Kundalini has long been described as a latent energy residing in the root chakra, an evolutionary force waiting to be awakened. Across various esoteric traditions, this energy is believed to rise through the subtle body, purging karmic imprints, and ultimately merging with the crown chakra, culminating in what is often called spiritual enlightenment. But is this awakening truly a path to liberation, or is it something more insidious?
The Traditional Narrative of Kundalini
In Hinduism, kundalini is depicted as a coiled serpent at the base of the spine, lying dormant until activated through practices such as yoga, mantra recitation, or tantric rituals. Its ascent is said to be accompanied by profound energetic experiences such heat, visions, bodily tremors, and radical shifts in consciousness. Similarly, Tibetan Buddhism invokes powerful deities like Vajrayogini through tantric practice, where practitioners visualize and merge with these beings to achieve heightened states of awareness.
But what if kundalini is not simply an impersonal, evolutionary force? What if it is an entity, a being that takes possession of the initiate?
My Personal Awakening: The Force That Felt “Other”
During my three-year Tibetan Buddhist retreat, I engaged in rigorous tantric practices designed to accelerate spiritual transformation. I was instructed to visualize deities, recite mantras, engage in an extreme form of yoga and breath manipulation, replace my ordinary identity with that of the enlightened being, and then dissolve that conceptual construct into emptiness. At the culmination of my practice, I experienced a massive kundalini awakening, a phenomenon that, at the time, was being reported by many across various spiritual modalities, particularly in the nascent days of internet forums and search engines.
I was assured that kundalini was a benevolent force, the fuel for spiritual enlightenment, and a necessary purification process. But the experience was horrific. At its peak, in the midst of unbearable energetic torment, I saw the tantric deity I had been invoking appear above my head. She was trying to enter my body. I intuitively understood that what I was experiencing was her attempt to expand my nervous system so she could fully inhabit it. Whether that was for good or for ill I wasn’t sure. The kundalini energy always felt alien. Finally it dawned on me: it felt other because it is other. I have come to the conclusion that Kundalini is not just an neutral spiritual energy but a possessing spirit.
The Ancient Serpent Spirit Across Cultures
The realization that kundalini is a sentient force aligns with countless historical accounts of spirit possession in esoteric traditions. In Hinduism, Shiva and Kali are both associated with immense, transformative energy, often depicted in forms that suggest possession. Shiva’s wild, ascetic frenzy matches Kali’s violent, all-consuming nature. In Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayogini and some other tantric deities are depicted in a similar manner. They are summoned and merged with the practitioner, suggesting an external force taking control of the body.
The ancient Greeks spoke of the Python spirit, a demonic entity associated with divination and oracles. The Bible recounts how the Apostle Paul encountered a slave girl possessed by the “python spirit,” a demon of fortune-telling, and cast it out in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 16:16-18). The parallels between the descriptions of the python spirit and kundalini are striking. The spasms, altered states, and prophetic visions are all common signs of both kundalini awakenings and spirit possession.
Apostle Paul casting out the demon of divination from the servant girl.
Kundalini: The Spirit of the Serpent
What if kundalini is not the divine energy it claims to be? What if the spiritual transformations it promises are merely a baited hook leading to deeper and deeper possession? Many undergoing kundalini awakenings report disturbing symptoms: involuntary body movements, extreme heat, uncontrollable weeping, and even a complete breakdown of identity. These are not signs of enlightenment but of something powerful taking over.
In Christian theology, the serpent has always been a deceiver, from the Garden of Eden to the python spirit Paul cast out. In many indigenous traditions, serpent spirits are revered but also feared, as they often demand submission in exchange for their so-called “gifts.”
If kundalini is truly a possessing spirit, then its widespread activation in modern spiritual movements is not a path to liberation but a global initiation into deception. Esoteric traditions have long venerated the serpent, but history and scripture warns against it.
For those undergoing kundalini awakenings, it is crucial to question the nature of this force. Is it truly an impersonal divine energy, or is it an entity seeking a vessel? And if so, how can one break free from its grip?
The time has come to reconsider the nature of kundalini, not as an evolutionary force but as the ancient spirit of the serpent who, as deceiver, has masqueraded for centuries under the guise of enlightenment.
Tantric Deception 