8 Ways Awaken, Balance, and Heal Your Solar Plexus This Winter

By Amber C. Snider

The return of the sun may seem a long way off, but there are a few spiritual exercises, rituals, and magical tips to harness and awaken the healing energies of the sun. 

Photo by Eugene Golovesov on Unsplash

While the winter brings along its promise of cozying up at home, self-reflection, and snow days, sometimes it can leave us feeling sluggish and uninspired. The Solar Plexus, or the Third Chakra — the energetic center connected to the sun, our emotional balance, and energy levels — is a vital part of our overall wellbeing.  It’s the center of our personal power, as well as our sense of self and identity. When this energetic center is out of balance or needs a bit of healing, we may feel a little “out of control” emotionally or maybe our bodies feel a little inflamed. Or perhaps we feel stagnant, unmotivated, and fatigued. 

Tuning into this energetic center and working towards unblocking any stagnant energy can help, along with holistic and magical rituals. 

So where exactly is the Solar Plexus located in the body?

Given that it’s your “center,” it’s located in your abdomen, right between your belly button and breastbone. When it’s blocked or needs balancing, you might experience digestive issues, anxiety, or inflammation. The Third Chakra, or Manipura as it’s known in Sanskrit, is associated with the color yellow and the element of fire, and so candle rituals (accompanied with other spiritual wellness practices) are a great way to help rebalance and restore this sacred center. 

Here are 8 ways to work with and balance the Solar Plexus for healing and awakening this winter season. 

Photo by Clark Van Der Beken on Unsplash

Candle Magic Rituals for the Third Chakra 
Try a hand-carved, custom Third Chakra candle for cleansing, healing, balancing, and strengthening your solar plexus. Associated with energy, power, will, assertiveness, self-esteem, confidence, and courage, this candle is carved with your astrological sign and name, and will burn for 7 days. We recommend taking a ritual sea salt bath before performing any candle magic ritual, meditating on the color yellow as you light the wick, and saying words of affirmation, chanting, dancing, singing, etc to raise your vibrations to align with your intentions. Alternatively, the 7-day Solar Blast candle is also great for growth, expansion, empowerment, and invokes the energies of the sun. 

Change up your signature scent
Wearing intention-specific scents can do a lot to change our awareness on a subconscious level. Enchantments’ hand-blended Sun oil is great for invoking the fiery, expansive energy of the sun. You can wear it as you would a perfume or burn it in a small stone oil diffuser at home. Motivation oil is also a great choice if you’re feeling a bit sluggish or unmotivated, as well as Concentration oil. 

Outside of wearable, hand-blended oils, you can also try diffusing essential oils like sandalwood and cinnamon in the home. 

Work with crystals
Amber, citrine, tiger’s eye, and pyrite are all great for helping to balance the solar plexus. Find a gemstone that works for you, charge it with your intention of healing (hold in your hand, preferably in the sunlight, and chant a mantra over it) and keep it in your purse/pocket or wear it as a pendant. 

If you’re buying a new crystal/gemstone, it’s ideal to cleanse it from outside energies before wearing it. You can do this by placing it in a bowl of salt for 1-2 days, wafting it over sacred smoke (smoke cleansing), or bathing it in sunlight or moonlight. 

Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash

Color meditations
In my book Wonderment, I have an entire chapter about color magic, including ways to work with the solar plexus through color meditations. Color magic is a super powerful way to connect your intentions with energy. For the solar plexus, visualize a small, bright ball of light in your belly area. As you breathe into that center, imagine that golden, radiant light expanding outwards, following through all your limbs, and eventually extending beyond your body and setting around your auric field. 

Alternatively, you can pick a natural yellow object to meditate on, such as a sunflower, daffodil, or marigold. Imagine the flower starting out as a seed at your center, growing and blooming inside you, and filling your body with a luminous yellow hue and light. Sit with this visualization for at least 5-10 minutes per day while working on your solar plexus.

Burn sacred incense for the solar plexus
The best incense for the solar plexus is Sun incense, Motivation incense, and Crucible of Courage incense. These hand-blended, wood-based incenses do not require charcoal. Simply add a tablespoon or more of the incense to a fire-proof dish, touch fire to it, and smudge your aura and house 2x per day (and before rituals) while balancing your solar plexus. 

​Exercise
Since our solar plexus is located in our physical center, it’s a good idea to add some physical movements and exercises to your routine. Exercises focused on the core are ideal, as well as yoga, deep breathing exercises, and light walking in the sun. 

Photo by Mads Eneqvist on Unsplash

Consume more yellow foods
Consider adding squash, sunflower seeds, bananas, oats, cinnamon, and marigold tea to your meal plan for the week. As you consume yellow foods with intention, ask the food to cleanse, heal, and open your energetic center. Visualize how the sun encourages plants and vegetables to grow and flourish; as you eat, you’re also taking in that powerful sun energy as it fills and nourishes your body. 

Harness your creative spark with color magic
We are creative beings by nature and magic isn’t all about rituals and formalities. Add some play and creativity to your daily routine by painting a vibrant yellow wall in your room, creating an acrylic painting with various yellow tones, or wear a bright shade of yellow to uplift your mood. I wrote about more ways to incorporate color magic into your routine in this Architectural Digest story, as well as in my book Wonderment (available for purchase at Enchantments), under the chapter entitled “The Healing Power of Color.” 

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