The chakras. A monograph

2 THE CHAKRAS

familiar with its bewildering complexities, and have at least a general idea of the way in which its amazingly intricate machinery works.

THE ETHERIC DOUBLE

Naturally, however, they have had to confine their attention to that part of the body which is dense enough to be visible to the eye, and most of them are probably unaware of the existence of that type of matter, still physical though invisible, to which in Theosophy we give the name of etheric. (The employment of this name must not lead us to confuse this higher physical matter with the true æther ether of space, that of which matter is the negation.) This invisible part of the physical body is of great importance to us, for it is the vehicle through which flow the streams of vitality which keep the body alive, and without it as a bridge to convey undulations of thought and feeling from the astral to the visible denser physical matter, the ego could make no use of the cells of his brain. It is clearly visible to the clairvoyant as a mass of faintly-luminous violet-grey mist, interpenetrating the denser part of the body, and extending very slightly beyond it.

The life of a physical body is one of perpetual change, and in order that it shall live it needs constantly to be supplied from three distinct sources. It must have food for its digestion, air for its breathing, and vitality in three forms for its absorption. This vitality is essentially a force, but when clothed with matter it appears to us as though it were a highly-refined chemical element. It exists upon all planes, but our business for the moment is to consider its manifestation in the physical world.

In order to understand that, we must know something of the constitution and arrangement of this etheric part of our bodies. I have written on this subject many years ago in various volumes, and Colonel A. E. Powell has recently gathered together all the information heretofore published, and issued it in a convenient form in a little book called The Etheric Double.

THE CENTRES

The chakras or force-centres are points of connection at which energy flows from one vehicle or body of a man to another. Anyone who possesses a slight degree of clairvoyance may easily see them in the etheric double, where they show themselves as saucer-like depressions or vortices in its surface. When quite undeveloped they appear as small circles about two inches in diameter, glowing dully in the ordinary man; but when awakened and vivified they are seen as blazing, coruscating whirlpools, much increased in size, and resembling miniature suns. We sometimes speak of them as roughly corresponding to certain physical organs; in reality they show

---

3 THE FORCE-CENTRES

themselves at the surface of the etheric double, which projects slightly beyond the outline of the dense body. If we imagine ourselves to be looking straight down into the bell of a flower of the convolvulus type, we shall get some idea of the general appearance of a chakra. The stalk of the flower in each springs from a point in the spine, so another view might show the spine as a central stem (see Plate VIII), from which flowers shoot forth at intervals, showing the opening of their bells at the surface of the etheric body.

The seven centres with which we are at present concerned are indicated in the accompanying illustration. (Fig. 1.) Table I gives their English and Sanskrit names. This shows a man, with chakras all round him.

A diagram labeled "FIG. 1" illustrates the human body with seven circular "force-centres" or chakras marked by numbered circles 1 to 7. To the left and right are larger circular diagrams (also numbered 1 to 7) showing the internal structure of each chakra as a wheel with a specific number of spokes or petals. Handwritten ink annotations next to these diagrams include astrological symbols such as Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Sun, and others, as well as the number of spokes associated with each chakra.

♃ (Jupiter) 10 petals
3

♀ (Venus) 6 petals
2

☿ (Mercury) 4 petals
1

II ☽ (Gemini Moon) 12 petals
4

I ♂ (Aries Mars) 16 petals
5

96 petals
6

☉ (Sun) 972 + 960? petals
7