Snakes and Wisdom

[aranuk]

I find it odd when I keep hearing the correlation of snakes with wisdom. I know it is as ancient concept for thousands of years even before the biblical account of Eden with Adam and Eve. Also it eats mice. Another one is the owl. Ok, it can swivel its head almost 360 degrees without moving its body. It also eats mice. Ok, that's at least a good thing as I don't like mice in my house at all. Symbolism? Phallic is fertility not wise. They have no legs and are sly and slithery and poisonous. Tell me what is wise about a snake.

Stan

[Robin]

Hi Stan,

I think that the association of wisdom with snakes and owls is more metaphorical than literal.

Snakes are thought more as being "clever" than wise. Because of their silent approach to catching prey, they are praised for their ability of cleverness. Many organizations and cults use the serpent as their symbol because they also operate by being stealthy. They operate "from the shadows" so to speak, keep secrets hidden, and ensnare society just like a snake would sneak up on a mouse.

Owls are thought of as being wise because, yes, they can swivel their heads nearly 360 degrees and they can see at night. Metaphorically, organizations and cults use the owl as their symbol because they operate in the shadows just as well. The Bohemian Grove members, for instance, have infiltrated high levels of society under a clever disguise. In a sense, like an owl, they keep an eye on society from all directions (360 degrees) and even when we are asleep (owl night vision).

[Ellisa]

The fact that snakes are almost universally hated, hunted and killed on sight and yet still live in happy contentment in their native habitats when left alone, seems to speak of some inherent wisdom. They themselves hunt for food, but our invasion of their environment means that we are sometimes hurt or bitten when they defend themselves. Most snakes will in fact try to escape from us, as they are frightened, and they will wisely (ah! that word again) slither away to find a safer spot.

And when did having legs become a sign of wisdom?

[Aryslan]

Intertwined serpents was a symbol of the Sumerian god Enki, that's probably where it was first associated with wisdom.

[Freed Fox]

Rod of Asclepius:



From wikipedia:

"The significance of the serpent has been interpreted in many ways; sometimes the shedding of skin and renewal is emphasized as symbolizing rejuvenation, while other assessments center on the serpent as a symbol that unites and expresses the dual nature of the work of the physician, who deals with life and death, sickness and health."
(This is because snake venom was used in Ancient Greece to treat certain conditions.)

Caduceus:



DNA:

[Johnny]

Most people says that prostitution is the oldest occupation in the world. In my opinion, if we shall follow the bible, then the oldest occupation is what to day is called marketing. Their 'job' is to plant an idea in peoples head, and was it not exactly that what the serpent in the paradise did. Wily yes, if we absolutely has to put a label on it, but not wise, I would say

Johnny

[Freed Fox]

More from wikipedia;

"In some cultures snakes were fertility symbols, for example the Hopi people of North America performed an annual snake dance to celebrate the union of Snake Youth (a Sky spirit) and Snake Girl (an Underworld spirit) and to renew fertility of Nature. During the dance, live snakes were handled and at the end of the dance the snakes were released into the fields to guarantee good crops. "The snake dance is a prayer to the spirits of the clouds, the thunder and the lightning, that the rain may fall on the growing crops.." In other cultures snakes symbolized the umbilical cord, joining all humans to Mother Earth. The Great Goddess often had snakes as her familiars - sometimes twining around her sacred staff, as in ancient Crete - and they were worshiped as guardians of her mysteries of birth and regeneration."

Ourobouros:



"The serpent, when forming a ring with its tail in its mouth, is a clear and widespread symbol of the "All-in-All", the totality of existence, infinity and the cyclic nature of the cosmos. The most well known version of this is the Aegypto-Greek Ourobouros. It is believed to have been inspired by the Milky Way, as some ancient texts refer to a serpent of light residing in the heavens."

Shesha:



"In Hindu mythology Lord Vishnu is said to sleep while floating on the cosmic waters on the serpent Shesha. In the Puranas Shesha holds all the planets of the universe on his hoods and constantly sings the glories of Vishnu from all his mouths."


You have to realize that you have been programmed to hate/fear snakes by the Judeo-Christian establishment. There is nothing wrong with them. They are creatures just as beautiful as any other.

Just think; Christians fear them and Hindus respect them. Which of those are (typically) more enlightened? More *truly* spiritual?
Examine your beliefs.

[Robin]

Posted by Freed Fox (here)
I find criticism of snakes (fear or repulsion) pretty superficial and short-sighted.

