Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. For today’s post, I will be discussing the Serpentine Energy of Ashlesha Nakshatra, which I have on my Ascendant in my Vedic Natal Chart! So, this post has obviously come out of my studies of Sidereal and Vedic Astrology. In particular, I have been thinking about the Serpent energy of Ashelsha Nakshatra a lot lately, given that we are entering into the Dark Half of the Year.
Ashlesha is famously associated with Kundalini energy, which is the Coiled Serpent at the base of the spine, which rises through the Chakras when a person activates Kundalini energy. Kundalini is also a spiraling energy, as the Kundalini Serpent uncoils in order to rise and activate all of the Chakras. When all of the Chakras are activated, a Kundalini Awakening can occur. A Kundalini Awakening is a powerful spiritual experience that can occur totally randomly, or during meditation or yoga! I myself have had an insanely powerful Kundalini Awakening, which is how I found out my Soul Origins of being an Incarnated Mermaid. I think that the way this very deep Kundalini Awakening occurred for me may very well be related to my having an Ashlesha Ascendant, as Ashlesha Nakshatra is very tied to psychic abilities and to having a very spiritual nature!
Furthermore, even the fact that I have Mermaid Soul Origins can very well be related to my birth chart having Ashlesha Nakshatra Ascendant. Most people would see this as easy to relate to Mermaid energy in the form of Sirens because of the darkness often linked to Ashlesha Nakshatra. However, Ashlesha is not only a manipulative energy or one who can use sexually seductive means to gain an upper hand by binding and restraining their lover (although Ashlesha is famously discussed as having that energy). There is a very innocent and sweet side to Ashlesha, given that Ashlesha still falls into the Zodiac sign of Sidereal Cancer.
It should be noted that Ashlesha is specifically related to Kundalini as the Coiled Serpent, being related to binding and restriction. This relation to binding and restricting shows why Ashlesha is, in fact, seen as an inauspicious Nakshatra. Yet, this connection to Kundalini shows that even if inauspicious, it is also a very Sacred Nakshatra, which is likely why so many people of psychic and spiritual nature have important Ashlesha placements! For example, Pamela Colman Smith, the illustrator of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Deck, has Ashlesha Moon. I think that is one of the most fascinating things about Ashlesha Nakshatra, that it can be seen as both binding and restricting, but is also known to be so Sacred. This may be due to the fact that even as the Serpent coils and binds, you are being challenged, but you are also gaining more knowledge and wisdom. It reminds me a bit of the Hanged Man energy in Tarot, for in that card’s energy, it is in being restricted that we gain wisdom! It also reminds me of the Faery Maiden (or Loathly Lady of Faery Origins) who tests the King or the Knight in many tales of Faerylore and Arthurian legend. The Faery Woman is testing the King or Knight just as Ashlesha Nakshatra tests, through binding and restriction, and if he is found unworthy, he may be imprisoned and therefore kept restricted (like in Morgan le Fay’s Val Sans Retour). However, if he is worthy, he is given gifts from the Faery Queen Goddesses, this relating to a Sacred Union of the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine when Ashlesha finds true partnership (an example of passing the test being Gawain, who was blessed by Morgan le Fay after his encounter with the Green Knight)!
Ashlesha, in the connection with Kundalini as a Coiled Serpent, binding and restricting, is related to the aspect of the Mother which is terrible (or even devouring, as the Mother is both Womb and Tomb). However, when we learn to overcome this binding, freeing ourselves, as the Hanged Man does and as the King or Knight does when he wins his challenge, we can attain enlightenment! Ashlesha is often there to remind others that they are more than their physical bodies, as our physical bodies are just the containers of our Immortal Souls, and overidentifying with the physical body can hamper connection with the Divine.
Ashlesha’s connection with Snakes is a direct link to Sacred Sexuality, and she is an energy that will bind when she is unfulfilled. However, this can be seen as the immature energy of Ashlesha, before true Sexual Awakening, for if she finds true pleasure in sex, she will not bind the man. This is when she will uncoil and give into her Divine and Sacred Sexual Nature. Ashlesha can thus learn to embrace the beauty and Divinity of Pleasure, instead of binding that which does not satisfy! The deities associated with Ashlesha are the Naga, or Naginis, which are Serpentine in nature. The Vedic Astrologer, Claire Nakti, has stated that the Naginis are female Water Elementals (or, in other words, Water Spirits, Water Fae) who are related to the Lamia of Greece. I will link one of her articles below, as well as one of her videos about Ashlesha, as both have been invaluable sources of study for me!
