Alternative names: Ajna (Sanskrit)
Colour: Indigo
Location: Between the eyebrows. I personally experience this chakra between the eyebrows but a finger above them.
Element: N/A
Demon: Illusion
Goal: Self-Reflection
Basic Rights: The right to see (and be seen)
Language: Leadership
Positive qualities include (but aren’t limited to): Intuitive, clairvoyant, visual, understanding of your purpose, concentration, determination
Shadow qualities include (but aren’t limited to): Depression, confusion, rejection of spirituality, over-intellectualizing
Yoga Exercises to Balance this Chakra: Kirtan Kriya, Long Chant, meditating on the third eye, archer pose, yoga mudra, any exercise where the forehead rests on the floor
Issues Dealt With Here: Image, intuition, imagination, visualization, insight, dreams, vision
Helpful Crystals: Amethyst, azurite, charolite, hawk’s eye, kyanite, lapiz lazuli, sodalite, moss agate, sugilite, sapphire, iolite, dumortierite.
“You see the mastery of your spirit as the goal of your being.” – Guru Raj Kaur
It is in this chakra that we totally and completely leave the physical world behind. We have entered into the realm of spirit. This is the realm where the union of opposites occurs, a merging of the formless and form happens.
It is at this chakra that the three major channels of energy, the ida, pingala, and the sushmuna come together. They meet here at the place that is known as the third eye for its ability to help us perceive beyond the physical. It allows you to see into the subtle words that exist overlaid and in between our physical world.
When this chakra is open and operating functionally there is clarity and we are decisive. We know our souls purpose and are oriented towards it therefore decision-making is easy: whatever serves our purpose is what we do.
When we have mastery of this chakra we will never be confused by polarities of life. When we now longer operate with polarities we use less emotional and mental energies, which means we operate from the radiant body giving us more energy.
In my experience, this is one of my chakras that is most opened. It is fairly easy for me to “see” into other realms and my life has been guided by dreams and visions. I almost always have a dream telling me what to do when I request and make space for it. This is the chakra that most people are fascinated by and want to open up immeditatley.
I would say that this chakra naturally opens when we take care of the bottom triangle (root, solar plexus and sacral) and the heart. Focus on those parts first. Be firmly grounded before you open up an entirely unknown and unimaginable worlds.
For me, the third eye opened up too much too fast and it did several things: it terrified me, it almost created a psychotic break, and I asked for it to be closed. I also was not in an environment that was supportive of this kind of work.
Now I feel it has come into balance. I still have access to the intuition and wisdom that comes in but I’m not overwhelmed by the world around me. There seems to be a better built-in sensor and protector, thanks to the years of meditation and yoga I presume.
I’m also much more confident with my ability to access information at will. I’m much less scattered. I hold the visions that I have knowing their truth as I begin to see the visions I’ve had since I was a child come true.
In my experience this is one powerful chakra that requires care when opening. This is simply because we need you on this planet. We need you here. When this one opens up, often people have their head in the clouds all the time and they aren’t really present (I wasn’t!). Its light, beautiful, and fluffy up here, but one thing my guides told me over and over again: We need your beautiful presence on the physical plane right now! Give your gifts in physicality and you will find yourself in heaven there too!
This chakra is important and opens for most people easily. Some people have blocked this chakra due to traumatic events occurring (like seeing ghosts/demons when a child, being told what they were seeing/intuitively knowing in some form wasn’t true over and over again). In that case this chakra can be opened up again gently with a bit of work to a balanced state. On top of the yogic practices I would also suggest doing some intuitive building work like reading cards, working with a pendulum, and releasing fear.
Feel free to contact me for more information; I may be able to coach you with this.
Further Resources on This Chakra:
Wheels of Life: A User’s Guide to the Chakra System by Anodea Judith <— By far the best reference book I’ve encountered on the Chakra system
