Chakra balancing is a common concept that anybody dipping their toes into tarot, spirituality or even meditation is likely to encounter. Chakras are an ancient, Hindu concept of energy centers in the body. Each of these energy centers hold a different purpose, from a sense of safety to a sense of enlightenment.
Here's a quick review of the seven main chakras. As with anything rooted in the body, these energy centers can be balanced, blocked, or excessive.
A balanced chakra allows you to leverage the full power of that chakra. For example, a balanced heart chakra allows you to be in a healthy, balanced relationships.
A blocked chakra means the energy and power of that chakra may feel weak, and, depending on where it is, affect the energy available to any chakras above it. For example, a blocked third chakra may manifest as weakened confidence and self-doubt, making it challenging for you to express your truth (5th chakra).
And an excessive chakra may pull energy from other chakras out of insecurity or over-compensation. For example, an excessive root chakra may try and control others to ensure their own safety and security, making it challenging to have balanced and healthy relationships (4th chakra).
That's a lot. What do I do with all this info?
When you're new to chakras, sorting through what might be going on with your energy body system can be overwhelming. It requires a deep and honest understanding of yourself, and a willingness to confront your own past and shadow on a regular basis. Your chakras, like any form of energy, may wax and wane depending on what is going on in your life. You can kind of think of them like a yoga pose. Some days, Happy Baby feels good for me! But when I haven't done yoga in a bit, my body is just not cool with that stretch. I need to re-tune my body to reach the full expression of the pose.
To help you start to sort through your own chakras, I created this tarot spread as a starter pack. Use this as a guided journal exercise as you get in touch with your chakra system.
The Spread
Shuffle the deck up and then place seven cards in a straight line, from bottom to top, to mirror the chakra system itself.
Card 7: Crown Chakra
Card 6: Third Eye Chakra
Card 5: Throat Chakra
Card 4: Heart Chakra
Card 3: Solar Plexus Chakra
Card 2: Sacral Chakra
Card 1: Root Chakra
Now, instead of simply interpreting the cards, use these guidelines to get more clarity about what the cards in their placements are pointing to in regards to your chakra system.
Upright Minor Arcana: Balanced
Reversed Minor Arcana: Blocked
Reversed Major Arcana: Excessive
Upright Major Arcana: Something big needs your attention! This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it may help to look into what this card means through the lens of the Chakra it has fallen into.
Upright Court Card: Represents the flavor of energy you are embodying through this chakra right now.
Reversed Court Card: A person may be siphoning off some of your energy from this chakra. May be good to do a cord-cutting meditation or ritual.
From there, you'll have a little more context to look at each card. I recommend reading from bottom to top (root to crown), as this is how the energy flows through the chakras. If you have a lot of reversed cards at the bottom, it will be interesting to note how this might reflect what is showing up for you at the top.
Here's an example to help bring this spread to life
Alright! You've laid down your first spread and have started to read into what is going on within your chakra system. Now the real work begins: attuning each chakra and finding balance.
I'd recommend searching for meditations for each chakra you're looking to clear. Or, if you want to start simple, try the Golden Sun meditation and send some healing vibes to all seven chakras.
Remember, healing isn't a race. And it's never over. We just keep doing the best we can on the path we're on. Tarot cards and chakra balancing are just tools on the path to healing, not the healing itself.
Namaste.