Glossary

This is a living guide to the language of spirit. These words appear throughout the writings on Rise Like a Phoenix, and this page is here as a companion to bring clarity, depth, and light to the journey.

A

Agni: The inner fire of transformation. Agni digests food, experience, emotion, and karma, clearing space for clarity and awakening.
Ājñā Chakra: The center of inner vision, intuition, and insight. It bridges ordinary perception with higher understanding, guiding one's ability to discern truth and see beyond surface reality.
Anāhata Chakra: The heart center of compassion, connection, and emotional integration. It opens the capacity to love, forgive, and experience unity with oneself and others. It harmonizes the earthly and the spiritual, grounding wisdom in tenderness.
Archetype: A universal pattern or symbolic force that shapes human experience. Archetypes appear in dreams, myths, and inner visions as guides, challenges, or mirrors. They reveal the deeper currents of the psyche and help us understand the soul's journey through timeless themes.
Astral Body: The subtle layer of our being associated with dreams and emotional experience. Often described as the vehicle of consciousness in out-of-body or visionary states.
Astrology: The study of celestial patterns as reflections of inner and outer life. In esoteric astrology, planets and signs reveal the soul's journey, not just worldly events.
Atman: The true Self beyond personality and form. It is pure, unchanging awareness - the eternal presence behind all thoughts, emotions, and incarnations.

B

Buddhi: The higher intelligence of intuition and inner knowing. Buddhi sees truth without distortion and transforms knowledge into wisdom.

C

Causal Body: The subtle sheath where the soul's purpose and karmic seeds are stored. Often called the "body of causes", it preserves the essence that carries from one life to the next.
Chakra: An energy center within the subtle body that governs specific aspects of physical, emotional, and spiritual life. Balancing the chakras is key in many healing traditions.
Cosmology: The symbolic map of how consciousness, energy, and the universe are structured and interconnected. It offers a framework for understanding creation, subtle realms, and the soul's place within the larger spiritual design.
Cyclic Moment: A turning point within time where a soul encounters the fruit of past causes. These repeating patterns mark thresholds of growth, urging awareness and transformation.

D

Deity: A sacred presence or divine intelligence that embodies specific qualities of consciousness. Deities arise as symbols, inner teachers, or living archetypes that guide awakening. They are not external rulers but expressions of the infinite taking form to meet us where we are.
Dharma: The divine order or innate law that upholds the harmony of the universe. It reflects one’s true path, the alignment between personal action and cosmic truth. Living in accordance with dharma restores balance, integrity, and purpose to both the individual and the whole.

E

Etheric Body: The subtle matrix underlying the physical body. It channels prāna through the nāḍīs and forms the energetic blue print for health and vitality.

G

Gunas: The three fundamental qualities of nature - sattva (clarity), rajas (activity), and tamas (inertia). They shape temperament, perception, and spiritual balance.
Granthi: A subtle energetic knot within the nāḍīs. It holds karmic, emotional, or mental tension and slows kundalini's ascent. Each granthi marks a key threshold of inner transformation.
Guru: The guiding presence - inner or outer - that awakens clarity, dissolves illusion, and illuminates the path of consciousness. A guru transmits understanding not through authority, but through resonance, truth, and the light that reveals one's own deepest nature.

I

Ida Nāḍī: The lunar, cooling channel flowing along the left side of the spine. It governs intuition, receptivity, and the inward, reflective mind.
Incarnation: The soul's entry into physical life, taking on form to fulfil karmic lessons and unfold its journey toward awakening. Each incarnation is both a continuation and a fresh beginning.

K

Karma: The law of cause and effect, where every thought, word, and action plants a seed that shapes future experience. Not punishment, but a path of learning and soul growth.
Karmic Seed: A subtle imprint created by past thoughts, words, or actions. It rests in the field of consciousness until conditions ripen, eventually unfolding as lessons, opportunities, or repeating patterns that guide the soul toward completion.
Kundalini: The coiled, dormant energy at the base of the spine, often symbolized as a serpent. When awakened, it rises through the chakras, bringing transformation and expanded awareness.

