Kuṇḍalinī — Serpent Ascent (suṣumṇā)
Kuṇḍalinī — Serpent Ascent (suṣumṇā) is a Hindu / Tantric — Kuṇḍalinī yoga body system as transmitted through the lineage The kuṇḍalinī ascent per Sat-Chakra-Nirūpaṇa and Avalon's Serpent Power: from her three-and-a-half coils at kanda, the Goddess rises through the six cakras within suṣumṇā to unite with śiva at sahasrāra.. This page lists every point in the system with sourced placements and links to cross-tradition correspondences curated for The Body Spiritual.
Open in interactive explorerPrimary sources
- Sat-Chakra-Nirūpaṇa (manuscript tradition, 16th c.; Woodroffe, The Serpent Power 1919) — Six-chakra source with the kuṇḍalinī ascent through suṣumṇā.
- Woodroffe (Avalon), The Serpent Power (1919) — Standard English transmission used for terminology.
Known lineage variants
- Some lineages render the rising goddess as crossing each cakra from OUTSIDE suṣumṇā (piercing the cakra's pericarp); we follow the within-suṣumṇā reading.
- The serpentine winding amplitude is iconographic licence for 'moves like a serpent'; textual sources place her motion within a channel narrower than any drawn line.
Cross-tradition overlaps
- Kuṇḍalinī crossing — svādhiṣṭhāna ↔ Svādhiṣṭhāna (coincident)
- Kuṇḍalinī crossing — maṇipūra ↔ Maṇipūra (coincident)
- Kuṇḍalinī crossing — anāhata ↔ Anāhata (coincident)
- Kuṇḍalinī crossing — viśuddha ↔ Viśuddha (coincident)
- Suṣumṇā ascent station 5 ↔ Suṣumṇā (distance 0.007)
Related systems
- Granthis — Three Psychic Knots (ग्रन्थि) (0 points)
Points
- Kanda — bulb root of the nāḍīs
- Kuṇḍalinī crossing — mulādhāra
- Kuṇḍalinī crossing — svādhiṣṭhāna
- Kuṇḍalinī crossing — maṇipūra
- Kuṇḍalinī crossing — anāhata
- Kuṇḍalinī crossing — viśuddha
- Kuṇḍalinī crossing — ājñā
- Sahasrāra — thousand-petalled union
- Suṣumṇā ascent station 1
- Suṣumṇā ascent station 2
- Suṣumṇā ascent station 3
- Suṣumṇā ascent station 4
- Suṣumṇā ascent station 5
- Suṣumṇā ascent station 6
- Suṣumṇā ascent station 7
- Suṣumṇā ascent station 8
- Suṣumṇā ascent station 9
Frequently asked
What is Kanda — bulb root of the nāḍīs?
Kanda: the egg-shaped bulb above the perineum where the 72,000 nāḍīs are said to root; the coiled kuṇḍalinī's resting seat (three-and-a-half coils around the svayambhū liṅga).
What is Kuṇḍalinī crossing — mulādhāra?
mulādhāra: kuṇḍalinī pierces the cakra's knot in turn as she rises through suṣumṇā; each piercing is experienced as a distinct absorption in the tantric accounts.
What is Kuṇḍalinī crossing — svādhiṣṭhāna?
svādhiṣṭhāna: kuṇḍalinī pierces the cakra's knot in turn as she rises through suṣumṇā; each piercing is experienced as a distinct absorption in the tantric accounts.
What is Kuṇḍalinī crossing — maṇipūra?
maṇipūra: kuṇḍalinī pierces the cakra's knot in turn as she rises through suṣumṇā; each piercing is experienced as a distinct absorption in the tantric accounts.
What is Kuṇḍalinī crossing — anāhata?
anāhata: kuṇḍalinī pierces the cakra's knot in turn as she rises through suṣumṇā; each piercing is experienced as a distinct absorption in the tantric accounts.
What is Kuṇḍalinī crossing — viśuddha?
viśuddha: kuṇḍalinī pierces the cakra's knot in turn as she rises through suṣumṇā; each piercing is experienced as a distinct absorption in the tantric accounts.
What is Kuṇḍalinī crossing — ājñā?
ājñā: kuṇḍalinī pierces the cakra's knot in turn as she rises through suṣumṇā; each piercing is experienced as a distinct absorption in the tantric accounts.
What is Sahasrāra — thousand-petalled union?
Sahasrāra at the crown aperture: union of śakti (kuṇḍalinī) with śiva; the nectar-flood that follows is the goal of the ascent.
What is Suṣumṇā ascent station 1?
Trajectory anchor of the serpent-ascent rendering.
What is Suṣumṇā ascent station 2?
Trajectory anchor of the serpent-ascent rendering.
What is Suṣumṇā ascent station 3?
Trajectory anchor of the serpent-ascent rendering.
What is Suṣumṇā ascent station 4?
Trajectory anchor of the serpent-ascent rendering.
What is Suṣumṇā ascent station 5?
Trajectory anchor of the serpent-ascent rendering.
What is Suṣumṇā ascent station 6?
Trajectory anchor of the serpent-ascent rendering.
What is Suṣumṇā ascent station 7?
Trajectory anchor of the serpent-ascent rendering.
What is Suṣumṇā ascent station 8?
Trajectory anchor of the serpent-ascent rendering.
What is Suṣumṇā ascent station 9?
Trajectory anchor of the serpent-ascent rendering.