Chakra, also spelled Cakra, Sanskrit C̣akra, ("wheel"), are any of a number of psychic-energy centres of the body, prominent in the occult physiological practices of certain forms of Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism. The chakras are conceived of as focal points where psychic forces and bodily functions merge with and interact with each other. Among the supposed 88,000 chakras in the human body, six major ones located roughly along the spinal cord and another one located just above the crown of the skull are of principal importance. Each of these seven chakras is associated with a specific color, shape, sense organ, natural element, deity, and mantra (monosyllabic prayer formula). The most important of these are the lowest chakra (muladhara), located at the base of the spine, and the highest (sahasrara), at the top of the head. The muladhara encircles a mysterious divine potency (kundalini, described below) that the individual attempts, by Yogic techniques, to raise from chakra to chakra until it reaches the sahasrara (at the top of the head) and self-illumination results.[a]
Kundalini is, in some Tantric (esoteric) forms of Yoga, the cosmic energy that is believed to lie within everyone, pictured as a coiled serpent lying at the base of the spine. Through a series of techniques that combine prescribed postures, gestures, and breathing exercises, the practitioner brings the kundalini up along the spine to his head. On the way the kundalini passes through six imagined centers, or cakras, as indicated above. When the kundalini arrives at the seventh cakra, at the top of the head,[b] self-illumination results (as stated above).
Ajna chakra is located slightly below sahasrara, at a position directly behind the center of the forehead. It is linked to the pineal gland. The pineal gland regulates sleep cycles via melatonin production, and may also produce dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogenic compound. Most of what we see in the movie is a dream Dorothy experiences, beginning soon after she falls unconscious during the tornado, due to her head being hit by a window sash. The effect of excess dimethyltryptamine production on her brain causes her to have a 'psychedelic' (i.e., hallucinogenic) experience, which consists of her dream as we see it. For although Dorothy's kundalini begins in her muladhara chakra, at the base of her spine, at the beginning of the movie, her kundalini rises rapidly to her ajna chakra at the moment she is knocked unconscious. Then, once the dream starts, with Dorothy arriving in Munchkinland, her kundalini begins to move downward through her other chakras, and continues to do so during her journey down the yellow brick road, as symbolized by the characters she meets (the Scarecrow, etc.), and by certain other events and actions.
When the kundalini is flowing upward, as it normally does, ajna chakra signifies the end of duality, the characteristic of being dual (e.g. male and female, light and dark, etc.). However, since Dorothy's kundalini is flowing downward (during her dream), her kundalini's being at ajna chakra signifies the beginning of her becoming dual, symbolizing the beginning of duality in Woman.
The next chakra below ajna is the vishuddha (throat) chakra. Singing stimulates the throat chakra. Recall that Dorothy and the various characters she meets, for example, the Scarecrow, sing. (The screencap at left is from the scene in which Dorothy sings along with the Scarecrow).
The next chakra down is anahata, the heart chakra. Recall that the Tin Man, the next person Dorothy meets after the Scarecrow, doesn't have a heart. The next chakra is manipura, which is located in the area of the solar plexus. This chakra is associated with courage, which is something the Lion is lacking. The final two chakras are swadisthana and muladhara, the latter being located at the base of the spine, which is where the kundalini normally begins.
a. 'chakra'. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 05 Sep. 2015. URL = http://www.britannica.com/topic/chakra.
b. 'kundalini'. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 05 Sep. 2015. URL = http://www.britannica.com/topic/kundalini.