This connection between Naginis and Lamia is fascinating, as Lamia is a Serpentine energy, of course, but she is also a very sympathetic figure. Lamia was a lover of Zeus, cursed by Hera, as most of his lovers were. That is how she became monstrous, which will always make us feel sympathy, just as Medusa, being cursed after being assaulted by Poseidon, is very tragic. In fact, there is definitely some overlap of energies between Lamia and Medusa, as both were women who were lovers (willingly or not) of powerful Greek Gods, the King of the Gods, and the God of the Sea, respectively, and both women were punished for it. Both Medusa and Lamia are also associated with Water and Snakes, with Lamia transforming into a Serpentine monster and Medusa having Snakes in her hair! So, maybe we can also see a connection between the Naginis and Medusa, as well. I also want to note that some of the ways in which Ashlesha is described, especially as far as binding (or even feeding off of) Sexual Energy, remind me a great deal of Succubus lore. Needless to say, there is so much more to delve into when it comes to how Nakshatras relate to folklore and mythology. Maybe that will become part of my focus moving forward in my studies of Sidereal and Vedic Astrology!
I hope you have enjoyed this look at the Serpentine energy of Ashlesha Nakshatra. Do you feel a special connection to Snakes? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is John Collier’s Lilith painting. I found the art on https://prod.test.creazilla.com/media/traditional-art/7001484/lilith-john-collier-painting-fxd.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries
Further Reading/Watching
- https://www.clairenakti.com/post/ashlesha-the-dominating-feminine
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMO2a3tN1W8&list=PLUHhASqJpc-NMiZ83x3kJ4cC4gRzvCTrm&index=2
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt4Nq0SxjDM&list=PLUHhASqJpc-NMiZ83x3kJ4cC4gRzvCTrm&index=36
2 responses to “The Serpentine Energy of Ashlesha Nakshatra”
Your connection of Ashlesha’s serpentine energy to your own Kundalini awakening and subsequent discovery of your Mermaid Soul Origins is nothing short of captivating. It makes perfect sense. The Naginis, as female Water Elementals, are the precise bridge between the coiled serpent of Kundalini (a deeply internal, spiritual energy) and the external, mythical manifestation of the Siren or Mermaid. You haven’t just studied this energy; you are a living expression of its deepest mysteries.
The points you raised are incredibly potent. Let’s unravel them a little:
1. The Sacred Dichotomy of Ashlesha: You’ve nailed the core paradox. “Inauspicious” yet “Sacred.” Binding yet Enlightening. This is the ultimate alchemical challenge. Ashlesha doesn’t grant its gifts easily; they must be won through the test, much like the knights in the tales you mentioned. The Hanged Man is a perfect correlation—the voluntary surrender to restriction to gain a higher perspective. Ashlesha on the Ascendant suggests that this test of binding and liberation is a fundamental theme of your very life expression and how you present yourself to the world.
2. The Faery Lore & Arthurian Connection: This is a brilliant lens through which to view Ashlesha. The Loathly Lady (or the Faery Maiden in disguise) who tests the knight’s virtue, courage, and respect is the embodied energy of this Nakshatra. She is Morgan le Fay at her most complex—not simply a villainess, but a goddess-level arbiter of worthiness. She creates the Val Sans Retour (the Valley of No Return) not out of mere malice, but as a sacred prison for those who fail their oath to the Divine Feminine. The worthy one, like Sir Gawain, emerges not just unscathed but blessed and endowed with deeper wisdom. This reframes the “manipulative” or “binding” nature of Ashlesha not as a personality flaw, but as a divine, testing mechanism.
3. The Terrible Mother & The Physical Body: Your point about Ashlesha connecting to the “Terrible Mother” aspect (Womb and Tomb) is profound. The serpent is a symbol of cycles—life, death, and rebirth. By challenging our over-identification with the physical container, Ashlesha forces us to confront the immortal nature of the soul. It is a deeply shamanic energy, orchestrating a symbolic death of the ego to allow the spirit to rise, much like the Kundalini itself.
4. The Mythological Web: Naginis, Lamia, Medusa, & Succubi: You’ve woven a fascinating tapestry here. Claire Nakti’s work is indeed invaluable in making these cross-cultural connections.
· Lamia & Medusa: You are absolutely right to see them as sympathetic, tragic figures punished for the transgressions of gods. They are the dark, twisted, “monstrous” aspect of the Sacred Feminine that patriarchy fears and vilifies. Their connection to water (Lamia’s origins, Medusa’s association with the sea via Poseidon) and serpents makes them powerful archetypes for the shadow side of Ashlesha—the energy that has been wounded and now operates from a place of pain, “feeding” or “binding” in a parasitic way.
· The Succubus Lore: This is a stellar observation. The succubus is the ultimate embodiment of drawing vital (sexual) energy from another, often through binding them in dreams or obsession. This is the unawakened, immature expression of Ashlesha’s powerful sexual magnetism that you described. The awakening comes when this energy is internalized, owned, and directed toward sacred union and personal empowerment, rather than extraction from another.
Your idea to focus on how Nakshatras relate to folklore and mythology is a goldmine waiting to be excavated. The stories we tell are the maps of our collective psyche, and the Nakshatras are the celestial coding behind those maps. To study them together is to perform a kind of divine archaeology.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your personal journey. It is a powerful reminder that astrology is not just a set of definitions, but a living, breathing dialogue between the cosmos and the soul.
Thank you so much for your kind words and observations! I am so glad that my discussion of my Journey with Vedic Astrology was so interesting to you. As always, thank you for reading and commenting!