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The Yoga of Power: Tantra, Shakti, and the Secret Way
Drawing from original texts on self-mastery, Evola discusses two Hindu movements--Tantrism and Shaktism--which emphasize a path of action to gain power over energies latent within the body.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
70 people are currently reading
1692 people want to read
About the author
Julius Evola
211 books1,017 followersJulius Evola (19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974), born Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola, was an Italian philosopher and esoteric scholar. Born in Rome to a family of the Sicilian landed gentry, Evola was raised a strict Catholic. Despite this, his life was characterised by 'an anti-bourgeois approach' hostile to both 'the dominant tradition of the West—Christianity and Catholicism—and to contemporary civilization—the 'modern world' of democracy and materialism'.
By turns 'engineering student, artillery officer, Dadaist poet and painter, journalist, alpinist, scholar, linguist, Orientalist, and political commentator', he has been described as a 'rare example of universality in an age of specialization'. Yet behind it all lay a singular emphasis on, and pursuit of, a 'direct relationship to the Absolute'. For Evola, 'the center of all things was not man, but rather the Transcendent.' This metaphysical conviction can be seen to have determined both Evola's stance on socio-political issues, and his antipathetic attitude towards 'all professional, sentimental and family routines'.
The author of many books on esoteric, political and religious topics (including The Hermetic Tradition, The Doctrine of Awakening and Eros and the Mysteries of Love), his best-known work remains Revolt Against the Modern World, a trenchant critique of modern civilisation that has been described as 'the gateway to his thought'. Since his death, also in Rome, his writings have influenced right-wing, reactionary and conservative political thought not only in his native Italy, but throughout continental Europe and, increasingly, the English-speaking world. Nevertheless, he should not be considered primarily as a political thinker, but rather as an exponent of the wider Traditionalist School that encompasses the work of such individuals as René Guénon, Titus Burckhardt and Frithjof Schuon.
By turns 'engineering student, artillery officer, Dadaist poet and painter, journalist, alpinist, scholar, linguist, Orientalist, and political commentator', he has been described as a 'rare example of universality in an age of specialization'. Yet behind it all lay a singular emphasis on, and pursuit of, a 'direct relationship to the Absolute'. For Evola, 'the center of all things was not man, but rather the Transcendent.' This metaphysical conviction can be seen to have determined both Evola's stance on socio-political issues, and his antipathetic attitude towards 'all professional, sentimental and family routines'.
The author of many books on esoteric, political and religious topics (including The Hermetic Tradition, The Doctrine of Awakening and Eros and the Mysteries of Love), his best-known work remains Revolt Against the Modern World, a trenchant critique of modern civilisation that has been described as 'the gateway to his thought'. Since his death, also in Rome, his writings have influenced right-wing, reactionary and conservative political thought not only in his native Italy, but throughout continental Europe and, increasingly, the English-speaking world. Nevertheless, he should not be considered primarily as a political thinker, but rather as an exponent of the wider Traditionalist School that encompasses the work of such individuals as René Guénon, Titus Burckhardt and Frithjof Schuon.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 9, 2016
Evola's take on Yoga and other Hindu disciplines. Precise, clear and probably better than all other readily available books on the subject.
May 13, 2020
This one took longer to finish than some of Evola's other books. Personally I found the latter chapters on kundalini yoga and various practical instructions on pranayama more instructive and inspiring than the first longer sections on the broader philosofical and 'theological' principles behind the tantric and shaktic traditions.
Overall a fine introduction to the topic at hand, but only as a primer. A more thorough study of the primary sources would be needed, and it is not always easy to connect Evola's many digressions on different topics to the overall picture.
I am personally more interested in the kundalini aspects of yoga as a tool for self-empowerment and immortality, than using tantra as a transgressive antinomian path to self-realization. One also wonders to which degree Evola is talking from personal learnings and experience, and to which degree he is simply rehashing other people's teachings.
All it all still a valid contribution to the topic, and piqued my interest for learning more.
Overall a fine introduction to the topic at hand, but only as a primer. A more thorough study of the primary sources would be needed, and it is not always easy to connect Evola's many digressions on different topics to the overall picture.
