Serpent Power
Serpent Power: Mysteries of Kundalini
"The serpent shows the way to hidden things and expresses the introverting libido, which leads man to go beyond the point of safety, and beyond the limits of consciousness." — Carl Jung
The concept of Kuṇḍalinī originates in ancient Indian spiritual traditions, with mentions in texts like the Upanishads dating back to the 9th century BCE. The word is derived from the Sanskrit kuṇḍalin, meaning "circular" or "coiled." In Hatha yoga, Kundalini is described as a dormant, primordial energy located at the base of the spine, often symbolized as a coiled serpent.
The awakening of this energy is a central goal in many yogic practices. The process involves the rising of this power from the root chakra (Muladhara) at the base of the spine, ascending through the central energy channel known as the sushumna. As this energy travels upward, it passes through and activates the seven primary chakras, or energy centers:
Muladhara (Root)
Svadhisthana (Sacral)
Manipura (Solar Plexus)
Anahata (Heart)
Vishuddha (Throat)
Ajna (Third Eye)
Sahasrara (Crown)
As the Kundalini energy activates each chakra, it is said to "bloom," bringing about spiritual visions, heightened awareness, and a profound transformation of consciousness, ultimately leading to a state of bliss and enlightenment at the crown.
This awakening can occur spontaneously or through dedicated practice. Historically, seekers would visit ashrams in India to awaken their Kundalini through meditation, mantra chanting, spiritual studies, and physical practices like Kundalini Yoga, often under the guidance of a guru.
Serpent Psychotherapy
Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, was one of the first Western thinkers to seriously examine Kundalini. In a 1932 lecture series, he framed Kundalini as a powerful metaphor for the journey into the unconscious. He saw the Western world's psychic dysfunction as a neglect of this inner reality. For Jung, the Kundalini process mirrored the dangerous and transformative encounter with the unconscious mind, where the ego risks being overwhelmed before it can integrate the profound contents of the psyche.
The American comparative religions scholar Joseph Campbell describes Kuṇḍalinī as a coiled female serpent, a serpent goddess that resides in a dormant state at the base of the spine. The goal of yoga is to awaken this serpent and guide it up the spine to the crown of the head. This awakening process is believed to transform the psychology and personality of the practitioner.
Kundalini, (the magical power of the human organism) is awakened only by will, and blood is the vehicle of the spirit. The pineal gland is the channel of direct spiritual energy and can be motivated by constant self inquiry. This is not an obvious mental process, but a truly thought-free consciousness - a formless plane of pure being.
— Laurence Gardner, Genesis of the Grail Kings
Buddha and Kundalini
After achieving enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, the Buddha was said to have been shielded from a great storm by Mucalinda, a Nāga (serpent king) who emerged and spread his seven heads like a protective umbrella. This story is rich with Kundalini symbolism: the tree represents the spine, and the rising cobra represents the enlightened serpent energy.
The seven heads of Mucalinda are often interpreted as the seven fully awakened chakras, symbolizing the completion of the spiritual journey. The storm represents the chaos of human emotion, which the enlightened Buddha observes with detached calm, fully protected by his inner power.
The Orphic Egg
The world egg, cosmic egg, or mundane egg is a mythological motif found in cosmogonies throughout the ancient world. The world egg is the beginning of the universe or the birth of a primordial being that comes into existence by "hatching" from the egg.
According to Wizzan philosophy, this hatching is the birth (blooming) of the soul through Kundalini. It grows within a psycho-spiritual shell throughout the life of the human until hatched. More secrets to be revealed on this topic in the Mystery School.
According to Orphic mythology, the egg represents the cosmic egg or world egg from which the universe was born. It embodies the concept of the cosmos in its potentiality, containing within itself the seeds of all existence. Within this egg, there existed Chaos, the void or formless state preceding the ordered universe.
The breaking of the egg signifies the beginning of the cosmos, with the emergence of various divine beings and the unfolding of the universe.
Any spirit, including the archangels, conjured by the Witch or magician (the distinction, like that between pagan and Christian, is fallacious), as in ceremonial magic, was actually the ancestor (antecessor) of the Witch herself (or himself). It was a denizen of the ancient Dragon itself—but carried in the Witch's blood which, the purer it was through unbroken descent from the Dragons, the stronger would be the return of the ancestors within.
— Nicholas de Vere. The Dragon Legacy
The Global Serpent
The Kundalini of India, the coiled serpent of inner potential, is not an isolated phenomenon. It is the yogic expression of a universal archetype that has appeared across the globe as the Dragon, the Great Serpent, or the Wyrm. While their stories and attributes vary, these powerful beings consistently represent the primal, often chaotic, and deeply creative forces of nature and consciousness. They are the guardians of treasure, the masters of the elements, and the symbols of both terrifying power and profound wisdom.
Each culture has given this Serpent Power a unique name and form, offering a different lens through which to understand this fundamental energy.
India - Nāga (नाग): The most direct relatives of Kundalini, the Nāgas are powerful serpent deities who act as guardians of water, wisdom, and treasure. As multi-headed cobras, they represent the multifaceted nature of primal energy, capable of both protecting a meditating Buddha (Muchalinda) and embodying the cosmic foundation upon which the universe rests (Shesha).
China - Lóng (龍): The Chinese Dragon, or Lóng, is a benevolent, serpentine master of the elements. Associated with rain, thunder, and imperial power, it is a symbol of harmony, fortune, and the flow of qi, or life-force energy. It represents the creative, ordering power of the serpent, bringing balance to the world.
