Red at the bottom, violet at the top, and the whole rainbow in between: the chakra colours are the best-known image in chakra teaching — and also the most often misunderstood. This guide explains all seven colours, their meaning, their order, their element and their stone. It also answers the questions that don't fit into the seven-colour scheme: What does black mean? Where do pink, turquoise, white and gold belong? What are the "new age" chakra colours? And why does the rainbow scheme look completely different in ancient texts? At the end, we show why our own sleep system carries only two colours: white and gold.

Tip: click a colour to jump straight to its colour card. You'll find the secondary colours further down.

The Seven Chakra Colours at a Glance

Chakra teaching recognises seven main chakras along the spine, from the pelvic floor to the crown of the head. Today, each one is assigned a colour of the rainbow. The table below summarises what you'll find in more detail in the colour cards further down: the Sanskrit name, element, number of petals of the lotus symbol, the classic stone, and the energy rod that carries this colour in the AURIPURA® sleep system.

Stones according to our Chakra Stones Guide, symbols according to the Symbol Atlas. The elements follow the classic tantric assignment; for the third eye and crown chakras, the texts name no gross physical element, but light and pure consciousness respectively.

Chakra Colours Order: Why Red Sits at the Bottom and Violet at the Top

The order of the chakra colours is easy to remember because it matches the rainbow exactly: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. So if you know the colours of the light spectrum, you also know the order of the chakras from bottom to top. Red has the longest wavelength in visible light, violet the shortest. Chakra teaching didn't invent this physical order, it adopted it as an image.

Behind this lies a logic that runs through all seven colour cards: the warm colours sit at the bottom, the cool ones at the top. Red, orange and yellow belong to the three lower chakras, traditionally associated with body, instinct and drive. Green forms the bridge in the middle. Blue, indigo and violet belong to the three upper chakras, linked with language, perception and consciousness. The higher the chakra, the finer and cooler the colour. This is symbolism, not physiology, but one that feels intuitively right.

One detail many overviews leave out: the heart chakra isn't just the fourth colour of seven, it's also the only colour that sits exactly in the middle of the spectrum. Green is neither warm nor cool. That's why, in the tradition, the heart is seen as a mediator between the "earthly" and the "spiritual" chakras. More on this in the Green colour card.

The Meaning of Each Chakra Colour

Each colour has its own symbolic world. The colour cards below describe the assignment most commonly used today. Bear in mind that different schools have variants, especially for the upper chakras. Where they are widespread, we mention them. For each colour you'll also find an everyday tip and a bedroom tip, because colours feel strongest to us in the places where we come to rest.

The Secondary Colours: Black, White, Pink, Turquoise, Gold and Purple

The seven-colour scheme is easy to grasp, but it leaves questions open. Anyone who looks into stones, modern teachings, or simply their own sense of colour, quickly comes across colours that don't appear in the rainbow. Here are the six most frequently asked-about colours, each with its usual place in the tradition.

Chakra Colour Black: Meaning

Black is not one of the seven classic chakra colours, yet it's one of the most searched-for. The reason lies in gemstone lore: black tourmaline, obsidian, onyx and hematite are among the most popular stones for the root chakra. There, black is read as a concentration of red: even more earth, even more weight, even more grounding. Symbolically, black stands for grounding, protection and boundaries, for the ability to stay centred in yourself.

In the extended 12-chakra systems, black gets a place of its own: the earth star chakra, roughly a hand's width below the feet, usually described there as black, brown or silver-grey. Both, closeness to the root and the earth star, are symbolic assignments. Black doesn't "do" anything, it's a reminder of something.

Chakra Colour White: Meaning

White is the second colour of the crown chakra, and in many yoga traditions even the first. Physically, white is the sum of all colours in the spectrum, and it's interpreted exactly that way: as the colour in which all others are contained. White stands for purity, clarity, stillness, and for the state in which nothing more needs to be added. The classic stone for it is clear quartz, the clearest of the seven stones. In modern teachings, white is also the colour of the soul star chakra above the head.

