In an Earth catacomb. A blank room. A soothsayer sits and opens a bag. Saying, look, look deeply. Two headed giraffes and two headed elephants crawl out of the bag. They are full grown but only as tall as a small dog. Looking them in the eye as each one emerges. They make I contact, say hello and goodbye. They are walking in a line. A purposeful formation. They walk, almost march, through a hallway and into another room with trunks and piles of fabric on the ground. They walk around them and disappear into a dark pocket. A long pause, waiting for them to come out the other side. Looking deeper into the dark pocket of space they so willingly marched into.... A giant snake head appears. Mouth wide open, watching as the giraffes and elephants walk right into its mouth. "Soothsayer, Soothsayer, the animals are getting eaten!"-- Nothing. A glance back through the room and hallway, the snake's body is fully revealed. Enormous Anaconda from the depths. Lumps in its body where the creatures begin to be digested. It rears its head, loops around itself and darts, darts again looking for a last meal. Eyes meet I's and then a grab of its head, a jump and a lunge onto its back. Feeling the strength culminate and pulse through vulnerable and courageous arms, wrapping around its head. Feet gripping while standing on its back. It writhes and darts its head ferociously. "Soothsayer, Soothsayer! An Anaconda! Soothsayer!" -- Nothing. The muscles on the back of the Anaconda flex and remind the vulnerable parts of human beingness how to be trusted. A ride into the wake of the day with trust of whatever shall be.
In the Zohar, the ‘magic head’ stands for astral light (9); in mediaeval art
it is a symbol for the mind (46) and for the spiritual life, which explains the
frequency with which it appeared in decorative art. On the other hand, Plato in
Timaeus asserts that ‘the human head is the image of the world’. In corroboration
of this, Leblant points out that the skull, the semi-spherical crown of the human
body, signifies the heavens. Clearly, the head-symbol here coalesces with that of
the sphere as a symbol of Oneness. It had the same significance in Egyptian
hieroglyphics (19). The eagle’s head has been used as a solar symbol and an
emblem of the centre-point of emanation—that is, of the cosmic flame and the
spiritual fire of the universe (4). Two, three or four heads shown in juxtaposition
symbolize a corresponding intensification of a given aspect of head-symbolism.
Thus, the Gemini, a symbol of the duality of Nature, or of the integrating (but not
unifying) link between the two principles of creation, are represented by beings
with two heads or two faces, like the Roman Janus for example. Hecate is depicted with three heads—she is called triform for this reason—a symbolism
which may be related to the ‘three levels’ of heaven, earth and hell, as well as to
Diel’s three ‘urges of life’ (15). The juxtaposition of four heads or faces, as in the
image of Brahma the Supreme Lord, stems from the same symbolism as that of
the tetramorph (60). A factor of major importance bearing upon the symbolism of
the head is mentioned by Herbert Kühn, in his L’Ascension de l’humanité (Paris,
1958). He makes the point that the decapitation of corpses in prehistoric times
marked Man’s discovery of the independence of the spiritual principle, residing
in the head, as opposed to the vital principle represented by the body as a whole.
Kühn adds that Neolithic thought was very close to the mediaeval in its conviction that an eternal and invisible essence underlies all appearances (Plate XV).
To see a head in your dream, signifies wisdom, intellect, understanding and rationality. It may also represent your accomplishments, self-image, and perception of the world. The dream may also be metaphor to indicate that you are "ahead" in some situation or that you need to get ahead.
To dream that someone is trying to rip your head off, suggests that you are not seeing a situation or problem clearly. Perhaps you are refusing to see the truth. You have to confront the situation or the person despite the pain and discomfort you might feel in doing so.
To dream that you have two heads, indicate that you need to learn to ask for help and accept assistance. Consider the metaphor "two heads are better than one". Do not try to do everything yourself.
To see a person's head in your dream, and it is well-shaped and prominent, you will meet persons of power and vast influence who will lend you aid in enterprises of importance.
If you dream of your own head, you are threatened with nervous or brain trouble.
To see a head severed from its trunk, and bloody, you will meet sickening disappointments, and the overthrow of your dearest hopes and anticipations.
