The 7 Chakras: Meaning, Names and Overview of All Seven Chakras

Seven centres, seven colours, seven life themes: the 7 chakras are among the best-known concepts of Eastern spirituality — and among the most often misunderstood. In this big overview you will find all seven chakras with their names in English and Sanskrit, their traditional meaning, location, colour, element, symbol, mantra and stone. Clear, down-to-earth and honest: presented as what they are — a centuries-old symbolic teaching that still inspires people to live more consciously today.

What Are Chakras? Origin and Meaning

The word chakra comes from Sanskrit and means "wheel" or "circle". In India's yogic-tantric tradition, chakras denote energy centres that are symbolically located along the spine: from the pelvic floor to the top of the head. The image of the wheel is chosen deliberately — chakras are described as spinning, living centres in which life energy (prana) gathers and is distributed.

The tradition also describes a fine network of energy channels, the nadis. Three of them are considered the most important: Sushumna, the central channel along the spine, as well as Ida and Pingala, which wind around it to the left and right. Where these channels cross, according to the teaching, lie the chakras — like knots on a string.

Where Does the Teaching of the 7 Chakras Come From?

The first hints of a "subtle body" can already be found in the Upanishads. The chakra system was developed in detail, however, mainly in the tantric writings of India's Middle Ages — and there was by no means just one model: depending on the school, people counted four, six, seven or even more centres. The system known today with seven chakras goes back largely to the text Ṣaṭ-Cakra-Nirūpaṇa ("Description of the Six Centres") from the year 1577: it describes six chakras plus the thousand-petalled lotus at the top of the head as a seventh, crowning centre.

This text became known in the West through the British jurist and Indologist Sir John Woodroffe, who translated it in 1919 under the pseudonym Arthur Avalon in his book "The Serpent Power". The rainbow colours we know so well today — red to violet — are, by the way, a later Western addition of the 20th century. In the ancient Sanskrit texts, the chakras sometimes carry entirely different colours. How the colour scheme developed is something we explain in detail in our guide to chakra colours and their meaning.

A Symbolic System — Not Anatomy

Important for an honest understanding: chakras are not anatomical structures that could be found in the body. They are a symbolic system of order — a map that people have used for centuries to describe inner experiences: grounding, sensuality, willpower, compassion, expression, intuition, connection. Seven themes that every person knows — arranged along a line from bottom (matter, body) to top (mind, awareness).

This very clarity is what makes the teaching so appealing today: it offers a language for things that are hard to grasp — without having to belong to a religion. Whether you understand the chakras as a spiritual reality or as a beautiful, ancient metaphor for the levels of being human: both approaches are legitimate, and this guide works for both.

What Are the Names of the 7 Chakras? Chakra Names in English and Sanskrit

Anyone who engages with the chakras for the first time quickly stumbles over the many names: one and the same chakra often has an English name, a Sanskrit name and two or three synonyms besides. Here are the chakra names of the 7 chakras from bottom to top — with the literal meaning of the Sanskrit name, which often says a lot about the chakra's theme:

1. Root chakra – Sanskrit Muladhara ("root support"). Also: base chakra, first chakra.
2. Sacral chakra – Sanskrit Svadhisthana ("one's own place", "seat of the self"). Also: sex chakra, navel chakra (in some books), second chakra.
3. Solar plexus chakra – Sanskrit Manipura ("city of jewels"). Also: navel chakra, solar chakra, third chakra.
4. Heart chakra – Sanskrit Anahata ("the unstruck", "the unhurt"). Also: fourth chakra, heart centre.
5. Throat chakra – Sanskrit Vishuddha ("the pure", "purification"). Also: laryngeal chakra, fifth chakra.
6. Third eye chakra – Sanskrit Ajna ("perceiving", "commanding"). Also: brow chakra, forehead chakra, sixth chakra.
7. Crown chakra – Sanskrit Sahasrara ("thousandfold", after the thousand-petalled lotus). Also: top-of-the-head chakra, seventh chakra.

A little memory aid for the sequence: "Rivers Slowly Sing Hymns To Tall Cliffs" – Root, Sacral, Solar plexus, Heart, Throat, Third eye, Crown. The names almost always follow the symbolic place in the body: root at the pelvic floor, heart in the centre of the chest, crown at the top of the head. If you picture the line of the body, you already have the sequence in your head.

Two terms in particular add to the confusion: the name navel chakra is used, depending on the book, for the second or the third chakra, and in some depictions the crown chakra lies not on but just above the head. If you find differing information, it is rarely due to a mistake — but to the fact that the tradition itself speaks with many voices.

The 7 Chakras at a Glance – Overview Table

This table shows all seven chakras with the most important assignments of the traditional teaching — including the 7 chakra colours, the elements, the number of lotus petals and the stones we use in our energy rods. On a smartphone you can swipe the table sideways.

