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Seeing Colors During Meditation: Purple, Yellow, and More

Am I Visualizing Energy Flow?

I’m writing this article in the hopes that others who experience the same phenomenon will connect to try to make sense of it: Why do I see colors — almost always purple (indigo) and gold-yellow — whenever I’m in a certain meditative state??? What’s the meaning of this purple aura, and seeing colors during meditation? Let’s go into the details.

Seeing purple color during meditation
The colors I see when in a meditative state are purple and gold.

Seeing Purple Color… When?

What spurs me to see indigo and gold? It happens whenever I’m in a certain relaxed and connected state: sometimes during deep meditation, by the middle of a professional massage, during a very deep conversation, and always during acupuncture or Reiki.

The Colors I See Move in a Specific Way

With my eyes closed, I can watch the purple and gold swirl and play. The direction and type of movement the colors do always reflects what’s happening with my energy.

An Example from Acupuncture Energy Work

The moment I realized that the colors moved with purpose was when I was in my third trimester of pregnancy and went to an acupuncture appointment to ease discomfort. As I lay on the table with the needles doing their work, I closed my eyes and wondered if the colors would come.

Indeed they did: Indigo and greenish gold popped up in blobs, bobbing and weaving. Then they began a distinct downward movement. I watched as the purple and yellow alternated pulsing downward, from my head towards my feet. This is what it looked like:

Seeing colors during meditation
The way the colors move mirrors the energy flow.

At the end of the half hour, my acupuncturist came back into the room and explained that the needles she’d placed were on the specific pressure points to move my energy from my head downwards, in order to prepare the flow for birth.

I was shocked: this confirmed that the flow I’d been distinctly seeing behind my eyes in color form mirrored the exact energy direction my acupuncturist had created — even though she hadn’t told me, or placed the idea in my mind. The colors were saying something and were moving with purpose. Whoa!

Seeing indigo color during meditation
It’s fascinating watching the colors play.

What Does Seeing Colors Mean?

Over the years I’ve been researching what this phenomenon could indicate. We’ve already discussed the direction they move mirroring energy flow, but what about the meanings of these meditation colors? Each hue might have a purpose…

Do Colors Mirror Chakras?

The day I did one of my first Reiki healing touch treatments on someone and suddenly saw the color RED then began seeing orange, I realized that each person must have different energy colors. It was an odd moment seeing this new color — I was so used to always purple and gold, that I though that’s all I’d ever visualize. It got me thinking about the meaning behind each color, and why some people might have more of one than another. The answer might be found in reading about body chakras… especially the purple chakra.

Which is the Purple Chakra?

According to body chakra teaching, purple light correlates with either the 6th (Third Eye) or 7th (Crown) chakra at the top of the head or above the body. Both are about higher consciousness. Perhaps when I’m seeing purple, indigo, or violet, I’m tapping into the purple chakra, and thus the wider universe of human energy?

My guess is the color I’m seeing is more the 6th (purple chakra), because the 7th chakra is both violet and white, and one day when I was doing Reiki on someone, I distinctly saw his white sparkling light, which was very different than my purple. Another time I saw black, which might be connected with the Earth Star Chakra in the 12-Chakra system.

VIDEO: Seeing Colors During Meditation

What Do Yellow, Green, or Gold Light Mean?

Seeing purple light makes sense with chakra theory, but why would I also then also always see yellow-green? That color likely correlates with the 3rd (Solar Plexus) Chakra which has a yellow aura, and maybe slightly with the 4th (Heart) Chakra which has a green aura — both in the center of the body. The third chakra is about strength, confidence, and willpower, and the fourth about love and healing. It might also correlate with the 8th or Soul Star Chakra, which has a white and golden hue.

It’s interesting to me that my soul would select the colors purple and yellow, and always only these two — unless I’m doing Reiki meditation with someone else. The one time I was able to generate different colors within myself was during my first Kundalini Reiki training years ago, during a group meditation. At that point I distinctly saw green and several other colors I hadn’t seen before, perhaps because of the powerful energy of others present in the room, and the high level of training of the Reiki master teaching us. (If you’re near Massachusetts, I now run my own Boston Reiki practice, so feel free to connect.)

