Chakra
lit. “wheel, circle”
Energy centres running up the spine — seven in the popular Western version, each tied to a colour, organ, and state of mind.
Origin
From Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions, where chakras are subtle-body centres used in meditation and yoga. The familiar seven-chakra system (root to crown, red to violet) is a particular medieval synthesis that 20th-century Theosophists and the New Age movement standardised for Western audiences. Original sources describe varying numbers of chakras with very different functions.
Modern usage
Universal in yoga studios, wellness writing, and pop psychology. 'My root chakra is blocked', 'open your heart chakra'. Almost entirely detached from the meditative practices the concept came from. The seven-colour rainbow mapping is the version everyone knows.
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