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... 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:
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!
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. Upon request, I now also offer remote distance Reiki sessions online, from the comfort of your own home!)
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.
Chakra Colors and Meanings
In this follow-up article to this first one about seeing purple and yellow during meditation, I dig deeper into the research, and also drew a diagram of each of the chakra colors and energy centers in the body.
More About Seeing a Purple Aura
Here is my most recent article with more information about what seeing a purple aura means, expanded upon with stories from my Reiki energy work sessions and meditation.
Seeing Red Chakra Energy
After opening my own Reiki practice, I have had the opportunity to see the colors of other people as I do sessions with them. Most recently, I've seen a lot of red in people, so this new article is an investigation of what seeing red might mean.
Seeing White Aura and Chakra Energy
What does it mean to see white light or a white aura during energy healing work like meditation or Reiki? See my exploration and illustrations here.
Seeing Black Aura Energy
Don't be alarmed if you see inky black during energy work! A black aura is actually really exciting and useful. Read this to see why.
Earth Star Chakra
My investigation into seeing the color black led me to research the 12 Chakra System which has other energy centers besides the traditional seven: Including the Earth Star Chakra below the body!
The author and artist, Lillie Marshall, is a National Board Certified Teacher of English who has been a public school educator since 2003, and an experienced Reiki practitioner since 2018. All art on this site is original and hand-drawn by Lillie. She launched DrawingsOf.com Educational Cartoons in 2020, building upon the success of her other sites, AroundTheWorldL.com (established 2009), TeachingTraveling.com (founded 2010), and ReikiColors.com. Subscribe to Lillie's monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media to stay connected!
Thank YOU so much for sharing this. I have been meditating for 2 months and today I decided to do a mid day meditation. This was the first time that I experienced visuals this bright. It was exactly like your purple and yellow illustration in the circle! It was amazing. I googled to see what this meant and came across your page. Anyways thank you for sharing!
I'm thrilled that you were able to resonate with my drawings! Keep up your exploration and be in touch.
I see the same colors! I often wondered why those 2 although sometimes royal blue makes an appearance. Usually for my in meditation it’s a purple background and yellow/ green circling in the middle like a dance like a lava lamp sometimes. Also on a rare occasion my consciousness might feel like it’s spinning, swaying, tilting, like floating and swirling in space although I am still sitting physically. It’s very cool to see that I’m not alone!
You are in very good company! For more about seeing blue, see here: https://drawingsof.com/blue-aura-meaning-chakra/
Hey what's fascinating is I recently had an energy healing session and I saw purple and yellow that looked just like your drawing! I tend to see purple, blue or green when I meditate. I once had my root chakra opened up through reiki and I saw vivid red then. Very cool!
It’s so amazing (and very satisfying) when what we see matches the chakra colors so perfectly! Happy energizing!
I just had an EEG and was seeing purple coming in waves from the outside of my eyes to the center which was gold. I see color behind my eyes when relaxing or falling asleep. I thought everyone did, but I never saw it pulsate or move so rapidly before. When I got home I decided to look it up because I had a friend years ago that was studying Reiki who told me that energy had different colors and meanings. I stumbled across your page and I am fascinated by what I have learned! Thank you for sharing this.
Dawn,
So glad you found this article, and thank you for sharing your experience! I've started to become very curious about the intersection of the neuroscience (what the brain is doing) and the spiritual with these colors. Keep us posted if you have any further insights!
I've recently been reconnecting with my spirituality and I was finally able to successfully meditate by practicing divided attention. The first time I experienced seeing a swirling green light with my eyes closed. I learned that was my heart chakra healing, meaning I'm ready to give and receive love. The next time I meditated all it took was just laying in bed listening to relaxing music. This time I saw mostly purple light and some green. It's nice to know this is confirming what I've recognized in my life recently: a wider consciousness and perspective. A spiritual wisdom must be developing within me. I quite like it 😊
Thank you for sharing your beautiful experiences! Keep it up!
@Lillie Marshall, I always see purple and yellow-green lights when I meditate. I heard elsewhere that it indicates you are either clear or clouded in the respective chakra. My guess is clear. I also often see floating eyes, even demonic looking ones (but usually not). These are mainly what I see when meditating, but I also see many other visuals, but eyes are the most common thing that just floats up to where the purple & yellow blobs are.
It absolutely indicates clearing chakras and beautifully flowing energy and integration! Keep following the visions that come up with curiosity: they're always so interesting in their messages.
Happy i found someone else seeing purple and yellow! I havet Just startede gjetting interested in spirituality and im trying to connect more and awaken more. I didnt think i havet experienced anything until i noticed the colors 😍
Hi Karoline,
You're not alone! Very cool that you're also seeing the colors!
