the centre of the chest; the Throat at the throat; the Brow (or Third Eye) between the eyebrows; and the Crown at the top of the head. Together, they form a complete map of the human energy system — moving from the most physically grounded at the base to the most spiritually expansive at the crown.
The 7 Chakras, Their Colours and Meanings
Each chakra is traditionally associated with a specific colour of the spectrum, a set of qualities and an area of life experience. Here is the full picture of all seven, as Colour Energy understands and works with them.
1. Root Chakra — Red | Muladhara
Location: Base of the spine
Colour: Red
Traditional associations: Grounding, safety, survival, security, physical vitality
The Root Chakra is the foundation of the entire system. Traditionally associated with our most fundamental sense of safety and belonging — the feeling that we have a stable place in the world — red energy is often chosen when someone wants to feel more grounded, secure or physically connected. It's the energy of the earth beneath your feet, of roots going deep.
Explore: Chakra Light Essence Roll-On — Red · Read: What Is the Root Chakra? · What Does the Colour Red Mean?
2. Sacral Chakra — Orange | Svadhisthana
Location: Just below the navel
Colour: Orange
Traditional associations: Creativity, sensory pleasure, joy, emotional flow, connection
The Sacral Chakra is where creativity and emotional life are traditionally held. Orange energy is often chosen when someone wants to reconnect with pleasure, spontaneity or the richness of sensory experience. Within colour traditions, it's associated with the ability to move freely — emotionally and creatively — rather than shutting down or holding back.
Explore: Chakra Light Essence Roll-On — Orange · Read: What Is the Sacral Chakra? · What Does Orange Colour Mean?
3. Solar Plexus Chakra — Yellow | Manipura
Location: Upper abdomen
Colour: Yellow
Traditional associations: Confidence, personal will, self-belief, clarity of direction
The Solar Plexus is traditionally the seat of personal power — the inner fire that drives action, decision-making and a clear sense of self. Yellow is a colour many people associate with optimism and mental clarity, and within chakra traditions, it's the energy of knowing your own mind and having the confidence to act on it.
Explore: Chakra Light Essence Roll-On — Yellow · Read: What Is the Solar Plexus Chakra? · What Does the Colour Yellow Mean?
4. Heart Chakra — Green (and Pink) | Anahata
Location: Centre of the chest
Colour: Green (with Pink as the Heart's rose and compassion expression)
Traditional associations: Love, compassion, balance, connection, openness
The Heart Chakra sits at the centre of the seven — with three chakras above it and three below — and is traditionally the bridge between the physical and the spiritual. Green is its primary colour, associated with balance, growth and love in its most open form. Pink is the Heart's softer, more intimate expression: compassion, tenderness, self-love and care for others.
Explore: Chakra Light Essence Roll-On — Green · Read: What Is the Heart Chakra? · What Does Green Colour Mean? · What Does Pink Colour Mean?
5. Throat Chakra — Blue | Vishuddha
Location: The throat
Colour: Blue
Traditional associations: Communication, truth, authentic expression, voice
The Throat Chakra is traditionally associated with the ability to speak honestly and be heard — not just in conversation, but in any form of creative or personal expression. Blue energy is often chosen when someone wants to communicate with more clarity and confidence, or when they feel something is being held back or left unsaid.
Explore: Chakra Light Essence Roll-On — Blue · Read: What Is the Throat Chakra?
6. Brow Chakra — Indigo | Ajna
Location: Between the eyebrows (Third Eye)
Colour: Indigo
Traditional associations: Intuition, perception, inner sight, insight
The Brow Chakra — also known as the Third Eye — is traditionally associated with inner knowing: the part of you that perceives beyond the obvious, reads between the lines and trusts a sense of things that goes beyond logic alone. Indigo is a deep, rich blue-violet that has long been connected with spiritual intelligence and expanded perception. At Colour Energy, amethyst is the signature stone of the Brow Chakra — often chosen to support clarity of insight and a quieter, more receptive mind.
Explore: Chakra Light Essence Roll-On — Indigo · Read: What Is the Brow Chakra? · What Does Indigo Colour Mean? · Learn About Amethyst
7. Crown Chakra — Violet | Sahasrara
Location: Top of the head
Colour: Violet
Traditional associations: Spiritual awareness, expanded consciousness, connection to the universal
The Crown Chakra is the highest point of the seven-chakra map — the place where personal awareness opens outward into something larger. Violet is traditionally associated with the most elevated states: stillness, spiritual sensitivity and a sense of being part of something beyond the individual self. Many people drawn to meditation, contemplative practice or deep inner work find themselves naturally drawn to violet energy.
Explore: Chakra Light Essence Roll-On — Violet · Read: What Is the Crown Chakra? · What Does Violet Colour Mean?
CHAKRA MEDITATION PRACTICE
Why Do the Chakras Each Have a Specific Colour?
The correspondence between the seven chakras and the seven colours of the visible light spectrum is one of the most elegant aspects of the tradition — and it's not arbitrary. The colours move in spectral order from red at the base to violet at the crown, mirroring the progression of the rainbow and the full span of visible light. In colour therapy traditions, this alignment suggests that working with colour is a natural way to engage with the chakra system: each colour carries its own quality of light and its own felt sense.
Colour psychology supports the observation that colours can influence mood and perception. Red is activating; blue tends to feel calming and expansive; yellow lifts the mind. The chakra tradition worked with these associations long before modern research named them — and within colour therapy practice, working intentionally with each chakra's colour through light, textiles, gemstones, aromatherapy or visualisation is a way of bringing that quality of energy into daily experience.
How Do People Work with Chakra Energy?
Working with the chakras doesn't require elaborate ritual or specialist training. The simplest starting point is awareness — bringing deliberate attention to one area of your experience at a time and noticing what feels alive, what feels muted, what feels in need of a little more attention. From there, people draw on a range of practices: meditation and breathwork, colour, crystals, aromatherapy, sound, and intentional movement through yoga or qigong.
At Colour Energy, the approach is rooted in colour and scent. The Chakra Light Essence Roll-On range offers a roll-on for each of the seven energy centres, formulated with essential oils traditionally associated with that chakra's qualities. The Red roll-on, for instance, is grounding and earthy; the Indigo roll-on is quieter and introspective. Applied to pulse points during a meditation or used as part of a simple daily ritual, they offer a sensory anchor for the kind of attention chakra work is built on.
For those who enjoy working with crystals, each chakra has traditionally associated gemstones — stones chosen for their colour, texture and energetic tradition. Our Through the Chakras Meditation CD provides guided sound support for moving through all seven centres, while the Chakra Colour Chart is a practical laminated reference to keep close when you're learning the system. And if you're curious whether an energy centre might need attention, our guide on how to tell if a chakra is blocked is a clear place to start.
CHAKRA STONE THERAPY
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have to believe in chakras for colour therapy to work?
Not necessarily. Many people engage with colour, aromatherapy and crystal practices for the sensory experience and the intentional focus they bring — regardless of how they feel about the spiritual framework. The chakra system is a useful map, not a requirement. Start with what feels meaningful to you.
What's the difference between the Brow Chakra and the Crown Chakra?
Both sit in the upper part of the system, but they have distinct traditional qualities. The Brow Chakra (Indigo) is associated with inner knowing, perception and intuition — the quality of insight. The Crown Chakra (Violet) is associated with expanded spiritual awareness and a sense of connection to something larger than the individual self. In practice, people often find one resonates more strongly than the other.
Can I work with more than one chakra at a time?
Absolutely. While it can be useful to focus on one chakra at a time — particularly when you're learning the system — many practices work with all seven together. The Through the Chakras Meditation CD does exactly this, guiding you through the full spectrum in a single session.
What is the best chakra to start with?
Within energy traditions, the Root Chakra is often suggested as a starting point, because grounding and stability are seen as the foundation for everything above. If you're feeling scattered, disconnected or overwhelmed, beginning with red energy and the Root is a common recommendation. From a stable base, the rest of the system becomes easier to work with.
The seven chakras offer one of the most complete maps of human experience available — a way of understanding how physical wellbeing, emotion, expression, connection, intuition and spiritual awareness all interact. Working your way through the system, even just one colour and one energy centre at a time, has a way of making the whole picture feel a little clearer.
If you're ready to start exploring, each of the seven chakra colours has its own collection at Colour Energy — products, practices and sensory tools designed around the specific quality of that energy.