M

Maṇipūra Chakra: The solar plexus center of will, personal power, and inner fire. It governs confidence, direction, and the ability to act from aligned strength and self-mastery.
Maya: The veil of illusion that shapes how we perceive reality. It makes the transient appear permanent and the separate seem real. Seeing through maya reveals the deeper truth that all is one.
Mental Body: The subtle layer shaped by thought, ideas, and perception. It is where rational thinking and logic originate.
Moksha: The liberation of the soul from illusion, ego, and the cycle of rebirth. Moksha is not escape but recognition - the realization of one's true nature as pure, unbound awareness. It is the culmination of spiritual evolution, where separation dissolves into unity.
Mūlādhāra Chakra: The grounding center of stability, safety, and embodiment. It anchors consciousness into physical life and supports the foundations of survival, trust, and presence. It is the resting place of kundalini and the foundation of the entire awakening process.

N

Nāḍī: A subtle pathway through which life-force travels. Like energetic rivers within the etheric body, nāḍīs distribute prāna to every organ and chakra. When these channels are purified and open, consciousness flows freely and awakening becomes steady and clear.

P

Pingala Nāḍī: The solar, warming channel flowing along the right side of the spine. It governs vitality, logic, and outward action.
Prāna: The vital life-current that animates body and mind. It flows through breath, sensation, and subtle energy channels, sustaining every function of living. Prāna is the bridge between the physical and the spiritual.
Punya: Spiritual merit earned through selfless action, kindness, and alignment with dharma. Punya refines the heart and creates favorable conditions for spiritual growth.

Q

Qabalah: A mystical tradition rooted in Jewish esotericism, exploring the Tree of Life as a map of the soul, creation, and divine mysteries.

S

Sahasrāra Chakra: The crown center of pure consciousness and spiritual illumination. It links the individual to higher wisdom, universal intelligence, and the subtle realms beyond form.
Samskara: A deeper impression etched into the causal layers of being, formed through past actions, emotions, and experiences. Samskaras act as the karmic seeds that give rise to recurring thoughts, reactions, and life patterns, until they are brought into awareness and transformed.
Sattva: The quality of clarity, harmony, and truth. Sattva elevates perception and creates the conditions for stable awakening.
Self: The eternal essence beyond body, mind, and personality - pure consciousness untouched by change. Realizing the Self is awakening to one's true nature as divine awareness itself.
Shadow Work: The inner process of meeting the parts of ourselves we hide, suppress, or fear. Through honesty, compassion, and self-awareness, shadow work transforms old wounds into clarity. What once felt dark becomes a source of strength, integration, and wholeness.
Shakti: The divine feminine force of creation and transformation. As kundalini, Shakti awakens dormant potentials and carries the soul toward liberation.
Shiva: Pure consciousness, the unmoving witness. Shiva is the field of awareness into which kundalini (Shakti) rises and ultimately merges.
Subtle Body: The energetic counterpart to the physical body, composed of layers that carry thought, emotion, vitality, and spirit. It is the field through which consciousness extends beyond the purely material.
Sushumna Nāḍī: The central channel of spiritual ascent. Kundalini rises through sushumna, awakening each chakra and refining consciousness at every step.
Svādhiṣṭhāna Chakra: The energy center of emotion, desire, creativity, and subtle feeling. It governs fluidity, intimacy, and the subconscious waters that shape one's relational and creative life.

T

Tamas: The quality of inertia, heaviness, and stagnation. While necessary for rest, excess tamas obscures clarity and slows spiritual growth.
Tarot: A deck of 78 archetypal cards used as a mirror of the soul. Each card carries symbolism that speaks to both the unconscious and higher guidance.
Third Eye: The center of intuition and inner perception. When awakened, it opens the subtle senses and reveals deeper layers of truth.

V

Vasana: The subtle tendency or energetic imprint that shapes our habitual desires and inclinations. Vasanas are like faint trails in consciousness; the residual drives that influence how we perceive, choose, and react, often below the level of awareness.
Viśuddha Chakra: The energy center of expression, authenticity, and resonance. It governs communication, truth-telling, and the purification of one's inner and outer voice.

Y

Yoga: The union of body, mind, and spirit. Beyond physical postures, yoga is the path of aligning all aspects of being with the Self.

This glossary is not complete. It will grow as the journey unfolds. Return here any time you encounter a word that feels mysterious. May these meanings bring clarity to your path.