Mesoamerica - Quetzalcoatl: The magnificent Feathered Serpent of the Aztecs and Maya embodies the union of earth and sky. As a creator god and a bringer of knowledge, Quetzalcoatl represents the serpent energy elevated to a civilizing and spiritualizing force, lifting humanity from the mundane to the divine.
Greco-Roman - Drakōn (δράκων): The Greek Drakōn was a chthonic guardian, a giant serpent protecting sacred springs, groves, and treasures of the gods. Figures like the Lernaean Hydra represent the untamed, primordial chaos that a hero must overcome, symbolizing an inner battle to master the chaotic potential of the unconscious.
Norse/Germanic - Ormr/Wyrm: In Norse mythology, the serpent represents the immense and destructive forces that encircle creation. Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, is so large it bites its own tail, while Níðhöggr gnaws at the roots of the world tree, Yggdrasil. They are the raw, untamed power that exists at the boundaries of the cosmos.
Celtic - Ddraig: For the Celts, the Dragon, or Ddraig, is a creature of immense terrestrial power, deeply connected to the fertility of the land and the energetic ley lines that cross it. The Red Dragon of Wales (Y Ddraig Goch) is a symbol of sovereignty and the potent spirit of the earth itself.
West Africa - Aido-Hwedo: The Fon people tell of the Rainbow Serpent, Aido-Hwedo, who helped create the world and now holds it together by biting its own tail. This cosmic serpent embodies creation, balance, and the very structure of the universe, representing the creative life force in its purest form.
These diverse figures—from benevolent creators to fearsome hoarders—all speak to a universal recognition of the Serpent Power. They are the many cultural masks worn by a single, primal force that coils at the root of the world and within the base of the human spine.
Kundalini and Alchemical Art
The process of Kundalini metamorphosis finds a powerful parallel in the metaphors of medieval alchemy. The goal of the alchemist—to transmute base metals into gold—was a symbolic representation of spiritual purification and enlightenment. The double-headed eagle, a common alchemical emblem, symbolized the merging of dualities (like masculine and feminine, sun and moon) into a single, divine unity, marking the completion of the Great Work. This mirrors the union of energies sought in Kundalini awakening.
The Path of Awakening
When Kundalini is awakened, it begins a gradual ascent up the central energy channel of the body, the Sushumna Nadi, which runs parallel to the spine. This journey is a transformative process where the energy pierces through each of the seven main chakras, or energy centers.
As the Kundalini rises, it activates and purifies these chakras, leading to heightened awareness, intense spiritual sensations, and ultimately, self-realization. This powerful awakening is often facilitated by practices like yoga, meditation, chanting, and breathwork, which aim to balance the body's energy and prepare the practitioner for the experience.
However, the awakening of Kundalini can be a powerful and potentially destabilizing journey. It is strongly recommended that these practices be undertaken with the support and supervision of an experienced teacher or spiritual mentor.
Historical and Modern Context
The concept of Kundalini is ancient, with deep roots in Indian spiritual traditions, particularly Tantra and Yoga.
Ancient Texts: References to this spiritual energy can be found in foundational texts like the Upanishads and the Tantras. For example, the Shiva Samhita, a classic Tantric text, provides detailed guidance on awakening and controlling Kundalini energy. Even the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a cornerstone of yoga philosophy, allude to it by describing the awakening of spiritual energy through dedicated practice.
Journey to the West: In more recent times, Kundalini was introduced to the Western world by influential spiritual leaders. Swami Vivekananda, a key figure in bringing Indian philosophies to the West, discussed Kundalini in his lectures on Raja Yoga in the late 19th century. Later, Yogi Bhajan was instrumental in popularizing Kundalini Yoga on a global scale through his teachings and the founding of the Kundalini Research Institute.
Quotes on Kundalini
"The awakening of Kundalini shakti... is the beginning of the spiritual journey." — Swami Vivekananda
"Kundalini is not a power. It is not a force. It is a potential. It is your potential... When you become realized, when you become enlightened, when you become a self, you will know what Kundalini is. You have to become your self." — Yogi Bhajan
"There is a force within that gives you life - seek that. In your body there lies a priceless jewel - seek that. Oh, wandering Sufi, if you are in search of the greatest treasure, don't look outside, look within and seek that." — Rumi
The Wizzan’s Dragon
From the Wizzan perspective, to read this article is to trace a primal current woven through the grand tapestry of human consciousness. The conclusion is not that many cultures coincidentally used the serpent as a symbol, but that the Serpent Power is a fundamental, living reality that has revealed itself to mystics, artists, and seekers across every age.
The Wizzan sees no true division between the Kundalini of the Yogi, the Ouroboros of the Alchemist, or the unconscious libido of the Jungian psychologist. They are dialects of a single, serpentine language describing the path of inner transformation. The chakras, the planetary metals, the archetypes of the psyche—these are all maps, different projections of the same sacred geography of the soul.
But to merely collect these symbols is to remain a librarian of mysteries rather than a master of them. The true art—the Great Work—lies in the deliberate and conscious awakening of this current within our own vessel. It is the path of the soul-artist, transmuting the lead of mundane awareness into the gold of enlightened consciousness.
The Serpent Power is a potential to be realized, an inner dragon waiting for the worthy artist of the soul to bid it rise.
—Zzenn (data generated from Gemini)
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