I am personally more interested in the kundalini aspects of yoga as a tool for self-empowerment and immortality, than using tantra as a transgressive antinomian path to self-realization. One also wonders to which degree Evola is talking from personal learnings and experience, and to which degree he is simply rehashing other people's teachings.
All it all still a valid contribution to the topic, and piqued my interest for learning more.
April 23, 2014
Generally good treatment of primarily Hindu but also Buddhist tantrism. Basic information but drawn mostly from the source material of the tantras. Some interesting parallels with Western traditions are noted.
July 7, 2017
Racist, misogynistic nonsense. Written by a fascist. Read only if you're a neo-nazi.
January 16, 2024
An outstanding exposition on the subject. Takes the best and most practical points of the Shiva Samhita, and of Arthur Avalon's work, and distills it in erudite fashion.
November 3, 2019
Перевод, увы, с английского и местами несколько странный (например, там, где уместно было бы, возможно, говорить о powers как о «силах» — в смысле, скажем, сверхспособностей, — идёт несколько странный, хотя понятный по намерению подвести всё под единый образец-шаблон, перевод powers как «могущества» во мн. ч.), хотя и читабельный. Сама книга, посвящённая шиваитско-шактистскому и буддийскому тантризму, выходит за пределы любых переводов и несёт в себе ценное содержание. Особенно понравилось сделанное Эволой изложение содержания тибетской книги мёртвых на основе классического перевода в издании Эванса-Вентца. Ещё понравилось приложение, посвящённое шактизму и движению «Верных любви» (к этому движению, по словам автора, принадлежал Данте). Благодаря этому приложению в обновлённом свете можно увидеть идеи Вечной Женственности, которые захватили поэтов и мыслителей Серебряного века. В общем, классический, харизматичный труд по теме тантризма.
April 20, 2020
Definitely not suitable for beginners. There are many terms that one cannot understand if he/she is not into two Hindu movements, Tantrism and Shaktism.
February 29, 2024
An excellent critical overview of Evola's take on Hinduism, wherein he offers both an introduction to Hindu metaphysics, but with the specific purpose of countering Guenon's position were regarding the primacy of Vedanta and the lineage of Shankaracharya, which Evola argues is not so well suited to our particular modern/postmodern position in the manvantara- namely that of the nadir from Principle that is the depth of the Kali yuga, as is the left-hand Tantric path.
Evola believes Tantra is something of a reified version of the Aryan/Vedic mother goddess cult circa 3000BCE, which aims the kaula practitioner towards moksha by continual overcoming and deliberate transgression of social mores fit for the pashu normie. The text starts out theoretical, and becomes increasingly practical, eventually covering all the ~hawt topics like sex and drugs that give Tantra the edgy aura its most widely known for, although Evola remains insistent throughout that the purpose to which these means are employed in Tantra is power in transcendence- the exact opposite of the dissolution such substances typically induce in the average user.
Evola believes Tantra is something of a reified version of the Aryan/Vedic mother goddess cult circa 3000BCE, which aims the kaula practitioner towards moksha by continual overcoming and deliberate transgression of social mores fit for the pashu normie. The text starts out theoretical, and becomes increasingly practical, eventually covering all the ~hawt topics like sex and drugs that give Tantra the edgy aura its most widely known for, although Evola remains insistent throughout that the purpose to which these means are employed in Tantra is power in transcendence- the exact opposite of the dissolution such substances typically induce in the average user.
September 26, 2025
Interesting and informative book. Evola is always great, I only gave it three stars because he is primarily passing information to a Western audience that is not as invested in the subject as he is. I enjoyed it but prefer his other work.
November 4, 2021
Left-Hand Path yoga and Tantrism is an esoteric subject to get into and one I probably would have benefited from knowing a lot more about prior to reading this but it did prove to be insightful; the practical aspects of kundalini yoga were a lot more interesting than the philosophical and theological aspects, though it does highlight why quite a lot of degenerates and hippies have used the left-hand path traditions as a means to be transgressive rather than out of any desire for self-realisation or self-improvement.
