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   The Kundalini has frequently been associated with serpent symbolism and serpent mythology. This brief article is to clarify why this is, and why the Kundalini is not to be associated with any actual serpent comparisons.

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   It is said that the word Kundalini means serpent or snake-this is incorrect. The word Kundalini actually means coiled power in a pit or form of latency. Some texts define Kundalini as coiled earring, or coiled female. The phenomenon of Kundalini has very ancient origins, at least being known by Yogins for 2000 to 5000 years. Back in these times, animal symbolism was very common. When the Kundalini becomes active in a discernible way, awakened or aroused, one can experience Her move in an undulating manner within one’s body. You can literally feel Her surge and move as a thick current of energy, either up and down your back or in other parts of the body, or even in the head.

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   There are actually two aspects to the Kundalini-Prana Kundalini and Cit Kundalini. Prana Kundalini can move in and through the body after awakened and only the force or energy is felt or experienced. Cit Kundalini, on the other hand is experienced as a consciousness shift or consciousness field along with the movement as well.

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   In order to really get a grip on what is actually connected to the Kundalini moving like it does, we need to understand some pragmatics associated with Kundalini and yogic proficiency as a whole. We all know of the cakras, with the petals or appendages of the cakras along with its center structure. Commonly missed is the very center point of the cakra, the Bindu. This bindu is literally the causal source vector of the cakra, with the Kundalini creating the cakra as a circular field radiating from the center, creating all of the cakra’s characteristics necessary for the cakra to manifest and affect ones consciousness as it does. The cakras are consciousness reductionistic modalities that reduce the consciousness of the Sahasrara as the Kundalini descends creating the various bindu fields of each cakra. The bindu wherever it exists, and especially in the cakra center, is a causal vector, with the Kundalini “bunched up or coiled up” as it forms and lies latently within that cakra bindu. Hence, when the Kundalini awakens out of a cakra bindu center, primarily the Manipura Cakra bindu but can be any cakra, She uncoils and surges out of the bindu center.

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   It might be of interest, many other animal movements are associated with Kundalini movement, according to various tantras and Upanishads. Her movement is compared to an ant moving, a deer moving, even an elephant moving, depending on the text. Typically, She is described as moving like all of these animals, at some point in Her awakening in the yogin, and I have experienced all of them. So She is not exclusively described as a snake, although Her primary thrusting’s and surges may be more similar to a thick ribbon of energy.

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   There is no snake within us, and the Kundalini is not any form of snake or serpent, and I would never use serpent symbolism to use as an analogy for the Kundalini. She is literally the Divine Mother and giving you your total experience of consciousness.