Chakra Works Series of articles:

The Heart Chakra

This energy center is associated with our ability to give and receive love, to feel compassion, to reach out to others, and to be able to experience kindness and affection. It is the center of transformation and balance, and the place where you fall in love. The heart chakra affects the awareness of all things, including our universal consciousness. This is the chakra that governs our ability to be kind, sensitive and understanding, as well as being able to receive these things from others. It is our center of empathy and feeling, and is connected to our higher intelligence. All healing energy is routed through the Heart Chakra, and it must be kept unblocked to help prevent serious illness. It relates to generosity, prosperity, wealth, imagination and dreaming. Here is where imagination, if allowed to fully develop, can turn into a healthy determination and willpower; and if dreaming is allowed to completely evolve, it may then be transmuted into clear vision.

The initial development of this chakra takes place when you're between 21 and 28 years old. It comes into focus again between 42 and 46 years of age, and again between 72 and 76 years old.

LOCATION (on the body): it is found in the center of the chest in front, between the shoulder blades in back.

COLOR associated with it: Green and/or pink.

ELEMENT: Air

SENSE: Touch

PHYSICAL AREAS OF THE BODY AFFECTED: This chakra governs the heart, blood and circulatory system; it has a strong influence on the endocrine and immune systems; lower lungs, rib cage, diaphragm, thymus, breasts, esophagus, shoulders, arms and hands, skin and tissue regeneration, upper back and right brain function.

INFORMATION STORED IN THIS CHAKRA: relates to the "heart strings" we have to those we love, our emotional attachments.

This chakra is RULED BY Venus

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS: Libra and Taurus

ANGEL: Raphael

ANIMALS / ARCHETYPES: Gazelle / Antelope / Lover / Performer

DEITIES: Vayu (god of the wind), Ishu (divine activity as the source of movement in the universe), Kakini (dispels fear), Isa, Aphrodite, Frejya,

METAL: Copper

POSITIVE QUALITIES: would include love, compassion, kindness, self-acceptance, forgiveness, hope, sympathy and empathy, a willingness to share and give of yourself, understanding, peace, tolerance, trust, inner harmony, and ability to grow.

WHEN HEALTHY - This chakra spins clockwise. You will know if it's healthy because you'll be able to both empathize with others and accept love and friendship into your life. You'll have good friends and will be able to form loving relationships. You'll be able to be compassionate toward yourself as well as others. When awakened, this chakra is the beginning of the spiritual path and opens the psychic power of telepathy.

NEGATIVE QUALITIES: would include despair, hate, envy, fear, jealousy, anger, bitterness, grief, inablity to forgive, self-centeredness, fears of lonliness, fear of committment, indifference, indecision, fraud, arrogance, or having poor boundaries.

WHEN OUT OF BALANCE, DEFICIENT, OR BLOCKED - you may feel resentment, anger, depression, or suppressed feelings. You may lack compassion, need confirmation of your self-worth, be overly-possessive, or feel unloved. You may feel closed off from others, insecure, jealous, have the "poor me" attitude, and/or always doubt yourself. You may be afraid to let go, you may be afraid of getting hurt. You probably have trouble enforcing your rules or personal boundaries, you may allow yourself to be walked on or taken advantage of, or have fears of betrayal and rejection. An unhealthy heart chakra can also result in self-hatred, self-disgust, and distrust of others.

WHEN OVER-ACTIVE - it may cause you to be overly confident, arrogant. Too much energy here can result in your being overly critical, demanding, possessive of others; you may blame others, be miserly or stingy. You may find yourself emotionally out of control, too sentimental and prone to drastic mood changes. You may take care of others at your own expense, or even become the martyr. You probably suffocate others with your love and your love probably has selfish motivations. Being codependant, or enabling is also a possibility.