Seeing Colors During Meditation and YOU

I’m thankful to the wonders of digital art that I could finally draw and make tangible and visible what I see behind my eyes on a weekly basis, so perhaps I could find others who resonate with this experience that happens in the liminal space of energy work, so we might make sense of it together.

Do see my NEW article on chakra colors and healing, which grew from your messages from this post! If any of this rings true for you, feel free to reach out in the comments section, or by the social media contacts below.

Seeing Colors During Meditation

See all my articles about seeing colors during meditation, Reiki, acupuncture, massage, and healing. What's the meaning and purpose, and how does it connect with chakras? Learn here.

Jodi

Monday 1st of September 2025

I saw the playful purple and gold in my meditation today. Only the gold appeared more green to me. There was a blob of green and a blob of purple dancing in circles. When I meditate, I allow my cats and dogs to get in my lap or lay next to me. One of my cats has inoperable cancer. When she layed next to me and I touched I saw green and purple as well, only in a different pattern. It was like the green was behind the purple, and was trying to peek through.

I also saw black and dark navy blue towards the end of the session.

Lillie Marshall

Wednesday 3rd of September 2025

Wow! Thank you for sharing about your experiences -- sending good energy!

Ghadir

Monday 13th of May 2024

I meditated for the first time in a very long time today, and i can totally relate with what you mentioned in the article about purple and greenish gold colors, also the movement, i started seeing just purplish indigo at first and then gold started appearing in a semicircle form moving upwards much like the arch of a rainbow, that's why i looked it up, thank you for the article, i have bern doing a lot of healing lately, and i am glad to know the colors i saw mean it's working, right?

Ghadir

Monday 13th of May 2024

@Lillie Marshall, ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š

Lillie Marshall

Monday 13th of May 2024

Yes! The colors mean itโ€™s working!

Vy f

Saturday 9th of March 2024

You articulated an experience I had today while undergoing an energy healing session for the first time today. It was so interesting of an experience that I was googling and came across you post.

Lillie Marshall

Saturday 9th of March 2024

Glad to be able to help articulate it! As you can see, youโ€™re not alone at all, and itโ€™s a very powerful and healing experience.

N. Purdon

Tuesday 6th of February 2024

I have FINALLY found a place that fits with my experiences. When I did a meditation workshop with several others, I experienced what I call the rainbow flow of colors. Think of how a giant American flag flows in almost folded layers when the wind is gently blowing. That's how my rainbow or colors were flowing. One color flowed into another color. The instructor said it was a once in a lifetime experience. It was beautiful. while I still experience colors when doing deep breathing and I'm by myself, one-two colors flow - one flows into the next but the two colors stay on repeat. For example if I see orange it gets reilly bright then flows like the wind is blowing it into red which is bright and stays and deepens. When I ask other people about what they see during breathing exercises, they look at me like I'm crazy.

Lillie Marshall

Wednesday 7th of February 2024

You're not alone at all, and I disagree that your experience was "Once in a lifetime" -- with practice, it's possible to learn the patterns of what helps access the colors. Sending good energy from this community!

Erin

Saturday 27th of January 2024

Hi, I am so glad I found your article. I started seeing these colours swirling when I had my reiki training. I thought that was just my imagination or maybe light from outside penetrating. But sometimes it can change colours: green, blue, yellow, red, orange, purple, white. All chakra colours. My reiki trainer can download images but all I can see is just colours! Glad to know I am not just imagining things. Hopefully I can someday download more images or messages other than just colours.

Lillie Marshall

Saturday 27th of January 2024

Thanks for sharing your experience -- it's not just you! I invite you to explore the idea that the colors ARE the message. Each correlates to a chakra that's a different topic. Notice which colors come up when, and in which direction or shape they flow. See my articles about individual energy colors for more on how to do this. Sending you good energy!