The snake had arrived. This time, instead of letting her do all the work, I was going to help her. I needed to, so that I would know how to get back to the place she had led me, on my own. She allowed me to first do some healings on people close to me who were in need. I went to them and cradled them with love and compassion and watched their heart space grow. I held Sean, I held my daughter, my mother, my father, my brother, my teachers...... Holding them as if my arms were an extension of Gaia holding her children. They were all so beautiful, like little babies filled with pure light. Then I turned the healing inward on myself. The snake slithered through me and showed me the beings that had attached themselves to me. I worked with her in doing extraction. We first would do extraction work on the being. Helping them to shed the part of them that was making them feel dependent on me. In doing this they would then extract themselves from me. A beautiful healing process was unfolding. The deer spirit came through again and beamed his golden energy. What a wholesome and mystical energy he carries. Then she showed me my voice. She split my voice into two parts. That which is productive and supportive and helps me grow, through allowing pure self love to flow, and the one who has nothing but negative things to say about myself. The two voices were having a conversation and in the end the masochistic voice had surrendered to love. Calling myself out and letting go was the theme for the evening. The beautiful bird man who sat close to me called me over to hear some words and feel some healing. I sat before him and listened to his enchanting song. He came in close and opened my eyes to the heart song that was mine. His words and sounds flooded my being with the most beautiful and radiant energy. I felt Gaia's arms around me telling me that I was never alone and that no child of hers is ever alone. She is always there supporting us through our process. The mother of our dreams is real and she has been here all along giving us the love and support we need. The bird man affirmed my voice of love and affirmed my path and what I have always known. The snake showed him the way. My spider legs sprouted and grew out from my sides and my wings spread. A flying spider spirit I had become.......
Traditional symbols of love always express a duality in which the two
antagonistic elements are, nevertheless, reconciled. Thus, the Indian lingam, the Yang-Yin, or even the Cross, where the upright beam is the world-axis and Chinese
the cross-beam the world of phenomena. They are, in other words, symbols of a
conjunction, or the expression of the ultimate goal of true love: the elimination of
dualism and separation, uniting them in the mystic ‘centre’, the ‘unvarying mean’
of Far Eastern philosophy. The rose, the lotus flower, the heart, the irradiating
point—these are the most frequent symbols of this hidden centre; ‘hidden’ because it does not exist in space, although it is imagined as doing so, but denotes the
state achieved through the elimination of separation. The biological act of love
itself expresses this desire to die in the object of the desire, to dissolve in that
which is already dissolved. According to the Book of Baruch: ‘Erotic desire and
its satisfaction is the key to the origin of the world. Disappointment in love and
the revenge which follows in its wake are the root of all the evil and the selfishness
in this world. The whole of history is the work of love. Beings seek and find one
another; separate and hurt one another; and in the end, comes acute suffering
which leads to renunciation.’ Or to put it another way: Maya as opposed to
Lilith, illusion balanced by the serpent.
To dream of love or being in love, suggests intense feelings carried over from a waking relationship. It refers to your contentment with what you already have and where you are in life. On the other hand, the dream may be compensatory and implies that you may not be getting enough love in your life. We naturally long for the sense to belong and to be accepted.
To see a couple in love or expressing love to each other, indicates success ahead for you.
To dream that your friend is in love with you, may be one of wish fulfillment. Perhaps you have developed feelings for your friend and are wondering how he or she feels. Your preoccupation has found its way into your dreaming mind. On the other hand, the dream may suggests that you have accepted certain qualities of your friend and incorporated it into your own character.
To dream that you are making love in public or in different places, relates to some overt sexual issue or need. Your dream may be telling you that you need to express yourself more openly. Alternatively, it represents your perceptions about your own sexuality in the context of social norms. You may be questioning your feelings about sex, marriage, love, and gender roles.
To dream of loving any object, denotes satisfaction with your present environments.
To dream that the love of others fills you with happy forebodings, successful affairs will give you contentment and freedom from the anxious cares of life. If you find that your love fails, or is not reciprocated, you will become despondent over some conflicting question arising in your mind as to whether it is best to change your mode of living or to marry and trust fortune for the future advancement of your state.
For a husband or wife to dream that their companion is loving, foretells great happiness around the hearthstone, and bright children will contribute to the sunshine of the home.
To dream of the love of parents, foretells uprightness in character and a continual progress toward fortune and elevation.
The love of animals, indicates contentment with what you possess, though you may not think so. For a time, fortune will crown you.
Dreaming of love of being in love, suggests intense feelings carried over from a waking relationship. It implies happiness and contentment with what you have and where you are in life. On the other hand, you may not be getting enough love in your daily life. We naturally long for the sense to belong and to be accepted. Seeing a couple in love or expressing love to each other indicates much success ahead for you. Dreaming that you are making love in public or in different places, relates to some overt sexual issue or need. Your dream may be telling you that you need to express yourself more openly. Alternatively, it represents your perceptions about your own sexuality in the context of politic and social norms. You may be questioning your feelings about sex, marriage, love, and gender roles.
