Snake
The snake can represent many different things, but usually the energy that expresses as our life processes. If we think of a person’s life from conception to death, we see a flowing moving event, similar in many ways to the speeded-up films of a seed growing into a plant, flowering and dying. The snake depicts the force, purpose or energy behind that movement. It is the force of life, the latent energy or potential within us – that leads us both to growth and death, along with the passionate emotions and urges that drive us so powerfully.
The snake depicts this force, purpose or energy behind that power of growth and unfolding. It is the force of life, the latent energy or potential within us. It leads us both to growth and death, along with the passionate emotions and urges that drive us so powerfully. That energy, like electricity in a house, can be heat, power, sound or vision, and lies behind all our functions. So in some dreams the snake represents our sexuality; in others the rising of that energy up our body to express as digestion – the intestinal snake – or as the creative or poisonous energy of our emotions and thoughts, even disease. In the throat it becomes the destructive or constructive speech and language – expressed or repressed feelings and speech. In the head it becomes thinking, perception and higher cognition.
In the destructive aspect the snake represents the poisonous thoughts and emotions that can destroy you. We tend to depict this facet of the snake as biting or attacking us, even though we have ourselves given rise to such poisonous emotions as hate and guilt. Because our thinking and emotions are an expression of our life energy, you are capable of directing the creative force of life toward self destruction. As an example of this, a dreamer exploring her snake dream saw that it represented her flight or fight instincts. This linked with her aggressive and protective feelings in connection with the way men had acted with her. The problem was that the snake was in a poisonous, strangling and killing mode. This, she realised, showed how she had withheld, strangled, her anger about what had happened, and that anger was turned inward, poisoning or strangling her flow of full life.
The opposite is also true. The power of life and death can be directed creatively. Then the snake is seen in its healing role in dreams, and in ancient times was shown in the form of the staff with two snakes coiling up it – caduceus – still used today as a symbol of the medical profession. See: energysex dreams.
It doesn’t matter that your dream snake bites you -after all it is an aspect of you, and the only poison you will meet is the poisonous emotions you have been injecting into yourself – and they need to be felt to clear them out.
The snake can shed its skin, and so symbolises self transcendence, rebirth.
The alchemists put a gold crown on its head, symbolising expanded or spiritual consciousness arising from the same energy as sexuality. Often a diadem, gem, or light is at its brow symbolising the possibility of expanded consciousness, or awareness of the eternal nature, and life in eternity. Christ is sometimes depicted as a crucified serpent, suggesting the mystery of Life nailed to physical awareness of the senses. See: Reptile.
| The Hebrew word for the serpent in the Garden of Eden is Nahash. And to be understood we have to understand that Hebrew is a sign language, one that each letter of the alphabet had a particular meaning. And there is no indication in the ancient Hebrew that this was a snake. It has been translated as snake because the original meaning was lost. It can be seen as a divine force that expressed in seven levels or ways – so much like the ancient symbol as it was understood by older cultures. For full explnation see Hebrew Translation. |  |
So the snake can represent many different things, but usually the energy that expresses as our life processes. If we think of a persons life from conception to death, we see a flowing moving event, similar in many ways to the speeded-up films of a seed growing into a plant, flowering and dying. The snake depicts the force or energy behind that movement and purposiveness – the force of life, the latent energy or potential within matter – that leads us both to growth and death, along with the passionate emotions and urges that drive us so powerfully. That energy – like electricity in a house, that can be heat, power, sound and vision – lies behind all our functions. So in some dreams the snake represents our sexuality; in others the rising of that energy up our body to express as digestion – the intestinal snake; or as the creative or poisonous energy of our emotions and thoughts; in the throat as destructive or constructive speech and language; in the head as thinking, perception and higher cognition.
In the destructive aspect the snake represents the poisonous thoughts and emotions that can destroy us. We tend to depict this snake biting or attacking us, even though we have ourselves given rise to such poisonous emotions as hate and guilt. Because our life energy flows into thinking and emotions, we are in this way directing the creative force of life. Directing it negatively has the power to bring illness and death, for we are dealing with the power of life and death itself.
The opposite is also true. The power of life and death can be directed creatively. Then the snake is seen in its healing role in dreams, and in ancient times was shown in the form of the staff with two snakes coiling up it – caduceus – still used today as a symbol of the medical profession. See: energy emotions mind.
A crowned or light encircled snake: When our blind impulses our instinctive or unconscious urges and functions are in some measure integrated with our conscious will and insight, this is seen as the crowned snake or even winged snake. It shows real self awareness and maturity.
In coils of snake: Feeling bound in the blind impulses or habitual drives and feeling responses. Instincts and habits can be redirected, as illustrated by Hercules labours.
