Chakra Series, Part IV: Heart

Part IV: Heart

Heart at a glance

• Archetypal Element: Air

• Color: Green

• Purposes: Love, Balance

• Right: To love and be loved

As the midpoint of the system of energy centers, balance is an essential principle of the heart chakra. Ancient tantric diagrams depict this chakra as a lotus with twelve petals containing a six-pointed star of two triangles. Each triangle represents the movement of the energy current: upward=liberation of matter to spirit & downward = spirit into matter, or manifestation. They meet here in the middle.

With that, my interpretation of the intersecting triangles that form an open center signifies an open heart. In that attempt, the shape of this arrangement looks like Dipsy and Tinky-Winky had a baby, haha! The fresh Lotus pods were an obvious choice to incorporate into this series, and perfectly suited for the fourth chakra. Lotus is associated with purity and rebirth, given the conditions in which it grows. One of my former yoga teachers/friends from Atlanta, Charli, would say, “No mud, no lotus.” I love that summation and reframe of downtrodden or less-than-ideal moments in life…

Green Dianthus paired with the Oregon moss serve as the basis of the arrangement. The Button Mums are supporting ladies to this Lotus pod-focused arrangement. Finally, the windblown look of the Curly Willow is a slight nod to the element air + mimic the enclosure of a ribcage, representing the location of the fourth chakra in the cardiac plexus.

Just as Nature seeks balance, so do our relationships. Living in relation to others with dynamic flexibility, all while maintaining an open heart, is the practice of a lifetime. There is always a good reason to choose love.