To see yourself with two or more heads, foretells phenomenal and rapid rise in life, but the probabilities are that the rise will not be stable.
To dream that your head aches, denotes that you will be oppressed with worry.
To dream of a swollen head, you will have more good than bad in your life.
To dream of a child's head, there will be much pleasure ill store for you and signal financial success.
To dream of the head of a beast, denotes that the nature of your desires will run on a low plane, and only material pleasures will concern you.
To wash your head, you will be sought after by prominent people for your judgment and good counsel.
Seeing a head in your dream means wisdom, intellect, understanding and rationality. It may also represent your accomplishments, self-image, and perception of the world. Dreaming that someone is trying to rip your head off, suggests that you are not see a situation or problem clearly. Perhaps you are refusing to see the truth. You have to confront the situation or the person despite the pain and discomfort you might feel in doing so.
A head symbolizes intelligence, logic, wisdom and making decisions. A dream of a head may mean that you are changing your mind about something or are unable to make up your mind. A dream of a headless body may be a warning that you aren't thinking clearly - you're "losing your head."
To dream that you are throwing darts in your dream, refers to some hurtful or harmful remarks that you or someone have said. Alternatively, it represents your goals and your "go-getter" attitude.
Dreaming that you are throwing darts in your dream, refers to some hurtful or harmful remarks that you or someone have said. Alternatively, it represents your goals and your "go-getter" attitude.
To see an anaconda in your dream, symbolizes your creativity and potential. This snakes also calls attention to your sexuality and your need to be more in tune with your own sexuality.
Dreaming of ancondas means that you are armed with power,and creativity. It might also have a sexual meaning, it is a reminder for you to listen to your own body and its needs.
A symbol of individuality—of private thoughts. The windows symbolize the possibility of understanding and of passing through to the external and
the beyond, and are also an illustration of any idea of communication. Hence, a
closed room lacking windows may be symbolic of virginity, according to Frazer,
and also of other kinds of non-communication. Many rites involving the
enclosureimage are performed to mark the reaching of puberty, all over the world.
The legend about Danae, shut up by her father in a bronze tower, pertains to this
particular symbolism. There is a Siberian legend concerning a ‘dark house of iron’
which is also relevant to it (21). We might also mention the ‘vase with a lid’, one
of the eight emblems of good luck in Chinese Buddhism, and a symbol of wholeness, of the idea with no ‘exit’, or, in other words, of supreme intelligence triumphant over birth and death (signified respectively by the doors and windows of
the room) (5). This explains why the hermetically sealed room may possibly be
a variant form of the ‘vase with a lid’.
To dream that you are in a room, represents a particular aspect of yourself or a specific relationship. Dreams about various rooms often relate to hidden areas of the conscious mind and different aspects of your personality. If the room is welcoming or comfortable, then it signifies opulence and satisfaction in life. If you see a dark or confined room, then it denotes that you feel trapped or repressed in a situation.
To dream that you find or discover a new room, suggests that you are developing new strengths and taking on new roles. You may be growing emotionally. Consider what you find in the discovered room as it may indicate repressed memories, fears, or rejected emotions. Alternatively, such rooms are symbolic of neglected skills or rejected potential.
To dream that you are in an empty white room, indicates a fresh start. It is like a blank canvas where you want to start life anew. Alternatively, the dream means that you are trying to isolate yourself. You do not want any outside influences.
To dream of a yellow room, suggests that you need to use your mind. You are feeling stimulated mentally.
Dreaming that you are in a room, represents a particular aspect of yourself or a particular relationship. Dreams about various rooms often relate to hidden areas of the conscious mind and different aspects of your personality. Dreaming that you find or discover new rooms, suggests that you are developing new strengths and taking on new roles. You may be growing emotionally. Seeing an appealing or comfortable room in your dream means opulence and satisfaction in life. Seeing a dark, eerie or confining room indicates that that you feel trapped or repressed in a situation.
To see a hallway in your dream, symbolizes self exploration. It is the beginning of the path that you are taking in life. You are going through a transitional phase and journeying into the unknown. It also signals spiritual enlightenment, emotional growth physical prowess, new opportunities and mental passages in your life.