A detailed look at the colours of the 7 chakras – including secondary colours such as black, pink or gold and tips on how to use them in clothing, living space and meditation – can be found in our article on chakra colours and their meaning. The signs themselves – lotus, petal count, yantra and bija mantra – are explained in our symbol atlas of chakra symbols. And why exactly these seven gemstones are in our rods, you can read in the guide to chakra stones.

The 7 Chakras and Their Meaning in Detail

In each profile you will find the traditional meaning, the most important assignments, a guiding question for reflection and everyday approaches. The guiding questions are a simple way to relate the chakra teaching to your own life – without prior knowledge and without esoteric vocabulary.

🔴 1 · Root Chakra (Muladhara) – Grounding and Security

🟠 2 · Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana) – Sensuality and Creativity

🟡 3 · Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) – Self-Confidence and Will

🟢 4 · Heart Chakra (Anahata) – Compassion and Connection

🔵 5 · Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) – Expression and Truth

🟣 6 · Third Eye Chakra (Ajna) – Intuition and Clarity

🟪 7 · Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) – Connection and Awareness

How the 7 Chakras Connect – from Root to Crown

The seven chakras are not a loose side-by-side but an ascending line. The tradition reads them like a staircase: each chakra builds on the one beneath it. Anyone who wants to understand the meaning of the chakras therefore understands them best as a whole – in three groups:

This order also explains why many teachers begin with the root chakra: you don't build a house from the roof down. Only when the foundation holds do the upper themes feel not lofty but grounded. In the yogic tradition, this path upward is described with the image of kundalini – a sleeping energy that rests at the root chakra and symbolically rises chakra by chakra. Modern teachers stress that this is about a slow, mindful path, not about quick experiences.

And are there really exactly seven? In the classical teaching: yes, seven main chakras. Some schools additionally describe further centres above and below the body or in the hands and feet. We will devote a separate article to this topic soon – here we stay with the seven on which almost all traditions agree.

Your Path Through the Chakra Universe – the AURIPURA® Learning Path

This page is the overview. For every question that follows, there is a dedicated, in-depth guide. So that you don't have to search, we have put them in the order in which they make the most sense:

1. "I want to understand the colours." Chakra Colours & Meaning – all seven colours plus black, pink, gold and turquoise.
2. "What do the signs mean?" Chakra Symbols – lotus petals, yantra and bija mantra in the symbol atlas.
3. "Which stone belongs to which chakra?" Chakra Stones – from red jasper to clear quartz, with care tips and an authenticity check.
4. "How do I meditate with the chakras?" Chakra Meditation – step by step, with a guided meditation to listen to.
5. "How do I bring this into my daily life?" Opening and Balancing the Chakras – gentle practices with a decision tree and weekly plan.
6. "And what does this have to do with sleep?" AURIPURA® Energy Rods – how the seven chakras became a sleep system.

Chakras in Everyday Life – Four Gentle Approaches

You don't have to be a yogi to work with chakra symbolism. It requires neither equipment nor prior knowledge – just a few minutes of attention. Four everyday ways:

1. Choose colours consciously – clothing, home textiles or flowers in the colour of the theme that currently occupies you. If you wish for more stability, reach for warm red; if you are looking for calm for a clarifying conversation, for light blue. Inspiration: our chakra colours guide.
2. Meditation – let your attention move calmly through the seven areas of the body, from bottom to top. Even five minutes in the evening are enough to start. You will find a gentle introduction in the guide to meditation for falling asleep, and the in-depth version in our chakra meditation.
3. Mantras – quietly repeat the syllables LAM, VAM, RAM, YAM, HAM and OM, each time focusing your attention on the corresponding area. The sound of the syllables is deliberately simple – you don't need to know any Sanskrit.
4. Design your bedroom symbolically – from a wall picture to a sleep system with a chakra connection. What this can look like in practice is shown in our feng shui bedroom guide.

If you are wondering how to relate the tradition's teaching to "open" or "balanced" chakras, you will find honest answers in our article Opening and Balancing the Chakras – without promises, but with plenty of practical ideas.

Chakras and Sleep – the Idea Behind AURIPURA®

We spend about a third of our lives asleep – around eight hours every night. This is exactly where the idea of AURIPURA® begins: What if the place where you sleep itself carried the chakra symbolism?

How It All Began: a Trade Fair and a First Trial Lie-Down

Our founder Roland did not encounter the seven chakras in an ashram, but in a very down-to-earth way: at a trade fair. He lay down, tried it out – and was thrilled. From that one moment grew the question that still drives AURIPURA® today: how can a centuries-old teaching be brought into everyday life so that you don't have to do anything extra? The answer was obvious. We sleep anyway.

"We sleep around eight hours every day. For me it is a beautiful thought to spend this time consciously with the seven chakras – instead of just sleeping it away."

– Roland, founder of AURIPURA®

Seven Rods, Seven Chakras

Our chakra mattress integrates seven energy rods – each assigned to one of the seven chakras and filled with the matching stone from the table above, arranged along the line of the body from root to crown. In the AURIPURA® Serenity Mattress all seven rods are already included; if you would like to keep your existing mattress, choose the Serenity Topper. Individual rods – such as Muladhara Essence for the root chakra – are also available separately.

