Of the seven energy centres in the colour and chakra traditions, the Solar Plexus is the one most often described as the seat of personal power — not power over others, but the quieter, more durable kind: the capacity to know your own mind, trust your own judgement, and move through the world from a grounded sense of self. Traditionally associated with the colour yellow, the Solar Plexus Chakra sits at the centre of the body and, in many traditions, at the centre of the self. Here is what it means, and how people work with it.
What is the Solar Plexus Chakra?
The Solar Plexus Chakra — known in Sanskrit as Manipura, meaning “city of jewels” — is the third energy centre in the seven-chakra system. It sits in the upper abdomen, roughly at the level of the diaphragm, and is associated with the qualities of personal will, self-confidence, clarity of purpose, and the capacity to act decisively from an inner sense of direction.
Within the Colour Energy system, the Solar Plexus is the Yellow Energy Centre — the chakra where individual identity meets the world, where instinct and emotion are refined into purposeful action. The Colour Energy affirmation for this centre is direct: I Can Do Anything. Not in a grandiose sense, but as a statement of inner authority — the settled confidence that comes when this centre is engaged and clear.
The Solar Plexus sits between the warmer, more primal energies below — the Red Root Chakra of grounding and survival, and the Orange Sacral Chakra of creativity and flow — and the more expansive, heart-centred energies above. It occupies a central position in the seven-colour system, functioning as the bridge between instinct and intention. You can read more about how the system connects in the guide to the Root Chakra and the guide to the Sacral Chakra.
SOLAR PLEXUS — CONFIDENCE, CLARITY & PERSONAL WILL
Why is the Solar Plexus Chakra connected to yellow?
Yellow is the most luminous colour visible to the human eye — the colour of sunlight, of mental alertness, of the mind fully awake and directed. The Solar Plexus association with yellow is one of the oldest and most consistent in colour and chakra traditions, and it is not difficult to understand why: yellow carries the quality of brightness, of seeing clearly, of the warmth that enables confident action rather than hesitation.
In colour psychology, yellow is consistently associated with cognitive engagement — it activates the mind, supports focus, and is strongly linked with the quality of alertness. Research into colour and perception has found that yellow environments tend to encourage mental sharpness and attentiveness. Within Colour Energy’s approach, this aligns naturally with what the Solar Plexus centre is understood to govern: the clarity of thought and confidence of self that allow a person to act with purpose rather than being caught in indecision.
Yellow also connects to the light of the sun itself — the source of warmth and energy that makes growth possible. The Solar Plexus, in many traditions, is understood as the body’s own solar centre: the place where energy is gathered, processed, and channelled into purposeful action. Discover more about what each chakra colour means →
What are the Solar Plexus Chakra’s traditional associations?
Within colour and chakra traditions, the Solar Plexus Centre is associated with a specific cluster of qualities that relate to the individual self in relation to the world:
Confidence and self-assurance. The Solar Plexus is the centre of self-trust — the felt sense that one’s own judgement is reliable, that one’s own perspective has value, that it is safe to hold a position and act from it. When this centre is engaged, confidence arises not as performance or bravado but as a quiet steadiness.
Personal will and decisive action. Manipura is the centre that translates intention into action. Where the Sacral Chakra holds creative potential and emotional energy, the Solar Plexus is the place where that energy becomes directed — where a choice is made, a direction is taken, and momentum begins.
Mental clarity and focus. The Solar Plexus is associated with the quality of clear thinking — the capacity to sort through complexity and know what one actually thinks, rather than being overwhelmed by conflicting information or other people’s opinions. Many people find that working with yellow energy supports exactly this quality: a sense of having found one’s own signal through the noise.
Sense of personal identity. At its deepest level, Manipura is concerned with the question of who one is. It is the centre of individual identity — not as ego in the narrow sense, but as the genuine, grounded experience of one’s own presence in the world.
What crystals are traditionally associated with the Solar Plexus Chakra?
Within crystal and colour energy traditions, the stones associated with the Solar Plexus share yellow energy’s qualities of warmth, clarity, and confident vitality.
Citrine is one of the most widely recognised Solar Plexus stones in colour and crystal traditions. Its warm golden-yellow colour — ranging from pale lemon to rich amber — connects directly to the qualities of the centre itself: mental clarity, optimism, and the warm confidence that comes from a settled relationship with one’s own identity. Citrine is often chosen when someone wants to cultivate a sense of positive mental engagement and forward momentum.