Seeing a hallway in your dream, symbolizes the beginning of a path that you are taking in life or a journey into the unknown and self exploration. It represents spiritual, emotional, physical, or mental passages in your life. It is indicative of a transitional phase in your life.
A hallway or corridor in a dream symbolizes the beginning of a journey into the unknown. Doors along the corridor represent how you feel about the choices you have in life. Are you in endless corridor with an infinite amount of doors on each side? Are the doors so small you crouch down to fit into them? Have you gotten lost because the hallway is so complex and confusing? If the corridor is dark, you could have many worries about your future, while a bright corridor could mean that you are confident that any problems that you have will be solved.
Elephants in dreams may represent knowledge, power, and strength. They are also associated with long memory and "thick skin." However, depending on the dream’s details, the elephant may be a symbol of a large burden. Additionally, in the dream you may be making efforts to remember something important and of great magnitude.
To dream of darkness overtaking you on a journey, augurs ill for any work you may attempt, unless the sun breaks through before the journey ends, then faults will be overcome.
To lose your friend, or child, in the darkness, portends many provocations to wrath. Try to remain under control after dreaming of darkness, for trials in business and love will beset you.
A dark place, such as a cave, in a dream can symbolize negative emotions. In your dream, are you able to find your way out of the dark place?
A dream about being in darkness can also mean that you believe you are being "kept in the dark" about something - that someone else is keeping a secret from you.
If you dream that you are afraid of the dark you could be unwilling to deal with obstacles that you expect to face in the future.
To see a pocket in your dream, represents your hidden talents and undeveloped abilities. You are not utilizing your strengths to the fullest potential. Did you find anything in the pocket? Consider the significance of what is inside the pocket. If the pocket is empty, then it symbolizes the womb and your desire to isolate yourself from others. Alternatively, a pocket symbolizes secrets. If there is a hole in the pocket, then it implies that your resources or abilities are being drained.
To dream of your pocket, is a sign of evil demonstrations against you.
Seeing a pocket in your dream, represents hidden talents and undeveloped abilities. You have not utilized your strengths to the fullest potential.
Seeing a snake or be bitten by one in your dream means hidden fears and worries that are threatening you. Your dream may be alerting you to something in your waking life that you are not aware of or that has not yet surfaced. The snake may also be seen as phallic and thus symbolize dangerous and forbidden sexuality. The snake may also refer to a person around you who is callous, ruthless, and can't be trusted. As a positive symbol, snakes represent transformation, knowledge and wisdom. It is indicative of self-renewal and positive changes.
In some cultures snakes are highly regarded and symbolise the ability to transcend into higher levels of consciousness or into areas of knowledge that exist outside perceived time and space. In the pre-Christian days, snakes were considered symbols of fertility, healing, and nurturing (the healing serpent representing a god). Post Eden, snakes are often considered symbols of temptation and evil, anger, and envy. Snakes emerging out of the ground may represent your unconscious or repressed materials coming to your conscious mind. Most snake dreams seem to be disturbing and they leave the dreamer feeling anxious and afraid. There are no simple interpretations to the snake dreams. Sometimes snakes may be phallic symbols and other times they represent negativity in our lives that hampers our progress and constantly threatens us. In the long run the snake may be a positive symbol; it may represent difficulties that lead us to the centre of personality and result in feelings of completeness.
Snake symbolic meaning, overwhelmingly and in various cultures, deals with primordial life force and usually turns our attention to gender supremacy (both male and female).
Consequently, snakes span the symbolic bridge between lunar and solar associations as well as aspects between water and fire.
Coiled within this polarity, we clearly see symbolism of duality and the search for balance. Other snake symbolic meaning includes:
Cycles
Rebirth
Patience
Fertility
Eternity
Balance
Cunning
Intuition
Awareness
Healing
Intellect
Protection
Solemnity
Rejuvenation
Transformation
Occult (hidden) Knowledge
Male/Female, Yin-Yang, Duality
As a Native American Indian symbol (depending on the nation/tribe) the snake can be a masculine symbol, associated with the phallus of lightning which is considered a medicine staff of tremendous assertive power. Other tribes lean in the direction of feminine attribution for the snake and pair it with mothering (creation), and lunar (moon) symbolism.
