The vishuddha chakra is one of the six psychic centers
(chakras) thought to exist in the subtle body, according to several schools of
yoga and tantra, a hidden, ritually oriented religious practice.
The subtle body is a separate physiological system that is
thought to exist on a different level than coarse matter yet has some
similarities to it.
It's depicted as a group of six mental centers joined by
three vertical channels and shaped like multipetaled lotus flowers flowing
approximately along the spine's route.
Each of these chakras has significant symbolic associations,
including varying human capacities, subtle components (tanmatras), and seed
syllables (bijaksharas) constructed from Sanskrit alphabet letters, embracing
all holy sound.
Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (power), the two divine
principles through which the whole cosmos came into existence, have physical
abodes above and below these centers.
The homology of macrocosm and microcosm, a key Hindu notion
from the time of the mystical scriptures known as the Upanishads, is therefore
the basic premise underpinning this concept of the subtle body.
The vishuddha chakra is the fifth of the six chakras, which are
generally numbered from the bottom up.
It resembles a sixteen-petaled lotus and is found in the
neck area.
Each of the petals has a seed phrase made up of a letter
from the Sanskrit alphabet, in this instance all sixteen Sanskrit vowels, which
are necessary linking factors in any meaningful speech.
The vishuddha chakra is linked to the human ability to speak
and breathe on a symbolic level.
It is also said to be the physical seat of the subtle
element of space (akasha), through which hearing is thought to occur.
See Arthur Avalon's (Sir John Woodroffe's) Shakti and Shakta
(1978) and Philip S. Rawson's The Art of Tantra (1973) for further details.
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