The Jedi Training Archive
Mrs. Darth Vader's Lessons- Animal Totems- 16- Snake
Written by Mrs. Darth Vader

Keynote: Rebirth, resurrection, intuition and wisdom.

Cycle of Power: Spring, Summer. If snake is nocturnal like the Rattler, then night would be added to the cycle of power. If snake is a daytime snake like black racer, then day would be added to the cycle of power.

The snake like dragon has a contradictory symbolism and is complicated. It is a healer and bringer of life and resurrection. The snake can be a death symbol and is connotated with the Devil or Satan. Here you will see where snake and dragon are similar. Snake symbolizes the higher spiritual things and the Force itself, or the lower and more material.

The American Indians saw snake as a healer. If one could transmutate the poisons of snake and survive, this would enable that person to transmutate all poisons, psychic as well as physical. This method activated the energies of kill or cure leading to dramatic healings. This is what Nietchi meant by " That which does not kill me will make me strong". This method of healing would be natures closest thing to the famed miracles due to the intenceody and speed of this method. This is doing it the hard way and is definatly Sith.

In Meso-American societies the snake is feathered and flying. This was their most important God by the name of Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl was their Jesus. Like Jesus he was a dying God that would return and have a second coming. Quetzalcoatl is their God who has the birth, death and resurrection symbolism attached to him. This God came in the form of a snake or serpent. So here snake is seen in a positive light. To the Toltecs this God is the Force itself. All things are under his command and he made them all. So here snake is at the top of the Keter.

The Greeks considered snake a symbol of Alchemy and healing. Hermes staff was two entwined snakes. Today this symbol is used for doctors and modern medicine.

In India the snake was a water symbol and symbol of the under world. Three demigods in India were depicted as part deity and part cobra. Vishnu is depicted sleeping on Ananta, the serpent of eternity. My favorite, Shiva wears snakes for bracelets and necklaces, to symbolize sexuality. When Shiva shows up in bracelets and necklaces of snakes, he was supposed to attend a royal stuff-shirt wedding, This rebellion against society and its way of doing things is a typical Shiva move. I had the Joy of reading about this cool rebellion in a book called " Shiva, an Introduction" by Devdutt Pattanaik. Shiva and the Kundalini go hand and hand. The Kundalini is what gives us strength, health and vitality. This serpent sleeps coiled at the base of the spine, but when awakened the energy flows up the spine into the head, awakening our ability to acquire knowledge. This is where creativity comes from. Here snake is the creator/ sustainer aspect of Shiva.

One of the twelve zodiac signs is the snake in China. To the Chinese, snake people are known to have attributes of compassion, clairvoyance and charm in its positive view. In the negative is superstition, possessiveness and revenge oriented. From the Sith point of view revenge oriented is not negative because to the Sith revenge is getting justice. Someone wronged you, so you settle the score and get revenge. Now we are even. To the Sith the revenge snake or dragon is a good thing and is welcomed. Here snake is seen depending on your point of view. The snake person can love you deeply but if spurned he will strike hard and fast, never missing his mark. This trait is true of all snakes, poisonous and non-poisonous. All snakes never miss the thing they are aiming at biting. This ready, aim, fire happens in seconds so the retaliation usually happens so fast the target has not even time to blink. This is a very efficient Darth Vader. Snake raises itself up then strikes. Some snakes give warnings like the cobra and rattle snake.

To the Egyptians the snake has very important symbolism. The snake here represents inner sight and control of the universe. The Egyptians had a head band in the shape of a snake. usually a cobra that stuck out at the brow area of the head and made of gold. Those who wore this symbol were considered very adept and respected in Egypt. You had to work hard to climb the ladder of the Egyptian mysteries. When Moses'es snakes swallowed the Egyptian magician snakes Moses was showing in a real way to the Egyptians that he and his God controlled the universe, hence the great anger in Ramsees. When the Hebrews in the book of Exodus were being bitten by poisonous snakes, Moses raised a Brazen Serpent that the people just had to look at to be healed. This meant to look upon the Brazen Serpant that the poisons were transmutated and the victim was healed.

Snakes shed their skins. This shedding of the skin has made snake to symbolize death and rebirth. When the snake prepares to shed its skin the eyes cloud over giving the snake a trance like appearance. This clouding over to Shamans symbolizes the snakes ability to move between realms of the living and the dead of crossing over from life to death and back to life again with the new skin. In Star Wars here Anakin has the role of snake because Anakin gets burned alive on Mustafar and his old skin is removed symbolically by the medi-droids to get his new skin (the Vader suit ) where he lives again and with more power. When the snake gets rid of the old skin and the old passes away to get the new skin, the new skin represents seeing the world from a new perspective. Here again when Anakin gets the helmet he sees the world differently than before the helmet. Lucas even gives the audience a taste of what Vader sees by the camera angle that gives you the feeling that you are receiving the helmet with Vader.