This is not a promise of effect, but a deliberately designed symbol: your sleeping place as somewhere that honours the tradition on which this whole guide is based. Whether the teaching accompanies you spiritually or you simply find it a beautiful order – a high-quality, consciously designed place to sleep is the foundation in either case.

The Most Common Question: Can You Lie on a Chakra Mattress for Too Long?

Before we even talk about firmness or size, there is one question we hear particularly often: "Is it harmful to lie on the mattress for too long?" The clear answer: No. The Serenity is first and foremost a full-value mattress, made for every night and every afternoon nap. The rods are firmly built in; there is no "dose", no break you would have to take, and no maximum duration. Roland sees it exactly the other way round: for him, every hour spent with the chakra symbolism is a good hour.

A Moment We Won't Forget

At a trade fair, a visitor lay down on the mattress to try it. When she got up again, she had tears in her eyes – so moved and delighted had she been by the moment.

– Experience at the AURIPURA® trade fair stand (anonymous, personal experience of one individual)

Moments like this are no proof of anything – and are not meant to be. But they show why we do what we do: because a consciously designed place to sleep can move people. Try it for yourself: with a 100-night trial you have enough time to form your own impression.

Frequently Asked Questions About the 7 Chakras

What are the 7 chakras?

The seven chakras are energy centres from the traditional yogic-tantric teachings of India. They are symbolically located along the spine – from the root chakra at the lower end to the crown chakra at the top of the head. Each chakra stands for an area of life, a colour, an element, a symbol and a mantra.

What are the names of the 7 chakras?

From bottom to top: root chakra (Muladhara), sacral chakra (Svadhisthana), solar plexus chakra (Manipura), heart chakra (Anahata), throat chakra (Vishuddha), third eye chakra or brow chakra (Ajna) and crown chakra (Sahasrara). You will find all synonyms above in the names chapter.

What do the 7 chakras mean?

Each chakra stands for a life theme: grounding and security (root), joy of life and creativity (sacral), self-confidence and will (solar plexus), compassion and love (heart), expression and truth (throat), intuition and clarity (third eye) and connection and awareness (crown).

What colours do the 7 chakras have?

From bottom to top: red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, indigo and violet (or white for the crown chakra) – the colours follow the rainbow spectrum. All the details are in our chakra colours guide.

In what order are the chakras arranged?

From bottom to top: 1. root chakra, 2. sacral chakra, 3. solar plexus chakra, 4. heart chakra, 5. throat chakra, 6. third eye chakra, 7. crown chakra. They are always counted from the pelvic floor to the top of the head.

Which chakra is the most important?

The tradition knows no ranking – all seven belong together. Many begin with the root chakra, because it is seen as the foundation. Our founder also calls it his most important chakra, "because it steadies me".

What does the colour black mean for chakras?

Black is not one of the classic seven chakra colours. In some modern interpretations, black is associated with protection and grounding and linked to the root chakra – for example with dark stones such as onyx or tourmaline. In the traditional teaching, however, the root chakra colour is red.

Are chakras scientifically proven?

No. Chakras are a concept of India's spiritual tradition and not anatomically verifiable structures. They are a cultural and symbolic system that people have used for centuries to order inner experiences – comparable to other traditional teachings such as feng shui.

Can you lie on a chakra mattress for too long?

No. The AURIPURA® chakra mattress is a full-value mattress for every night. The seven energy rods are firmly built in and are a symbolic element of the chakra tradition – there is no dosage and no maximum duration.

How can I engage with the chakras in everyday life?

Gentle ways include: meditation, consciously chosen colours, yoga, mantra recitation or a symbolically designed sleep environment. All of these practices are spiritual traditions – not medical treatments.

Keep Reading in the Chakra Universe

• 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.
• Opening and Balancing the Chakras: Gentle Practices for All 7 Chakras — Gentle practices for all seven chakras, with a decision tree, weekly plan and honest answers on "blocked" chakras.
• Chakra Meditation: A Guide for All 7 Chakras — All seven chakras step by step, with colours, bija mantras and a guided 7-minute meditation to listen to.
• Chakra Stones: Which Gemstone Belongs to Which Chakra? — Red jasper to clear quartz: the seven stones, their meaning, care and authenticity check.
• Chakra Symbols and Their Meaning — All seven signs explained: petals, yantra, bija mantra — and why there are exactly 50 petals.
• Chakra Colours & Their Meaning — All seven colours in detail, with everyday tips.
• Heart Chakra — Meaning, Colour & Symbolism — The fourth chakra explained in depth.
• AURIPURA® Energy Rods — How the seven chakras became a sleep system.
• Feng Shui Bedroom — The lifestyle guide for your sleeping space.
• Meditation for Falling Asleep — Four techniques for your evening ritual.