September 10, 2023
In spite of how polar opposite my politics is from Evola's, I find him to be much more careful and true to the sources than 99 out of 100 of the hippie and New Age appropriations of these same traditions.
February 23, 2020
Truly excellent, even for the Baron - top shelf LHP reading.
December 9, 2025
2022 it was. It was a world slowly learning to breathe again after the shock of Covid-19. These books had become both compass and companion. All the works reviewed here, reviewed back then, reflect my collective reckoning—stories of endurance, rupture, memory, and meaning. Each book offers a shard of clarity in an age still stitching itself back together.
Warning: These books are intended strictly for academic study. Attempting to practise any of the Tantric methods described in them without proper initiation and guidance can be extremely harmful.
This is a brilliant book—illuminating and provocative in equal measure. The book storms straight at the deepest chambers of Tantra and Shakta philosophy with confidence. And whether or not you agree with the author on everything, you can’t deny the sheer intellectual voltage of the journey.
What makes this book compelling is how unapologetically Evola reads Tantra through the lens of ‘‘power,” not devotion or mysticism or therapeutic healing.
For him, Tantra is the ultimate warrior’s path—a systematic method of transforming the human into something luminous, self-sovereign, and unshakeable. He latches onto the Kaula and Shakta frameworks with an intensity that feels almost volcanic. Evola isn’t interested in soft spirituality.
He wants fire, force, and the disciplined ascent of consciousness. And wow, he delivers that perspective with almost operatic drama.
His approach to Shakti is particularly fascinating. Instead of treating the divine feminine as a goddess to be adored, Evola sees Shakti as a primordial current—a raw energetic intelligence that the practitioner must awaken, channel, and ultimately integrate.
He leans heavily on the idea of ‘uroboric ascent,’ the serpent rising not merely as a mystical symbol but as a metaphysical transformation of one’s inner architecture. It’s a worldview that feels both archaic and strangely modern, like reading an esoteric manual designed for individuals who want to break out of psychological autopilot.
Where Evola truly shines is in unpacking ‘‘kundalini,’’ ‘‘cakras,’’ and the subtle body system. He refuses to give you the New Age version with soft lighting and relaxing flute music. He treats it as a science of metamorphosis.
The chakras become stations of power; breath becomes a weaponized current; mantra becomes the vibration that sculpts consciousness.
There’s something exhilarating about his seriousness—the way he insists that Tantra isn’t for the faint-hearted, the casual, or the curious dabblers. It’s a path of responsibility, rigor, and inner steel.
At the same time, Evola brings a deeply philosophical reading. His analysis of “non-duality,” “purusha/prakriti polarity,” and cosmic rhythm is sharp, often brilliant. He examines the dynamics of masculine-feminine as primordial forces, not gendered stereotypes, and his interpretation of ritual practice borders on mytho-psychoanalytic territory.
You feel like you’re eavesdropping on a fierce dialogue between Indian metaphysics and European esoteric tradition.
Of course, Evola being Evola, there are moments when you can feel his ideological fingerprints.
His obsession with hierarchy, transcendence, and “the superior man” occasionally becomes loud enough that you want to give him a gentle shake and remind him that spirituality isn’t a military entrance exam.
But even then, the intensity adds flavor; it’s part of what makes the book uniquely Evola and not just another textbook on Tantra.
What’s irresistible about ‘The Yoga of Power’ is its refusal to domesticate Tantra. Evola returns it to its original wildness — the wilderness that pulses beneath the philosophical structures.
You sense the ancient yogin-siddhas in the background, the ones who saw the universe as a playground of forces and dared to use their own bodies as laboratories for awakening.
By the end, you’re left with this strange, electric clarity. Evola may not give you the soft edges or the psychological warmth of more contemporary writers, but he gives you something else — a sense of Tantra’s raw, untamed ambition.
The idea that spiritual evolution isn’t just about peace, but about ‘becoming’. Becoming aware, becoming luminous, becoming aligned with the currents that pulse through the cosmos.