Whether raising itself in masculine authority, or encircling the Earth in a motherly fashion – the snake symbol of the Native American’s was highly regarded; utilized in ritual to invoke an element of pointed focus and weighty influence.
The ancient Celts were extremely nature-wise too, and approached snake symbolism from the behavior and life cycle of this magnificent creature. From the Celtic perspective, the snake was a symbol of secret knowledge, cunning and transformation.
Further, the snake Celtic symbol comes from observations of the European viper (also known as the adder) which is the only (along with the common grass snake) species able to tolerate the colder climate of the ancient Celts.
In the keen Celtic mind, snake symbolic meaning of transformation came from the shedding of its skin. Physical evidence of leaving its form behind (casting off the old self), and emerging a sleeker, newer version made the snake a powerful symbol of rebirth and renewal.
As far as the occult (hidden) symbolic meaning in Celtic and other cultures, this can be connected to the sleuth-like ways of the snake.
Disappearing in colder months and summoned by the sun marks the snake’s connection to the shadow worlds with its successful ability to live within the dark realms for extended periods of time. Alternatively, the snake softly moves into the embrace of the sun, and so it encapsulates the ancient magician's creed of moving in perfect rhythm of natural forces.
In Eastern Indian myth the Sanskrit word for snake is naga and these are associated with the element of water. Picking up water’s symbolism of emotion, love and motion, nagas in this light are considered a feminine aspect and embody nurturing, benevolent, wise qualities.
To wit, the practice of nagayuna in Eastern Indian alchemy seeks to achieve loving harmony between the physical and ethereal. Simply put, all of us striving to better ourselves by calmly easing into places of personal balance within the cosmic balance of the whole are practicing this ancient technique.
Snake tattoo symbolism varies according to the bearer of the mark. For example, I have a back piece depicting two serpents (nagas) wrapped around the seven prime chakras down the length of my spine. This (to me) incorporates the kundalini power available to all humans.
Additionally, this entwined snake imagery hearkens to the caduceus, in which the staves of Asclepius are made of two polar (and copulating) serpents which symbolizes balance, equanimity, union and regeneration.
Double snakes are common in almost all cultural symbolic languages. Ultimately the double snake is an icon representing:
Connection between primal forces
Integration of opposites
Advanced communication
Joining together on a divine level
Making whole what was once fragmented and doing so in a magical, organic way.
Snake Double HelixCarrying this dual snake imagery a step further, we could look to the language of science. Observe the formation of DNA and how it forms a perfect, serpentine double helix (shown left). This prompts us to consider how the energetic mind is connected to the grander whole, and how it so effortlessly makes graceful connections between the basic building blocks of data with the manifestations of the natural world.
There is no doubt, the snake is a unifying force embodying infinite messages to those who are energetically available to perceive them. Alchemists understood this, and thus incorporated the philosophy of snakes in their grimoires, practices, and even their daily life.
Indeed, alchemy literature is rife with the image of the uroboros which is symbolic of conceptualizing totality – embracing the whole of consciousness and devouring it with unquenchable passion.
As an animal totem, the snake surfaces into our awareness with all the power of the symbolic attributes listed on this page (and more). Those who are drawn to the snake (and vice versa) are gifted at perceiving life through an uncommon lens. Other characteristics of those who are connected to snake energy include:
A natural ability to balance energies (you’re likely a gifted healer)
Diplomatic and eloquent in areas of speech and writing
Dynamically intuitive (often knowing other’s thoughts and emotional states without trying)
Impulsive, but not without careful consideration – this may sound paradoxical, but those with the snake totem know what I mean here.
I invite you to step into the calming energy of the snake, and see what this noble creature offers you in the form of messages, growth, and enlightenment.
Further, it should be understood this page is but a miniscule sampling of the diverse snake symbolic meaning s available to us. Therefore, I encourage you to slither into your own personal ruminations, research and meditation of the snake.
