Image by silviarita

Narrated by Marie T. Russell

Video version

The consciousness of a living being is set by the frequency of the matter that makes up the body. Our bodies allow us to engage in the play of nature, as no incarnation can be completely worldly or com­pletely spiritual. No matter what level of light or spirituality you attain you cannot transcend the human experience if you are embodied. Likewise, no matter how terrestrial you think you are, you are always filled with divinity. So the goal is to experience the balance of energy and matter working together to create a healthy whole, which allows curiosity, play, and exploration here on earth.

An incredibly easy way to access these complementary energies is by way of working with the chakra system. Chakras are spinning wheels of energy, psychic centers that do not exist on the physical plane, but rather in the spiritual dimension. The chakras set the frequencies that give rise to every aspect of the human experience. The foods we eat have consciousness and provide an energetic blueprint that stabilizes and entrains matter and energy for us when consumed. 

The Vedic tradition teaches that we are all divine beings having a human experience. With this tenet in mind, we will focus on the seven main chakras, the energetic gateways that correspond to the spine. These allow us to process universal life-force frequencies. They allow us to experience and control the vast and wondrous energies available to us in our human experience.

Food, Colors, and Chakras

An easy way to work with the chakras is simply to choose a food of the same color as the chakra you wish to stimulate—and then eat it! Sometimes it’s the interior of the plant, not its exterior, that reveals its chakra correlation. For example, a kiwi fruit is brown on the outside, but its vibrant green interior alerts you to the fact that it vibrates to the fourth chakra, as that chakra’s color correspondence is green.

Many fruits and vegetables come in multiple colors. In this case, if you find yourself with a craving or an aversion to a particular food, begin by reading the energetic signature to get the basic understanding of the plant’s function, and then reference the chakra you feel drawn to based on its corresponding color for further information to round out your understanding. For example, bell peppers come in green, yellow, orange, red, purple, and white, and due to their respective colors each behaves in a slightly different manner.

There are many ways to work with a food’s energy; let your intu­ition be your guide. At times you may prefer to work with a food based solely on its color to access a specific chakra. While doing so can activate all the correlating chakra properties, all may not apply to you or your situation. Feel into and focus on what is relevant to you at this time.

Chakra Energies

In the following chakra profiles I have provided a list of each chakra’s energies—both the gifts and the shadow aspects, snapshots to understand the energies you’re working with. I include the loca­tion of each chakra and its elemental classification according to the Five Great Elements—earth, water, fire, air/wind, and ether/space.

I also include some representative foods that communicate these ener­gies, although you will undoubtedly find more as you explore this territory.

Crown Chakra

Sanskrit name: Sahasrara (Sahasrara translates as “thousand-petaled lotus”)

Number: Seventh

Location: Crown of the head

Element: Beyond the elements

Color: White

Representative foods: All white foods, including daikon radish, heart of palm, water chestnut, cauliflower, parsnip, lotus root, and jicama

This chakra holds the energy of detachment from illusion, an essential vibration in obtaining nonlocal consciousness and understanding the truth of one is all, and all is one.

This is the most subtle chakra in the system, relating to pure consciousness, and it is from this chakra that all the other chakras emanate. When someone is able to raise their energy up to this point, a state of enlightenment is experienced.

Third Eye Chakra

Sanskrit name: Ajna

Number: Sixth

Location: Center of the forehead (the third eye)

Element: All of the elements combined

Color: Purple

Representative foods: All purple foods, including eggplant, fig, purple potato, Wild Violet sweet corn, passion fruit, purple asparagus, and plum

The Third Eye Chakra holds the following gifts:

• Cosmic knowledge, control of the mind
• Seeing beyond duality; Shiva’s eye (seeing past, present, and future)
• Sat-chit-ananda, “consciousness-being-bliss,” embodying all the elements in their purest form; perfect concentration
• There is no observed or observer: “That I am; I am That.”

Throat Chakra

Sanskrit name: Vishuddha

Number: Fifth

Location: Throat

Element: Ether

Colors: Blue and black

Representative foods: All black and blue foods, including black ses­ame seeds, forbidden rice, blueberry, borage flower, blackberry, black currant, and black grape 

The Throat Chakra holds the following gifts:

• Truth, expression, sound, clarity, “giving voice to"
• True vocation, self-expression
• Clarity, wit, improvisation, spontaneity, active engagement with your inner muse
• Clairaudience, channeling, telepathy, working with subtle energies
• Understanding the power of words and how they shape and mold our reality

Shadow issues of The Throat Chakra:

• Using words or sounds irresponsibly
• Not being an active listener, wordiness, and “speaking at' some­one instead of real conversation
• Not able to discern truth; feeling muddled and confused
• Disengagement from your inner muse

Heart Chakra

Sanskrit name: Anah

Number: Fourth

Location: Center of the breastbone

Element: Air

Colors: Green and pink

Representative foods: All green and pink foods, including kiwi fruit, avocado, lima bean, butter lettuce, pink grapefruit, dragon fruit, and guava

The Heart Chakra holds the following gifts:

• All love: unconditional, romantic; veneration of the Divine, parent/child, nature/pets; unattached, universal
• Fostering forgiveness, resolving conflicts
• Union with others and self, transforming the common into the Divine
• Experiencing the Divine in self and others
• Grace, surrender, compassion, loyalty
• Genuine concern for others and the desire to foster what is best for them

Shadow issues of The Heart Chakra:

• Not accepting self, having only conditional love for self and oth­ers, rejecting the magic and beauty surrounding self
• Being controlling or jealous, demonstrating fear-based affection, using “affection” to manipulate, not allowing others to change or grow
• Feeling vulnerable or rejected, not allowing others in, not expos­ing “the real self,” codependent relationships
• Being critical and hard to please, having an exaggerated view of people (whether positive or negative)

Solar Plexus Chakra

Sanskrit name: Manipura

Number: Third

Location: Solar plexus

Element: Fire 

Color: Yellow

Representative foods: All yellow foods, including lemon, banana, yel­low crookneck squash, yellow bell pepper, pineapple, and star fruit

The Solar Plexus Chakra holds the following gifts:

• Personal power, the intellect, opinion
• Logic, will, direction, leadership
• Action, authority, integrity, radiance
• Courage, self-worth, consciousness, and refinement

Shadow issues of The Solar Plexus Chakra:

• Anger, volatility, rage, hatred
• Ego issues, abuse of power (e.g., domination, misguided force, using fear to control)
• Feeling superior, “my way or the highway”
• Perfectionism, rigidity, violence, and feeling weak
• Having no expression of personal choice

Sacral Chakra

Sanskrit name: Svadhishthana

Number: Second

Location: Sacrum/pelvic bowl

Element: Water

Color: Orange

Representative foods: All orange foods, including orange citrus, mango, papaya, peach, sweet potato, persimmon, and butternut squash

The Sacral Chakra holds the following gifts:

• Sensuality, sexual intimacy, giving and receiving pleasure
• Creativity, unstructured expression
• Movement, things that wax and wane
• Healthy emotions and inner child
• “Hidden treasure” aspects of self, fluidity
• Working with dreams and the un/subconscious

Shadow issues of The Sacral Chakra:

• Wounded emotions, keeping secrets
• Fear of judgment, “getting in trouble” or “being found out”
• Repression of aspects of the self, inability to experience emotional or sexual intimacy, manipulation
• Nightmares or not being able to remember or interpret dreams

Root Chakra

Sanskrit name: Muladhara

Number: First

Location: Base of the spine/coccyx

Element: Earth

Color: Red/crimson

Representative foods: All red foods—including beet root, strawberry, ruby queen corn, cherry, pomegranate, watermelon, and cranberry—but especially root vegetables

The Root Chakra holds the following gifts:

• Being grounded, earth connection
• Stability, security, a sense of belonging
• Raw sexuality, body pleasure
• Body knowledge, instinctual knowing
• Inner security and foundation of self
• Wise use of earth gifts (e.g., essential oils, crystals, metals/ minerals, plant essences)

Shadow issues of The Root Chakra:

• Energetically anemic, feeling cut off and isolated
• Ambivalence toward life, poverty consciousness, substance abuse, or any type of drastic escapism
• Sex for any type of exchange or just to “feel”
• Not living in a sustainable way that supports the earth

For a more detailed analysis of the chakras and their corresponding archetypes, sacred sounds, sacred geometry, and colors, see my book Essential Oils in Spiritual Practice: Working with the Chakras, Divine Archetypes, and the Five Great Elements.

©2021 by Candice Covington. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
Healing Arts Press, an imprint of InnerTraditions Intl.

Article Source

Vibrational Nutrition: Understanding the Energetic Signature of Foods
by Candice Covington

Most of us are familiar with the physical health benefits of fruits, vegetables, meats, herbs, and spices and their nutritional effects on the human body. But what about the vibrational benefits of foods? How does our diet affect the energy body and our emotional, mental, and spiritual states?

In this comprehensive guide to vibrational nutrition, Candice Covington explores the vibrational signatures of the foods we eat and how they help form the energetic structures that influence our behaviors and spirit. She details the energetic and spiritual qualities of more than 400 common foods, drinks, and seasonings. Offering a selection of recipes along with interpretations of their energetic stories, the author explores how to intuitively select foods and food combinations to reinforce your energy patterns, support you in any endeavor, and provide nutrition for body, mind, and spirit.

For more info and/or to order this book, click here.

About the Author

Candice Covington is a certified aromatherapist, massage therapist, healing arts master, and energy worker. A former instructor at Ashmead College and former aroma­therapist for the Chopra Center, she is the founder of Divine Archetypes, an essential oil and flower essence company, and the author of Essential Oils in Spiritual Practice.

Visit her website at DivineArchetypes.org/ 

More books by this Author.