At it's core, Love Has Seven Colors is a very practical exploration of the chakras with an emphasis on each chakra's color association and what those colors' magickal associations bring with them. In other words, color identity in magick is a rich subject independent of any chakra association, so bringing that knowledge into intersection with chakra study leads to new ways to think about both subjects. As the title of the book implies, "love" is the primary lens through which this knowledge is viewed by Mr. Angelo, and so he spends a good bit of time explaining what he means by "love," which is a use of language I was unfamiliar with. He draws a distinction between the mind and the heart (which can be tricky, since his use of "heart" is a construct of the emotional versus analytical mind) and hypothesizes that the mind gets in the way of the heart's superior ability to interface with your chakras. If this resonates with you, I believe this book can be very valuable to you. If you aren't already nodding your head, I fear you're in for a frustrating read.
The book is divided into two parts. In Part 1, the author lays out his foundational ideas, including the duality of our energy (classic masculine/feminine model) and the purpose of chakras (or "energy centers" in his school of thought). An illustrative quote is useful here: "Historically, a very serious aspect of this state of affairs [an undeveloped polarity leading to overwhelming control by the other polarity] has been the norm: the blocking and oppression of the receptive energy stream by centuries of patriarchy. We have lived for thousands of years with the effects of the gendering of the energy streams." Throughout this section he provides numerous exercises to visualize his concepts and to breathe & meditate to become comfortable with them. He also discusses ways to adjust polarities (refocusing masculine/feminine balance, (very) basically) and why you'd want to accomplish this. Then, in Part 2, he goes through the seven energy centers, their color associations, and how is "love" model is reflected in each. I think that it's worth noting that for all of his reframing the language being used in terms of energy centers or his very specific definition of love, his color associations are the same ones I've seen in most works on the subject.
I don't believe that this should be the first book one should turn to in the study of chakras / energy centers. However, it is a practical book that impressively provides concrete examples and exercises to help you in your practice if you find the author's teachings informative. It's definitely worth a read if this is a subject that interests you.
~review by Patricia Mullen
Author: Jack Angelo
Bear and Company, 2017
pp. 148, $14.95