You will find your investment to be infinitely rewarding.
By shedding its skin, the snake symbolizes change in the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. It counts among its strengths the power of creation, of se xuality, of the soul, as well as of transformation and immortality. Snake-people are higher cast, because as part of their experiences they have had to come into contact with poison (physical or mental) and have been able to transform the poison in their bodies into something harmless. The snake belongs to the element of fire, which causes desire and passion in the physical realm and, in the spiritual realm, creates a connection with the Great Spirit and leads to all-encompassing wisdom. Whenever the snake appears in your dreams, it is a sign of change as you come ever closer to perfection.
This animal gives you the ability to let go of things that are worn out and no longer useful - just like the snake sheds it skin when it is no longer needed.
Rebirth, wisdom, fluidity, wholeness, transmutations, sexuality, look for transitions, changes and new opportunities. Creative forces are awakening with heightened intuition. Snake can teach about shedding what is not needed; perceptions, attitudes, ideals. Snake shows how to access vitality, ambitions and dreams along with intellect and personal power. What things are surfacing that you need to strike out and take advantage of? Perhaps a time to rest and reflect? Listen to your intuition and visions at this time. Contemplate the colors, striking ability and activity of the snake type to further understand what snake is saying.
In the symbolism pertaining to the body, the most elementary association is the one between the organ or member and its function. It is, then, selfevident that, in Egyptian hieroglyphs, the mouth should stand for the power of
speech and hence for the creative word. In this sense it stands for the pristine
emanation of creative power. Very closely connected with this hieroglyph is
another showing a mouth with a solar disk inside. This disk, primarily standing
for the sun, is connected, but not identical, with the eye. (In hieroglyphs which
are coloured, the eye is wholly blue, while the sign under discussion consists of a
blue mouth with a little red circle inside) (19). Guénon supports this interpretation of the sign (29), pointing to the example of the Mândûkya Upanishad where,
apropos the state of deep sleep, the mouth is said to represent integral consciousness (26). In the Old Testament, the concepts of mouth and fire are frequently
associated; epithets such as ‘devouring’ or ‘consuming’, frequently applied to the
latter, are descriptive of the functions of the former. Hence the fire-breathing
animals of legend. Jung explains these associations by synaesthesia and suggests
that they are connected with Apollo, the sun-god who is depicted with a lyre as
his characteristic attribute. The common link between the symbolisms of sounding, speaking, shining and burning finds a physiological parallel in the phenomenon known as ‘coloured hearing’ whereby some individuals experience sounds
as colours. Furthermore, it is hardly a coincidence that the two main characteristics that set Man apart from all other beings are the power of speech and the use
of fire. Both are, in fact, the product of mana (psychic energy) (31). In consequence, mouth-symbolism, like fire-symbolism, has two aspects: creative (as in
speech) and destructive (devouring). And, of course, the mouth is the point of
convergence between the external and the inner worlds. This explains the frequent
symbol of the ‘monster’s mouth’, with sets of upper and lower teeth that are
expressive of the ‘interlocking’ of the two worlds: heaven and earth or, more
often, hell and earth (50). There are, in mediaeval iconography, abundant examples of the mouths of dragons or large fishes affording access to the inner world
or to the underworld.
To see a mouth in your dream, signifies your need to express yourself or talk about an issue that's bothering you. Alternatively, the dream suggests that you have said too much and you need to keep your mouth shut.
Seeing a mouth in your dream means your need to express yourself or talk about an issue that's bothering you. On the other hand, perhaps you have said too much and you need to keep your mouth shut.
To see a bag in your dream, represents the responsibilities that you carry. If the bag is ripped or torn, then it indicates that you are carrying a lot of burden. The symbol may be a metaphor for an "old bag" and refer to someone who is old.
To dream of a bag full of junk, symbolizes that you are burdened with worries and problems; you have to find a way on unloading some of this burden.
A bag represents the responsibilities that you carry. If the bag is ripped or torn, then it indicates that you are carrying a lot of burden. Dreaming of a bag full of junk symbolizes that you are burdened with worries and problems; you have to find a way on unloading some of this load.