Ektaya
Ajna, the third eye chakra. Your center of intuition, wisdom, and inner vision.
Located in the center of the forehead, between the eyebrows (just above the bridge of the nose), the Third Eye Chakra, or Ajna in Sanskrit, is the sixth main energy center. Its name means “to command,” “to perceive,” or “to know.”
Chakras are an idea from the yogic traditions, a way of describing inner experience. They are not an anatomical fact, and they are not linked to any illness. In that tradition, Ajna is the seat of higher awareness and the command center of the mind. It is the eye that looks inward, the one that sees past the appearances of the material world. It goes beyond duality to offer a unified, deeper view of reality.
Symbolism and Correspondences
In the yogic tradition, Ajna is pictured as a lotus with just two large petals, in a deep indigo (midnight blue) or sometimes violet. The two petals stand for the ultimate resolution of duality (sun and moon, masculine and feminine, logic and intuition) joining at this point. At its center is an inverted triangle holding the sacred symbol OM (ॐ), the original sound of the universe.
- Location: Between the eyebrows, center of the forehead.
- Color: Indigo (deep blue) or violet.
- Element: Light (and by extension, Spirit or the Cosmic Mind).
- Bija mantra: OM (ॐ) or AUM.
- Key function: Intuition, imagination, clairvoyance, discernment, concentration, wisdom.
- Associated stones: Amethyst, labradorite, sodalite.
The Role of the Third Eye Chakra
The third eye chakra is said to govern our ability to see the “big picture,” to grasp abstract ideas, to use our creative imagination, and above all to reach our intuition. It is our “sixth sense,” our inner compass that knows things without going through logical reasoning.
It is the center of our “right to see.” It lets us tell truth from illusion, trust our deep feelings, and picture our goals before they take shape in reality. It is the bridge between the rational intellect and spiritual wisdom.
When Your Inner Vision Is Balanced and When It Isn't
When Ajna is balanced: you have strong intuition and you trust it. Your mind is clear, focused, and perceptive. You have a good memory and a rich imagination. You can picture your projects vividly. You meet life's events with an open mind and a sense of wisdom, seeing the lessons hidden in your experiences.
When Ajna is out of balance: a blockage (underactivity) can show up as a lack of imagination, rigid and overly rational thinking, cynical skepticism, trouble picturing the future, or a poor memory. At the other extreme, overactivity can lead to illusions, a disconnection from reality, frequent nightmares, and an obsession with psychic phenomena with no grounding.
Caring for This Chakra
Caring for your third eye means cultivating inner silence: meditation is the main tool for calming the mind and opening this space. It also means cutting back on screen time to rest your physical eyes, doing visualization exercises, gazing at wide horizons (the starry sky, the ocean), and above all, learning to listen to and honor your quiet inner voice.
When your mind is stuck in a loop, coming back to your breath can help you settle back into your body. That is the first day of Return to Yourself, a guided audio of slow breathing: five seconds in, five seconds out.
This is a wellbeing practice, not medicine. If you have a physical symptom that lasts, such as frequent headaches or vision changes, see a doctor first.
When the mind quiets down, intuition becomes audible again. Book my energy session