Sitting on snake: Mastery of the instinctive nature and transformation and the making conscious of the wisdom and power resident in the unconscious.
Snake biting you: Unconscious worries about our health, frustrated sexual impulse, our emotions turned against ourselves as when internalised aggression poisons us causing very real illness, so may be shown as the biting snake. It may also suggest an influence in ones life – the venom – that takes away ones identity and perhaps opens one to a life beyond self, the spirit.
Snake biting others: Biting remarks; a poisonous tongue; emotional energy turned against oneself or someone else.
Snake coiling up tree, pole, cross: The blind instinctive forces of life emerging into conscious experience – in other words the essence of human experience with its involvement in pain, pleasure, time and eternity; the process of personal growth or evolution; healing because personal growth often moves us beyond old attitudes or situations that led to inner tension or even sickness.
Snake coiled around you crushing you: The way you are caught up and constricted in your own or other peoples emotions. Being crushed by emotions, fears; struggling with powerful emotions and urges.
Snake Colours – Green: Our internal life process directed – perhaps through satisfied feelings, love and creativity – into a healing process or one that leads to our personal growth and positive change. White: Eternal aspect of our life process, or becoming conscious of it. Blue: Religious feelings or coldness in relations.
Snake in connection with any hole: Sexual relatedness.
Snake in the grass: Sense or intuition of talk behind your back; danger; sneakiness.
Snake with tail in its mouth: Sense of the circle of life – birth, growth, reproduction, ageing, death, rebirth; the eternal.
Comments
Good morning Tony,
I had a dream about two different snakes-the first.one was when my childhood friend and I were hiking and exploring and I saw a mooted skin of a huge snake about twenty feet long that was alongside.a huge deatree trunk, that was leaning from the ground up to a rocky ledge. I called.to my friend to let her know.what I saw.and walked.on.the tree trunk to.the ledge, then walked along he ledge. Then I saw the snake, very large but cut in two about 2-3 feet below its head, it appeared.dead, thenas I was describing it to my friend it moved, very slowly and I was.cautious but not too fearful,and I said to my friend, “it is awful that this poor.thing is suffering so, who ever cut him should.have chopped.himoff rght at his.head, insteadof so much lower..I felt very sad and conflicted that I should put him out of his suffering,butI had nothing win me to do it with..
Then I dreamed of being in a meadow with my fiance, and we stopped on a hill that had a blueberry field and lots.of berries…I was.picking the berries and thencame across he eeedge of the garden that had.some.blue berries that were growing wild, I went to pickthemand the berries.moved and as I peered.into.the grass I noticed a.small.black.snake.that had a berry in his.mouth and was pulling.it off.the plant. I said to myself, its okay, you can enjoy.those.berries. then I continued picking the berries…not scared at all.
Thanks for any insights and have a wonderful day,
Becca Truly
I had a dream about two purple snales, coming from different directions, one fro the left and the other from the right. these strted going after me, however i kept running and running from the centre, at times they would seem like they wanna come together in the middle and attack me and i kept running, as i was running i suddenly stopped as there were no snakes chasing me nomore. not sure if i remember well but my little sister and my mum alerted me that the snakes had been killed. I did not understand as these were very huge gigamtic snakes, but they were destroyed by just mere humans. please help i am so confused and scared.
Fereday – This is a dream you are talking about. Dreams are very much like computer games with terrific graphics, where you meet dragons, serpents and awful enemies, and nobody ever gets hurt even though in the game they may be killed again and again. It is because it is dream is also a virtual reality like a game, and the only difference is that dreams are so much deeper and involve you fully. Even so they are still a virtual reality that you create. So of course a massive great snake can be killed, made a friend of, or turned into a dragon.
Please realise that you are the creator of these fantastic adventures, and they are to teach you courage and life skills – and even a lot more if you master the images you create. For the snakes could become fantastic powers you have and guardians of you instead of things that you run form. Read http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/dream-yoga/ to learn more.
Tony
I had a dream about a snake stalking another snake. The next night had a dream about grounding bees and I was frantically squishing them. The second dream is interpreted…I figured out on my own that a comment had infact really stung me, thought I had already been trying to squish him outta my life. But the snake stalking snake completely eludes me? In the past I had a dream interpreted as someone who had “slithered” back into my life but this one is far deeper…I was observing only snake stalking snake. Any comments or help would mean a lot. Thanks!
Dream brief :- I dreamt about a couple of snakes on a bed in my house. They were black in color on front visible skin and white from bottom. One of the snake was dead and was twisted on its own body. Moreover in an effort to protect my self from any harm, i shot it with a bizzare gun. Suddenly another snake from their group started approaching me to attack me. I somehow managed to crush it using that gun because its trigger didnt go off. During this whole episode, I was trying to save my parents from snakes and was really scared throughout the dream.