DNA:

Keep in mind that we are not supposed to have two-stranded DNA. From what I have personally gathered, humanity has been enslaved at some level by our genetics being manipulated so most of our DNA cannot get expressed (think: Anunnaki, Reptilians, etc.).

Noncoding DNA (or Junk DNA) makes up 98% of the human genome. Have you ever heard the saying "humans only use 10% of their brain?" This is because of this noncoding DNA, which is very abnormal in the kingdom animalia. Scientists are puzzled by this. Bacteria normally only have about 2% noncoding DNA.

To me, this is extremely significant. One cannot put the whole picture together without analyzing archaeological evidence of human origins. The Anunnaki story (Sitchin and others) seems to make a whole lot of sense as to why humans have so much noncoding DNA. If we do not have all of our DNA activated, then maybe we really could be slaves to a higher ET race.

Really, we should have more expressed DNA. Many claim that humans should have 12-stranded DNA (including Simon Parkes), and I think that there is much truth to this. So if the 2-stranded DNA strand resembles a serpent, then maybe there is more reason for this than we have given thought to.

If an organism is part of a higher vibration, possibly leading to a crystalline body, then it would make sense that this organic organism would have DNA that looks far different than the 2-stranded version.

[Freed Fox]

Sorry if my last post came off as harsh. I just get a bit miffed when there is this inexplicable intolerance toward other living beings, whether because they are simply very different from us, or because of aforementioned programming of which one is apparently unaware.

Posted by SamwiseTheBrave (here)

Have you ever heard the saying "humans only use 10% of their brain?"

That is a well propagated myth, but a myth nonetheless.

http://www.positscience.com/brain-re...rain-mythology

The truth is that we use virtually all of our brain every day.

Let's say, for example, that as you are reading this article, you are eating a sandwich. As you are reading, the frontal lobes in your cerebral cortex are engaged in thinking and reasoning. You are enjoying your delicious sandwich thanks to your parietal lobes, which are responsible for taste, texture and smell of food. The occipital lobes help to process how you see the words on this page, and the temporal lobes help you process what you hear—like the crunch of your sandwich and the rustle of the page.

Meanwhile, you just blinked because of your motor area, and it is because of your cerebellum that you are able to hold the sandwich in your hand, as well as anything else you're doing right now that calls for balance and coordination—like sitting.

Without having to think about it, you are breathing, digesting your sandwich and circulating blood thanks to your brainstem. Your metabolism and hormonal functions like the ones that control the water and sugar levels in your body are currently being controlled by your pituitary gland. And if you are sitting outside on a park bench on a cold wintry day, your hypothalamus is responsible for that fact that you are shivering.

You'll remember what you're reading due to your hippocampus, whose job it is to transfer short-term to long-term memory. It also enables you to remember that the point of this elaborate example is that you use much more than 10% of your brain.

You might argue that we use 10% of total brain potential, rather than 10% of literal mass/structure, but that would be purely conjecture. In fact, there is evidence showing that much of our intelligence comes from a sudden increase in human brain size approximately 200,000 years ago.

Non-coding DNA is fascinating, but there is no proof one way or the other regarding what it means. Our idea that it is dormant may simply come from scientific misunderstanding and/or inadequacy. DNA may very well be actively serving many other functions besides coding for proteins, etc.

If an organism is part of a higher vibration, possibly leading to a crystalline body, then it would make sense that this organic organism would have DNA that looks far different than the 2-stranded version.

Or, it could end up looking even more like a snake. Point is, we can't really know.

The Anunnaki story (Sitchin and others) [...] Many claim that humans should have 12-stranded DNA (including Simon Parkes)...

Simon has also stated recently that Sitchin was incorrect about the Annunaki engineering us. I'm not making any claims one way or the other in that regard, however, as I find it to be entirely speculative. Yes, there are dots which seem to connect when investigating ancient texts and myths, but they could very well be merely that; myths. Imagine we get wiped out, and many years later someone else uncovers a few select pieces of our own science fiction literature. Most of those books don't state outright that the contents are of a fictional nature. They would be able to make many conclusions about us from those works, and most would likely be false.

I mean no offense, Sam. I'm actually open to some of these ideas, but I like to advocate greater discernment with some of these things which I feel are being too easily/widely accepted when they are far less than proven facts.

