Personal Energy Matrix
What is the PEM?
The personal energy matrix or PEM is my construct for handling the human energetic system. It involves the physical body and mind, along with the other energy bodies (etheric, astral, mental, spiritual) and the energetic apparatus that emanate, regulate, and coordinate the individual layers or aspects and the matrix as a whole.
This includes a range of energetic fields, currents, centers, and channels. Aspects of the PEM with which you may be familiar include the heart & circulatory system, vital energy or life force, the etheric body, the seven main chakras along the Sushumna or Middle Pillar, the aura, and so forth. There are numerous interpretations of this energetic system, many of them complete with visual diagrams and detailed information about the components and how to refine and optimize each area.
You Don’t Need to Become a Monk or Mystic
As this is a magic blog and my content is of a primarily magical, not mystical nature, it’s not my plan to engage readers with an academic-grade presentation of the PEM and a full curriculum of how to integrate awareness of this system into your daily consciousness. I believe it is important to be conceptually aware of both the multiverse planes of existence and the multi-layered nature of one’s own energetic makeup, as such awareness can enhance magical practice and promote best practices to elevate overall effectiveness.
I also caution, however, that becoming obsessed with the minutia of this knowledge can greatly hinder your magical progress. Unless you are a monk or other adept with the luxury of being able to devote all day every day to the pursuit of this knowledge, you aren’t likely to fully comprehend it at the intellectual level in this lifetime.
This is Concept Building Not Academic Study
I have good news on this point! You don’t need to fully intellectualize the PEM!
A framework for conceptualization gives you enough to aid visualization and other actualization techniques and exercises. Add to this sufficient knowledge of the system to facilitate some basic training and exercises in the effort to elevate, refine, focus, and empower your energetic assets and you’ll become a magical powerhouse with the bonus of enhanced capacity for mystical exploration and receptivity.
Left: Chakra-Aura System Right: Energy Bodies and Auric Field
Chakras, Aura, and Energy Body
The left image above shows the seven chakras along the middle pillar. Also shown is the human aura, presented in ascending layers color-coded to match each layer to a chakra. In other words, your chakra energy centers, in addition to regulating a specific type or grade of energy within your being, work together to form your aura.
The seven main chakras are of course:
| Chakra | Color | Type of energy processed & aspects of life related to this energy |
| base | red | earth, survival, reproduction, instincts, security, generosity-selfishness, prosperity-scarcity |
| sacral | orange | water, creativity, sexuality, social aptitude, rhythm, motion, adaptability |
| solar plexus | yellow | fire, personal confidence, desire and passion, intensity, motivation |
| heart | green | air, compassion, empathy, duality |
| throat | light blue | ether/sound oneness, gnosis |
| brow | dark blue | mind, esp, clear seeing, transcendence |
| crown | purple | connection to divinity |
After enough time spent with the chakras in meditation and practice it becomes rather difficult to use exclusive terminology for the cataloging of these energy centers. There is much nuance and overlap, which I have given no attention to above. For example, intuition begins in the sacral chakra and is highly refined by the heart chakra, but most systems list one or the other, or neither as the center of intuition. I did the best I could in the moment to make the table above but edits may be forthcoming.
Musical Notes for Toning Your Chakra-Aura System
Using the musical scale of C,D,E,F,G,A,B,(C) or the do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-da song you can tone each chakra and auric layer from bottom to top. For most, middle C is the base chakra or starting point. Simply play or hum the note and sustain it to affect the associated chakra or layer.
Ignoring the Layers and Using a Sphere or Egg Model
It is still useful to simply visualize your aura as a sphere or egg of solid light or similar. These exercises are designed to charge and tone the chakra, also to seal them so you are shielded from detrimental energies. Knowing about the layers does not make it “wrong” to visualize the aura as a single layer of light.
These concepts should be helpful not troubling for you. 😉
Your Energy Bodies and the Planes of Existence
The image above on the right is a simpler breakdown of the energy bodies. I say simpler because in some systems and I believe within Hindu, each chakra and auric layer also correspond to an energy body which in turn relates to a plane of existence. This can become quite tedious, plus I only list 5 worlds and not 7 in the magical universe paradigm, again for simplicity and I don’t want to confound readers.
REMEMBER: I post all of this to help the aspiring magician, not to teach a class on Hindu or Theosophy, nor to convey mystical doctrine in perfect form. You are free to pursue any of the aforementioned on your own, but here I focus on information for concept-building to aid in magical success.
In the righthand image you will see the person in black silhouette, then the following colors representing specific energy bodies:
- Red for the vital field, or life force sheath between the physical and etheric bodies.
- blue for the etheric body
- purple for the astral body
- yellow for the soul or mental body
This just gives you another way to visualize this part of your energy system.
Your energy bodies are essentially the vehicle for navigating the planes of reality. This begins with your physical form which is the vehicle for getting around in this world. the etheric body is your vehicle on the etheric plane which is a mirror image of this world but more elastic. The astral body carries you on that plane, such as when you dream. It also may be the vehicle of the soul, according to some. These different vehicles each perform part of a magical operation in coordination with your physical form as you enact an operation in this material world.
Anything you do to strengthen, balance, or empower your energetic bodies will only enhance magical performance.
The astute reader will note and perhaps protest that I have not included any of the energy bodies or chakras higher than the solar or soul vehicle. Ya got me. Remembering that I post this to aid the student magician and not to prepare one for life in a Buddhist monastery, I’ll simply say I didn’t worry about the higher energy bodies because it is frankly most unlikely that anyone who reads this will have a practical use for such energetic devices within their magical operations. In other words, if you often travel about consciously in your “spiritual sheath”, monadic body, or what have you (and aren’t schizophrenic) drop me a note with some insight on how you get that done.