At the heart of every profound spiritual awakening lies a paradox: what feels like the end is often the beginning. The Dark Night of the Soul and Kundalini Awakening are two deeply transformative processes that often go hand-in-hand, shaking the very foundations of your being. If you’re navigating this sacred (and sometimes terrifying) terrain, know that you’re not alone—and that there is light on the other side of the darkness.
What is the Dark Night of the Soul?
Coined by the 16th-century mystic St. John of the Cross, the Dark Night of the Soul refers to a period of intense spiritual desolation, confusion, and isolation. It is a metaphorical death—a stripping away of all that is false or superficial in order to allow the soul to reconnect with its divine essence.
This phase is often misunderstood. It’s not just depression or existential angst. It is a soul-level crisis—a sacred dismantling. Your identity, beliefs, desires, attachments, and even your connection to God or the Universe may feel like they’re dissolving. But this dissolution is a necessary part of the alchemical process that precedes rebirth.
Kundalini Awakening: The Fire of Transformation
Kundalini, according to ancient yogic traditions, is a powerful energy coiled at the base of the spine, like a serpent. When awakened—through spiritual practices, life trauma, or spontaneously—this energy begins to rise through the chakras, igniting profound transformation along the way.
As it ascends, Kundalini clears out emotional blocks, karmic patterns, and psychic debris. But this purification process isn’t always smooth. In fact, it can be raw, disorienting, and even terrifying, especially when not understood or properly supported.
This is where the Dark Night of the Soul often intersects with Kundalini.
The Intersection: When Awakening Becomes a Descent
While many expect spiritual awakening to be a blissful, enlightened experience full of love and light, the reality can be much messier. When Kundalini rises, it often brings unconscious material to the surface—traumas, shadow aspects, and buried fears. This can trigger a Dark Night, a period where everything familiar dissolves.
Suddenly:
- Your relationships no longer resonate.
- Your job feels meaningless.
- Old belief systems crumble.
- Emotional waves overwhelm you.
- Your sense of self erodes.
It’s not uncommon to feel spiritually disconnected during this time. Ironically, this loss of connection is often the greatest proof that something sacred is unfolding. The Divine is not absent—it’s rearranging your inner world for a higher alignment.
Symptoms of a Dark Night During Kundalini Awakening
If you’re going through this, you might experience:
- Intense emotional purging (grief, anger, fear without clear cause)
- A sense of emptiness or meaninglessness
- Insomnia or hypersomnia
- A longing for “home” or union with something greater
- Existential dread
- Heightened sensitivity (to energy, emotions, sounds, people)
- Physical symptoms (heat, pressure, vibrations in the spine/head)
- Detachment from your old identity
These symptoms aren’t signs of failure or madness—they’re signs of initiation. The fire is burning away what you are not so you can remember what you truly are.
Why This Darkness is Sacred
In spiritual traditions across the globe, descent precedes ascent. The womb is dark before birth. The seed must disintegrate before it sprouts. The ego must dissolve before the soul can soar.
This Dark Night is a spiritual rite of passage, an invitation to surrender fully. It teaches:
- Non-attachment: You learn to let go of what you can’t control.
- Humility: You realize the mind doesn’t have all the answers.
- Trust: You discover that the soul has a deeper intelligence guiding you.
By facing the void, you become a vessel for the divine.
Navigating the Journey
Here are a few ways to support yourself during this sacred unravelling:
1. Embrace the Unknown
Resisting the process often intensifies suffering. Instead, allow yourself to be dismantled. Trust that what’s being destroyed is not your essence but the illusions that kept you from it.
2. Practice Grounding
During Kundalini awakening, grounding is crucial. Spend time in nature. Walk barefoot. Eat dense, nourishing foods. Engage with your body through movement, dance, or yoga.
3. Shadow Work
Journal, reflect or work with a therapist to explore repressed emotions or limiting beliefs. The more conscious you are of your shadow, the less power it has over you.
4. Seek Community
Find others who have walked this path. Join spiritual circles, online forums, or healing communities. Feeling seen and understood can be incredibly healing.
5. Spiritual Discernment
Avoid bypassing. Not everything that arises is “divine” or “meant to be.” Use your intuition to discern what serves your evolution versus what perpetuates suffering.
6. Be Gentle With Yourself
This is not a race. There is no spiritual timeline. Rest. Cry. Laugh. Sleep. Allow your humanity to be held with compassion.
Emerging from the Darkness
Eventually, the light returns—but it’s not the same light you knew before. It’s softer, deeper, more luminous. You are not who you were. You are freer, wiser, more whole.
The Kundalini fire doesn’t destroy you—it forges you. And the Dark Night doesn’t mean you’ve lost your way—it means you’re finding your way home.