by Dr. Alberto Villoldo: The first and second chakras represent the colors red and orange and the elements Earth and Water…
Imagine a tree whose roots go deep into the ground, drawing nutrients from the Earth and carrying them up the trunk to the highest branches. Just like a taproot reaching into the moist, rich places in Mother Earth, the first and second chakras supply us with essential nutrients.
THE FIRST CHAKRA grounds us and is the foundation on which our luminous energy system rests. It is also the gateway to the feminine, extending luminous filaments down our legs into the biosphere.
The properties of the first chakra are:
Element: Earth
Color: Red
Body Aspects: Physical foundation; elimination of wastes; rectum, legs, feet; testosterone and estrogen
Instinct: Survival, procreation
Psychological Aspects: Feeding, shelter, safety, ability to provide for oneself
Glands: Ovaries and testes
Seeds: Kundalini, abundance
Negative Expression: Hoarding, predatory behavior, mindless violence, chronic fatigue, birth trauma, abandonment issues
First chakra drives are primary and instinctual. We seek shelter. We forage for food. We strive to survive even under the most adverse situations. We procreate. These urges are fundamental instincts. In the same way that we can hold our breath, but we cannot command our body to stop breathing, we cannot override our instinct to survive.
This energy center corresponds to the first seven years of life. The traumas experienced in these early years, including birth and prenatal trauma, are recorded in this chakra, forming psychological complexes that stunt later development. An unbalanced first chakra manifests in feelings of scarcity and lack. Even those who have a great deal may fear loss of their possessions, and build fences to protect what they own from their neighbors. The compulsion to overeat or to hoard money or toys is one of the negative expressions of the feeding instinct. We can never get enough to satisfy us.
In Sanskrit the first chakra is called Muladhara, meaning “foundation.” Our energetic house must be built on a strong footing. In yoga, this chakra is thought of as the home of Kundalini energy. Its symbol is a coiled serpent asleep at the base of the spine.
Shamans in the Americas, India, and Tibet have long believed that it is through the power of the primal feminine that all creatures move, live, procreate, and flourish. It’s no surprise that the serpent was the one to bring us the fruit of the tree of knowledge in Genesis. Its energy, which lies dormant within each of us, is the energy of the Earth and the heartbeat of the mother planet.
THE SECOND CHAKRA nourishes and grounds us to Pachamama, just like the roots of a tree. This swirling disk of energy is located four fingers below the bellybutton.
The properties of the second chakra are:
Element: Water
Color: Orange
Body Aspects: Digestion, intestines, kidneys, urinary tract, sexual potency, adrenaline, lower back pain, menstrual pain, loss of appetite
Instinct: Sexuality
Psychological Aspects: Power, money, sex, control, fear, fighting, passion, self-esteem, sexual or emotional abuse, inherited parental issues, incest
Glands: Adrenals
Seeds: Creativity, compassion, family
Negative Expression: Fear, fighting
Chronologically, this chakra corresponds to the ages between eight and fourteen. Adolescent longing for romantic adventure originates with the surge of activity in the second chakra. This chakra is erotic, full of lust and fantasy, propelling high-adrenaline romance. If the adolescent does not develop a clear and positive sense of self during puberty, the growth of the second chakra can become stunted. This person will not develop robust emotional boundaries and will be unable to recognize that what others want may differ from what she desires. She may feel tormented by relationships and by people who can never meet her needs.
This chakra metabolizes energy nutrients in the Luminous Energy Field; all forms of energy feed it: It processes the Earth energy taken in through the first chakra and digests emotional energies in the nervous system. This energy center also activates the adrenals — the stress glands in the body — which manufacture more than a hundred different steroids, including sex hormones and adrenaline.
When this chakra is functioning properly, it can shred negative emotions and expel them through the first chakra as waste. When this chakra is out of balance, negative emotions fester within us, sitting in our gut, decomposing slowly. We all know people who are unable to let go of anger and carry resentment for weeks and even years. These negative emotions settle in the second chakra, turning it toxic. Eventually these emotional toxins are assimilated through the Luminous Energy Field.
While the first chakra builds fences for protection, the second chakra stockpiles rocks (adrenaline) to defend itself. The problem is, we often perceive that we need more powerful rocks to do the job. The other side always seems to have a bigger pile than we do, and the perceived threat escalates.
The second chakra expresses itself through creativity and intimacy. In the first chakra we reproduce. In the second chakra we make love to our beloved. The Sanskrit name for this center is Svadhisthana, which means “dwelling place of the self.”
How can you reconnect to the feminine earth to bring your first and second chakras back into balance?
