The crown chakra is located on the top of the head reaching upward.

Sanskrit name: Sahasrara.

Associated with several colors, violet-white, silver white, pure white, gold and is thought to have a shimmering or chromatic effect.

Referred to in many texts as The Thousand Petalled Lotus, meaning that it has one thousand petals or spokes. According to Barbara Brennan's book, Hands Of Light (1988), it has 972 petals or spokes. According to Genevieve Lewis Paulson's book, Kundalini And The Chakras (1991), and C.W. Leadbeater's book The Chakras (1990), it is actually two different centers, one inside the other, one that has 960 petals and the other that has 12 petals embedded and rising up from within the larger center.

Associated with the pineal gland and governs the upper brain.

Planet: Moon.

Astrological signs and planets for the crown chakra are: Capricorn/Saturn (internal viewing, concentration on the Divine, the meeting between Divine and matter), Pisces/Neptune (dissolving of limits, devotion, oneness with all).

Associated sense: none.

Associated element: none.

Musical note: Ti.

Hindu mantra: Aum.

The crown chakra is associated with divine experiences like bliss, samadhi, deep peace, Christ-consciousness or nirvana. A fully activated crown chakra brings the cosmic understanding of oneness with all, a greater understanding of life, and vast amounts of wisdom and intelligence. Powers that supposedly come with the fully awakened crown chakra are astral travel away from the body with full consciousness, and perfection of astral functions. The crown chakra is believed to be the point of entry of the Universal Mind of God-consciousness and complete oneness with the Cosmos.

Author Comments:

Man Myth & Magic, Vol. 3 (1985) editor in chief, Richard Cavendish writes that it "is in a sense the most important of all, for it is thought of as being directly linked to not only the subtle bodies of the individual but to the psychic,indeed divine,energies of the entire cosmos." It is also said in this literature that this chakra brings "spiritual gifts and supernormal powers which transcend even those brought about by the vivification of the Ajna... Those who possess [these powers] are regarded as being in state of unity with the Supreme Divinity and, as such, their mode of being is incomprehensible to all those who do not share it."

In The Chakra Handbook (1999), Shalila Sharamon and Bodo J. Baginski say, "The crown chakra is the seat of highest human perfection, and is often represented as hovering above the head... Here we are connected with the level of being which contains all non-manifest forms and characteristics... From here we once started our journey into life, and to this place we will return at the end of our development... Our personal energy field becomes one with the universe... Whatever we understood intellectually and later intuitively now reaches the point of complete comprehension. The awareness given to us by the seventh chakra goes far beyond the knowledge conveyed by the third eye chakra, for here we are no longer separated from the object of our perceptions. When the seventh chakra unfolds, any blockages remaining in the other six dissolve and their energies begin to vibrate at their highest possible frequencies."

In his book Chakra Breathing (1994), Helmut G. Sieczka says that an open energy flow in the seventh chakra brings experiences of cosmic oneness, a sense of connection with both the visible and the invisible planes, pure consciousness, extreme clarity, potential for profound healing and restructuring of body and mind, experiences that transcend time and space, contact with one's spirit and experiences of satori, or enlightenment. Blockages in the crown chakra result in overly strong ego-boundaries, excessive trust in rationality and analysis, constant activity, intellectual defenses against universal energies and powers.

In Healing With The Energy Of The Chakras (1998), Ambika Wauters implies that when this center opens "we receive universal energy which guides us on our path and allows our true destiny to unfold." She says that in babies the crown center is wide open. She says that "the very nature of the crown chakra is to be receptive... It is through the opening of the crown chakra that we truly learn the most important lesson,that of surrendering to the Source."

Shirley MacLaine in Going Within (1989) says that this chakra has the highest vibrational frequency, violet, which oscillates faster than any other single color, "which stands to reason because the crown chakra is the center for final Divine integration."