I am pretty must in tune with my spiritual self but I had never tried meditating before, I managed to get time today meditated for the first time. This is how it started, everything was black and foggy for the first few mins so I started focusing on my breath… soon I stopped hearing external noise… my visual was sort of messed up but as I tried to focus deeply I started seeing a circle of white smoke with purple in the center .. closing in .. I really don’t know how to explain this .. but imagine a circle moving away from u .. it becomes smaller and smaller and then another circle appears from the corners of your eyes and that becomes smaller .. it was like a loop and it got pretty fast, until I could just see a white circle and no more purple and something like a skyline.. this part was really hazy. I swear I cannot share this with anyone coz they will call me crazy but I’m definitely going to meditate more often now. I just wish I knew what it all meant .. this post was the closest to my experience but not quite .
if any of u know please drop me a msg.
Hi Star,
Thank you for sharing your experience! I've definitely experienced something like that -- each time the colors move in different shapes and directions. You're not crazy, you're not alone, and it's nothing bad! Keep meditating and see what happens. Do share back with us if you have a moment, after you've tried it several more times.
@Star,
You are not alone. I see the exact same thing. When the purple clears it is like standing in the night sky with shooting stars. It is similar to others because initially with the purple I have the lava lamp effect with the shadows dancing or kissing or flying. My question for Lillie is what are the shadows that keep moving like a lava lamp? And what dimension am I in during this space?
To answer your question, I would classify it not as being in another dimension, but rather being able to see the visual color manifestation of energy right here among us. For that reason, when you see the lava lamp-like movement, pay attention to the shapes and directions in which it's moving. For example, if it's moving downward, that is a grounding message -- connecting with safety, stability, and the earth. Keep exploring, meditating, and doing energy work, and the patterns will become clearer!
Finally! Yes, I also see the indigo and yellow/ green Hughes. Usually it’s indigo is circular ( like an eye) and the yellow or golden green is all around it and it floats and mostly opens and closes. I have had many profound somatic releases/ healing experiences with energy work and massage. Thank you for this.And I would love to be a healing practitioner, but I’ve been too caught up hustling as a nurse! You give me that inspiration. And to add, I did a Polarity Therapy training for 4 weeks and I would see circles like fingerprints. My teacher said according to ancient scriptures I saw Prana.
Thank you for sharing your perspective! Perhaps you can combine your work as a nurse with energy work!
Chakras do not have colors, crystals, emotional/ psychological correspondences or musical notes. They do not open or close and the goal is to create balance. These are all new age and none of this is in the vedic texts. Color came from a book called “Nuclear Evolution” written in the 70’s. Now color does hold vibration and frequency but it has nothing to do with the chakras. In the 7 chakra system it is only 6. The 7th Sahasrara (not crown) which means 1,000 petal lotus, it’s not a chakra at all. There is more than 1 chakra system and we have 114 of them. In the vedas the info is somewhat vague as the info is prescriptive and not descriptive. I feel it’s done this way for each practitioner to develop a personal relationship with the chakras. I’m not saying this to take away from your experience which is very real and powerful. I’m sharing so those that think they know the chakras may only know a white washed new age version that has nothing to do with chakras or for those that want to learn.
Thank you for sharing this important perspective!
Each time I do a meditation the colours would change each time and I don't know why the colours are ,pink,yellow ,white ,dark blue , light blue. Can someone help?
Hi Christina,
They likely correspond to the chakras you have activated, each of which corresponds with a different element of life. Here's an overview: https://drawingsof.com/chakra-colors-healing/ . Hope this helps!
So nice to hear about this! I've seen many colors during acupuncture, but, the colors I see the rest of the time is purple and chartreuse!!
I am so happy to know I'm not alone! I have had so much synchronicity that sometimes I wonder if I'm imagining it. It's been 3 years since I started this journey to my soul, and I know now how real it is! And this is one more thing that I'm happy to share with people!
Yes!!!!
I see yellow and purple! Thank you for sharing💛💜
Ah! Welcome to our community of others who do, too!
I just recently started meditating and started seeing deep purple waves. Occasionally I will see what looks like lightning of hot pink or electric blue. I thought it was a function of having my eyes closed. I’m new to this and had never heard of seeing colors. When I googled it, I was very relieved and happy to see that this actually happens and that it wasn’t me doing something wrong. Thank you for this blog Lillie and thank you all for sharing your journeys!
My pleasure, Ime! Thank you for sharing your beautiful experience, and keep up your meditation work!
Like others, when I meditate I see purple, yellow, green, chartreuse, and what seems like faces popping in and out. Today was the first day I listened to binaural beats while meditating and the color experience intensified. What meditation practices, breathing practices, mantra, do you employ when you meditate?
So interesting -- thanks for sharing! For my daily meditation, I use chanting mantras from Insight Timer, but what really makes me see colors is meditation paired with Reiki, or healing touch. I agree with you that binaural beats really help.
Every time I meditate or do reiki, I see indigo with a white light that swallows the indigo almost like a bullseye. Today the white light morphed into a chartreuse as it reached the center. The deeper I go into this consciousness I am able to see energy vibrations and visions of places and people though I haven’t been able to make sense of all of them.
Thank you for sharing your journey.
Beautiful images! Thank you for sharing.