Hot Serpent Summer
Snakes get a bad reputation.
In the Bible, the devil disguises himself as a snake to tempt Eve to take an apple from the Tree of Knowledge- which to me has always seemed like a mixed message, apples are healthy, and generally knowledge is good.
In literature a snake can sometimes symbolize deceit, or destruction; because a snake can shed its skin, they also represent a period of growth, wisdom, and new life.
In the natural world they play a huge role in the food chain to keep the ecosystems running smoothly. As predators, snakes help to keep populations of disease carrying animals, like rats and mice, at manageable levels. As spooky as they may seem, it’s kind of nice to have an environmentally friendly, and free, form of pest control.
Still, snakes are widely ranked among the least popular of animals.
A lot of research has been done to find out why humans seem to be naturally afraid of snakes. Snakes are not aggressive creatures when in the presence of a human, they will only attack if provoked, and most snakes are not poisonous. Yet snakes still activate our fight or flight response- research has found that even new born babies have a strong tendency to become afraid of pictures of snakes. Theory suggests it’s one of the few fears that is passed down evolutionarily, and honestly, the power snakes have to live rent free in our heads literally for generations.
However in Chinese culture, snakes are one of the most important animals. Their mother goddess who is said to have created humanity has the body of a snake, and the head of a human. In the Chinese zodiac, the year of the snake is the 6th year in a 12 year cycle. The traits associated with that year are loyalty, thoughtfulness, rationality and calm. The next year of the snake will be 2025, which is too long for me to wait to finally be able to feel even a little bit rational or calm, so truly it could not come fast enough.
I do believe though that we can cultivate the chill snake vibes we so desperately need. Wearing a positive representation, such as our Viper Ring, can serve as a constant reminder of the power, wisdom, and feelings of renewal associated with our freaky little friends. Let us channel Britney Spears’ VMA performance of Slave 4 U and, together, have a hot serpent summer.
Image Source: Paul Fuentes Designs