Beginner Printable Chakra Chart

In this post, you will find everything the beginner needs to know to get started with understanding the 7 Chakra System. From what a chakra is, where it is in your body and how it shows up in your life, this post has you covered. Plus get a free beginner printable chakra chart!

What is a chakra

The word chakra, prounced CHUCK-RUH, is a Sanskrit word that means wheel or disc.

According to Harish Johari, “Chakra is a Sanskrit word that means, a wheel, a disc, or any arrangement in circular form or organization….The word chakra indicates movement. Chakras introduce movement because they transform psychophysical energy into spiritual energy”.

Located along the spinal column, each chakra is comprised of prana (energy). The prana moves through the centers

The root, sacral and solar plexus make up the lower chakras. Together these are called the kanda or the bulb and they make up “The Seat of Fire”.

The upper chakras are the throat, third eye and crown. They are said to be the region of the moon, or called the “Seat of the Moon”.

Linking the upper and lower chakras is the heart chakra, which is “The seat of the sun”

The Seven Main Chakras

The seven chakras are listed below from gross to subtle. You will notice that we start with the root that is related to the earth, the most gross. As you move up the spine you move towards more subtle energy all the way to the Sahasrara chakra which is no longer associated with elements or anything associated with the body or of this realm.

Just as in laya yoga, the chakras move towards that which has no name or form. Moving into a space of dissolution.

Root Chakra (Muhladhara)

• Meaning: mula-root, adhara-support
• Color: Red
• Tattva Element: Earth
• Location: Base of the spine, subtle space between the anus and genitals (perineum)
• Sense and Sense Organ: Nose and smell
• Bija Mantra: Lam (sounds like- lum)
• Planet: Mars
• Prana Vaya: Apana
• Western Psychological Aspects: Safety, groundedness nourishment, basic needs, security, family/community.
• Yantra: Four-petalled red lotus, downward pointing triangle (or square) or square with downward pointing triangle within it.

Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana)

• Meaning: sva-self, shisthana- dwelling place
• Color: Orange
• Tattva Element: Water
• Location: sacrum, womb, reproductive/ sexual organs, lower abdomen between navel and genitals
• Sense and Sense Organ: taste, tongue
• Bija Mantra: Vam (sounds like- vum)
• Planet: Mercury
• Prana Vaya: Apana
• Western Psychological Aspects: Creativity, sexuality, pleasure, emotions, flow
• Yantra: Six petalled lotus, and a crescent moon

Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)

• Meaning: City of gems
• Color: Yellow
• Tattva Element: Fire
• Location: navel, solar plexus
• Sense and Sense Organ: Sight, eyes
• Bija Mantra: Ram (sounds like- rum)
• Planet: Sun
• Prana Vaya: Samana
• Western Psychological Aspects: Willpower, determination, ego, vitality, transformation, individuation
• Yantra: Ten-petalled lotus, downward pointing triangle

Heart Chakra (Anahata)

• Meaning: Unstricken
• Color: Green
• Tattva Element: Air
• Location: Heart
• Sense and Sense Organ: Touch, hands
• Bija Mantra: Yam (sounds like- yum)
• Planet: Venus
• Prana Vaya: Prana
• Western Psychological Aspects: love, self-love, compassion, peace, balance, inner teacher, connection
• Yantra: 12 petalled lotus, hexagram made from two triangles

Throat Chakra (Vishuddi)

• Meaning: Pure
• Color: Blue
• Tattva Element: Ether
• Location: Throat
• Sense and Sense Organ: Hearing/Ears
• Bija Mantra: Ham (sounds like- hum)
• Planet: Jupiter
• Prana Vaya: Udana
• Western Psychological Aspects: self-expression, communication, listening, purification
• Yantra: 16-petalled lotus, with crescent moon

Third Eye Chakra (Anja)

• Meaning: Command
• Color: Purple/Indigo
• Tattva Element: All elements in pure essence
• Location: Above and between eyebrows
• Sense and Sense Organ: Neutral/ Mind
• Bija Mantra: Aum (sounds like- OM)
• Planet: Saturn
• Prana Vaya: Udana/ All vayus
• Western Psychological Aspects: Intuition, guidance, wisdom, imagination, visualization, dreams, inner vision
• Yantra:  OM symbol positioned over an inverted triangle that is seated within a circle between two lotus petals.

Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)

The Sahasrara chakra is considered beyond senses, sense organs and is not associated with a bija mantra. It is considered to be beyond that which has a name or form so it is not associated with symbolic representation.

• Meaning: Void, dwelling place
• Color: White
• Tattva Element: No associated elements
• Location: Top of the head
• Sense and Sense Organ: No associated sense or sense organ
• Bija Mantra: None
• Planet: Ketu (Ketu is an imaginary but powerful planet in Hindu astrology)
• Prana Vaya: None
• Western Psychological Aspects: Transcendence, understanding, belief, connection to Source, non-duality, grace
• Yantra: one thousand-petalled, beyond

Books on Chakras to Support Your Learning

Below are some of my favorite resources for chakras. These are affiliate links meaing I will make a small commission at no expense to you 🙂

• Chakras: Energy Centers of Transformation– By Harish Johari
• The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy, by Cyndi Dale
• Yoga and Ayurveda Self Healing and Self Realization by David Frawley

Free Printable Chakra Chart

Download your free Printable chakra chart here:

More Chakra and Yoga Support

• The 4 Best Crystals for Your Solar Plexus Chakra according to An Expert
• Sacral Chakra Affirmations for Vibrant Life
• 45 Root Chakra Affirmations for Safety and Grounding
• 45 Heart Chakra Affirmations for Balancing and Healing
• Mapping the Landscape of Yoga Nidra and Your Brain Waves

Honoring my teachers who passed this information to me: Tracee Stanley and Chanti Tacoronte-Perez