Chakra Colour Pink: Meaning

Pink is the second heart colour. While green shows the heart as a growing, balancing force, pink stands for its gentle side: affection, self-acceptance, comfort. Rose quartz, alongside green jade and aventurine, is the best-known heart stone, and through it pink is firmly anchored in chakra symbolism. In some 12-chakra teachings, pink is also assigned to the high heart between the heart and throat chakras.

Chakra Colour Turquoise: Meaning

Turquoise sits on the colour wheel between green and blue, between the heart and throat chakras. That's exactly where it's usually placed: as the colour of the transition between feeling and speaking, between compassion and expression. Some schools see the throat chakra itself as more turquoise than sky blue; others give turquoise to the high heart or the thymus area. The gemstone turquoise has been a protection and travel stone for thousands of years, which further links the colour to the theme of "keeping your voice while on the move".

Chakra Colour Gold: Meaning

Gold isn't a colour of the rainbow, but the colour of light itself, taking shape. In chakra symbolism you encounter it in two places. At the solar plexus chakra, as a warm gold tone, the colour of tiger's eye and citrine, for abundance and strength. And at the crown chakra, as a bright, almost white gold, which in many modern teachings is the colour of the soul star chakra and stands for purity, wisdom and connection with light.

Gold also carries a meaning older than any chakra teaching: it doesn't oxidise, it doesn't tarnish, it stays. That's why, in almost every culture, gold is the colour of the lasting, the valuable and the "heavenly", from icons to temple roofs to wedding rings. This meaning is why we made gold the colour of AURIPURA®, more on that below.

Purple, Violet or Indigo? The Difference

Three words, two chakras, a lot of confusion. Indigo is a deep, dark blue-violet with a high proportion of blue, the colour of the third eye chakra. Violet is lighter, has more red in it and belongs to the crown chakra. Purple isn't a technical term at all, just the everyday word for both. When a chakra text says "purple", it almost always means violet, i.e. the crown. If you're searching for a "purple chakra colour" and picturing a dark, night-blue tone, you're really thinking of the third eye chakra. A simple memory aid: indigo is the colour of the sky after sunset, violet the colour of lavender.

"New Age" Chakra Colours: the 12- and 13-Chakra System

By "new age chakras" or "new era chakras", people mean modern spiritual teachings that extend the classic seven-chakra system. They emerged over the last few decades and have no classical source in tantric or yogic texts. We describe them here because they interest many people, without passing judgement on them.

Typical additions are the earth star chakra below the feet (black, brown, silver; theme: anchoring), the high heart or thymus chakra between the heart and throat (turquoise or pink; theme: compassion that reaches beyond the personal), the soul star chakra roughly a hand's width above the head (white, gold, magenta; theme: connection), and a stellar gateway further above still. In these teachings, the classic seven colours are often described as lighter and more pastel, the sacral chakra, for instance, as peach or pink instead of orange, the third eye chakra as turquoise instead of indigo, and together with the additions a system of 12 or 13 colours emerges.

Whether this speaks to you is a matter of taste. For practice, the rule is simple: the seven rainbow colours are the common denominator that every system shares. Anyone who knows them will find their way around any extension.

Where Does the Colour Assignment Come From? A Short History of the Rainbow Scheme

Many assume the seven rainbow colours are ancient. In fact, the rainbow scheme as we know it today is less than a hundred years old. The classical tantric texts, above all the Shat-Chakra-Nirupana from the 16th century, do describe the chakras with colours, but very differently: the root lotus is red, the sacral lotus vermilion, the solar plexus lotus is described as a dark rain cloud, the heart lotus as smoke- or Bandhuka-red, the throat lotus smoky violet, the third eye lotus white as the moon. There's no mention of a continuous rainbow anywhere in these texts.

