The Chakra System: Seven Gates of Energy
The word chakra comes from the Sanskrit for "wheel" or "disc." These spinning centres of energy were first described in the Vedas over 3,000 years ago and appear across Hindu, Buddhist, Tibetan, and Western esoteric traditions. Each of the seven primary chakras governs specific physical, emotional, and spiritual functions:
- Root Chakra (Muladhara): Located at the base of the spine. Governs survival, security, and grounding. Associated with the colour red and the element earth.
- Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana): Located below the navel. Governs creativity, sexuality, and emotional flow. Associated with orange and the element water.
- Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura): Located at the stomach area. Governs personal power, confidence, and will. Associated with yellow and the element fire.
- Heart Chakra (Anahata): Located at the centre of the chest. Governs love, compassion, and connection. Associated with green and the element air.
- Throat Chakra (Vishuddha): Located at the throat. Governs communication, truth, and self-expression. Associated with blue and the element ether.
- Third Eye Chakra (Ajna): Located between the eyebrows. Governs intuition, insight, and inner vision. Associated with indigo.
- Crown Chakra (Sahasrara): Located at the top of the head. Governs spiritual connection, universal consciousness, and transcendence. Associated with violet or white.
When these energy centres are open and balanced, life force flows freely through the body, supporting physical health, emotional stability, and spiritual clarity. When one or more chakras become blocked or overactive, the corresponding areas of life can feel stuck, strained, or out of alignment. Chakra healing practices, including the use of crystals, sound healing, meditation, and reiki, work to restore this natural flow.
Reiki: Channelling Universal Life Force
Reiki was developed by Mikao Usui in 1922 following a period of intensive meditation and fasting on Mount Kurama in Japan. The word combines two Japanese characters: "rei" (universal or spiritual) and "ki" (life force energy, equivalent to the Chinese "chi" or the Sanskrit "prana"). Reiki practitioners serve as channels for this universal energy, directing it through their hands into the recipient's body to support healing at physical, emotional, and energetic levels.
During a reiki session, the practitioner places their hands on or just above the body in specific positions that correspond to the major chakras and energy pathways. Recipients commonly report sensations of warmth, tingling, deep relaxation, and emotional release. Clinical studies have documented reductions in pain, anxiety, and stress hormones following reiki treatment, with some research showing improvements in heart rate variability and immune markers.
The products in this collection have been selected to support both self-directed chakra work and hands-on reiki practice. Whether you are a reiki practitioner looking for tools to enhance your sessions or someone beginning to explore chakra balancing for the first time, these items are chosen for their quality, resonance, and practical application in energy healing work.
Steiner's Perspective: The Lotus Flowers and the Etheric Body
Rudolf Steiner provided a detailed Western esoteric description of the chakra system in Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment (GA 10). He referred to the energy centres as "lotus flowers" (Lotusblumen) and described them as organs of perception that develop through specific inner practices. Steiner identified the two-petalled lotus flower at the forehead, the sixteen-petalled lotus at the larynx, and the twelve-petalled lotus at the heart as centres that, when properly developed, grant the practitioner access to supersensible perception.
Steiner emphasised that these centres cannot be forced open through external techniques alone. Genuine development of the lotus flowers requires moral and cognitive discipline: the six subsidiary exercises (control of thinking, control of will, equanimity, positivity, open-mindedness, and harmonious balance), regular meditative practice, and the cultivation of reverence and gratitude toward life. This approach complements reiki and chakra work by grounding energy healing in a framework of inner development rather than passive reception.
Steiner also described the etheric body (Aetherleib) as the life-body that permeates and sustains the physical organism. This etheric body carries the forces of growth, regeneration, and vitality that reiki practitioners work with when they channel "ki" or life force energy. Steiner's detailed descriptions of etheric physiology provide a Western philosophical framework that enriches and deepens the understanding of both chakra healing and reiki practice.
Where Tradition Meets Practice
The chakra system and reiki healing come from different cultural traditions, yet they describe the same fundamental reality: the human being possesses a subtle energy body that can be perceived, cultivated, and healed through trained awareness and intentional practice. Rudolf Steiner's Western esoteric approach, the Eastern yogic tradition, and Japanese reiki all converge on this understanding. The tools in this collection support practitioners working within any of these frameworks, or those drawing wisdom from all three.