In Scotland, Highlanders had a tradition of pounding the ground with a stick until the serpent emerged. The snake's behavior gave them a good idea of how much frost was left in the season. Folklorist Alexander Carmichael points out in the Carmina Gadelica that there's actually a poem in honor of the serpent emerging from its burrow to predict spring-like weather on "the brown day of Bride."
The serpent will come from the hole on the brown day of Bride (Brighid) though there may be three feet of snow on the surface of the ground.
In some forms of American folk magic and hoodoo, the snake can be used as an instrument of harm. In Voodoo and Hoodoo, Jim Haskins relays the custom of using the serpent's blood to introduce snakes into the human body. According to this hoodoo traditions, one must "extract the blood from a snake by puncturing an artery; feed the liquid blood to the victim in food or drink, and snakes will grow inside him."
A South Carolina rootworker who asked to be identified only as Jasper says his father and grandfather, both rootworkers, kept snakes on hand to use in magic. He says,
"If you wanted someone to get sick and die, you used a snake that you tied a piece of their hair around. Then you kill the snake, and bury it in the person's yard, and the person gets sicker and sicker each day. Because of the hair, the person is tied to the snake."
Ohio is the home of the best-known serpent effigy mound in North America. Although no one is certain why the Serpent Mound was created, it's possible that it was in homage to the great serpent of legend. The Serpent Mound is about 1300 feet in length, and at the serpent's head, it appears to be swallowing an egg. The serpent's head aligns to the sunset on the day of the summer solstice. The coils and the tail may also point to sunrise on the days of the winter solstice and the equinoxes.
In the Ozarks, there is a story about a connection between snakes and babies, according to author Vance Randolph. In his book Ozark Magic and Folklore, he describes a tale in which a small child goes outside to play and takes along with him a piece of bread and his cup of milk. In the story, the mother hears the child chattering and assumes he's talking to himself, but when she goes outside finds him feeding his milk and bread to a poisonous snake, typically either a rattlesnake or a copperhead. The old timers of the area warn that killing the snake would be a mistake because somehow the child's life is magically connected to that of the snake, and that "if the reptile is killed the baby will pine away and die a few weeks later."
The serpent is instrumental in the Egyptian myth cycle. After Ra created all things, Isis, the goddess of magic, tricked him by creating a serpent which ambushed Ra on his daily journey across the heavens. The serpent bit Ra, who was powerless to undo the poison. Isis announced that she could heal Ra from the poison and destroy the serpent, but would only do so if Ra revealed his True Name as payment. By learning his True Name, Isis was able to gain power over Ra. For Cleopatra, a serpent was an instrument of death.
In Ireland, St. Patrick is famous because he drove the snakes out of the country, and was even credited with a miracle for this. What many people don't realize is that the serpent was actually a metaphor for the early Pagan faiths of Ireland. St. Patrick brought Christianity to the Emerald Isle, and did such a good job of it that he practically eliminated Paganism from the country.
When it comes to symbolism in general, the snake has a lot of different meanings. Watch a snake shed his skin, and you'll think of transformation. Because snakes are silent and move stealthily before attacking, some people associate them with cunning and treachery. Still others see them as representative of fertility, masculine power, or protection.
The Serpent Path is one of the oldest cults on Earth. It predates all the solar cults of antiquity that later evolved into religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam. A quick look at pagan and shamanistic cultures around the world reveals synchronistic examples of serpentine reverence. Anthropology reveals the Minoan snake goddess, nagas in Asian mythology, the Yezidis of the Middle East, Kukulkan of Mesoamerica and the Rainbow Serpent of Aboriginal Australia.
This is a mere scraping of the barrel. Examples of snake worship exist in the primordial depths of history around the world. These examples illustrate the importance of this earthbound reptile and its sacred role in the mythology and magical practices indigenous to early culture and civilizations.
It was precisely the Serpent Path which church authorities persecuted in religious text and later through sinister efforts at ethnic cleansing. Though repeated efforts to eradicate serpent worship proved ghastly and cruel, this tradition still breathes, forming the roots of modern witchcraft. In fact, it is precisely these solar cults that by labeling the serpent worshippers evil, can claim the invention of the term witchcraft.