To dream of hearing voices, denotes pleasant reconciliations, if they are calm and pleasing; high-pitched and angry voices, signify disappointments and unfavorable situations.
To hear weeping voices, shows that sudden anger will cause you to inflict injury upon a friend.
If you hear the voice of God, you will make a noble effort to rise higher in unselfish and honorable principles, and will justly hold the admiration of high-minded people.
For a mother to hear the voice of her child, is a sign of approaching misery, perplexity and grievous doubts.
To hear the voice of distress, or a warning one calling to you, implies your own serious misfortune or that of some one close to you. If the voice is recognized, it is often ominous of accident or illness, which may eliminate death or loss.
To dream of healing, represents your need for emotional and/or physical healing. You need to find the power to rectify and care for the issues in your life.
Dreaming of healing, represents your need for emotional and/or physical healing. You need to find the power to rectify and care for the matters in your life.
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.
To dream that you are energetic, symbolizes growth, activity, expansion and insight. You need to channel your energy in a positive way.
To dream that you are hard at work, denotes that you will win merited success by concentration of energy.
To see others at work, denotes that hopeful conditions will surround you.
To look for work, means that you will be benefited by some unaccountable occurrence.
To dream that you are at work, indicates that you are experiencing some anxiety about a current project or task. The dream may also be telling you that you need to "get back to work". Perhaps you have been slacking off and need to pick up the pace. Stop procrastinating. Alternatively, the dream reflects your success.
To dream that you are at your former work, suggests that there is an old lesson that you need to learn and apply to your current situation.
To dream that you have been replaced at work, represents your concern about your current job security. You feel that you are in a precarious position at work or in some group project.
Dreaming that you are at work indicates that you are experiencing some anxiety about a current project or task. The dream may also be telling you that you need to "get back to work". Perhaps you have been slacking and need to pick up the pace. Dreaming that you are at your former or past work, suggests that there is an old lesson that you need to learn and apply to your current situation. Dreaming that you are hard at work means success and merit. Alternatively, it may suggest anxieties about a current task or project. You may need to "get back to work" and stop procrastinating.
In the vertical scheme of the human body, the focal points are three in
number: the brain, the heart and the sexual organs. But the central point is the
heart, and in consequence it comes to partake of the meanings of the other two.
The heart was the only part of the viscera left by the Egyptians in the mummy,
since it was regarded as the centre indispensable to the body in eternity; for all
centres are symbols of eternity, since time is the motion of the periphery of the
wheel of phenomena rotating around the Aristotelian ‘unmoved mover’. In traditional ways of thought, the heart was taken as the true seat of intelligence, the
brain being merely instrumental (25); hence, in ancient attempts to explain the
profound and continuing analogies between concepts, the moon was said to
correspond to the brain and the sun to the heart. All representations of the
‘Centre’ have been related in some way to the heart, either through correspondences or through substitution, as in the case of the goblet, the coffer and the
cavern. For the alchemists, the heart was the image of the sun within man, just as
gold was the image of the sun on earth (32). The importance of love in the mystic
doctrine of unity explains how it is that love-symbolism came to be closely linked
with heart-symbolism, for to love is only to experience a force which urges the
lover towards a given centre. In emblems, then, the heart signifies love as the
centre of illumination and happiness, and this is why it is surmounted by flames,
or a cross, or a fleur-de-lis, or a crown (4).
To see your heart in your dream, signifies truth, courage, love, and romance. It is representative of how you are currently dealing with your feelings and expressing your emotions. Also consider the saying "the heart of the matter" which implies that you may need to get down to the core of a situation before proceeding.
To see a winged heart in your dream, represents the power of love and its ability to penetrate through to anyone.
To dream that your heart is bleeding or aching, represents desperation, despair, extreme sadness and sympathy. You are lacking support or love in some a situation in your life.
To dream that you have a heart transplant or heart surgery, indicates a huge change in your personal relationship. Perhaps you are involved in a rebound relationship.
To dream of your heart paining and suffocating you, there will be trouble in your business. Some mistake of your own will bring loss if not corrected.
Seeing your heart, foretells sickness and failure of energy.
To see the heart of an animal, you will overcome enemies and merit the respect of all.
To eat the heart of a chicken, denotes strange desires will cause you to carry out very difficult projects for your advancement.
Seeing your heart in your dream means truth, courage, love, and romance. It is representative of how you are currently dealing with your feelings and expressing your emotions. Also consider the saying "the heart of the matter" which implies that you may need to get down to the core of a situation before proceeding.