[Tesseract]

Where I lived there is a species of snake that inhabits every variety of terrain - from the sand dunes to the highlands. But, they really prefer swampy areas, river banks, marshes and so on. I have had quite a number of encounters with them, since I spent time fishing, prospecting or just exploring in areas where this snake prefers to live. Over time, I began to notice something. I almost never saw these snakes in areas that were obviously flood prone, even though a lot of flood prone areas otherwise seemed to be the kind of habitat that they ought to like. It is as if they somehow know that if they live in that area and there is a flood then they will not have time to escape. Now, maybe there is a physical discouragement rather than any real reasoning, like a possibly lower abundance of frogs in flood prone areas, but it certainly appears as if the snakes are wise here. In fact, in this sense, they are wiser than more than a few humans who do decide to take up residence in flood prone areas.

Peekaboo:

[Robin]

Posted by Freed Fox (here)
I mean no offense, Sam. I'm actually open to some of these ideas, but I like to advocate greater discernment with some of these things which I feel are being too easily/widely accepted when they are far less than proven facts.

Hey no problem. But I think you misunderstood me a bit.

I understand that the "we use 10% of our brain" is a myth. I really don't want you to think that I'm just a numbskull repeating information. I am a biologist and have researched these areas, but I do not claim to know everything. I just like to make it known that such things exist.

The "we use 10% of our brain" myth is interpreted literally, when it should not be. Yes, your example of eating a sandwich brings this to light, but I am not wholly convinced that we are still using our full cranial capacity every second of our existence. It would make sense that an advanced ET race would have a wider openness to the cocktail of existence at all times.

You might argue that we use 10% of total brain potential, rather than 10% of literal mass/structure, but that would be purely conjecture. In fact, there is evidence showing that much of our intelligence comes from a sudden increase in human brain size approximately 200,000 years ago.

Anunnaki intervention.

I also did not mean to say that Sitchin was accurate about the Anunnaki, just that he is one of several studying the Anunnaki. It is a widely-studied subject.

I know what you mean about discernment, and that is why I specifically evaded in my comment any certainty on my part. I was just throwing out possibilities, and am glad that you are open to them.

We will not know the full story of our existence until we make some changes in our societal structure. But I just want to throw these ideas out there. I do not claim to have certainty with any of my thoughts.

[Freed Fox]

Thanks Sam, I appreciate your approach and good attitude. That's why what I'm going to say next is by no means a dig at you, nor meant to sound as wholly dismissive or perhaps negative as it may appear in print.

Posted by SamwiseTheBrave (here)

You might argue that we use 10% of total brain potential, rather than 10% of literal mass/structure, but that would be purely conjecture. In fact, there is evidence showing that much of our intelligence comes from a sudden increase in human brain size approximately 200,000 years ago.

Anunnaki intervention.

This seems somewhat dissonant, and what tends to bug me about "Anunnaki researchers". I understand there's no universal consensus on it, and I've heard a few different perspectives, but let's (try to) look at this objectively:

There was apparently this mysterious, massive leap in human cognitive ability 200,000 years ago. Fast forward to today, and we are the dominant species on the planet. At what point does this suggest that there was a malevolent intervention?

Humans are only slaves to one another. The major problems facing humanity today are caused by humans. Really, the most I can concede to that would be the supposition of some form of thought-virus (wetiko) or extra-dimensional (non-physical) influence which MAY be causing some to be more violent, greedy, domineering, and/or apathetic. During the course of our written history, quality of life has become considerably better over time. Yes, there have been a great many negative 'advancements', such as in the realms of warfare, industrialization (pollution), etc. However, by and large, people suffer much less than they did 2,000 years ago.

This is really going off-topic, so I'll stop. My apologies if I've officially derailed the thread beyond repair... Maybe we should start a separate thread for this Sam?

[Ellisa]

I liked your discussion of the Hopi Indians and the place of snakes in their legends Freed Fox. The aborigines of Australia have a Creation myth which tells of the Rainbow Serpent which filled the barren land with life and formed the shape of the land and the position of the rivers. Snakes seem to have an important place in various ancient cultures.

I have always found it interesting that the ancient caduceus looks so much like the model of DNA! Start that separate thread Sam and FF!

[Milneman]

Legend I heard here about snakes goes like this...not sure which tribe it's associated with.

A woman at the top of a mountain finds a snake. The snake says, "Please, will you take me down the mountain? I'm so tired I can't do it myself."
The woman says, "No, because if I pick you up, you will bite me and I will die."
The snake says, "No, I promise I won't bite you. Please take me down the mountain." So the woman picks up the snake, and takes it down the long path to the bottom of the mountain. Before she can put the snake down, the snake bites her.
"Why did you bite me!?" exclaims the woman.
"You knew what I was when you picked me up. I can't help it if I bite you. It's my nature."