The Western reception began with the Theosophists around 1900. In The Chakras (1927), Charles Leadbeater described the centres as coloured, spinning wheels, though in mixed colours, not as a spectrum. The scheme in common use today, in which each chakra carries exactly one rainbow colour in spectral order, is usually credited to the author Christopher Hills, whose 1970s book Nuclear Evolution made the image popular. From there it spread into yoga culture, into posters and books, and eventually into almost every search engine.

What does this mean for you? Two things. First: the seven colours are a symbolic system, not a law of nature, which is exactly why they may vary slightly between schools. Second: the rainbow scheme became established because it works so well. It's easy to remember, it follows the physics of light, and it arranges the seven chakra themes in an intuitive sequence from heavy to light, from dense to expansive. A good image is allowed to be young.

Chakra Colours in Everyday Life: the Colour Compass

The chakra colours are not a rule, but a tool for conscious awareness. Inviting them into everyday life gives you small reminders of the quality traditionally assigned to each colour. The colour compass sums up which colour suits which moment, and where in the home it's best placed.

In Clothing and Fabrics

This is the simplest starting point. Some people consciously choose a colour in the morning, red for a day when they need stability, green to start with compassion, blue before an important conversation. It's a personal, mindful practice that costs nothing and goes unnoticed by anyone else. One small detail is enough: socks, a scarf, a bracelet, the bedding.

In Interior Design

Colours shape the atmosphere of a room more than any piece of furniture. The three lower chakra colours (red, orange, yellow) are warm and stimulating, and belong in rooms where you live, cook and work. The three upper ones (blue, indigo, violet) are cool and restrained, and belong in rooms of rest. Green suits almost anywhere. If you want to go deeper, our guide to the Feng Shui Bedroom offers a detailed colour and room theory.

In Meditation

Many forms of meditation work with colour visualisation: a warm red in the feet for grounding, a gentle green in the chest, a deep indigo between the eyebrows. The colour is an anchor for attention here, not a goal in itself. You'll find a short, guided practice with a colour element in the 5-Minute Sleep Meditation, and a more detailed one in our article on Meditation for Falling Asleep.

In the Mindful Bedroom

The bedroom is the place where we protect ourselves the least: unconscious, open, for eight hours at a time. That's why it's worth handling colour there with the most care. Our rule of thumb: one calm base tone (white, cream, sand, light grey), one chakra colour as a tint (sage, grey-blue, night blue or lavender) and at most one warm accent (a cushion, a lamp). A bedroom doesn't need more colour than that. More colour tends to disturb rather than help.

Chakra Colours at AURIPURA®: Why Our Sleep System Only Wears White and Gold

Anyone seeing our Serenity Mattress for the first time will look for the colours in vain. The cover is Tencel white, the logo gold, and nothing else. That's deliberate. The seven chakra colours live inside the mattress: in the seven energy rods, each assigned to one chakra, from Muladhara Essence in red to Sahasrara Radiance in violet, each carrying its matching stone, from red jasper to clear quartz. On the outside, the bedroom stays calm; on the inside, the whole colour ladder is there.

We chose white because it's the colour of the crown chakra and the sum of all seven. A white cover symbolically "contains" every chakra colour without emphasising any one of them. Gold we chose because it stands for purity, because it feels valuable, and because it brings something heavenly into the room without being loud. Gold is the colour of light when it stays. That's exactly what a mattress should be: something that stays, and that you appreciate anew every night.

Our Customers' Most Chosen Colour: Indigo

The Serenity Mattress includes all seven rods; no one needs to order anything extra or choose a single colour. Yet when customers do look at the rods individually, as a conscious focus, they strikingly often pick the same colour: indigo, the third eye chakra, our rod Ajna Vision. That fits the theme of sleep. The third eye chakra stands for inner perception and clarity, and indigo is the colour of the night, in which we turn inward. We read this as a sign that many people buy the mattress not just to lie on, but as an invitation to consciously close the day.