Witchcraft can be seen as an antagonistic and pejorative term, opposed to the masculine solar cults which later developed a social system (patriarchy) to undermine all other spiritual paths. However, we embrace the term witchcraft, knowing full well that our spiritual roots resound a more ancient tradition, though a broken one.
The stories were changed to reflect solar values, but a scratch below the surface reveals the truth. As Abrahamic religion spread out of the Fertile Crescent and into Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, missionaries and mercenaries continued to encounter serpent worship in the animistic cultures they conquered. Thanks to global colonization, the final manifestation of the patriarchy, many indigenous cultures are dying out, permanently erased from the Earth.
The extinction of indigenous languages is a daily phenomenon, as elders die without progeny to step into new roles of tribal leadership. The lure of modern, technological culture is too alluring for tribal youth. They abandon their ancestry to chase the gleam of consumerism and modern decay. But who are we to judge? How many of us are even capable or willing to return to tribal lifestyle? We were conditioned to hate and fear snakes. We were taught of their evil nature. We lost our way. Snakes, however, are hard to kill. They are quick and possess the ability to strike with a venomous bite.
Snakes are sinuous and lithe. They wind through the ether of our dreams, leading us into the crumbling labyrinth of our primal past. The importance of snakes as entities of reverence will never leave us. Even in the midst of conditioning by patriarchal society, serpent mystique is only a footstep away.
A closer look at Biblical reference to snakes, reveals the ploy of Christian writers. In the book of Genesis, the serpent “tempts” Eve by offering fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The key word here is ‘knowledge.’ Wisdom is one of the gifts of the serpent. As an initiator into the serpent mysteries, it is through choice that we enter. We are given two choices: to eat or to refuse.
For an ecclesiastical writer, it was too easy to frame the serpent from Genesis as an adversary to Yahweh. Taint the ancient wisdom with the dualism of good and evil, and thus convince indigenous cultures they have been deceived. In the wake of the ensuing violence, rape and conquest, defeated tribes surrendered to the allegory of their beloved serpent crushed beneath the heel of the victors.
We know the vanquishers write the history books, and the Bible is the example par excellence of this sad truth. How much knowledge, both written and oratory was lost in the raging fires of purge?
But even in spite of the campaign of invasion and subjugation, the serpent appears throughout the Bible in the staff of Moses and the magic of Solomon. Even as the Roman Catholic Church was in its stage of formation, the Gnostic movement, specifically the Ophite sect, sought to harmonize serpent and solar elements in texts found in the Nag Hammadi library. These scriptures were obviously censored, as our only copies of these works were finally rediscovered in the last hundred years.
So what does this mean for modern witches? We must remember. Regardless of our culture, heritage or past, we must sing the songs and tell the stories that have been lost. We must tell our children. This is not merely buying a tarot deck or lighting a chime candle. It is deeper than that. We must restore our history and culture, not as items to be placed in a museum, but as living proof of our place in the world. We must consciously innovate the magic we’ve been given, with respect to unbroken indigenous lineages which do not need further appropriation.
We may learn much from the elder wisdom, but we must never corrupt it with ignorance or superiority. That would only show that we’ve learned nothing from history. At the same time, we must not make ourselves harmless or apologize for our beliefs. Patriarchal religion is adept at crushing opposition.
The persecution of witchcraft still resounds in their holy scriptures. Hate is not the message I’m promoting here, I am suggesting a stance of assertiveness. Not allowing the rhetoric to defeat you. Not conceding to scrutiny or attempting to appease the oppressor. Having informed answers for the curious and storytelling amongst our kin. In the words of Jim Morrison, “ride the snake, to the ancient lake.” That is homework enough for us all. In my next post, look for ways to reclaim snake energy in your own practice. Until next time!
Source:
https://www.learnreligions.com/serpent-magic-and-symbolism-2562474
https://www.ritualcravt.com/the-serpent-path/
photos by:
AC Lang
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