Inspiration: Snakes

Snakes

/symbolism.

I have always been fascinated by snakes. There is something repulsive about them yet they are also very mysterious and intriguing and therefore appealing..  The word serpent is from the Latin for something that creeps, the word snake is derived from the Greek to crawl.

It is no surprise that this creature is probably the oldest of mankind’s mythological symbols. Many ancient religions worldwide involve rituals or use symbols of the snake. It is part of our deepest universal subconscious.

Snakes symbolically represent the duality of good and evil. In many cultures they are symbols of fertility and rebirth, of primal energy and the life force. The Great Goddess has snakes as her familiars; her staff was entwined with snakes. They were worshipped in Ancient Crete as the guardians of the Goddess’ secrets of regeneration and birth. Snakes are also associated with healing. In Greek mythology the God of medicine Aesclepius is depicted with a rod up which two snakes are climbing. Today the medical profession uses this symbol now known as the caduceus.

 In many cultures snakes represent the creative life source, some cultures believed that the snake acted as an umbilical cord that ties all of mankind to mother earth. As snakes shed their skins they are thought to symbolize rebirth and immortality, regeneration and transformation.

In Abrahamic Religions the snake represents sexual desire and evil. In the Bible the story of the Garden of Eden describes how the snake tempts Eve and so causes God to cast man from Paradise and so man’s fall from grace. In Hinduism the coiled snake symbolizes the latent power of desire.

Snakes have also been associated with the protection of sacred places. Many snakes naturally defend or even attack if threatened it is not surprising then that symbols of snakes are found on ancient temples. Snakes are the protectors of these sacred places.

Snakes have a multitude of symbolic meanings; of energy, of the life force, of evil, of guardians of the secrets of birth and immortality, of regeneration and eternity. Snakes have different meanings to different people; to most of us snakes are an extraordinarily powerful symbolic animal even if it is purely subconscious.


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