Owls on the other hand have a bit of a bad rap. If you see an owl, especially with certain Cree people around here, it means someone's going to die. Or something will end, a relationship, etc. I've seen three owls that stared me in the face, the last one actually stood on an old road I was driving on and waiting for me to look it in the eyes before it flew off. Every time, something ended within 1 - 4 hours after. Messengers of endings. *shrugs*

[Dorjezigzag]

Hi Arunuk

I don't know if you have seen it yet but I talk a lot about the metaphor of the serpent in a video I made of a painting that has serpents within it.

It takes a little bit of time before it talks about the serpents but stay with it as there is a lot of info in there, for instance a class of angels known as the seraphim are actually described as fiery serpents.

https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...clasm-My-Video

Here's the video, but I would recommend going to the thread as well.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q0L10dhulng

[Tony]

Knowledge and power may be twisted into many forms.

Nagas are the underworld guardians of treasures and concealed teachings and they can manifest in serpent,
half-serpent, or human form. The great second century Indian Buddhist master and philosopher, Nagarjuna,
was perhaps the first person to receive a 'hidden treasure text' or terma (Tib. gter-ma) from the Nagas,
in the form of the Prajna-paramita-sutra.



Tony

[Curt]

Snakes are part of human myth going back to the stone age.

The Eden myth borrows and transforms the snake from much older stories. It makes him the villain.

He never was in the previous stories.

The ancient mind saw the snake shed its skin to be born anew.

This was linked by analogy with the way the moon sheds its skin- regrows each month, only to repeat the cycle.

The moon brought the dew that refreshed and made the earth fertile.

These waters were linked with Woman, and her natural lunar menstrual cycles.

The Moon, the snake and Woman represented the same principle.

They represented the sacred power of the cycles of life--and were thought to be the embodiment of the knowledge of generation and regeneration.

They were the keys to birth and life itself.

They represented the wisdom of the creative powers of life itself. Doesn't get much wiser than that.

In those days god was a woman. The snake was venerated, and the moon didn't represent lunacy, but wisdom.

Fast forward a few thousand years and god becomes a man. Everything changes.

God is put outside of, and beyond, nature. Natures is made evil, fallen.

The Judeo-Christian god is not part of nature. He is above it. He is supernatural.

The emphasis becomes overcoming and conquering nature. The world is seen as something which needs controlling.

Woman loses her place, and with her the goddess, the snake and the moon.

Even in the story of Eden, Woman and snake work together. The old partnership.

Except here they're cast as the bad guys.

In the new tradition where nature is evil, both the snake and Woman, as representatives of the wisdom of nature, are seen as evil, too.

But here's another reading of the snake and the apple: because of the snake, mankind is born into the world.

He is expunged from the safe womb of the garden where his every need was met, and is given full life: and access to all the good and evil that comes with it.

In a theology where nature isn't evil, there is no original sin, and the snake is performing a vital service to mankind- without which we would never fully have been born.

There is a lot of talk on Avalon recently of shadow work, and synthesizing aspects of the self into a healthy whole.

The snake may be a key symbol in helping to achieve this.

[tonyp]

i ve met quite a few esoteric serpents in my time , normally in my bedroom...pretty little things with agenda.

[Dorjezigzag]

Posted by pie'n'eal (here)
Knowledge and power may be twisted into many forms.

Nagas are the underworld guardians of treasures and concealed teachings and they can manifest in serpent,
half-serpent, or human form. The great second century Indian Buddhist master and philosopher, Nagarjuna,
was perhaps the first person to receive a 'hidden treasure text' or terma (Tib. gter-ma) from the Nagas,
in the form of the Prajna-paramita-sutra.



Tony

That is only one aspect of the Naga, who have been spoken about within Hinduism long before the Buddha walked the earth.
To just define them in this restricted description would be 'twisting' the depth of meaning within the understanding of the Naga.

An epic calls them "persecutors of all creatures", and tells us "the snakes were of virulent poison, great prowess and excess of strength, and ever bent on biting other creatures" (Book I: Adi Parva, Section 20). At some points within the story, nagas are important players in many of the events narrated in the epic, frequently no more evil nor deceitful than the other protagonists, and sometimes on the side of good.

It is worth checking out the Wikipedia post on Nagas that has some associated stories
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%81ga

[tonyp]

Rhubarb is a nice root vegetable with or without custard, personal preference is with custard...hey get real Im too intelligent and smart for my higher self...how do you create a thread...one needs to enlighten so many humans who think their creator is divine