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The serpent, or snake, is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. The word is derived from Latin serpens, a crawling animal or snake. Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind [1] [2] and represent dual expression [3] of good and evil. [4] In some cultures, snakes were fertility symbols.
The serpent was a symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld as well as a symbol of fertility, life, healing, and rebirth. [2] Nāḥāš (נחש ), Hebrew for "snake", is also associated with divination, including the verb form meaning "to practice divination or fortune-telling".
Snakes in Mexican folk culture tell about the fear of the snake to the pregnant women where the snake attacks the umbilical cord. [1] The Great Goddess often had snakes as her familiars , sometimes twining around her sacred staff, as in ancient Crete , and they were worshipped as guardians of her mysteries of birth and regeneration. [ 2 ]
"The snake's spiritual meaning has long been associated with healing and change," says Wilson. "Snakes represent the cycle of death and rebirth symbolized by the ouroboros—the snake swallowing ...
Chinese dragon, Chinese dragons tend toward snake taxonomy. Chì-sōng-zǐ (赤松子), sometimes said to have a serpent-endowed concubine. Gǔ (蠱), including use of snake-venom. Marquis of Sui's pearl, also known as Suí-Hóu-Zhū (隨侯珠), an amazing luminous pearl given to a ruler of Sui state by a grateful snake whose life he had saved.
The ouroboros is often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal or a cycle of life, death and rebirth; the snake's skin-sloughing symbolises the transmigration of souls. The snake biting its own tail is a fertility symbol in some religions: the tail is a phallic symbol and the mouth is a yonic or womb-like symbol. [9]
The word ousted adder, as adder went on to narrow in meaning, though in Old English næddre was the general word for snake. [12] The other term, serpent, is from French, ultimately from Indo-European *serp-'to creep', [13] which also gave Ancient Greek ἕρπω (hérpō) 'I crawl' and Sanskrit sarpá ‘snake’. [14]
Snake worship is devotion to serpent deities. The tradition is nearly universal in the religions and mythologies of ancient cultures, [ 1 ] where snakes were seen as the holders of knowledge, strength, and renewal.