Sakti
A Sanskrit term which literally means “power,” “energy,” or “potency.” When encountered in theosophical writings it usually refers to one of the seven forces of nature or sometimes is a reference to “Universal Energy” or the feminine aspect of what in Tibetan is called Fohat and in Sanskrit Daiviprakti; in theosophy therefore Saktis are the vehicles of energy. In Hinduism the Saktis are the wives of Siva.
The list of aktis differ from one school of thought to another. Three aktis are commonly enumerated: jnanasakti, or the power of knowledge, icchasakti, or the power of will (or desire), and kriyasakti, the power of action. Kashmir Saivism adds two more, chitsakti, or the power of awareness, and anandasakti, the power of bliss.
T. Subba Row mentions that there are seven forces in nature. Six are the saktis (enumerated below), and the unity of the six is the Astral Light, which is the seventh (Esoteric Writings, p. 11-2):
1. parasakti, the supreme power
2. icchasakti, the power of the will
3. kriyasakti, the power to produce external perceptible phenomena
4. jñanasakti, the power of knowledge
5. kundalinisakti, the universal life principle in nature, and particularly lodged at the base on the human spine
6. mantrikasakti, the power of sound or mantras
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