Customers regularly ask us whether there will be further colours or rods, for example for the secondary colours in this guide. The honest answer: we're thinking about how the system could be expanded or updated in the future. We can't promise anything yet. What we can promise is that you'll hear it here first.

"I wear a ring that tracks how calm my nights are. Since I've been sleeping on the mattress, my nights have become noticeably more pleasant and calmer. I sleep better, and somehow everything feels more in harmony."

And Which Colour Does the Founder Feel Most Strongly?

Roland Rischawy, founder of AURIPURA®, answers without hesitation: violet, the crown chakra. Not because it's the "highest" colour, but because for him it's the calmest, the colour in which nothing more needs to be done. He has described what fascinates him about Sahasrara at length in our article on the Crown Chakra. In short: it's the colour of letting go, and letting go is the one thing you really need to be able to do to fall asleep.

Discover the AURIPURA® Sleep System

Frequently Asked Questions About the Chakra Colours

Which colours do the 7 chakras have?

From bottom to top: root chakra red, sacral chakra orange, solar plexus chakra yellow, heart chakra green, throat chakra light blue, third eye chakra indigo, crown chakra violet or white. The order follows the rainbow. This assignment is a symbolic tradition, not a medical claim.

In what order are the chakra colours?

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, from the pelvic floor to the crown of the head. This is the order of the visible light spectrum. Rule of thumb: the warm colours sit at the bottom (earth, body), the cool ones at the top (mind, expanse).

What does the chakra colour black mean?

Black is not one of the seven classic colours. Through stones such as black tourmaline or obsidian, it sits close to the root chakra and symbolises grounding, protection and boundaries. In 12-chakra teachings, black is the colour of the earth star chakra below the feet. Both are symbolic assignments, not claims of effect.

What colour is the crown chakra?

Usually violet, in many schools also white or gold. Violet stands for consciousness, white for purity and the sum of all colours, gold for light and abundance. All three variants are common.

What is the difference between purple, violet and indigo?

Indigo is a deep blue-violet (third eye chakra), violet is lighter and more reddish (crown chakra). Purple is the everyday word for both; in chakra teaching it almost always means violet, i.e. the crown.

What are the "new age" chakra colours?

Extended systems with 12 or 13 chakras from modern spiritual teachings: earth star below the feet (black, brown, silver), high heart (turquoise or pink), soul star above the head (white or gold). The classic seven colours are often described as lighter in these systems. There is no classical source for this.

What colour is the heart chakra?

Green, for compassion, connectedness and growth. Pink is often named as a second heart colour, the colour of rose quartz, for gentleness and self-acceptance.

Which chakra colour suits the bedroom?

The upper, cool colours: light blue, indigo and violet, best as muted or pastel tones. White and cream as a base tone let a single colour accent stand out. Yellow and orange suit work and living spaces better.

Are the chakra colours scientifically proven?

No. Assigning the seven rainbow colours to the seven chakras is a symbolic-spiritual tradition that became popular in this form mainly during the 20th century. It is part of a rich cultural practice, but not a medical or physiological claim.

All Seven Chakras in Detail

Further Reading

• How Many Chakras Are There? 7, 12 or 13 – The Different Counts Explained — Where the number seven comes from and what 12- and 13-chakra systems mean.
• The 7 Chakras at a Glance — Meaning, colours, symbols and mantras of all seven chakras on one page.
• Chakra Symbols and Their Meaning — The symbol atlas: lotus, number of petals, yantra and mantra for each chakra.
• Chakra Stones: Which Gemstone Belongs to Which Chakra? — Why colour is the organising principle for the stones, plus an authenticity check.
• AURIPURA® Energy Rods — How the seven rods are built and which colour each rod carries.
• Setting Up a Bedroom According to Feng Shui — Colours, orientation, materials: seven principles for a calm room.
• Guide to the Chakra Mattress — Materials, concept and the holistic approach behind it.