Traditional Chakra System

Chakras are energy centres described in tantric Hindu and Buddhist texts, where they form part of a subtle-body model used in yogic and meditative practice. The widely known seven-centre arrangement — from the base of the spine to the crown — reached English-speaking audiences largely through Arthur Avalon’s 1919 translation and commentary, The Serpent Power.[1]

In the source texts, chakras are described with lotus petals, Sanskrit seed syllables, elements, and deities, and they belong to practices of breath, visualisation, and meditation rather than to personality typing. Different tantric lineages describe different numbers of centres — five, six, nine, or more — so the seven-chakra model is one system among several.

The rainbow-colour scheme familiar from modern wellness culture is a twentieth-century Western addition, not part of the classical descriptions. People explore chakras today mainly as a vocabulary for attention in the body: grounding, expression, openness, and clarity.

No traditional text assigns a chakra by birth date. Birth Mosaic uses the chakra model as a reflective framework, connecting themes that appear across your other chapters to a centre for contemplation, and marking that connection as our own organisation.

• What each of the seven commonly listed centres traditionally represents
• Sanskrit names and the qualities associated with them
• Themes such as grounding, expression, and perception
• Reflection prompts on where your attention tends to sit
• Which elements of the modern model are recent Western additions

Chakra

A 'wheel' or centre in the subtle-body model of tantric practice.

Nadi

A channel through which subtle energy is said to move; ida, pingala, and sushumna are the main three.

Kundalini

Energy described as coiled at the base of the spine and awakened through practice.

Bija mantra

A seed syllable such as LAM or VAM associated with a centre.

Subtle body

The non-physical body-map in which chakras and nadis are described.

Example: the throat centre, Vishuddha, is traditionally linked with speech and expression, so a reflective prompt might ask where you speak freely and where you hold back. This is an example of the model’s use, not a diagnosis of your energy.

Chakras belong to living Hindu and Buddhist religious practices and vary between lineages and texts. They are not anatomical structures, and chakra work is not medical or psychological treatment.