The meaning of the snake symbol among different peoples of the earth. Pages

The year 2013 is the year of the Snake, the year of the black water snake. The year 2013 is, as it were, a continuation of 2012 in terms of elemental significance, since the Year of the Dragon was also black and watery. What does the black snake symbol mean? and what the symbolism of the Snake is associated with in various cultures.

Snakeis a symbol of the years: 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025. Year of the Snake 2013 will come into its own with 10.02.2013 and will last until January 30, 2014

Snake is an important symbol in almost all cultures of the world. On the one hand, the image of a snake is associated with death (the poisonousness of snakes), on the other hand, it symbolizes rebirth, wisdom and power (shedding of the skin, medicinal properties poison).

DIY snake

Myths, fairy tales and legends about the Snake

Snake symbol in different countries

Snake Symbol- a traditional symbol of wisdom and power. The myths and legends of the countries of the Ancient East reflected echoes of the cult of snakes, often associated with the water element.

Ancient Egyptian tale tells the story of a sailor shipwrecked and washed up by a wave on a wonderful island. Soon he heard a loud noise: “ the trees trembled, the earth shook. I opened my face and realized that it was a snake that was approaching. His length is 30 cubits, his beard is more than 2 cubits, his limbs are gilded, his eyebrows are made of real lapis lazuli. He moved forward». Serpent In this tale he is called the “Prince of Punta” - the legendary land of incense, “the land of the gods”.

Another, later Egyptian tale talks about the immortal serpent guarding wonderful book at the bottom of the sea.

In Eastern mythology boundaries between snakes and dragons are often blurred. If the snake acts as an independent symbol, it can personify a negative principle.

At the same time in Chinese fairy tales snakes sometimes give pearls to their saviors. The Chinese believed that snake skin brought wealth, and that a snake in a dream hinted at sexual energy.

In Japanese mythology The image of a snake is associated with female deities, in particular with the figure of the “Eternal Mother”. At the same time, in Japan the snake is an attribute of the god of thunder and thunderstorms. IN modern world The snake, as an ancient zoomorphic symbol, is considered a symbol of longevity and wisdom.

In ancient times the Hindus They believed that, together with the elephant and the turtle, the snake could serve as a support for the world. The thousand-headed ruler of the snakes Ananta, whose rings encircle the axis of the world, in Hinduism personifies boundless fertility.

That is why in modern India snake, cobra - a symbol of happiness in marriage.

Traditions of Babylon and Assyria, Jewish and Abyssinian legends tie up prehistoric times with the kingdom of the serpent. This is what the Abyssinian legend says about this: “ There is a great serpent; he is the king of the land of Ethiopia; All the rulers bow to him and bring him a beautiful maiden as a gift. Having decorated her, they bring her before this serpent and leave her alone, and this serpent devours her... The length of this serpent is 170 cubits, and the thickness is 4; his teeth are a cubit long, and his eyes are like a fiery flame, his eyebrows are black like a raven, and his whole appearance is like tin and copper... He has a horn of three cubits. When he moves, the noise can be heard for seven days' journey».

Legends about islands inhabited by snakes have been preserved in Greek chronicles. Herodotus and Theophrastus mentioned snakes guarding jewels on wonderful islands; Diodorus Siculus talks about a “snake island” filled with jewels, and describes a hunt for a 30-cubit-long snake, in whose mouth one of the hunters died.

So another one greek myth tells about the wonderful remedy that Zeus gave to people. It could restore a person's youth. However, people did not want to carry this priceless gift themselves and put it on a donkey, who gave it to the snake. Since then, people have been bearing the heavy burden of old age, and snakes enjoy eternal youth.

African tales and legends they talk about the first people who, like snakes, could exchange old skin for new ones and live forever.

In Sumerian myth Gilgamesh finds a flower of eternal youth in the depths of the waters, however, while he was swimming, a snake stole the flower and immediately became younger, shedding its skin. Since then, legend teaches, snakes have gained immortality, but people have remained mortal creatures.

Legends Ancient China they call it huge snake- the dragon is the ancestor of the first emperors, endowed with claws, teeth, saliva and horns healing properties. On the back of a dragon one could reach the land of the immortals.

In the ancient world, a snake played the role of homemaker. During excavations in Pompeii, an image of a snake was discovered on the walls and home altars of many houses, which symbolized the peace and health of the inhabitants of the house.

Ancient Roman Chronicles preserved evidence that during the plague, Asclepius was symbolically transported from Epidaurus to Rome in the form of a snake. According to one of their hypotheses about the origin of the name of the god of medical art, Asclepius, it came from the name of a special kind of snake - “askalabos”. Later, these snakes, harmless to humans, began to be called “Asclepius snakes.” The snake was depicted on the first aid kit of a Roman military doctor.

Often snake also associated with rain. For example, this connection is reflected in ancient rites worshiping the serpent as a sacrifice during the rainy season or waiting for rain during a drought. These rituals correspond to myths about the victory of a snake fighter over a snake, followed by a thunderstorm, rain or flood.

We encounter a similar myth in ancient Peruvian myth about the snake, who spewed out water that flooded the whole world after he was killed by the three sons of the first man.

A myth one of Brazilian tribes says that once a woman kept a snake, which was in a cage immersed in water. Every day the woman fed the snake meat. But one day she did not bring food to the snake, and then the snake ate the unfortunate woman that same day. After the tribesmen killed the snake, the heavy rain - « At the same time, the rain poured down, the winning wind blew, the winner of the big anaconda snake».

Symbol of the Snake in Slavic mythology

Snakes (as symbols) had several meanings and purposes.

1. In the Slavic calendar there are two holidays where snakes are honored (usually harmless snakes).

March 25 is the time when cattle are driven out “to St. George’s dew” and snakes crawl out of the ground, i.e. the ground becomes warm, agricultural work can begin. And September 14th is the departure of the snakes.

The agricultural cycle is basically ending. That. snakes as if symbolized cyclicality rural field work were a kind of natural-climatic clock. It was believed that they also helped to beg for rain (heavenly milk; breasts falling from the sky), since snakes love not only warmth, but also moisture, hence in fairy tales snakes often suck milk from cows (clouds). Images of snakes, snakes decorated ancient vessels with water.

2. Snakes from the Perunova suite. They symbolized the heavenly thunderclouds and the powerful revelry of the elements. These snakes are multi-headed. If you cut off one head, the other grows and shoots out tongues of fire (lightning). Serpent-Gorynych is the son of the heavenly mountain (cloud). These snakes kidnap beauties (the moon, stars and even the sun). The snake can quickly turn into a boy or girl. This is due to the rejuvenation of nature after rain; rejuvenation of nature after every winter.

3.Snakes- keepers of countless treasures, medicinal herbs, living and dead water. From here - snake doctors and symbols of healing.

4.Snakes from the retinue of the gods underground kingdom - Viy, Death, Mary, Chernobog, Kashchey and others. Death (Koshey, Nedol) mows down, collects the ominous kosht, the harvest of the dead, and the snake guards the underworld.

5. Option snake ruler of the underworld- Lizard (less often Fish). The lizard is often found in folk songs; sometimes, having lost the ancient meanings of symbolism, it is called Yasha.

In religions, the symbol of the Snake

The staff of the legendary physician Asclepius is wrapped around a snake. Prototype of the famous biblical serpent the tempter should be sought in ancient Sumerian myths. One of them tells how once the hero Gilgamesh returned from the divine palaces with the plant of life. One of the gods, not wanting people to gain immortality, turned into a snake and snatched this plant from Gilgamesh as he swam across the river.

In Buddhism the image of a snake in the Wheel of Samsara personifies anger and symbolizes cosmic force in her negative manifestations. At the same time, the multi-headed cobra protected Buddha Shakyamuni during his meditation. Cobra in India often associated with the Buddha himself, who could transform into the Naga snake to heal people.

Snake was also a symbol of eternal youth: the annual change of skin symbolized rejuvenation. This idea has found an interesting embodiment in the religion of the Egyptians. The change of day and night was associated with the fact that at midnight the sun god Ra leaves the solar boat with his retinue and enters the body huge snake, from which everyone emerges as “children” in the morning, gets back into the boat and continues their journey across the sky.

Yoga likens the spiritual energy of a person to a snake - kundalini (means “coiled in a ring”, “coiled in the shape of a snake”).

Snake symbol - description of the symbol

The supremely Snake is a complex and universal symbol. The snake symbolized death and immortality, good and evil. They were personified by her forked tongue, the poisonousness of her bites, along with the healing effect of the poison, and the mysterious ability to hypnotize small animals and birds. This apparent contradiction, the combination in one image of two different, often opposing principles, is characteristic of symbols that have come to us from ancient times. Snake can be both male and female, and also self-reproduce. As a creature that kills, it means death and destruction; as a creature that periodically changes its skin - life and resurrection.

Coiled in coils snake identified with the cycle of phenomena. This is both the solar principle and the lunar principle, life and death, light and darkness, good and evil, wisdom and blind passion, healing and poison, preserver and destroyer, spiritual and physical rebirth.

Phallic symbol, fertilizing male power, "the husband of all women", the presence of a snake is almost always associated with pregnancy. The snake accompanies all female deities, including the Great Mother, and is often depicted in their hands or coiled around them. Wherein the snake takes on feminine qualities, such as mystery, enigma and intuitiveness, and symbolizes unpredictability as it appears unexpectedly and disappears unexpectedly.

The snake was considered bisexual and was emblem all self-generating deities, also symbolizing the power of fertility of the earth. It is a solar, chthonic, sexual, funereal symbol and represents the manifestation of power on any level, the source of all potential in both the material and spiritual realms, closely associated with the concept of both life and death.

Because the snake lives underground, it is in contact with the underworld and has access to the powers, omniscience and magic of the dead. The chthonic snake is a manifestation of the aggressive power of the gods underworld and darkness. She is widely considered the source of initiation and rejuvenation and the “mistress of the subsoil.” In its chthonic form, the snake is hostile to the Sun and all solar and spiritual forces, symbolizing dark forces in man. In this case, the positive and negative principles are in conflict, as in the case of Zeus and Typhon, Apollo and Python, Osiris and Set, the eagle and the snake, etc.

She symbolizes also the original instinctive nature, the tide vitality, uncontrollable and undifferentiated, potential energy, inspiring spirit. It is a mediator between Heaven and Earth, between the earth and the underworld.

Snake is associated with the sky, earth, water and especially with the Cosmic Tree.

It is also a cloud dragon of darkness and a treasure guardian. The snake can symbolically depict Sun rays, the path of the Sun in the sky, lightning and the power of water, being an attribute of all river deities.

Snake- this is knowledge, power, deceit, sophistication, cunning, darkness, evil and corruption, as well as the Tempter.

Among the numerous representatives of the animal world, images of which Russian prisoners pin on their bodies, individuals stand apart, which are popularly called creeping reptiles. Camp ringers quite often include snakes in traditional tattoos of criminals. However, much depends on how and in whose company these reptiles are depicted.
Sign of wisdom and eternity
First of all, the image of a snake as ancient symbol wisdom can be found in the tattoos of the most respected people in the Russian criminal world - thieves in law. They crawl out of the eye sockets of skulls, wrap around the blades of daggers - in a word, in one form or another they are present in the tattoos of “thieves in law.”
Snakes can remind camp authorities of the frailty of life and loyalty to the laws of thieves. For example, a tattoo depicting a snake in a crown, holding an apple in its teeth and entwining someone’s mortal remains, is deciphered as follows: the snake is a symbol of the wisdom of thieves’ laws, the apple is a symbol of the temptation of the weak in spirit (in this case, the temptation of fiscalism: cooperation with the police unit) . For such a terrible sin, thieves have only one punishment - death. This is exactly what the human remains entwined with a snake indicate.

The snake can be included in a composition that depicts a girl with a torch, an axe, a crucifix and prison bars. All this, according to the artist’s plan, should remind the owner of this tattoo about the frailty of existence. The image of a snake was included in the tattoo - a symbol of revenge. The Criminal Code pierced with a dagger, which is held by a skeleton in a shroud, and a snake slithering through the bracelets of shackles, is a symbol of revenge on the prosecutor, one of the most hated representatives of justice by criminals.
A snake in a crown and several astrological signs carved into the prisoner's stomach or forearm reminded him that life has a beginning and an end. This worldly wisdom helped the prisoner serve his sentence.
"Roosters and Cormorants"
However, it is not only people respected in the zone who make images of snakes. Sometimes creeping reptiles squirm on the body of representatives of the camp bottom. For example, a snake entwining the figure of a naked beauty indicates that the owner of this tattoo is a passive homosexual.
Often snakes and girls are depicted in very frivolous poses, which once again emphasizes the sexual orientation of the owner of such a tattoo.
And one more story. The image of a snake can be used in their tattoos by the so-called “cormorants” - criminals serving sentences for malicious hooliganism. In this case, the snake does not carry a semantic load, but serves only as a background, a kind of “grin” at government officials. Such a tattoo was gouged out on the body of a man convicted of hooliganism and resisting police officers. The snake wrapped itself around the hand of the skeleton, whose fingers were folded in the shape of a fig. On the snake itself, as if in mockery, the camp ringer depicted the words “Peace”, “Labor”, “May” and “Glory to the CPSU”! For such a tattoo, at that time its owner could get into big trouble.

Sergey Shchukin
Based on newspaper materials
"Behind Bars" (No. 6 2009)

A woman and a snake are two friends. This tattoo means deceit and cruelty. Its owner was betrayed by the woman he loved.

“Slave of the USSR” with the image of a hammer and sickle is a common tattoo of prisoners of the pre-perestroika period.

A. Kapitansky
V.Litvin
The art of criminal tattoo

05/15/2017 at 08:13

Hello, dear friends!

For humans, a snake has always been considered an area of ​​increased danger and close attention. Perhaps this is due to human ones, the roots of which may go back to previous ones, or her composure. But many earthlings are terrified of reptiles!

But it's one thing Living being, and completely different - the symbol of the tailed one, which is capable of working miracles! The snake is also a Feng Shui symbol, which has an amazing and extremely versatile meaning.

Snakes have long symbolized the presence of wisdom and knowledge, but besides this, they have always been compared with longevity, eternal youth and the ability to be resurrected.

What secrets does it hold? totemic sign? What story is hidden in the appearance of a beautiful creature? And moreover, how do the peoples of the world feel about the image of a snake? About this and more in today's article!

Where most often you can meet snake symbol ? The most popular images of “cold-blooded” symbolism are considered to be figurines, talismans and paintings that convey the entire energy potential of the sign.

They can be made from various materials: wood, metal, stone, glass and even polymer clay! It's worth noting that this could be a pillow self made or a children's toy that fits harmoniously into the interior space of your home.

What can the symbol of the mysterious snake do? Before answering this question, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the meaning of the sign and understand the nature of its influence on space.

Meaning of different symbols

Exist different shapes characters, for examplea snake swallowing its tail.The fact is that the serpent symbolizes the eternal cycle. He has hise ancient name — Ouroboros, coiled snakeand biting his own tail. Its purpose is to show a person that existence has certain cycles of its development and that everything repeats itself endlessly.

There is no end as such! Creation turns to destruction, life gives way to death. But death on the physical plane is birth on the subtle plane (just as birth on the physical plane is probably similar to death on the subtle ones...). Of course I can't say with certainty...

But Kundalini is the most powerful vital energy that rises along the spine and is depicted in the form of two intertwined snakes. These two snakes symbolize energy channels that intersect. And where they intersect, there are chakras (7 main ones and a huge number of smaller ones).

This energy is in each of us, but only in a dormant form. But in order to awaken an avalanche of flow, you need to work on your beginning and physical shell, practicing sacred yoga, cleansing the body of toxins and methods for clearing your consciousness of unnecessary, I would say, false beliefs.

The snake is a multifunctional symbol (like all symbols in general!)! He manages to combine masculine, feminine, and androgenic principles. It is also one of the male totemic signs expressing strength. He is often ranked among the phallic symbols, called “the husband of all the fair sex.”

If we consider a cold-blooded creature as a killing machine, then we can attribute it to the messenger of death and extermination, but if we think of it as a creature that changes skin, then we can find subtext in the form of transformation of the living, resurrection and life.

When a person uses symbolism correctly, understanding its original duality, he can count on acquiring certain benefits and the strongest protection. A snake can become for you both a symbol of universal goodness and a sign of global evil. The choice is yours, but I still advise you to choose the positive!

In medieval Christian art the symbol of a snake nailed to cross . This frightening image is not as violent as it seems. The sign contains a certain message, containing key value- resurrection and superiority of the spirit over primitive flesh.

Caduceus

The Caduceus is a symbol of total mediation and agreement in harmony. It can be found in the form of an image, an emblem of trade. But if you look into the past, the caduceus was an integral attribute of the messenger, who disposed of it for me ensuring complete safety for the owner.

If we consider the symbol from the point of immersion in the atm O the sphere of ancient traditions,then there the caduceus transformed into rod of Hermes , messenger of the gods themselves! He could give people prophetic dreams and act as a symbol that unites the world.

At first it looked like an olive branch, with two shoots on top, which was richly decorated with garlands. But later the sign was presented in the form 2 intertwined snakes that wrap their bodies around the rod on both sides.Over time, it was decorated with wings to give Hermes speed of movement with the mark of “communion of heaven.” The Caduceus of Hermes also symbolizes Kunadalini energy and spiritual awakening.

It is worth noting that the caduceus has more than one interpretation. There is the staff of Aesculapius, the Greek God of healing, which is also crowned with a representative of the cold-blooded, entwined cup . He gained universal fame because to this day he is a symbol of the doctor and medicine.

Symbol of the snake among the peoples of the Earth

For example, in Africa, snakes form an emblem of power and also symbolize the chariot of immortality and the embodiment of the departed. Among the American Indians, this creature was considered mythical, gifted with the power of creation. She was called the mistress of lightning, the mistress of rain, the spear of the God of War himself.

The aborigines of Australia generally consider the presence of a snake to be a sign from above about an upcoming pregnancy. But the Aztecs managed to combine a snake and a feathered animal. For them, it is a symbol of the Sun, harmony, the movement of wind, water and the space enveloping the Earth.

The famous Wheel of Samsara is decorated with a snake inside the circle. she personifies malice, although sometimes she can be associated with the Buddha himself, taking the form naga (snakes). And when sickness, hunger and devastation come to this world, it will be the serpent that will heal the earth’s people.

In China, the reptile is one of the five poisonous creatures. It is for this reason that she rarely differs from the dragon they are used to. And if this happened, then the only thing it can symbolize is a negative, evil and rather deceitful phenomenon.

Christianity classified the sign as an ambivalent symbol. That is, this is Christ, ascended on the Tree of Life to atone for human sins, while combining wisdom and virtue, as well as the personification of the devil!

The image of a snake can also be found in Egypt. Most often they were applied to the sarcophagus. The serpent Apol, belonging to the forces of darkness and gloom, drank water from the fertile Nile, in the hopeconfront God Ra, who emerged victorious from battle every night.

Sign sacred snake Uraeus - sacred, Egyptian symbol, considered the embodiment of the proto-deity of Atum.It was applied to the headdresses of the pharaohs and was a symbol of their power.

But the symbol of the snake arose in civilizations for a reason! Already in ancient times, snakes were held in great esteem. And the Atlanteans, who escaped from the disaster, 12.5 thousand years ago, spread this symbol and others among almost all the peoples of the Earth!

I'll put an end to this!

See you on the blog, bye-bye!

The year 2013 is the year of the Snake, the year of the black water snake. The year 2013 is, as it were, a continuation of 2012 in terms of elemental significance, since the Year of the Dragon was also black and watery. What does the symbol of the black Snake mean and what is the symbolism of the Snake associated with in various cultures.

The snake is a symbol of the years: 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025. The Year of the Snake 2013 will come into its own from 02/10/2013 and will last until 01/30/2014.

The snake is an important symbol in almost all cultures of the world. On the one hand, the image of a snake is associated with death (the poisonousness of snakes), on the other hand, it symbolizes rebirth, wisdom and power (shedding of skin, healing properties of poison).
Myths, fairy tales and legends about the Snake
Snake symbol in different countries

The Snake symbol is a traditional symbol of wisdom and power. The myths and legends of the countries of the Ancient East reflected echoes of the cult of snakes, often associated with the water element.

An ancient Egyptian tale tells the story of a sailor who was shipwrecked and washed up on a wonderful island. Soon he heard a loud noise: “the trees were trembling, the earth was shaking. I opened my face and realized that it was a snake that was approaching. His length is 30 cubits, his beard is more than 2 cubits, his limbs are gilded, his eyebrows are made of real lapis lazuli. He moved forward." The snake is called in this tale the “Prince of Punta” - the legendary land of incense, “the land of the gods”.

Another, later Egyptian tale tells of an immortal serpent guarding a miraculous book at the bottom of the sea.

In Eastern mythology, the boundaries between snakes and dragons are often blurred. If the snake acts as an independent symbol, it can personify a negative principle.

At the same time, in Chinese fairy tales, snakes sometimes give pearls to their saviors. The Chinese believed that snake skin brought wealth, and that a snake in a dream hinted at sexual energy.

In Japanese mythology, the image of a snake is associated with female deities, in particular with the figure of the “Eternal Mother”. At the same time, in Japan the snake is an attribute of the god of thunder and thunderstorms. In the modern world, the snake, as an ancient zoomorphic symbol, is considered a symbol of longevity and wisdom.

In ancient times, Hindus believed that, together with the elephant and the turtle, the snake could serve as a support for the world. The thousand-headed ruler of the snakes Ananta, whose rings encircle the axis of the world, in Hinduism personifies boundless fertility.

That is why in modern India a snake, a cobra, is a symbol of happiness in marriage.

The traditions of Babylon and Assyria, Jewish and Abyssinian legends connect prehistoric times with the kingdom of the serpent. Here is what the Abyssinian legend says about this: “There is a great serpent; he is the king of the land of Ethiopia; All the rulers bow to him and bring him a beautiful maiden as a gift. Having decorated her, they bring her before this serpent and leave her alone, and this serpent devours her... The length of this serpent is 170 cubits, and the thickness is 4; his teeth are a cubit long, and his eyes are like a fiery flame, his eyebrows are black like a raven, and his whole appearance is like tin and copper... He has a horn of three cubits. When he moves, the noise can be heard for seven days' journey."

Legends about islands inhabited by snakes are preserved in Greek chronicles. Herodotus and Theophrastus mentioned snakes guarding jewels on wonderful islands; Diodorus Siculus talks about a “snake island” filled with jewels, and describes a hunt for a 30-cubit-long snake, in whose mouth one of the hunters died.

So another Greek myth tells about a miraculous remedy that Zeus gave to people. It could restore a person's youth. However, people did not want to carry this priceless gift themselves and put it on a donkey, who gave it to the snake. Since then, people have been bearing the heavy burden of old age, and snakes have been enjoying eternal youth.

African tales and legends tell of the first people who, like snakes, could exchange old skin for new ones and live forever.

In the Sumerian myth, Gilgamesh finds a flower of eternal youth in the depths of the waters, however, while he was bathing, a snake stole the flower and immediately became younger, shedding his skin. Since then, legend teaches, snakes have gained immortality, but people have remained mortal creatures.

Legends of Ancient China call the huge serpent - the dragon the ancestor of the first emperors, and endow its claws, teeth, saliva and horns with healing properties. On the back of a dragon one could reach the land of the immortals.

In the ancient world, the snake played the role of guardian of the hearth. During excavations in Pompeii, an image of a snake was discovered on the walls and home altars of many houses, which symbolized the peace and health of the inhabitants of the house.

Ancient Roman chronicles preserve evidence that during a plague epidemic, Asclepius was symbolically transported from Epidaurus to Rome in the form of a snake. According to one of their hypotheses about the origin of the name of the god of medical art, Asclepius, it came from the name of a special kind of snake - “askalabos”. Later, these snakes, harmless to humans, began to be called “Asclepius snakes.” The snake was depicted on the first aid kit of a Roman military doctor.

Snakes were often associated with rain. For example, this connection is reflected in the ancient rituals of worshiping the serpent, as sacrifices during the rainy season or waiting for rain during a drought. These rituals correspond to myths about the victory of a snake fighter over a snake, followed by a thunderstorm, rain or flood.

We find a similar myth in the ancient Peruvian myth of a snake that spewed out water that flooded the whole world after it was killed by the three sons of the first man.

And the myth of one of the Brazilian tribes says that once a woman kept a snake, which was in a cage immersed in water. Every day the woman fed the snake meat. But one day she did not bring food to the snake, and then the snake ate the unfortunate woman that same day. After the tribesmen killed the snake, heavy rain began - “At the same time the rain poured down, the victorious wind blew, the winner of the big anaconda snake.”
Symbol of the Snake in Slavic mythology

Snakes (as symbols) had several meanings and purposes.

1. In the Slavic calendar there are two holidays where snakes are honored (usually harmless snakes).

March 25 is the time when cattle are driven out “to St. George’s dew” and snakes crawl out of the ground, i.e. the ground becomes warm, agricultural work can begin. And September 14th is the departure of the snakes.

The agricultural cycle is basically ending. That. the snakes symbolized the cyclical nature of rural field work and were a kind of natural climatic clock. It was believed that they also helped to beg for rain (heavenly milk; breasts falling from the sky), since snakes love not only warmth, but also moisture, hence in fairy tales snakes often suck milk from cows (clouds). Images of snakes, snakes decorated ancient vessels with water.

2. Snakes from the Perunova suite. They symbolized the heavenly thunderclouds and the powerful revelry of the elements. These snakes are multi-headed. If you cut off one head, the other grows and shoots out tongues of fire (lightning). Serpent-Gorynych is the son of the heavenly mountain (cloud). These snakes kidnap beauties (the moon, stars and even the sun). The snake can quickly turn into a boy or girl. This is due to the rejuvenation of nature after rain; rejuvenation of nature after every winter.

3. Snakes are the guardians of countless treasures, medicinal herbs, living and dead water. Hence the snake doctors and symbols of healing.

4. Snakes from the retinue of the gods of the underworld - Viy, Death, Mary, Chernobog, Kashchey, etc. Death (Koshey, Nedol) mows down, collects the ominous kosht, the harvest of the dead, and the snake guards the underworld.

5. A variant of the snake-ruler of the underworld - Lizard (less often Fish). The lizard is often found in folk songs; sometimes, having lost the ancient meanings of symbolism, it is called Yasha.
In religions, the symbol of the Snake

The staff of the legendary physician Asclepius is wrapped around a snake. The prototype of the famous biblical serpent tempter should be sought in ancient Sumerian myths. One of them tells how once the hero Gilgamesh returned from the divine palaces with the plant of life. One of the gods, not wanting people to gain immortality, turned into a snake and snatched this plant from Gilgamesh as he swam across the river.

In Buddhism, the image of a snake in the Wheel of Samsara personifies anger and symbolizes cosmic power in its negative manifestations. At the same time, the multi-headed cobra protected Buddha Shakyamuni during his meditation. Cobra in India is often associated with the Buddha himself, who could transform into the Naga snake to heal people.

The snake was also a symbol of eternal youth: the annual change of skin symbolized rejuvenation. This idea found an interesting embodiment in the religion of the Egyptians. The change of day and night was associated with the fact that at midnight the sun god Ra leaves the solar boat with his retinue and enters the body of a huge serpent, from which everyone emerges as “children” in the morning, gets back into the boat and continues their journey across the sky.

Yoga likens the spiritual energy of a person to a snake - kundalini (means “coiled in a ring”, “coiled in the shape of a snake”).

During the Christian period, snakes were honored on St. George's Day (Yuri - George) on April 23.
Snake symbol - description of the symbol

The supremely Snake is a complex and universal symbol. The snake symbolized death and immortality, good and evil. They were personified by her forked tongue, the poisonousness of her bites, along with the healing effect of the poison, and the mysterious ability to hypnotize small animals and birds. This apparent contradiction, the combination in one image of two different, often opposing principles, is characteristic of symbols that have come to us from ancient times. A snake can be either male or female, and can also reproduce itself. As a creature that kills, it means death and destruction; as a creature that periodically changes its skin - life and resurrection.

A coiled snake is identified with the cycle of phenomena. This is both the solar principle and the lunar principle, life and death, light and darkness, good and evil, wisdom and blind passion, healing and poison, preserver and destroyer, spiritual and physical rebirth.

A phallic symbol, the fertilizing male force, "the husband of all women", the presence of a snake is almost always associated with pregnancy. The snake accompanies all female deities, including the Great Mother, and is often depicted in their hands or coiled around them. In this case, the snake takes on feminine qualities such as mystery, enigma and intuitiveness, and symbolizes unpredictability, as it unexpectedly appears and disappears unexpectedly.

The snake was considered bisexual and was the emblem of all self-generating deities, also symbolizing the power of the fertility of the earth. It is a solar, chthonic, sexual, funereal symbol and represents the manifestation of power on any level, the source of all potential in both the material and spiritual realms, closely associated with the concept of both life and death.

Because the snake lives underground, it is in contact with the underworld and has access to the powers, omniscience and magic of the dead. The chthonic snake is a manifestation of the aggressive power of the gods of the underworld and darkness. She is widely considered the source of initiation and rejuvenation and the “mistress of the subsoil.” In its chthonic form, the snake is hostile to the Sun and all solar and spiritual forces, symbolizing the dark forces in man. In this case, the positive and negative principles are in conflict, as in the case of Zeus and Typhon, Apollo and Python, Osiris and Set, the eagle and the snake, etc.

It also symbolizes the original instinctive nature, the surge of vitality, uncontrolled and undifferentiated, potential energy, the inspiring spirit. It is a mediator between Heaven and Earth, between the earth and the underworld.

The snake is associated with sky, earth, water and especially with the Cosmic Tree.

It is also a cloud dragon of darkness and a treasure guardian. The snake can symbolically represent the rays of the sun, the path of the Sun in the sky, lightning and the power of water, being an attribute of all river deities.

The snake is knowledge, strength, deceit, sophistication, cunning, darkness, evil and corruption, as well as the Tempter.
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Snakes, or Serpentes in Latin, are one of the suborders of the class of reptiles, with an elongated, scaled body without limbs. In total, there are about 3 thousand species of snakes on the planet, which in turn are united into 23 families, such as snakes, vipers, rattlesnakes and others.

Snakes live everywhere except Antarctica, and most of them are in Asia, Africa and Latin America. There are snakes that are absolutely harmless, but also dangerous to humans. Snakes live in areas with a hot tropical climate, in forests and steppes, as well as in the foothills and mountainous areas.

Some types of snakes live in water, some live in trees and in the ground. They are all predators and eat small mammals, frogs, fish, insects. The prey is usually either swallowed whole alive, or before this it is strangled or poisoned.

The coloring of snakes is very diverse; they can be of various colors, and the surface of their skin is decorated with various geometric shapes. The length of snakes varies from 8 cm to 12 m.

The snake has an articulated spine, to which up to 145 pairs of ribs can be hinged. The tips of the pairs of ribs are connected by muscles to the scales on the snake's belly. It is these scales that help snakes move, because with the edges of the plates, snakes push off from uneven surfaces of the earth and move forward.

Snakes have sharp and thin teeth, and poisonous snakes In addition to them, there are also poisonous teeth curved back on the upper jaw bones. Inside such teeth there is a channel through which the poison, when bitten, enters the wound. A special role is played in snakes by their thin and sensitive tongue, which is a receptor associated with the Jacobson's organ located in the palate, where information received by the tongue is processed. Hearing and vision in snakes are poorly developed, and during the molting period snakes practically do not see, because not only from the body, but also from their eyes, the stratum corneum of skin comes off. By the way, snakes’ eyes are always open; they are protected only by fused eyelids, which resemble transparent “glasses.”

The largest King Cobra reaches a length of 5 meters and is found in South-East Asia. It feeds on other snakes and lizards. Her bite is extremely dangerous, she always attacks without hesitation. The venom of an ordinary cobra begins to act a couple of minutes after the bite. The tiger cobra that lives in Australia is no less dangerous.

Blind snakes live in the soil in tropical and subtropical climates, and are often only 10 cm long. Such blind snakes are found in Transcaucasia. The largest snakes are boas and pythons. These reptiles have rudiments of lower limbs near the root of the tail, which proves that in ancient times they moved on their paws, but lost them in the process of evolution. The largest snake in the world is the anaconda, reaching a length of 10 meters. The reticulated python, which is found in Southeast and South Asia, is also 8 meters long.

Snake - as a symbol of wisdom and rebirth

Since ancient times, the snake has been a symbol of wisdom and immortality, fertility and vitality, and, at the same time, a symbol of evil and duplicity. It was the snake that was the sacred animal of the ancient goddess of wisdom Athena, daughter of Zeus. IN Ancient Egypt the snake was a symbol of the Sun and an attribute of the god Osiris, and the goddess Isis was depicted as half woman, half snake.

In China, Tshi-Seu, a villain who became proud before the Almighty, was giant snake. In Scandinavian mythology, the son of the god of fire, Loki was the personification of evil, and was represented in the form of a serpent who sought to wrap the world in rings and poison all living things with poison. And in ancient Russian myths, valiant heroes fought with the serpent-gorynych, cutting off his heads.

At the same time, the snake is a dual symbol: on the one hand, a snake that kills its victim personifies death, on the other hand, a snake is an animal that periodically changes its skin, symbolizing life and resurrection. In connection with this property, the snake is a symbol of medicine, because she is believed to have a secret eternal life, and knows the healing properties of plants. It is the snake coiled around the staff that is the symbol of the Greek Asclepius, the god of healing who could resurrect the dead. And the snake wrapped around a bowl of medicine is a symbol of modern medicine.