The Third Chakra and Jupiter
The Executive Office

by Nancy Privett, MA, EFTCert-I, BBSH

The Third Energy Center

We saw in previous articles that your first chakra is paired with Saturn and contains your judicial system for maneuvering on the earth plane. Your second chakra and Mars provide your military power. Now we will take a look at Jupiter and your third chakra, which is your executive office.

The part of your energy body known as the third chakra, or third energy center, governs the physical body from the waist to just below the diaphragm. It includes the solar plexus, which is a network (plexus) of radiating (solar) nerve fibers behind the stomach and just below the diaphragm, and so the third chakra is sometimes called the solar plexus chakra.

The third energy center controls the digestive system, and many of the digestive organs are located in this area of the body: the stomach, the liver, the gall bladder, the pancreas, and parts of the small intestine and colon. Also in this area are the spleen, the kidneys and the thoracic spine.

Psychodynamically, the third chakra processes all issues relating to your definition of yourself. It asks and answers questions like: “Am I worth…?”, “Do I deserve…?”. “Am I of value…?”, “Is it okay for me to say no?”, “Am I allowed to be comfortable?”, “Is it okay to think of myself?” Depending on how healthy it is, this center carries the energy of independence, interdependence, codependence, or just plain dependence, and so determines how you connect with others.

Jupiter and the Third Chakra – “I am King of the Mountain”

The third chakra’s astrological planet-partner is Jupiter, who was the Roman mythological king of the gods. Jupiter had nicknames like “best and greatest,” “of the light,” “ruler of the weather,” “god of the sky,” and “protector of Rome.” There was never any doubt that Jupiter was exactly where he was meant to be – on the throne and in charge. He was self-assured and regal, his totem animal was the eagle, and he was many times depicted holding a thunderbolt in one hand and the staff of life in the other. For Jupiter, there was no question that he was King of the Mountain. It was his absolute birthright, and because of his self-assurance, he could afford to be generous and jovial, and radiate pleasure and expansiveness.

Wouldn’t it be nice to feel like that most of the time? To be so sure of yourself and your place in the world that you could radiate charisma, bestow abundance and good fortune, and never, ever, question your value or your right to be exactly who you are? That takes healthy Jupiter energy. You know when you are in the presence of someone with a healthy, strong third chakra -- you feel comfortable with the person because the person is so comfortable with herself or himself.

The Digestive System Metaphor

A good way to understand the function of the third chakra and its Jupiter energy is to use the metaphor of the digestive system, which is governed by the third center. Your digestive system has four basic functions: it ingests (takes in food), it discriminates (decides what part of the food is nutritious and what is not), it assimilates (absorbs nutrients), and it eliminates (gets rid of what is not good or not needed).

With a healthy third chakra, you ingest only what is good for you, not only food-wise, but with what you are willing to “take in” from people and events around you. Not only does a healthy Jupiter not eat poison, he doesn’t put up with anyone trying to feed it to him. This leads to a healthy gall bladder, the organ that Caroline Myss calls the “chutzpah organ,” because it “cuts through the fat.”

Once something is ingested, you still need to decide what parts of the food you actually need to nourish your body and what parts will become waste. You get a second chance at discerning what is good for you and what is not. Healthy Jupiter energy knows how to be discerning – how to sift and sort through the people and experiences in your life to see what really resonates with nourishing you, and what does not. When something is not nourishing for you, healthy Jupiter says no, clearly and emphatically. No waffling, no indecisiveness (“Am I allowed to say no?”) no statements like, “Well, I’ll do it to make you happy even though it makes me uncomfortable.” When you are the “best and the greatest” god of the sky, you take care of yourself first, you make sure your needs are met and that you are comfortable. Otherwise, when you have to carry out your Jupiter duties of protecting and teaching and attracting good things, you simply don’t have the juice to do it.

The third digestive step is assimilating, and although this may sound easy, for some people it is actually a challenge to take in what is good for them. Statements that begin with “I don’t deserve,” “I’m not worthy,” or “I’m not important enough,” block the nutrients of life from being absorbed and indicate a sickly, weak, malnourished Jupiter who is about to fall off the mountain. One of my favorite short prayers to say before eating a meal is: “Bless this food and let it nourish us so that we can nourish life.” That’s healthy Jupiter energy, and you can re-word the prayer to begin your day: “Bless this day, and let me be nourished by it so that I can nourish life in return.”

The last job of the digestive system is to eliminate what is not needed. That means Let It Go! If someone criticizes you and you hold onto the criticism and talk about it over and over and resent the person who said it and build a case against them, you really are in need of a psychological laxative. Not eliminating means keeping poison in your system. And that means you have a really uncomfortable, squirmy, toxic Jupiter running your executive office.

Third Chakra Initiation

Healthy Jupiter energy in the third chakra equals healthy self-esteem. You develop this by collapsing the negative beliefs that tell you that you are not worthy, or not of value, or not allowed to make healthy boundaries by saying no. In short, you strengthen your third chakra by collapsing any beliefs that tell you that you are not allowed to be King of Your Mountain.

Your chakra system has seven major centers, and some of these centers have a special relationship with one another. This is the case with the third chakra and the seventh chakra. The seventh chakra, at the top of the head, connects you with your Higher Self, or Inner Being, or Superconsciousness. Your Higher Self is the non-physical aspect of your being that remains non-physical when another part of your consciousness enters into a physical body. (Think of it as a very beneficial split personality.) Your Higher Self loves you unconditionally, supports you always, and guides you impeccably. It is wise and compassionate and radiates every quality you could ever want.

When you begin to identify yourself through the eyes of your Higher Self, you bring your third chakra into full and glorious bloom. You heal any negative beliefs about who you are, and you begin to vibrate from a place of absolute deservedness and value. This is the exaltation of your Jupiter energy and your third chakra.

A Peek at What’s to Come — The Next Step Is a Big One

The government of your physical existence is located in the first three chakras: the judicial system in the first chakra, the military branch in the second chakra and the executive office in the third chakra. It would seem like you could manage just fine running your life with only these three centers, and in fact, many people do. But when that happens, you separate yourself from a vital and powerful aspect of your being, and essentially become a stunted person. That’s because there is no real transcendent healing power in just the first three chakras. If you experience trauma, for example, and only run it through the first three centers, you just keep experiencing the trauma without healing it. You may learn to live with the trauma, but you never heal and you never grow.