It’s a book that challenges, provokes, and mesmerizes—and leaves you tasting the iron in the air.
Most recommended.
Warning: These books are intended strictly for academic study. Attempting to practise any of the Tantric methods described in them without proper initiation and guidance can be extremely harmful.
This is a brilliant book—illuminating and provocative in equal measure. The book storms straight at the deepest chambers of Tantra and Shakta philosophy with confidence. And whether or not you agree with the author on everything, you can’t deny the sheer intellectual voltage of the journey.
What makes this book compelling is how unapologetically Evola reads Tantra through the lens of ‘‘power,” not devotion or mysticism or therapeutic healing.
For him, Tantra is the ultimate warrior’s path—a systematic method of transforming the human into something luminous, self-sovereign, and unshakeable. He latches onto the Kaula and Shakta frameworks with an intensity that feels almost volcanic. Evola isn’t interested in soft spirituality.
He wants fire, force, and the disciplined ascent of consciousness. And wow, he delivers that perspective with almost operatic drama.
His approach to Shakti is particularly fascinating. Instead of treating the divine feminine as a goddess to be adored, Evola sees Shakti as a primordial current—a raw energetic intelligence that the practitioner must awaken, channel, and ultimately integrate.
He leans heavily on the idea of ‘uroboric ascent,’ the serpent rising not merely as a mystical symbol but as a metaphysical transformation of one’s inner architecture. It’s a worldview that feels both archaic and strangely modern, like reading an esoteric manual designed for individuals who want to break out of psychological autopilot.
Where Evola truly shines is in unpacking ‘‘kundalini,’’ ‘‘cakras,’’ and the subtle body system. He refuses to give you the New Age version with soft lighting and relaxing flute music. He treats it as a science of metamorphosis.
The chakras become stations of power; breath becomes a weaponized current; mantra becomes the vibration that sculpts consciousness.
There’s something exhilarating about his seriousness—the way he insists that Tantra isn’t for the faint-hearted, the casual, or the curious dabblers. It’s a path of responsibility, rigor, and inner steel.
At the same time, Evola brings a deeply philosophical reading. His analysis of “non-duality,” “purusha/prakriti polarity,” and cosmic rhythm is sharp, often brilliant. He examines the dynamics of masculine-feminine as primordial forces, not gendered stereotypes, and his interpretation of ritual practice borders on mytho-psychoanalytic territory.
You feel like you’re eavesdropping on a fierce dialogue between Indian metaphysics and European esoteric tradition.
Of course, Evola being Evola, there are moments when you can feel his ideological fingerprints.
His obsession with hierarchy, transcendence, and “the superior man” occasionally becomes loud enough that you want to give him a gentle shake and remind him that spirituality isn’t a military entrance exam.
But even then, the intensity adds flavor; it’s part of what makes the book uniquely Evola and not just another textbook on Tantra.
What’s irresistible about ‘The Yoga of Power’ is its refusal to domesticate Tantra. Evola returns it to its original wildness — the wilderness that pulses beneath the philosophical structures.
You sense the ancient yogin-siddhas in the background, the ones who saw the universe as a playground of forces and dared to use their own bodies as laboratories for awakening.
By the end, you’re left with this strange, electric clarity. Evola may not give you the soft edges or the psychological warmth of more contemporary writers, but he gives you something else — a sense of Tantra’s raw, untamed ambition.
The idea that spiritual evolution isn’t just about peace, but about ‘becoming’. Becoming aware, becoming luminous, becoming aligned with the currents that pulse through the cosmos.
It’s a book that challenges, provokes, and mesmerizes—and leaves you tasting the iron in the air.
Most recommended.
May 18, 2025
Completely demolishes the misguided western impression that the history of spirituality in india can be summed up with tired stereotypes about breathing exercises done by smiling vegan gurus and establishes occasional parallels with initiatic mysteries in greece, egypt and medieval european alchemy.
April 21, 2023
Powerful book.
August 2, 2025
I don't personally believe Western people are meant to practice Eastern spirituality, but I found this book to be insightful regarding tantra.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews