Home › Glossary › Letter C

Chakras

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Energetic centers along the spine in yogic and tantric traditions, each associated with elements, deities, and states of consciousness.

Detailed Definition
Chakras in poetry are the soul’s topography—the hidden map of inner ascent. Poets map the journey from root to crown as a climb through colors, sounds, and sensations: the red earth, the blue throat, the violet crown. They become metaphors for psychological and spiritual evolution, turning the body into a temple where each pulse is a prayer and each block a lesson.
Example
Example in poetry:
A yogic poem: "Root red, crown violet—/ Chakras spin like galaxies / in my spine’s night sky"; A tantric verse: "Kundalini rises—/ Chakras bloom lotus by lotus, / dissolving fear"; A modern lyric: "Anxiety? Breathe into green—/ heart Chakra, home / of broken trust"; A haiku: "Rainbow spine—/ Chakras hum: ‘You are / more than bone’"; Another: "Her art mapped Chakras—/ colors where pain once lived, / now light"; A minimalist verse: "Seven centers. One flow. / Chakras: inner cosmos."
Additional Notes
Chakras are not metaphors but energetic maps; in yoga poetry, each chakra’s color, deity, and element inform imagery: Muladhara’s earth as groundedness, Anahata’s green as compassion—poets like Sri Aurobindo use chakra progression as structural arc, making verse a journey inward, essential for interpreting spiritual poetry as somatic, not abstract, experience.
Also Known As
Energy Centers Psychic Centers Nadis
Skip to main content