The 12 Chakra System Explained - From Earth Star to the Higher Chakras

The 12 Chakra System Explained - From Earth Star to the Higher Chakras

By Sunita Poudel, certified sound healer and founder of Dharma Tool, Kathmandu. Published 7 October 2026.

The 12 chakra system is the seven classical chakras plus five more, and it is taught in two different ways. Many Western teachers place the extra five outside the body, from the Earth Star below the feet to higher chakras above the head, while in singing bowl work the twelve are the twelve notes from C to B.

What is the 12 chakra system?

It is an expansion of the seven chakras. The classical sources describe seven major chakras, and four in Buddhism.

The number twelve comes from later teachers, and they do not all agree. That is why two pages about the 12 chakras can show two different lists.

If you already know our 9 chakra system, the twelve is the next step on from it. If you already want a set of twelve bowls, you can ask for one in our custom singing bowl set builder.

What are the 12 chakras in the popular version?

This is the version most people find when they search. It keeps the seven and adds one chakra below the feet and four above the head.

Read this as one common list, not the only one. Some teachers use other names, such as Stellar Gateway, and one well-known version places its last chakras around the body instead of above it.

How was Sunita taught the twelve?

In my training notebook, the twelve are written as twelve notes. Seven are the notes of the seven chakras, and five are the sharps between them.

My notebook gives the five sharps no names of their own. The last column shows the names other teachers' sound charts use, and those names change from chart to chart.

The best known are the High Heart at F sharp, placed over the thymus, and the Zeal Point at G sharp, placed at the base of the skull. My notebook does have the words zeal point written beside G, the note just below it.

The notebook also records that there is no E sharp. In music, E to F and B to C are already half steps, so the scale has exactly twelve notes and no more.

So in this version the extra five are not above the crown. They sit inside the body, in the spaces between the seven main centres.

This is the version our set builder follows. When you choose twelve bowls there, it selects all twelve notes, sharps included.

How do the seven and the twelve fit together?

Seven is the outline, and twelve is the detail. Think of the seven chakras as seven towns on a map, and the twelve notes as the same map with the roads between the towns drawn in.

Our free course teaches this in the twelve chakra map lesson. The lesson on where to set all twelve bowls then shows the layout around the body.

Which version should you follow?

Neither one is the official list. Use the popular version if you meditate on the chakras, and the twelve note version if you work with bowls.

What does this mean for a singing bowl set?

Our chakra singing bowl sets come in 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12 bowls. Each size follows a different map.

A hand-hammered bowl's note is discovered, not made. A set of twelve is put together by selection, one bowl at a time, which is why the sharps take the most care to find.

Do you need all 12?

No. A set of 7 is the right place to start, and most people never need more.

A set of 12 suits experienced practitioners who run long sessions and want a note for every step.

How do you order a set of 12 bowls?

A set of twelve is not picked from a shelf, so we take it as a request. Use our custom singing bowl set builder, which takes five short steps.

• Choose the tradition, Vedic or Tibetan, because it decides which note sits on which chakra.
• Choose twelve bowls, and the builder ticks all twelve notes, sharps included.
• Choose the size, finish and extras, such as cushions, mallets and engraving.
• Send the request, which is free and carries no obligation to buy.

Sunita reads every request herself. She then looks for the bowls that belong together and sends you the set she can match, with photographs.

What are the common mistakes with the 12 chakras?

• One true list: believing there is a single official set of twelve names, when the lists change by teacher.
• Mixing versions: putting an Earth Star bowl into a twelve note set, when the two systems count differently.
• Fixed order: assuming one note order for all, when mapping and playing order depend on the tradition, Tibetan or Vedic.
• Gland claims: reading the notebook's note and gland pairs as a promise, when we teach them as anatomy only.
• Buying twelve first: starting with the largest set before you are at home with seven.

What should you do next?

Find out which of the twelve notes your own bowl is with the free live singing bowl tuner.

If you are ready for more than seven bowls, send your request through the set builder.

Then work through the free singing bowl healing course. Its fourth part covers the twelve chakra system step by step.

Frequently asked questions

What are the 12 chakras?

The 12 chakras are the seven classical chakras plus five more. In the popular version the five sit outside the body, from the Earth Star below the feet to higher chakras above the head, and in sound work the twelve are the twelve notes from C to B.

What are the names of the 12 chakras?

One common list is Earth Star, Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, Crown, Soul Star, Universal, Galactic and Divine Gateway. The names and positions of the five extra chakras change from teacher to teacher.

Is the 12 chakra system traditional?

The classical texts describe seven major chakras, and four in Buddhism. The 12 chakra system is a later expansion taught by modern teachers, so there is no single agreed list.

What are the five chakras between the seven called?

In sound charts the five sharps are often named the Sexual or Om chakra at C sharp, High Sacral at D sharp, High Heart or Thymus at F sharp, Zeal Point at G sharp and Pineal or Soul Star at A sharp. These names change from chart to chart, and Sunita's notebook gives the sharps no names.

How do the 12 chakras match singing bowl notes?

In the system Sunita was taught, each of the twelve is one note: C, C sharp, D, D sharp, E, F, F sharp, G, G sharp, A, A sharp and B. The seven natural notes are the seven chakras, and the five sharps sit between them.

Do I need 12 singing bowls for the 12 chakras?

No. A set of 7 covers the seven main chakras and is enough for most people. A set of 12 is for experienced practitioners who want every note from C to B.

Is the 12 chakra order the same in every tradition?

No. Chakra note mapping and playing order depend on the tradition, Tibetan or Vedic, and the twelve note table here follows the Vedic mapping from C at the Root to B at the Crown.