The Magic of Snakes

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General Info

Snakes are also called serpents. There are more than 3400 species of reptiles that have no limbs and an elongated body and tail, like a snake. In evolution, snakes are basically lizards that changed quite a bit. There are quite a few differences between snakes and lizards other than shape, such as snakes do not have movable eyelids. They just stare. At you. Forever. :smile:

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Snakes have been around a long time. The oldest snake fossil is about 167 million years old.

They are also quite misunderstood. Yes, they are predators, as many animals are. Less than 300 species are venomous and only about half of those can inflict a deadly bite in a human. Of course, most of us do not know which those are by sight. Better to be careful! I’d like to stay alive anyway. That is why I’m okay with snakes in captivity that I know what they are, like a pet, but I do stay away from snakes in the wild. While there is fear over being bitten by a snake, the number of snake bite deaths in the United States is very few. Out of the about 8000 venomous snakebites in the US every year, only about 12 end in death. In Mexico, there are 10 times as many people each year that die from bee stings than from snakebites.

Snakes spend most of their time resting. If they are not resting, they are probably looking for live food, though they tend to do this by waiting rather than actively hunting. Snakes also tend to be solitary but there are some exceptions.

Okay, that’s enough mundane info! I do find most snakes beautiful!

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Snakes in Folklore and Mythology

As with all creatures I do these posts on, this is only a small selection of folklore and myths. There are many more!

Some cultures believe snakes are immortal due to how they shed their skin as well as from observations of snakes biting their tails forming a circle, like Ouroboros. Ouroboros has many interpretations, one of which is the cycle of life and death.

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In Sumerian culture, snakes were a healing symbol.

Snakes are in creation myths of multiple cultures. People in Africa and Australia have a myth about the Rainbow Snake, which either gave birth to all animals or who created all the rivers, creeks, and oceans. In Chinese mythology, Nuwa made the first humans. She was a snake with a woman’s head and made humans one at a time out of clay.

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There are plenty of myths where snakes are evil. In Egyptian Mythology, Apep is a serpent who represents chaos. He was an enemy of the God Ra, who brought the sun each morning. During the night, Apep and Ra would battle from sundown to sunrise.

In Norse Mythology, the World Serpent aka the Midgard Serpent, Jörmungandr, is a huge sea serpent that encircles the world and grasps his own tail. This also makes him an ouroboros. He is a child of Loki and the giantess Angrboða. Thor and Jörmungandr are destined to fight during Ragnarök.

One of the most well known stories of an evil snake is the fall of man in the Bible, where Adam and Eve disobeyed God after the snake convinces Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which they were forbidden to eat from. She, in turn, convinces Adam to do so and both are banished from the Garden of Eden. In the story, God also cursed the snake. In later stories, the snake was said to be Satan.

https://thelilithmysteries.co.uk/the-tree-of-life-cover-up/

There are snake gods as well, such as Quetzalcoatl in Aztec mythology.

In the Greek mythology, Aesclepius, the god of medicine, is featured with two snakes climbing up a rod, the symbol of what is known today as the Caduceus.

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Snake as an Animal Guide

If a snake appears to you as a guide, it can represent healing, transformation, and primal energy. Snakes can give guidance about these subjects. If you see the snake as your spirit animal, power animal, or totem animal, you may be gifted in healing. You may also be someone who likes change or is constantly changing themselves or things around them.

Personal growth is one of the largest themes with snakes, just as they shed their skin.

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If a snake appears in your dreams, you may need to look for things causing change and transformation in you and your life. Snakes in dreams can also be a warning of personal struggles or something you are not seeing or that you are ignoring.

Snakes in Pop Culture (possible spoilers)

As with all creatures I do these posts on, this is only a small selection of pop culture involving this animal.

Taylor Swift. So much Taylor Swift. She used 3 snake videos to announce her album Reputation. She also has many snakes in her music video for “Look What You Made Me Do”.

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At the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, Britney Spears gave an iconic live performance that included a yellow python.

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Snakes on a Plane. The movie. Samuel L. Jackson yelling, “I've had it with these mother***ing snakes on this mother***ing plane!”

Let’s bring Harry Potter back to my animal posts! Nagini the snake and there was the time Harry Potter released a snake at the zoo.

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Indiana Jones hated snakes! The snake pit scene was fun.

The movie Anaconda where Jon Voight is eaten by a snake.

The Quentin Tarantino movie “From Dusk Till Dawn” including a scene of Salma Hayek playing vampire and dancer Santanico Pandemonium, with a snake around around her while dancing

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In the Disney animated movie, “Jungle Book”, a snake named Kaa is included.

The Kill Bill movies include assassins from the Deadly Vipers Assassination Squad with code names such as Copperhead, Cottonmouth, Sidewinder, and Black Mamba