Sunstone is another crystal associated with yellow energy within the Colour Energy tradition. Light-catching and warm, sunstone is often chosen for its associations with vitality and the illuminating quality of sunlight itself. Both citrine and sunstone appear in the formulation of the Crystal Light Spiritual Spray — Yellow, where their vibrational qualities are incorporated alongside the essential oil blend.
Tiger’s Eye is a third stone frequently associated with the Solar Plexus — a banded golden-brown stone whose optical quality of chatoyancy (the shifting light effect) gives it a particular resonance with the focused, directed energy of this centre. Tiger’s Eye is often chosen for its associations with clarity of purpose, confidence, and the capacity to stay steady and focused through complexity. The Prosperity Bracelet — Yellow ($15.99 CAD) uses tiger’s eye as its gemstone for exactly these qualities.
CITRINE — SOLAR PLEXUS CRYSTAL
Which essential oils are associated with the Solar Plexus Chakra?
In the Colour Energy tradition, each energy centre has a corresponding aromatic expression — a group of scents that carries the same essential qualities as the colour and the chakra it accompanies. For the Solar Plexus and yellow energy, the primary aromatic companions are citrus and herbaceous oils: bright, uplifting, mentally clarifying, and warming without being heavy.
Grapefruit is one of the signature Solar Plexus scents — crisp, bright, and energising. Its freshness cuts through mental sluggishness and carries a quality of readiness. The Grapefruit Essential Oil (from $7.99 CAD) is described by Colour Energy as “energising, detoxifying and euphoric” — an uplifting and rejuvenating scent that is among the most immediately effective for mental brightness.
Rosemary is the classic herb of memory, focus, and mental clarity in Western botanical tradition. Where grapefruit offers brightness, rosemary brings direction — a focused, piercing quality of mental awareness. The Rosemary Essential Oil (from $7.99 CAD) provides the mental focus and clarity that makes it a natural companion to grapefruit in yellow energy blends. Together, they form the core of the Yellow Energy Blend ($17.99 CAD, 10ml) — a pure grapefruit and rosemary blend in jojoba that can be applied to the Solar Plexus area or warmed in the palms and inhaled before focused work, creative thinking, or decision-making.
Lemon carries a clean, familiar brightness — mentally activating, uplifting, and associated with clarity and a sense of fresh possibility. The Lemon Essential Oil (from $7.99 CAD) is one of the most versatile of the yellow oils, working well alone, diffused, or as part of a personal blend.
Lemongrass has an enlivening quality that many people describe as refreshing and revitalising — particularly useful when mental energy feels scattered or depleted. The Lemongrass Essential Oil (from $7.99 CAD) brings a distinctive freshness to yellow energy practices.
For a complete aromatherapy and vibrational experience, the Crystal Light Spiritual Spray — Yellow (from $11.99 CAD) combines essential oils including bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, rosemary, litsea cubeba, and coriander with alchemy essences and the vibrational qualities of citrine and sunstone. Formulated with purified water and holy water, it can be misted around the body, over the Solar Plexus area, or into a workspace — a sensory moment of intention within a busy day.
As with all essential oils, Colour Energy’s aromatherapy products are intended for external use only and should be diluted with a carrier oil before direct skin application. If you are pregnant, nursing, or managing a health condition, a conversation with your healthcare provider can help you choose the best approach for you.
YELLOW ENERGY BLEND — GRAPEFRUIT & ROSEMARY
How do people work with the Solar Plexus Chakra?
Working with the Solar Plexus Centre is most effective when it is anchored to concrete practice — a moment of intention that brings yellow energy into a specific context. The following approaches are commonly used within colour and chakra traditions.
Colour bathing. One of the most immersive approaches in the Colour Energy tradition is bathing in colour-infused water. The Colour Bath® — Yellow ($7.99 CAD, 30ml — sufficient for 2–3 baths) transforms bath water into a clear, vibrant yellow. Made from demineralized water, glycerine, and non-toxic organic colours — free from FD&C colours, perfumes, and oils — it creates a fully sensory colour experience. Adding a few drops of the Yellow Energy Blend to the bath extends the aromatherapy dimension: sight, scent, and warmth all working together.
Aromatherapy application. Applying the Yellow Energy Blend to the Solar Plexus area (upper abdomen) as a focused, intentional gesture is one of the more direct ways to engage this centre. The Chakra Light Essence Roll-On — Yellow ($21.99 CAD, 10ml) is specifically formulated for this practice — a roll-on designed to be applied to the Solar Plexus energy centre morning and evening, with conscious breathing, as a daily ritual of presence and self-trust.
