The word “chakra” literally means “wheel” in the Pali Sanskrit language, and tends to be used to refer to a section of any energy-body by some Eastern traditions, which can be confusing. I use the word here to refer to one precise energy-body, (as illustrated on this page).
The main (central) sets of 7 chakras is one part of a fractal system, with an infinite set of similar ones (both upwards and downwards) but less and less significant the further away they are from the main set.
The chakras are larger in extent than I’ve illustrated here when in good condition, and each chakra has a pair of components one of which spins clockwise, one of which spins anti-clockwise.
In very good condition (which 18 people on earth currently have) the chakras are a tool for creation, which works as a bidirectional series:
Upwards:
1st connecting to the substance out of which creations can be made
2nd being the act of creation
3rd being about power due to agreement to what has been created
5th being communication of what the creation is, to things at a distance
6th being awareness of the creation from a distance
7th being relationships between levels.
Downwards:
7th is relationships between levels (creation being done from outside the system the creation exists in)
6th is awareness (of what will be created)
5th is communication to relevant systems
3rd is agreement (about what will be created and how it relates to other things)
2nd is creation
and 1st is the material existence of the creation.
In this condition the 4th chakra is much bigger than the others, covering the whole system of 7 chakras, and slightly further forward. Its job is managing creation and energy connections etc. as well as connections with larger reality. The “main” system of 7 chakras, at the location of the meat-and-bones body, is designed to create in the Magick-universe version of the Physical-universe (the two sets of 7 either side, create directly in the Magick-universe).
In this condition, the chakras are larger, and have a moving energy something like a roaring fire, particularly obvious in the lower ones. The creation they can do includes creating parts of other energy-bodies and related systems, as well as creating in the systems of spirits and morphic-fields etc.
This valuable creative ability also explains why the chakras were remembered by traditions which have forgotten most of the other 142 different energy-bodies.
Having the chakras in this condition is rarely the result of working only with energy-bodies, and is much more efficiently gained by working on all parts of one’s systems (especially the condition of one’s “ultimate self“).
The chakras, in their usual condition, have functions including communication and awareness at their range of frequencies.
The functions of each chakra in the usual condition can be seen as more restricted versions of their ideal creative function . . .
The lowest is red and is about material existence etc. The second up is orange, and is about sex and reproduction (which can be seen as creation). The third is yellow and is about power. The 4th up is green and is about connections with other things. The 5th is turquoise and is about communication. The 6th is blue and is about awareness, and the top one is indigo and is about connection with higher things (“spirituality” etc.).
Note that the confidence, joy and feeling of belonging, often said to be about the 3rd chakra, is really about the Mid-level confidence disc . . . functions of energy-bodies are often misidentified (typically with other systems in a similar location) by the current remnants of the traditions.
As on the illustration, above the main set is another set of 7, which are the chakras for the Etheric-double. Some belief systems mistakenly see the first one of those as an 8th one of the main system. Below the main chakra set is another set for the Astral-body. These sets other than the main set are not really the colors I’ve illustrated (and the main ones only relate harmonically to the illustrated colors, as they are not in the Physical-universe Playing-field), but are something like related harmonics of those colors.
Reiki and Hatha-Yoga work on the chakras, but traditionally only on the main set. In addition to the sets of 7 chakras which are on the vertical energy-line (which is infinite both upwards and downwards and is where some of the energy transformed by the chakras mainly comes from), there are many other chakras (some of which are illustrated here). The main additional ones are on the joints, and these are worked with in Reiki, plus there are series’ of chakras extending out from each limb (as illustrated). The knee chakras (and the chakras in the series below each knee-chakra) are particularly important for the power of the Kundalini and other body-systems. The chakras in a line up the legs, are on a line of flow, from below the legs, up to hips and then the flow joins and adds to the upward flow of the main sets of chakras. The same applies to the chakra-sets along the arms. These flows should be clean and powerful, if in good condition.
The main sets of chakras have one type of energy input from behind the body, and output towards the front (in addition to their connection to the infinite vertical energy-line). This flow can be cleaned somewhat by temporarily reversing it for a few seconds, then putting it back to normal. The additional chakra-systems outside the 3 ones labeled here, have each set connecting somewhat to a chakra in the main sets.
Some versions of Hatha Yoga suggest a particular symbol for each chakra. While these symbols can be of use initially to help clean and focus the energy of each chakra, one should not use them beyond that point, as they are too narrowly focused, and not precisely correct for the perfect operation of the chakras. The reason the Chakras come in sets of seven is that the Heart-Chakra is really at a slightly senior level compared to the 2 sets of 3 Chakras either side of it.
For details of the kalachakra energy-body (which is a separate system from the one described here), see the Kalachakra page.
Some people recommend erasing the chakras, but people in much better spiritual condition than them, have the chakras as illustrated above, so I don’t recommend attempting to erase them.
Connecting each chakra directly to the upper and lower connection, as well as being connected via the other chakras, improves their condition.