About Throat Chakra—Vishuddha
How do you feel about truth? In this chapter, truth is the operative word, while voice is its secondary focus. At the Throat Chakra, many people focus on voice and speech—that is, your ability to articulate thoughts and ideas. What is most important at the Throat Chakra is not how you communicate, but what you communicate. The “what” is your truth, your deepest wisdom; the “how” is your channel for sharing your truth. Both the “what” and “how” of truth sit here at the Throat Chakra, which is located at the center of your physical throat (or your Adam’s apple).
How do you define “truth”? Some say truth is a personal quest to understand the values and beliefs that guide your life choices and decisions. Others suggest that there is a collective truth, a unified wisdom all can aspire to and seek to integrate. Let the intersection of these two approaches inspire you to explore individual and collective truths, using your gift of discernment to understand how to integrate what you see, learn, and experience into your life.
he Throat Chakra holds the sum total of your lived experiences with voice, expression, and truth. Many people find that exploring this chakra is complicated because they were silenced or repressed in childhood. Think of the myth of the “perfect child” who only speaks when spoken to. You may not have lived this experience, but those who did now have an opportunity to heal the silenced child within whose voice was not welcomed, sought, or appreciated.
Perhaps your experience with truth and voice is different. Perhaps your voice has always been sought and appreciated, or perhaps you were encouraged to speak your truth as a child, but now, as an adult, you feel silenced—at work, socially, or within your family. Whatever your experience, you can use this meditation to guide your exploration of the Throat Chakra.
1/ First, bring your attention to the present moment and take a deep breath. Now, bring your attention to your throat, and swallow as deeply and intentionally as you can. (When you swallow, you regenerate the energies around your Throat Chakra. Anytime you feel lost for words or unable to articulate your needs, swallow and soften your neck.)
2/ Ask yourself, “What is my deepest truth?” Allow yourself a moment to answer. Yes, it’s a big—even overwhelming—question, but it is one you can use to move more fully into your soul’s intended purpose. Understanding and articulating your personal truth is the first step in acknowledging what you need to feel more fully alive.
3/ As an answer comes to you, simply sit with it. Feel into it. Inhabit and experience it in your body. Once you understand your deepest personal truths, other truths will open from there. For example, if your deepest personal truth is that energy is real, then other truths emerge: If energy is real, magic is real; if magic is real, anything is possible; if anything is possible, you are limitless; if you are limitless, your wildest dreams can come true.
4/ Dream free, dear one. Know that you are treasured beyond measure and trust that you are expressing yourself in service of the highest truth of All Beings. Let the peace of your inner truth surround you.
5/ When you feel connected to truth on every level, ask your ancestors and spirit guides to be with you as you integrate what you have seen. Welcome their presence as they surround you. They are here to help you love and honor yourself more deeply than ever before. When you feel fully wrapped in this blanket of support and wisdom, close your induction with the universal blessing: Amen, A’ho, So it is.
May you be comforted by the presence of your inner truth, always.
Reflection Questions for the Throat Chakra
Ancient Romans coined a famous phrase: In vino veritas or “In wine, truth.” They believed that a person’s truth emerges primarily when inebriated, or when she or he is allowed to expand his or her awareness beyond the present moment, beyond the veil and filter of time, space, convention, and expectation. But you don’t need to consume alcohol in order to do this. Ask yourself: If you could drink a glass of virtual wine right now, what truths would spill from your lips? If you felt free to express yourself without fear of repercussion, what would you say, and to whom?
Consider working with amazonite, which is often referred to as the primary gem of the Throat Chakra. Hold it in your right hand, which is your feminine, receptive hand, and feel its energy rise and flow through your body. Brew yourself a hot cup of geranium and lemongrass tea, or steep mulling herbs, such as cloves, cinnamon, and orange, with a rich Cabernet, and sip slowly as you meditate upon the following questions:
1/ Letting go of fear and hesitation as you consider your response, who in your life most needs to hear your truth? Keep in mind that the person who most needs to hear your truth is often you. The person who most needs to hear your truth may also be deceased. That is no obstacle. Speak your truth anyway. The dead can hear you.
2/ Are you keeping secrets in your life, and, if so, from whom? When you think about secrets, how do you feel? Anxious, heavy, and weighed-down, perhaps? If you carry such secrets, where in your life can you release them or set them down?
3/ Who in your life most honors your truth—your most authentic and honest self? How does the honoring of your truth make you feel? Who might benefit if you could pay this gift forward?
When you are ready to close your reflective writing, thank your spirit guides and higher self for attending you while you write, and blow out your candles. Store any gems you’ve used and other writing tools together in a special place so that you’ll have them handy when you want to do more reflective writing in the future.
CORRESPONDENCES FOR THE THROAT CHAKRA
goddesses
ALETHEIA, VERITAS
gemstones
AMAZONITE, ANGELITE, AQUA AURA QUARTZ, CELESTITE, TURQUOISE
tarot cards
MAJOR ARCANA: JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT
rune
ANSUZ
essential oils/herbs
BAY LAUREL, BLACKBERRY, BLUE CHAMOMILE, BLUE YARROW, COLTSFOOT, COMMON SAGE, ELDERBERRY, EUCALYPTUS, FIR BALSAM, GERANIUM, LEMONGRASS, PETITGRAIN, PERU BALSAM
planet
MERCURY