Snake - The Creator

Keywords:

The world. Circles and spirals. Microcosm. Macrocosm. The birth of the world. Sacredness. Reminding us of our place in the scheme of things. Humility. The sun. Sun magic. Goddess and god energy. The Creator. Life and death. Art informed by truth. Creativity. Wisdom. Power.



General Description:

The snake is probably one of the most well-known and much-feared of carnivorous reptiles worldwide. In Australia, snakes are common, and venomous snakes well known to the residents (we have over 100). Snakes are also common in the Indigenous mythologies of Australia, being indicated as the creators of the earth, water, and much that we see and know around us. Snakes can see, hear and smell quite well. Snakes primarily use scent receptors on their tongue to aid in smelling for prey and new situations, this is why they often flick their tongue. Snakes move via contracting and releasing their muscles. They shed their skin seasonally. As reptiles, they are dependent on sunlight to fuel their movement. Snakes in Australia lay eggs, or give birth via live birth. Some of the more well-known snakes in Australia are the mulga, brown, tiger snake, python, taipan and the dugite.



Lessons and Challenges:

When snake comes into our lives, it is often for profound reasons that help to remind us of our connection to the world and sacredness in general. Snake teaches us that we are inter-connected, that we are both a part of a microcosm in the smaller cultures and ecosystems, and also part of a great macrocosm which includes all living things. This can be quite an overwhelming knowledge, and for this reason snake can sometimes be a challenging teacher.

Snake brings us back to the birth of the world, the time when everything was new and there was great potential for change and progression. Snake reminds us that we are not that far away from our primitive, primordial beginnings, and helps us to realise the power we have to change our own world. Snake teaches us to rebirth ourselves, to become our own creator of our life.

The energy of snake is also the energy of the god and the goddess. Snake has been a sacred animal of many gods and goddesses in hundreds of cultures for many thousands of years. When snake comes into your life, there is a high chance that there might be a god / goddess energy nearby or directly responsible. Are you being asked to research deity, or to get in contact with both your inner divine and outer divine? Research mythologies and myths about snake, and about the birth of the world. Investigate the energies of the 'Creator' deities.

Snake teaches power, and the wisdom of learning to use power. How we use power in our lives (or don't use it) determines how helpless we feel, and how much control we have, both over ourselves and others. Snake challenges us to see if we hurt others with our power, or if we hurt ourselves. Snake also asks us to see that the wisdom of having and using power comes with acknowledging that there is great responsibility when we are able to influence how we live our lives and the lives of others.

Investigate the significance of circles and spirals at this time. Both are very sacred images in many earth spiritualities. The circle itself is a very multi-layered symbolism, indicating the soul, safe-place, the world, the inner world, among many other things. Spirals too show us paths within or without, they show that our energy is constantly moving in a spiral pattern. Try drawing them, or researching art that features these images.

Snake reminds us of our place in the scheme of things. We are not more important than other humans or other creatures, nor are we less important. When we take the time to either feed our ego so that we think we're better than everyone or everything, we do damage to our spirits. Likewise when we hurt ourselves so that we believe we're less than everyone or everything, we do damage. Snake challenges us to see that we have our place, and to remember a sense of humility when we conduct ourselves. It is important to remain humble and realise that we are only a very small (and sacred!) part of this world.

Look into the healing benefits of the sun at this time. The sun can be very nourishing, and snake energy tends to reinforce this. Investigate sun deities and sun gods, look into how much sunlight is healthy and ask yourself if you're spending enough time in the sun. Consider rituals specifically geared towards celebrating the sun and its ability to give us life. Through honouring the sun, we honour ourselves and the lives of everything around us. Snake energy reminds us that with the power to live, comes the knowledge of death. We walk with life and death at all times.

Snake is a wonderful energy for the artist in all of us. Whether we are actually artists, or whether we haven't drawn a picture before in our lives, snake highlights the need to focus on the concept of creativity, and what it is to be an artist. Snake energy helps us to create art that is informed by truth, that is an expression of our inner selves.

The Shadow Aspects:

Snake as a shadow aspect can be very challenging to many people. This is unsurprising, since snake teaches very profound lessons that can confront our most rigid and stable views of the world. Snake comes into our lives as a shadow aspect to question what sacredness really is. Snake also reminds us of our place in the greater scheme of things. We are not superior creatures, we are not put on this earth to run the lives of all other creatures, and snake - whether venomous or not - reminds us of those.

Snake challenges us to remember that we are part of a greater chain of events and spirits. Everything we do impacts upon everyone and everything else, in the past, present and future. What does this mean? At the end of the day, we must hold ourselves accountable for our actions, and embrace responsibility. Only when we can truly own the results of our actions - whether positive or negative, healthy or unhealthy - can we begin to understand where we stand in relation to the great spirit. And only then can we begin to have a meaningful relationship with the world around us. Snake holds us accountable and asks us to judge ourselves fairly and logically.

Communion:

Like all animal helpers, this animal will only appear when right and appropriate, and cannot be forced to visit you, commune with you, or share messages with you. Snake is quite a common animal energy, so common that they are featured in dream books, in spiritual pictures, in relation to gods, and they are found in many places throughout the world. However, snake tends to contact us, rather than us contacting snake. If you wish to contact snake, remember that snake may not come the first, or second time. Snake may not come at all!

Snake can be quite a remote and abstract energy, firstly because snake is a reptile and it can be difficult for us to 'get' this energy, though it differs from person to person. Secondly snake can seem abstract because it is such an ancient energy, no matter what kind of snake it is, even if it is playful and curious like a sea snake, there is a sense of something far more ancient then we can comprehend. Snake energy can be overwhelming, remember to ground yourself after every encounter with this energy.