The snake is related to the serpent and the dragon, as guardian. They are in myth guarding treasures, the springs of life or sacred places. Here you can see where snake and dragon are interlinked. Of course people with snake totem should read dragon. People with dragon should read snake. Snakes are fast and very flexible. They can move the way they do because their skin is very dry. Our skin is slimy compared to a snake.

If snake shows up as a totem expect a death and a rebirth to occur in an area of your life or a total "Death" and rebirth. This death can be subtle and slow or fast and cataclysmic like an earth quake. Here it depends on the kind of snake you get. When snake comes and what is going on in your life when snake arrives. If snake is that of Dragon, Basilisk or Cobra expect this death to be a rough ride like Anakin on Mustafar and awakening in the suit. If snake is a gentler snake like the garter snake it could be a quiet death like one in a comma who suddenly awakens. Any time snake shows up in your life, expect a death in some area of life followed by a rebirth.

If you meet a snake, stand still and take a good look at your snake totem. Identifying the type of snake will help you to know what specific lessons it is telling you and what abilities you will acquire. For example you dream or see a rattle snake. Rattle snakes come out at night because heat is dangerous to it. This snake could be telling you to be more nocturnal. This would be beneficial to you. The rattle snake has a small sense organ in the pit of the head. This sense organ senses the heat out put by other creatures, natures heat seeking capabilities. This is how rattle snake finds its prey. This means for the person with rattle snake totem that you will soon be able to see auras. You will at least be able to sense auras of other people. Here you need to trust what you feel and sense around others even if at first this seems strange.

Snakes are carnivorous and swallow their prey whole. Snakes can do this because their jaws unhinge. Symbolically this means you will be able to take in knowledge whole. This can be formal learning or informal. Snake people do not have to fear brain overload due to this swallowing your food whole.

Snakes have a mesmerizing stare due to the fact that they have no eyelids. Because of this stare, the snake is attributed with the ability to look into the hearts and souls of people. Here snake has something in common with owl. and Bob cat. Here snake is attributed with the highest of spiritual abilities, Discernment. Why is discernment the highest of abilities is because Only the Holy Spirit can give you this ability. It is not earned but given.

Another way the snake locates its prey or an enemy to flee from, is its sense of smell. A snake smells by flicking its tong in and out. In the roof of the snake's mouth is an organ called Jacobson's organ. This organ enables the snake to taste the air around them and sense prey or danger. People with this totem should pay attention to that inner voice that says something does not smell right. Sense of smell is for higher discrimination. Aroma therapy might be beneficial for those with snake totem.

A snake never stops growing from birth until death. Those with this totem will also keep growing in knowledge until death. The serpent is found on Mithric monuments. These monuments are from the Persian tradition who worshipped Mithras as there God. Mithras was a tough Sith God. He was hooded in a black robe. Here snake is definatly Palpatine. The modern haunted house originated from the Mithric tradition. Back then it was more scary and was a form of initiation.

Shiva the destroyer also has snake symbolism associated with him. Here snake is symbolizing the power of desolation and death through natural disasters. " In the last Indian Avatara, as in the Eddas a serpent vomiting flames is expected to destroy the world". In book called " Morals and Dogma" by Albert Pike. The Eddas is the Norse equivalent of the Bible. Here in both the Indian and the Norse religion the end of the world is destroyed by fire. The Christian religion also predicts the end of the world by fire. So again here is three different religions that agree on the end of the world. " And the sun did scorch man " for his bad stewardship of the earth. Here the Bible is mentioning Global Warming.

Remember snake totem is smaller and lesser than the dragon. The Basilisk form of snake is also a snake as well as related to dragon since it is cobra like. Some depictions of Basilisk have it as a multi-headed cobra merging into a single snake body. So remember if you get a snake or lizard totem a look at dragon is useful and if you get dragon totem a look at snake or lizard will benefit you. Sometimes your snake totem will be a substitute for dragon. You will know shortly after your snake encounter if it is there in lue of dragon. Dragons are fictitious animals and a composite so people blow them off as not real so nature finds another way to send you dragon through the snake or lizard. If it is snake slanted it leans Shiva ( Anakin/ Vader ) ward and Kundalini ward. If lizard slanted it leans plotting and Palpatine ward as Buddhist detachment ward.

As with all totems only you, the one seeing the totem, can know what it is saying to you. Here your walk with the Force will help you understand what the totem is saying to you. Your own intuition will also guide you. Lastly remember not to get so wrapped up with dragon and forget the obvious snake could be just that snake.

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