Now I request you to please interpret it and share its outcomes .
Moreover I also have snake dreams very often since past few months.
I had a dream that I am in a room with a cage full of black snakes that are trying to get out. I was trying to hurry and finish up what I was doing in the room before they got out of the cage. My daughter walks in asking where are the snakes. She walks in front of the cage where the snakes are. As she is doing this I am thinking doesn’t she see the cage of snakes right in front of her!? I tell her to be careful. When I turn around the snake has wrap around her finger and then it bites her. I tell her to get it off of her, she shakes the snakes off and it hits me, then it hits the ground. After that I don’t see the snake anymore. Any insight you can provide to me is appreciated.
I dreamt of a mountain range at a distance, it was night. I am with my sister and mother and we see a snake coiling around the mountain range. not all of the snake is visible (since it is wrapped around the mountains), the portions visible to us are bright and glowing. I tell my mother and sister that this is a sign of world coming to end and none of us seemed scared of it. Could you please explain?
Priya – This is a very important dream. The snake and the mountain have deep significance, for the snake, especially the glowing great snake, is the fundamental source of life energy. It is what can be thought of as the builder of life. In some cultures we see the snake has seven heads, meaning that it can create all the different levels of life experience.
The mountain is also a wonderful symbol as it shows your personal awareness expanding to a place where it can see or realise more than normal. That is why you could sense that it signified the end of the world.
The end of the world dreams usually depict the end of a way of life that we have been living. And that can be through personal growth, through massive social events, or through ageing – which often brings such dreams because it is the end of the world of youth we knew.
So be ready to meet big changes, and welcome them because they bring a better and newer life. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/end-of-world/
Tony
Had a dream about two snakes coiled around a huge, thick tree. One snake was a yellow python, and was constricting a german sheperd, the other was a smaller python/viper looking snake (it’s colors was a brownish-red). They were both fighting for the dog; they wanted to eat it. I felt pity for the dog and I shouted at the snakes. The smaller snake came slithering after me. I thought I could out run the viper but it was catching up to me. All of a sudden a white sheet appeared hanging on a close liner and I snatched it in order to trap the snake. As I turned around and tried to capture the snake, it jumped at me and bit my left hand, leaving its fang marks (four or five) on the palm of my hand. All of a sudden a strong, well-built, bare chested man came running behind me and then passed me and urged me to follow him to a safe house at the top of a small hill. When we got to the refuge he started looking for medicine to help cure me from the poison. Unfortunately he said there was no cure and told me I should call any family I had to get my affairs in order (I guess I was going to die). I immediately thought of calling my wife.
This dream has left strong impression to this day. I have been trying to figure out the importance of the snake in my life. Was wondering if you have any idea what this dream can mean. Thanks.
The last three nights I’ve had dreams about animals attacking me or others…
Night 1: Dreamt I was in a foreign county at what would be closest resemble to a zoo, though the animals were free, not in cages. On they way to the car, a giant penguin (3 ft. tall, gray and fuzzy, not the tuxedo emperior type) clamped down on the back of my sweater and wouldn’t let go. I struggled with the penguin and had to toss it around to get it to release. (Why I didn’t just take the sweater off is unknown…dreams don’t always have logic).
Night 2, I dreamt I was at a beach with my family. It was high tide and a storm had just come through. There was a small log sticking up through the sand and inside the head of a snake was sticking out from the same. It’s mouth was open like it was trying to breath after surviving the storm. It’s head was a violet/pink color and body was lime green. I told my cousin to look but don’t touch. He got too close and the snake bit his head and pulled his skin off like you would take skin of a piece of chicken. Clearly disturbed, I woke up in a sweat!
Night 3, (last night), I had a dream I was walking outdoors with friends. There must have been some event going on because there were thousands of people around. A friend pointed out a baby lion and lioness atop a cliff. I couldn’t see the cub but the lioness and I made eye contact and she immediately started to chase me. I ran through crowds to try to get away…it felt like I ran forever. I woke up before the dream ended…did I run free from her or did she catch me?
Not sure what’s in store for me tonight. Any insight would be great. Thank you!
Hi Tony,
In my dream, I had woken up from another dream in the middle of the night and looked over at my wall, there coiled on the side of the wall was a huge snake with the head of a cobra and at the very end the snake was forked, split off into two feet almost-which is what it used to walk/slither along the wall. It was still and silent the head extended from the body staring at me. I was scared thinking that it was a short distance from my husband and I and would strike us. My husband was asleep beside me in my dream and I yelled and shook him to wake up but he wouldnt wake up. This is where I woke up from the dream. Your interpretation would be greatly appreciated, I am at a major crossroads in my life right now and can use all the help I can get in correctly deciphering any messages my subconcsious is trying to tell me.
Thanks so much!
Natasha