Swadhisthana Chakra

Understanding Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra) in Vedic Astrology

Swadhishthana also known Sacral chakra is the second primary chakra according to Hindu Tantrism and it is related to the unconscious mind. In this chakra the seat of the self begins to emerge. The word 'swadhishthana' actually means 'dwelling pace of the self' and is related to the element of water and like the nature of water it provides those qualities like enabling movement, change and flexibility to the body and mind. This chakra plays a very important role in self-development and is considered to be the storehouse of all our personal impressions and habits from the past actions. According to yoga philosophy the energy of this chakra is a stream and connective threads through not only this life but all our previous lives to. This chakra has all the energies that contain our personal tendencies, past impression and experiences of body and mind.

Vedic Astrology Analysis

Associated Element : Water
Governing Planet : Jupiter
If Swadhisthana chakra is blocked

Mental problems related to that are: Self Assurance, financial wealth, luck, material and spiritual life, justice, education, dishonesty, being opposite to religion and philosophy, expansion, passion.
physical problems related to that are: Liver, hips, glands, hormones, pancreas, diabetes, blood vessels, buttocks, obesity. Sexual urges and sexual Endocrine gland issues, Ovaries, testicle issues.

Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra) Location

This chakra is sitauted just behind and above the mooladhara chakra, at the coccyx base of the spine or approximately one inch above the pubic bone at the front of the body. To be precise it is located between the navel and the pelvic bone.

Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra) Appearance

This chakra is described as black lotus with six vermillion coloured petals which have syllables like bam, Bham, nam, yam, ram and lam written on them in the colour of lightening. Inside the lotus one can find a white crescent moon which is formed by two different sized inner circles placed one inside the other. The crescent moon is the water region presided over by Varuna who is white in colour, four armed, which holds a noose and is seated on a crocodile. There are petals in the two inner circle, the larger one has eight outward facing petals and the smaller one has eight inward facing petals. There is a seed mantra which is located in the innermost circle which is a moon white vam. The deity Vishnu is located within the bindu or dot above the mantra. His colour is dark blue and he wears a dhoti and holds a conch, a mace, a wheel and a lotus. He also wears the shriwatsa mark the koustabha gem. His seat is either a pink lotus or the divine eagle Garuda. His Shakti is goddess Rakini which is black, dressed in red or white and seated on a red lotus. Rakini can either be a one faced and two armed or two faced four armed, the first one holding a sword and a shield and the second one holding a trident, lotus, drum and vajra or an arrow, skull, drum and axe.

Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra) Characteristics

This chakra is associated with the unconscious and with emotion. It is closely related to Muladhara as in Swadhisthana all the different samskaras or potential karmas lie dormant and in Muladhara they find expression. It contains all the unconscious desired and helps to raise the kundalini Shakti or energy of consciousness. One who meditates on this chakra is believed to obtain the following powers - freedom from enemies, status of lord among yogis, eloquence and clarity, loss of fear of water, awareness of astral entities and the ability to taste anything desired for oneself or others.

Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra) Seat of Kundalini

Awakening of Kundalini causes the full awakening of the dormant centres of the spine and the brain. Each chakra is a level of consciousness and the passing of Kundalini through them causes us to attain higher qualities of mind. It might take some time to fully awaken the Swadhisthana and we don't need to do anything extra to accelerate the process but just practice mindfulness throughout the day.

Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra) Petals

There are six petals of lotus in this chakra and they represent the six obstacles to be overcome. They are anger, hate, greed, jealously, cruelty and laziness. All these qualities prevent us from experiencing true love, hence this chakra helps us to get rid of all these negativities so that we can have access to true love. These emotional obstacles are hidden in our unconscious mind so discovering them and getting rid of them helps us to fully unleash our true happy self.

Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra) Function

Though the function of Swadhisthana is also associated with the instinct for survival and material security, just like the mooladhara, it lays more emphasis on sexual activity and relationships which nurture survival to make life easier. This chakra has a stronger sense of pleasure and enjoyment than other chakras. It has a very creative energy which manifests through a desire for sex, for relationships, for food and drink and for material comforts and is the main energy of mind which finds great pleasure in them. Its main function is driving to form sexual relationships and having children, thereby maintaining the continuity of generation.

Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra) Association with the body

Since this chakra is located near the coccyx or the tailbone, two finger widths above the Muladhara chakra, its corresponding point in the front of the body is the pubic bone. As this chakra is associated with the sense of taste it is connected with the tongue and since it is also connected with reproduction it is also associated with the genitals.

Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra) Practices and awakening process

Some of the practices in Kundalini yoga for controlling and balancing the energy in Svadhisthana chakra include vajroi mudra or contraction of the genitals and ashvini mudra or contraction of the anus and various other asanas and pranayamas.

Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra) Comparison with other systems

In Tibetan system of Vajrayana tantra the equivalent chakra of Swadhisthana is called the secret pace which is four fingers below the navel and is red in colour, with 32 downward pointing spokes. Medication at this point produces great bliss. According to the sufi system or Lataif the equivalent of this chakra is the energy called the nafs which is just below the nabe and it incorporates all the elements of the lower self which has to be tamed in order to attain closeness to Allah. According to Western Occultists this chakra is associated with the Sephirah Yesod which is associated with the sexual organs. The main function of this is to gather the different energies that have been created in the descent of the tree downwards and distribute them to Malkuth, the material world where the energy can find a physical expression.