Shedding

 Let me begin by saying I know how the general population (and more than a few of my friends) feels about snakes.  While I personally have a general healthy respect for them and prefer to keep my distance, I also understand their value in the chain of life.  Most of us who live or grew up near natural habitats were taught at some point how to tell the difference between deadly and non poisonous snakes. We have all learned some form of rhyme associated with such distinctions, although I am quite certain that in a face off with a snake I would be at a total loss to recall such a thing and would likely away-quickly! 

Here is one of those rhymes: “Red and black, friend to Jack, Red and yellow kill a fellow.”

Of course some of the most deadly snakes have none of these colors.  I prefer to adhere to the more common assumption that a friendly,  non poisonous snake will have a more rounded shape to its head with its eyes on either side, while a diamond or pointed snout with eyes on top of the head indicate a venomous variety.  There are certainly some exceptions,  but generally speaking this is usually the case.  

Anywhere I have ever lived there was the possibility of a snake encounter, whether garter-or garden-snakes to deadly cotton mouth in Louisiana, rattlesnakes in Texas, and a variety of snakes in Florida.  Most commonly found in Florida is the Southern Black Racer, a very pretty black snake with a white underbelly.  This is a harmless snake, which is important to know because they are everywhere.  I understand the trepidation one can feel when seeing or happening upon any snake unexpectedly; but it is important to understand their value in the chain of living things.  Snakes cull out the rodent population, and if you are finding them hanging around your home you might be in need of extermination services if you want the snake to find other hunting grounds.  They also eat lizards who eat mosquitoes-the dastardly biting bloodsuckers which I hate worst of all.  Their bites are annoying, cause allergic reactions in many people and are carriers of some pretty nasty diseases. As far as I am concerned the tiny vampires are only good for feeding my lizard friends and that is why I allow my porch to be a small Jurassic Park.  If you feed birds a lot you might want to also watch out for snake visitors.  They do love to snatch eggs.

We need to talk about the phobia so many have of the lowly and oft maligned snake.  I feel much of the aversion to snakes is as psychological as it is intellectual, due to the evil disposition assigned to it in religious history as the reason for the fall of Adam and Eve from God’s grace.  Actually, that was a talking serpent which was more likely a metaphor than an actual snake, but I am not here to argue theological histories.

In Greek Mythology, the God of Medicine was Aesclepius and was represented by two snakes climbing up a rod,  a symbol long used in the design of the Caduceus which is printed on medical degrees and associated with healing.  

No, this is not a Black Racer.  This is a Boa Constrictor, one of the most common snakes found in jungle areas. This particular snake lived in Costa Rica, a country which is largely protective of its wildlife and is actively conservation minded.  One day while on a walk back up the hill from the beach, we spotted this beauty and stopped traffic so that it could safely cross the street.  These snakes don’t pose a threat to the local population and no one seems overly concerned with their presence. One of the most admirable things about Costa Rica for me is the balance between humans and nature there.  

According to spiritual lore, the appearance of snake in one’s life can point to a time of healing; and since they are close to the earth, are connected to the life force that guides us all.  They represent primal energy and our unconscious drives. Snakes can appear during a time of life change and transitions, either physical, emotional or spiritual.  If you see a snake,  be sensitive to your own healing abilities for yourself and others, for they represent healing power and opportunity.  

If you are in a time of transition, the appearance of snake can be a sign of personal growth and moving into the unknown with the support needed to stay grounded.  

Why all this interest in snake symbology,  you may ask?  Well, aside from the fact that in our area we often see Black Racers here and there when hiking or in the neighborhood, it was just a few days ago that the hubs came in with his famous, “You’ll want your camera for this.” I never question this statement, only grab and go, for often the subject of interest is fleeting.  In this case it was very stationary and certainly not common. I have seen lizards and snakes molting, half in and half out of their old skins.  But this was unique.  After one of our palm trees had been trimmed, there was-wrapped around the trunk-the discarded skin of a snake, which means it had to have been there molting for bit of time, completely unnoticed by us.  We walk by that palm every time we go somewhere in his car!  

This was the head end, its exit point

This skin wound all around the large trunk, indicating a good sized snake.  You can see in the first photos where its exit point was at the head.  I think it is beautiful.  It definitely urged me to explore the meanings of snake and skin shedding,  as I do all natural energies which come into my life.  It is especially profound for me at this time because, not only is there change and transformation going on in my life that requires healing for family members; but this is also a time of immense change in our world at large.  Things have literally been turned upside down from what most of us know as normal and it is so frightening.  At times it feels as if the ground has dropped from under my feet and I am in a perpetual free fall with nothing to hold onto.  Yet, if we are wise, we can use our energy to transform during this time as a society, as a human race and as our living world.  

Shedding of snake skin can represent rejuvenation and new life.  While I am certainly facing this right now and it is scary at times, it is also exciting to pull out of a deep rut I have been in.  We often get so locked into what we consider ‘normal’ that we ignore possibility and the promise of a better life unless we are catapulted into it.  Once our old life is shed we can emerge stronger, healthier and larger than our former selves.  Native peoples believe snakes know the secrets of death that lead to rebirth and that the old must be shed before the new can come.  The ancients believed that change required a resurrection after crucifixion to be rid of a planned life for the new life that was waiting.  

I found a nice quote on this blog from Will Barnes’ Expansion of the Soul:

“Overcome that which has weakened your state of mind and conquer the thoughts and actions that you have let lead your life.”. 

I like this because it reminds us that our true limitations lie within our own psyche and that we so often hold ourselves hostage to the familiar which is causing sorrow for fear of breaking free into the unknown.  

I hope, as a human race, we can find a way to emerge from our current shedding of the old with a fresh and hopeful vision of the future for ourselves, our countries and our planet.  Otherwise we will die unchanged and suffocate in the old skin which we have outgrown.  

I will keep you posted on the changes I have coming and will continue to send healing thoughts to everyone during these most difficult of times.  I will leave you with a photo of another of our friendly neighborhood links in the chain of life.  I think the photo shows they know their places in the continuity that is Existence...