COMMON ADDICTIONS - nicotine, marijuana

PHYSICAL DYSFUNCTIONS of the Heart Chakra could include heart problems, heart attack, asthma, lung problems or lung cancer, breast cancer, pneumonia, upper back or shoulder problems; could be poor circulation, high blood pressure, insomnia, bronchitis, allergies, shallow breathing, angina and arrhythmia; diseases of the immune system which may include AIDS or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. These are not the only symptoms of an imbalanced Heart Chakra, but may be some of the more prominent ones.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF: to help determine if this chakra needs clearing/recharging:

1. Are there emotional memories do you still need to heal?
2. Are there relationships in your life require healing?
3. Do you ever use your emotional wounds to control people or situations?
4. Have you allowed yourself to be controlled by the wounds of another?
5. Do you associate emotional health with no longer needing an intimate relationship?
6. What is your understanding of a healthy, intimate relationship?
7. Are you willing to release the use of your wounds in order to open yourself up to such a relationship?

Depending on your answers to these questions, you might want to spend a little time each day focusing on the Heart Chakra to help you balance out your physical/emotional bodies.

Some things that may help you to become balanced are using colors, crystals, and gemstones, herbs, oils, etc. with your meditation or other chakra work. I have included a little information on these below.

COLOR:
To open your Heart Chakra, try wearing green.
To balance, or be kinder and more loving toward yourself and others, when you want to feel connected and caring, wear pink.

MUSIC/SOUNDS: This chakra responds well to music that evokes the power to melt the heart, such as the natural sounds of whales and dolphins, as well as singing bells, or the roar of the seashore.

GEMSTONES:

To strengthen this chakra use green jade, aventurine, peridot, emerald, malachite turquoise or green tourmaline.
To tone down this chakra use pink tourmaline, kunzite, rhodochrosite, or rose quartz.
To balance this chakra there's a perfect gemstone - watermelon tourmaline. It is both green and pink and will balance all aspects of the Heart Chakra.

Some stones for specific work with this chakra are the:

- Bloodstone awakens and balances the 1st (root) through the 4th (heart) chakras.
- Aventurine is the stone most related to physical health and heart balancing.
- Emerald relates most directly to the spiritual aspects of love.
- Green calcite eases out old, limiting beliefs (especially those based on fear) from the mind so that new ideas can flourish.
- Green tourmaline opens the creative elements of the heart, i.e. adding an emotional depth to one's creations.
- Lepidolite helps to calm the heart and relieves stress.
- Malachite releases congestion in the solar plexus, and aids creativity.
- Malachite-Chrysocolla blends malachite's ability with chrysocolla's gift of soothing and calming.
- Pink Calcite helps to release old and hurtful emotional patterns so that the heart can be open to receive and give unconditional love.
- Rhodochrosite helps to relieve anxiety.
- Rhodonite helps us to be patient with others.
- Rose quartz is the stone for helping to create unconditional self-love.

HERBS associated with the Heart Chakra: poppy, pink roses, holly, impatiens, heather, vervain, pine, to name just a few.

FRAGRANCES/OIL/INCENCES: Jasmine, rose, basil, eucalyptus, fennel, geranium, peppermint, clary sage, bergamot, marjoram, tangerine, and ylang ylang.

AFFIRMATIONS:

- I am vulnerable and I open myself to the world.
- I am compassionate toward myself and others.
- I have the courage to love unconditionally.
- I accept and love myself exactly as I am right now.

SOME ACTIVITIES TO AWAKEN/BALANCE:the Heart Chakra:

- Volunteering or involvement in charitable work.
- Love and take care of yourself, pamper yourself for a day, or even an hour.
- Breathe consciously. Breathing exercises are very beneficial for a number of reasons.
- Watch movies or read books that "tug at your heart strings".
- Read or write poetry.

If you would like more information about your chakras and how to use the tips in this article order the ebook Chakra Works and begin the journey to new and positive changes.

ThunderWolf is owner of New Age eBooks and The New Earth Pagan Shop web shops, and published author of several books. She has been a practicing witch and psychic card reader for over 30 years.

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