Working with crystals. Many people choose to keep a citrine, sunstone, or tiger’s eye stone as a tactile anchor for Solar Plexus intention — placed on a desk during focused work, held briefly as part of a morning practice, or worn as jewellery throughout the day. The Prosperity Bracelet — Yellow ($15.99 CAD) offers an elegant way to carry tiger’s eye energy as a wearable reminder of the qualities this centre supports.
Yellow colour therapy glasses. Colour therapy works through visual immersion: wearing yellow-tinted lenses briefly filters the visual environment through yellow light, creating a direct perceptual experience of the colour. Colour Energy offers several styles of yellow colour therapy eyewear within the Yellow Collection — typically worn for short, intentional periods rather than all day.
Diffusing yellow essential oils. Running a diffuser blend through a workspace or meditation space fills the environment with the aromatic qualities of yellow energy. The Smarty Pants — Colour Your Mood™ Diffuser Mix ($15.99 CAD) was specifically created for this: described as awakening mind power with an uplifting and invigorating blend designed to alert the brain and support focused thinking.
YELLOW — THE COLOUR OF THE SOLAR PLEXUS CENTRE
What makes working with the Solar Plexus Centre meaningful?
Understanding why Solar Plexus practices resonate with so many people begins with recognising what the tradition offers.
The Manipura centre is, within chakra traditions, an energetic concept — a framework for understanding and working with aspects of the self that are real and recognisable even if we don’t always have language for them. Most people know what it feels like when their self-confidence is depleted, when decision-making feels impossible, when clarity of direction is absent. The Solar Plexus tradition gives that felt experience a name, a colour, a practice, and a set of tools.
The sensory dimensions of that practice are real. Scent, as research has consistently found, has a direct and measurable effect on mood, alertness, and emotional state. A bright citrus scent in the morning genuinely engages the nervous system differently than a heavy, sedating one. The warmth of a bath, the weight of a crystal in the palm, the conscious attention brought to breathing — these are all genuine forms of sensory engagement that have a real effect on the quality of presence one brings to the following hours.
The tradition around the Solar Plexus Chakra gives all of this a framework of meaning — a way of understanding what you are doing when you take a yellow bath, or apply grapefruit and rosemary to your wrists before a difficult day. That framework is what many people find most valuable: the intention it invites, the quality of attention it cultivates, the way it turns a routine into a practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Solar Plexus Chakra located?
The Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) is located in the upper abdomen, roughly at the level of the diaphragm — between the navel and the base of the sternum. In Colour Energy practice, this is the area where the Chakra Light Essence Roll-On is applied and where conscious breathing during colour practices is often directed.
What colour is the Solar Plexus Chakra?
The Solar Plexus Chakra is yellow — the bright, luminous yellow of sunlight and citrus. Within the Colour Energy seven-colour system, yellow is the dedicated colour of this centre, associated with personal will, mental clarity, and self-confidence.
What crystals are best for the Solar Plexus Chakra?
Within crystal and colour energy traditions, citrine, sunstone, and tiger’s eye are the stones most commonly associated with the Solar Plexus Centre. Citrine and sunstone appear in Colour Energy’s Crystal Light Spiritual Spray — Yellow; tiger’s eye is the stone used in the Yellow Prosperity Bracelet. Each carries warmth, clarity, and a quality of directed, confident energy.
What essential oils support the Solar Plexus Chakra?
In the Colour Energy system, the Solar Plexus is supported by citrus and herbaceous oils — grapefruit, rosemary, lemon, lemongrass, and bergamot are among the most associated. Grapefruit and rosemary together form the core of the Yellow Energy Blend, the most direct aromatherapy product for the Solar Plexus Centre.
How do I know if my Solar Plexus Chakra needs attention?
Within chakra traditions, a Solar Plexus Centre that feels depleted or blocked is often described through experiences of diminished confidence, difficulty making decisions, feeling scattered or unfocused, a tendency to second-guess oneself, or a sense of having lost one’s direction. Working with yellow energy — through colour, scent, crystal practice, or colour bathing — is understood as an invitation to reconnect with the qualities of clarity and self-trust this centre represents.
The Solar Plexus is the part of us that knows what it thinks, trusts what it knows, and is willing to act from that knowledge. Yellow is its colour — bright, direct, and impossible to overlook. Whether you approach it through the scent of grapefruit and rosemary on a quiet morning, a warm yellow bath, or the weight of a tiger’s eye bracelet on your wrist through a demanding day, the practice is ultimately the same: a moment of choosing, consciously, to show up with clarity and confidence.
For more ways to bring this energy centre into balance, explore our guide to balancing your Solar Plexus Chakra.